128 A Century of Science 



a moment was such a grand result achieved ; its 

 complete realization has not yet come, and none of 

 us may live to see it, yet toward that goal the 

 whole impetus of men s civilizing work is tending, 

 and there is no power that can prevent the consum 

 mation. Year by year, no matter how grave the 

 questions with which we have to deal, we are be 

 coming more and more able to let our minds play 

 freely with them, to turn them hither and thither 

 till all sides be seen and all aspects duly consid 

 ered. 



Not all in a moment, I say, has such a desirable 

 result been achieved. So far is it, moreover, from 

 having been brought about by conscious human 

 effort that mankind have in general struggled 

 desperately against it. Compared with the mass 

 of men, it is only a few minds that have learned 

 to regard absolute freedom of thought as some 

 thing to be desired. Though the colonization of 

 America came at a time when men s minds were 

 stirred by novel ideas as never before, though the 

 men of that generation were moving irrepressibly 

 toward liberality of thought, yet there were very 

 few who had any liking for liberal thought, or any 

 good word to bestow upon it. There were few 

 who doubted that absolute truth was attainable 

 concerning the most abstruse questions of philo- 



