PHYSICAL METHOD. 579 



questions respecting the tendencies of forms of go- 

 vernment must stand part of the general science of 

 society, not of any separate branch of it. 



This general Science of Society, as distinguished 

 from the separate departments of the science (each of 

 which asserts its conclusions only conditionally, sub- 

 ject to the paramount control of the laws of the 

 general science) it now remains for us to characterize. 

 And, as will be shown presently, nothing of a really 

 scientific character is here possible, except by the 

 inverse deductive method. But before we quit the 

 subject of those sociological speculations which proceed 

 by way of direct deduction, we must examine in what 

 relation they stand to that indispensable element in all 

 deductive sciences, Verification by Specific Experience 

 the comparison between the conclusions of reason- 

 ing and the results of observation. 



5. We have seen that, in most deductive sciences, 

 and among the rest in Ethology itself, which is the 

 immediate foundation of the Social Science, a prelimi- 

 nary work of preparation is performed upon the ob- 

 served facts, to fit them for being rapidly and accurately 

 collated, sometimes even for being collated at all, with 

 the conclusions of theory. This preparatory treat- 

 ment consists in finding general propositions which 

 express concisely what is common to large classes of 

 observed facts : and these are called the empirical laws 

 of the phenomena. We have, therefore, to inquire, 

 whether any similar preparatory process can be per- 

 formed upon the facts of the social science; whether 

 there are any empirical laws in history or statistics. 



In statistics, it is evident that empirical laws may 

 sometimes be traced ; and the tracing them forms 

 an important part of that system of indirect observa- 



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