V : ENGLISH MEN OF SCIENCE. [CHAP. 



investigation to men of our own period and 

 nation. .Our knowledge of them is more com- 

 plete, and where deficient, it may be supple- 

 mented by further inquiry. They are subject 

 to a moderate range of those influences which 

 have the largest disturbing power, and are 

 therefore well fitted for statistical investigation ; 

 lastly, the results we may obtain are of direct 

 practical interest. The inquiry is a complicated 

 one at the best ; it is advantageous not to com- 

 plicate it further by dealing with notabilities 

 whose histories are seldom autobiographical, 

 never complete and not always very accurate ; 

 and who lived under the varied and imperfectly 

 appreciated conditions of European life, in 

 several countries, at numerous periods during 

 many different centuries. 



Definition of "Man of Science." I do not 

 attempt to define a "scientific man/' because 

 no frontier line or definition exists, which sepa- 

 rates any group of individuals from the rest 

 of their species. Natural groups have nuclei 

 but no outlines ; they blend on every side with 

 other systems whose nuclei have alien characters. 



