40 THE REALITIES OF MODERN SCIENCE 



as being the work of some spirit or deity. Thus 

 on the island of Samothrace there was a "mystery," 

 in charge of the priests, which attracted travelers from 

 large distances. From the accounts it seems to have 

 consisted of a lodestone and some iron rings which 

 were attracted to this natural magnet and hung sus- 

 pended from it. Thales got far enough scientifically 

 to assign this attraction to something inherent in the 

 stone itself rather than to any action of spirits. As a 

 matter of fact, however, the simple laws of magnetism 

 were not accurately stated until they were derived 

 by Gilbert (1600) from long and careful experi- 

 ment. The fact that the curiosity of the Greek phi- 

 losophers did not falter before what was commonly con- 

 sidered supernatural is, however, illustrated by this 

 case of Thales. 



Of course, to-day we should not be prevented by 

 superstitions l from seeking the explanation of any 

 phenomena which may attract our attention. But 

 there was more to the Greek attitude than mere curi- 

 osity. They observed and classified phenomena. This 

 correlation of phenomena, that is, the collection of 

 those which are similar in principle, their description 

 in abstract terms, the generalization of the underlying 

 laws, and the formulation of theories, constitutes 

 science. The influence of the Greek is evident to-day 

 even in the words we use ; for example, our word 

 "principle" conveys an idea first expressed by Aris- 

 totle (384-322 B.C.). 



The purpose of Aristotle illustrates the Greek point 



1 Many, however, have inhibitions against certain methods and 

 fields of research, e.g. psychoanalysis. 



