206 president's address — section j, 



of time " in the moral education of mankind are equally acknow- 

 ledged by philosophers of the opposite school ; and it is for them 

 to reconcile their faith in morality as part of the constitution of 

 man with the general theorj' of evolution, and to show how the 

 growth of the principle of duty in the lives and institutions of men 

 is compatible with the denial of an empirical origin of morals. 



The sketch which I have offered you of the present position of 

 mental science is necessarily imjjerfect. Many topics might have 

 been dealt with in greater detail ; but this could have been done 

 only at the cost of laying a greater burden on your patience, which 

 has already, I fear, been too heavily taxed. I have aimed at 

 showing that mental science in every one of its branches has been 

 no exception to the law of progress. If I have succeeded here I 

 shall be satisfied, for progress in the past must inspire hope for 

 the future. To me it seems not only likely, but inevitable, that in- 

 creasing attention will be paid to mental science. The child, drawn 

 out of himself by the sights and sounds which solicit the senses, 

 acquires a knowledge of surrounding objects and persons before he 

 gains a distinct idea of himself ; and so the human mind, enriched 

 by its triumphs in physics, in chemistry, and in biolog}', must return 

 upon itself, feeling that the circle of its knowledge is incomplete 

 till the secrets of mind as well as of the material universe have 

 been thoroughly explored. 



