52 APHORISMS AND REFLECTIONS 



conservatism and small inventiveness of untutored 

 mankind, he may hope to discover in manners and 

 customs, or in weapons, dwellings, and other handi- 

 work, a clue to the origin of the resemblances and 

 differences of nations. Or, he may resort to that 

 kind of evidence which is yielded by History proper, 

 and consists of the beliefs of men concerning past 

 events, embodied in traditional, or in written, 

 testimony. Or, when that thread breaks, Archae- 

 ology, which is the interpretation of the unrecorded 

 remains of man's works, belonging to the epoch 

 since the world has reached its present condition, 

 may still guide him. And, when even the dim light 

 of archaeology fades, there yet remains Palaeon- 

 tology, which, in these latter years, has brought to 

 daylight once more the exuvia of ancient populations, 

 whose world was not our world, who have been 

 buried in river beds immemorially dry, or carried by 

 the rush of waters into caves, inaccessible to inunda- 

 tion since the dawn of tradition. 



The rapid increase of natural knowledge, which 

 is the chief characteristic of our age, is effected in 

 various ways. The main army of science moves to 

 the conquest of new worlds slowly and surely, 

 nor ever cedes an inch of the territory gained. But 

 the advance is covered and facilitated by the ceaseless 

 activity of clouds of light troops provided with a 

 weapon always efficient, if not always an arm of 

 precision the scientific imagination. It is the 

 business of these enfants ptrdns of science to make 

 raids into the realm of ignorance wherever they 

 see, or think they see, a chance ; and cheerfully to 

 accept defeat, or it may be annihilation, as the reward 

 of error. Unfortunately the public, which watches 

 the progress of the campaign, too often mistakes a 

 dashing incursion of the Uhlans for a forward 



