Civilisation : Its Cause and Cure 



of the stars is greater or less than the infinite com- 

 plexity of the phenomena of life, is like debating 

 the precedence of the three persons of the Trinity, 

 or whether the Holy Ghost was begotten or pro- 

 ceeding : we are talking about things which we 

 do not understand. 



Nature is one ; she is not, we may guess, less 

 profound and wonderful in one department than 

 another ; but from the fact that we live under 

 certain conditions and limitations we see most 

 deeply into that portion which is, as it were, on 

 the same level with us. In humanity we look 

 her in the face ; there our glance pierces, and we 

 see that she is profound and wonderful beyond all 

 imagination ; what we learn there is the most 

 valuable that we can learn. In the regions where 

 Science rejoices to disport itself we see only the 

 skirts of her garments, so to speak, and though we 

 measure them never so precisely, we still see them 

 and nothing more. 



There is another point, however, of which much 

 is often made as a plea for the substantial accuracy 

 of the scientific laws and generalisations, namely 

 that they enable us to predict events. But this 

 need not detain us long. J. S. Mill in his " Logic " 

 has pointed out — and a little thought makes it 

 obvious — that the success of a prediction does 

 not prove the truth of the theory on which it is 

 founded. It only proves the theory was good 

 enough for that prediction. 



There was a time when the sun was a god going 

 forth in his chariot every morning, and there was 



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