Science of the Future : A Forecast 



— the whole of Nature runs and wavers before 

 the eye of Science, the latter recognises that its 

 distinctions are arbitrary, and turns upon and 

 destroys itself. This has happened before, I 

 believe — ages back in the history of the human 

 race — and probably will happen again. 



The only conceivable answer to the question, 

 " What is that which is now a mollusc and now a 

 man and now an inorganic atom ^ " ^ is given 

 by man himself — and his answer is, I fear, not 

 •' scientific." It is " I Am." " I am that which 

 varies." And the force of his answer depends 

 on what he means by the word " I." And so 

 also the only conceivable answer to the absolute 

 datum question is to be found in the meaning 

 of the word " I " — in the deepening back of 

 consciousness itself. Man is the measure of all 

 things. If we are to use Science as a minister 

 to the most external part of man — to provide 

 him with cheap boots and shoes, etc. — then we 

 do right to seek our absolute datum in his external 

 part, and to take his foot as our first measure. We 

 found a science on feet and pounds, and it serves 

 its purpose well enough. But if we want to 

 find a garment for his inner being — or, rather, 

 one that shall fit the whole man — to wear which 

 will be a delight to him and, as it were, a very inter- 

 pretation of himself — it seems obvious that we 

 must not take our measure from outside, but 

 from his very most central principle. The whole 



I Compare the Sphinx-riddle : What is that which goes on 

 four legs, etc. 



