OP BAEON HUMBOLDT. 199 



by assisting to avert war, than if they were 

 actually employed with the most overwhelming 

 results.' The proudest triumph of science is 

 perhaps its moral influence in elevating the 

 mind to form judgments strictly derived from 

 facts, no matter whether such facts tell for or 

 against our preconceived notions. The method 

 employed in communicating the truths of 

 science, as well as the methods by which its 

 advancement is achieved, are eminently adapted 

 to impress the necessity of truthfulness, sin- 

 cerity, and candour upon all its cultivators." 



We do, however, not advocate the cause of 

 physical science to the exclusion of all other 

 sciences, for we believe that all intellectual pro- 

 gress must needs exist side by side, if mankind 

 are to maintain the position in civilization 

 already achieved. Poesy, religion, and philo- 

 sophy, almost unconsciously aroused by nature, 

 prepared in their progressive development, the 

 human heart for a more perfect enjoyment of 

 nature. With the investigation of nature man- 

 kind advanced towards their ultimate destiny. 

 Only since the time of Newton, mankind learnt 

 to investigate more systematically the pheno- 

 mena of nature. The study of natural laws 

 the comprehension of which constitutes the 

 highest degree of our elevation above the mere 



