PREFACE 



TO THE SECOND EDITION. 



THE demand for a new edition of my History of the 

 Inductive Sciences imposes upon me the welcome 

 duty of correcting the mistakes and supplying some 

 of the deficiencies of the former edition. In doing 

 this, I have for the most part made only slight 

 changes in the text, and such as were required to 

 rectify absolutely erroneous assertions. I have not 

 even altered the references to the time and circum- 

 stances which were present when I formerly wrote, 

 but have reserved for Notes the notices of subse- 

 quent events, and the other additions which I 

 thought necessary. I have followed this plan, as 

 the best, both for the reader and the subject. 



Those who already know the work, if they wish 

 again to refer to it, will naturally think of it such 

 as it is, and not such as I might make it by writing- 

 it afresh. To attempt to incorporate with the 

 former narrative of the progress of each science, a 

 view of its most recent advance, would really be 

 to write each portion of the history from a new 



