i The Study of Nature 3 



mena to observe, and these are to all rightly constituted 

 minds so full of wonder, beauty, and charm that we are apt 

 to be dazzled and distracted, and even if our attention is 

 roused it is too often satisfied by the first superficial im- 

 pressions. It is only by putting aside these and looking at 

 bare facts and abstract principles that we can truly under- 

 stand our natural surroundings and so fully appreciate "all the 

 wonder and wealth " of the Universe in its deepest meaning. 



5. Real Tilings. The first classification of things is into 

 (a) Things that exist only in our own minds ; () things 

 that exist outside of us and independent of us. Emo- 

 tions, feelings, tastes, and beliefs belong to the former 

 class and are termed subjective things. Facts and pheno- 

 mena which exist whether we know of them and under- 

 stand them or not, are termed objective or real things. 

 The real things of Nature are the objects of physical 

 science, and they alone fall to be considered here. The 

 one test of reality in Nature is permanence. Only those 

 things are real which can neither be created nor put out of 

 existence by human power. Subjective things, such as pain, 

 happiness, beauty, may be very readily produced and de- 

 stroyed, hence however vivid the impression of them may be 

 they are not real in our sense of the word and form no part 

 of Physiography. 



6. Definition of Physiography. Physiography is an 

 account of physical science as a whole. It describes the 

 substance, form, arrangement, and changes of all the real 

 things of Nature in their relations to each other, giving 

 prominence to comprehensive principles rather than to 

 isolated facts. This definition of the term Physiography is 

 simply a definite statement of the meaning of the word 

 Physiography ( I, 12). 



7. Use of the Senses. Our senses are windows of 

 knowledge through which alone information enters the 

 mind, and through which alone we are able to study the 

 things outside us. Instruments and apparatus of various 

 kinds are of value only in making the evidence of the senses 

 more precise or more appropriate to the object of study. 

 All the senses sight, hearing, touch, and the less used 



