THE PSYCHOLOGY OF BELIEF. 213 



who executed what has been characterized * as " the most arduous 

 " undertaking that had fallen to any engineer, and than which none 

 '* was ever more successfully executed ; " and something of the way 

 in which he prepared himself for his great work. 



The mind of Smeaton is made known to us in that admirable 

 series of reports on engineering subjects, which were described by 

 the same competent authority, "as a mine of wealth for the sound 

 " principles which they unfold, and the able practice they exemplify; 

 " both alike based on close observation of the operations of Nature, 

 " and affording many fine examples of cautious sagacity in applying 

 "the instructions she gives to the means within the reach of art." 

 It was to Nature, not to the time-honoured traditions of his pro- 

 fession, that this great practical philosopher went, when he had to 

 deal with the problem of the Eddystone. He saw in the bole of 

 the oak which had stood the blasts of centuries, the shape that 

 would not only give to his tower the greatest inherent strength, 

 but would project upwards, instead of directly resisting, the dash 

 of the impetuous waves. And he then brought all the resources 

 of constructive skill to carry out this sagacious design ; erecting 

 on a broad and solid foundation that beautifully formed super- 

 structure, which not only bears aloft the far-shining and welcome 

 light, but serves as the dwelling-place for those who are charged 

 with its maintenance. 



And this, it seems to me, is the way in which we should en- 

 deavour to erect our own fabric of thought, if we wish it to be 

 enduring in itself — withstanding alike the rude assaults of external 

 force, and the gradual weakening of internal decay — and to afford 

 a guiding light to others. Our foundations must be laid broad 

 and deep in the intellectual, moral, and physical constitution of 

 man, and his relation to all that is outside him. Those fixed and 

 immutable principles of reason on which all knowledge is based, 

 must be solidly and patiently built up, course by course ; each 

 securely bolted-down to that which supports it. We must learn 

 early " to distinguish what is just in itself, from what is merely 

 "accredited by illustrious names." We must cultivate the insight 

 which shall enable us to detect a fallacy of observation, or a 



* Introduction to the first volume of the " Transactions of the Institution 

 of Civil Engineers." 



