PLEASUEES AND DIFFICULTIES OF RESEARCH. 11 



one character all its consequences were gradually brought 

 to light the feet agreed with the history told by the 

 teeth ; the bones of the legs and thighs, and those parts 

 which ought to unite them, agreed with each other ; in a 

 word, each one of the species sprang from its own frag- 

 ments.' The brother of Sir Humphry Davy relates : 

 ' Davy's delight when he saw the minute shining globules 

 (of potassium) burst through the crust of potash and take 

 fire as they reached the air, was so great that he could 

 not contain his joy ; he actually bounded about the room 

 in ecstatic delight.' 



Part of the pleasure of (discovery consists in the per- 

 ception of new similarities and differences, contradictions, 

 and intellectual difficulties ; ^the acquisition of new in- 

 tellectual and individual power by the reduction of the 

 unknown to the known. Part also consists in the suit- 

 ability of the occupation to the individual ; the pleasures 

 of activity, of pursuit, of anticipation, of success ; the 

 charm of mystery, and the excitement of uncertainty as 

 to what will come next ; and the anticipated value of the 

 final result. 



But the pursuit of pure science is not wholly pleasure. 

 The difficulties and the discouragements in such a pursuit 

 may be fairly said to exceed that of every other, and are 

 in the total so great that hardly a man in a million is 

 wholly devoted to it. The obstacles are various, and con- 

 sist briefly : of the great preparation of mind required ; 

 the great difficulty of attaining even a moderate amount 

 of success ; the absence of pecuniary remuneration for such 

 labour, and the consequent impossibility of obtaining a 

 living by its means ; the ignorance of nearly all persons 

 respecting the utility of the occupation, and the conse- 

 quent absence of appreciation, sympathy, and encourage- 

 ment. In addition to these, considerable seclusion from 



