ON THE PHYSICAL VIEW OF NATURE. 141 



truism for a great dynamical fact " ; an admission 

 which would mean that it brings common-sense and 

 precise mathematical expression into close proximity 

 and harmony, or describes a very general phenomenon 

 completely and in the simplest way. 



In order to become generally recognised as the 

 simple alphabet of scientific language, the new ideas 

 had to be made the foundation of the whole structure 

 of physical and chemical knowledge, theoretical as well 

 as experimental ; the elements and axioms had to be 

 restated so as at once to express the new view and to 

 open out the enlarged aspect which had been prepared. 

 The different departments of mechanics, physics, and 

 chemistry had to be elaborated and co-ordinated ac- 

 cording to a uniform design. Helmholtz had indeed, 

 as early as 1847, roughly sketched the plan of the 

 work, but occupied as he was during the twenty fol- 

 lowing years mainly with another much-neglected field, 

 the analysis of the phenomena of sensation, he did not 

 return to his original thesis till many years later, when 

 he made an application of fundamental importance. 



Meanwhile the important task of rebuilding the edifice 

 of the physical sciences, and establishing on a large scale 

 that which I term the physical view of nature, fell 

 almost exclusively into the hands of what we may call 

 the Scotch school of natural philosophy James and 30 . 

 William Thomson, Macquorn Eankine, James Clerk MhooL 

 Maxwell, P. G. Tait, and Balfour Stewart, in this country ; 

 whilst Clausius abroad worked almost alone. Kankine 

 and James Thomson very early (1855) conceived the 

 idea of a general science called " Energetics " or " the 



