ORGANIZATION OF THE SCIENCES 



chemistry also) to the study of a special class 

 of concrete phenomena. Such is the logical ar- 

 rangement ; and the only historical parallelism 

 to be found is the fact that theorems relating to 

 masses were reached sooner than theorems re- 

 lating to molecules. 



It would not be difficult to cite other in- 

 stances in which the Comtean classification is 

 at variance not only with the order of the phe- 

 nomena classified but also with the order of 

 historic progression. But I prefer to quote 

 from Mr. Spencer a remarkable passage which 

 strikes immediately at the vital point of the 

 theory. Comte's fundamental error was in not 

 recognizing " the constant effect of progress in 

 each class upon all other classes ; but only on 

 the class succeeding it in his hierarchical scale. 

 He leaves the impression that, with trifling ex- 

 ceptions, the sciences aid each other only in the 

 order of their alleged succession. But in fact 

 there has been a continuous helping of each 

 division by all the others, and of all by each. 

 Every particular class of inquirers has, as it 

 were, secreted its own particular order of truths 

 from the general mass of material which obser- 

 vation accumulates ; and all other classes of in- 

 quirers have made use of these truths as fast as 

 they were elaborated, with the effect of enabling 

 them the better to elaborate each its own order 

 of truths. It was thus with the application of 

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