8 WARFARE IN THE HUMAN BODY 



their comprehension depends entirely upon a fairly adequate 

 apparatus in more sciences than one. This is not common, 

 and the very possession of such knowledge seems to render 

 its owner suspect in the eyes of the exclusive specialist. 

 It is easy for him to show that upon recondite and very 

 special points no one but himself can be sufficiently 

 informed. But when we reflect that on these very points 

 few specialists agree, though they are at one on many 

 general principles, we can afford to discount such criticism. 

 It is illegitimate to call any one a sciolist because he is not 

 conversant with every obscure and debatable point, since 

 the real weakness of the sciolist is eagerness to insist on 

 small points, and to fail in the grasp of great ones. Without 

 demanding of men of science any general philosophical 

 theory, we may still ask them to admit that it is the greatest 

 privilege of any worker, when surveying the whole field of 

 knowledge, to discern in it real likenesses. It has been 

 said that the highest type of intellect is that which discovers 

 likenesses, while the second order is apt to insist upon 

 differences. If this is so it must be admitted that the highest 

 type is not common. To hold the balance between rash 

 generalization and a refusal to generalize at all is not easy, 

 and it may be supposed that the qualities which enable 

 any one to do so can seldom be found in those deeply 

 committed to specialism. Yet the ranging of phenomena 

 under superior headings, which is real " explanation," cannot 

 be achieved unless likenesses are seen where none appear 

 on the surface. The history of science shows that any 

 new discovery or generalization has usually been met with 

 hostility by the best informed on special facts. If the work 

 of Harvey had been dependent for acceptance on the vote 

 of specialists it would assuredly have been rejected And 

 if it is now said that the phenomena seen in any society, 



