218 ETHICAL ASPECTS OF EVOLUTION 



kingdom of science will be universal would be inexplicable 

 were it not fostered by two among the strongest interests 

 of the human mind, one theoretical, the other practical, 

 and to this circumstance may be traced the hold that it has 

 on thinkers and laymen alike. To the first it is recom 

 mended by the passion for unifying all knowledge under 

 one general principle ; to both alike by the craving to pierce 

 the veil of the future. It is accepted because it is welcome. 

 The mind is prepared to observe all evidence that is in its 

 favour, and overlook all that tells against it. In another 

 age the case may be different. When religion is the centre 

 of interest, the direction of the mind is reversed, and it will 

 then be attracted chiefly by events that are opposed to 

 scientific expectations. 



This is all that occurs to me to say on the claims of ethics 

 to be regarded as a science. Theories of conduct agree with 

 all subjective, and differ from all objective speculations 

 in this characteristic, that they do not admit of measure 

 ments. They are, therefore, inexact, and this want of 

 exactness precludes the application of the law of uniform 

 sequence. It follows from this that all their legitimate 

 problems are in the present. The future is a closed book 

 to them, and must so remain until some intellectual revolu 

 tion brings subjective facts under the same laws of method 

 as the facts of external nature. Of this achievement there 

 is no present prospect, and any presumption that may 

 be based on the past history of thought is altogether opposed 

 to it. The term science has been appropriated to the 

 knowledge of nature. When we talk of a science primer, 

 or a scientific man, we do not usually mean a treatise on 

 ethics, or a divine, or a political philosopher ; and to extend 

 its connotation beyond these limits is to overlook the most 

 important and general distinction that can be drawn between 

 one branch of knowledge and another. It is sure to lead 

 in the future, as it has led in the past, to a large and deplor 

 able accumulation of error and confusion. Nevertheless, 

 in denying to subjective knowledge the title of exact science, 

 we affirm nothing to its disparagement. Its beliefs are 



