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PART IV. 



ACTUAL WORKING IN ORIGINAL RESEARCH. 



CHAPTEK XXXVIII. 



SELECTION OF A SUBJECT OP INVESTIGATION. 



One science only will one genius fit, 

 So vast is art, so narrow human wit ; 

 Not only bounded to peculiar arts, 

 But oft in those confined to single parts. 

 POPE, ' Essay on Criticism.' 



ANY man who wishes to discover new truth must be con- 

 tent usually to confine his search to one subject at a time. 

 The selection of a good subject of examination is a diffi- 

 cult problem ; the difficulty usually arises not from 

 scarcity of subjects, but from the impracticability of 

 determining which is the most suitable one. An investi- 

 gator cannot, to any great degree, pick and choose dis- 

 coveries, but must, to a large extent, be content to 

 accept those he can find. In the selection of a subject of 

 research he has to consider what subjects are intrinsically 

 important, and that is often a difficult question. 1 In con- 



1 See Chap. XIX. 



