300 histinct, 



now be gathered materials which were utterly be- 

 yond the reach of the great masters of the past 

 ages. These facilities are now put to their best 

 use, by a most accurate training of the senses. The 

 whole man has been trained as an observer of na- 

 ture. In the observing and recording of facts, 

 great accuracy has been secured, so that in the 

 works of our greatest living naturalists, we can, in 

 the majority of cases, implicitly trust their state- 

 ment of facts, even while dissenting entirely from 

 the conclusions, which they draw from those facts. 

 This is a great step. For although facts are not all, 

 — for facts may lead astray, — yet we must have 

 them. They are the materials with which we are to 

 build. It is a great point to be sure of our mate- 

 rials — to have them in abundance, to be sure that 

 they are sound enough to bear the strain, if they 

 are only put in the right position. 



If we could have the facts without the crude 

 theories, which bind them together and too often 

 conceal them, or keep them from their appropriate 

 use, — as brick and stone are wasted in poorly con- 

 structed buildings with low ceilings, in gloomy 

 corners, and over cesspools, which bring disease to 

 all that inhabit them, — we should be fortunate. 

 But few men are like David of old, willing to col- 

 lect materials that others may build wisely and well. 

 The building must go up with crude and scanty 

 materials, according to some hastily-formed plan. 

 Such a building sometimes stands for generations, 

 because some famous man built it, or slept in it ; 

 or simply because it has stood so long, that it seems 



