66 



CHAPTER II 



THE ADVANCE OF SCIENCE, 1881-2906 



I PROPOSE to give in the following pages an outline 

 of the advance of science in the past twenty-five 

 years. It is necessary to distinguish two main kinds 

 of advancement, both of which are important. Francis 

 Bacon gave the title * Advancement of Learning ' to 

 that book in which he explained not merely the 

 methods by which the increase of knowledge was 

 possible, but advocated the promotion of knowledge 

 to a new and influential position in the organization of 

 human society. His purpose, says Dean Church, was 

 ' to make knowledge really and intelligently the interest, 

 not of the school or the study or the laboratory only, 

 but of society at large.' So that in surveying the 

 advancement of science in the past quarter of a century 

 we should ask not only what are the new facts 

 discovered, the new ideas and conceptions which have 

 come into activity, but what progress has science made 

 in becoming really and intelligently the interest of 

 society at large. Is there evidence that there is an 

 increase in the influence of science on the lives of our 

 fellow-citizens and in the great affairs of the State ? Is 

 there an increased provision for securing the progress 

 of scientific investigation in proportion to the urgency 

 of its need or an increased disposition to secure the 

 employment of really competent men trained in scientific 

 investigation for the public service ? 



