132 Verified Science is independent of faith. 



contradictory, may, or may not be true ; mere 

 affirmation also, when not based upon proof, is often 

 dangerous to morality. In dogmatic subjects a man 

 may tell untruths with impunity, because no one can 

 disprove or convict him ; but in demonstrable ones, a 

 man dare not utter falsehoods, because others will 

 prove his statements to be erroneous. It is demon- 

 stration rather than doctrine that is of divine origin. 

 A man also who practises scientific research is largely 

 compelled to adopt the most truthful views of nature, 

 in order to enable him to make discoveries, 



Real science is largely independent of opinion or 

 faith. Whether we believe or not that a piece of 

 clean iron immersed in a mixture of oil of vitriol and 

 water, evolves hydrogen gas, the fact itself remains 

 unaltered. It is a great and glorious circumstance 

 for mankind, that human progress depends essentially 

 upon a knowledge of new verified truth. As verified 

 experimental knowledge can only come from the 

 great source of all that is good, to doubt the value of 

 new demonstrable truth, is practical atheism. Those 

 also who systematically investigate sources of verifia- 

 ble truth, are much more likely to ultimately arrive 

 at the fountain of all truth, than those who employ 

 unsystematic methods, or prefer unproved beliefs to 

 verified knowledge. 



Another of the most powerful ways in which 

 scientific discovery has promoted moral progress has 

 been an indirect one, viz., by diminishing ignorance. 

 Deficiency of knowledge is the parent of a vast 



