INTRODUCTION ix 



as well as of the bearing of that work on the pre- 

 sent and its promise for the future. The recital 

 of the results obtained is so framed that it not 

 only makes clear to any intelligent reader the 

 achievements of Science but it reveals them as 

 the result of growth due to the steady pursuit of 

 knowledge by rational and intelligent research. 

 In this way these achievements, however great and 

 however startling in themselves and however far- 

 reaching in their consequences, are shewn to be 

 only a first crop from a still fertile ground, which 

 will shew a like fruitfulness in the future if its 

 cultivation be not neglected. The value of Essays 

 such as these, dealing broadly speaking with the 

 whole Realm of Science, is at the present moment 

 difficult to overestimate. They will prove invalu- 

 able to those who seek to broaden the interest of 

 our Nation in Scientific Research. 



But I do not share the fear that so-called Pure 

 Science is in danger of being neglected in the 

 revival of industrial effort to which we all look 

 forward. The distinction between Pure Science 

 and Applied Science is vague and artificial and, 

 so far as my observation goes, it does not exist as 

 a guiding principle in the minds of those classes 

 to whom we must look for the force which will 

 place Science in its right position in England. It 

 is a distinction which is more actively present to 

 the minds of those who are engaged in abstruse 

 research than to the mind of the general public. 



