An Appeal to the Young. 5 



past all question, chosen his enjoyment more wisely, 

 since it affords him a pleasure far deeper and more 

 lasting than that of the toper. But that is all ! 

 Both one and the other have the same selfish end in 

 view — personal gratification. 



But, no ; you have no wish to lead this selfish life. 

 By working at science you mean to work for hu- 

 manity, and that is the idea which will guide you in 

 your investigations. 



A charming illusion ! Which of us has not hugged 

 it for a moment when giving himself up for the first 

 time to science ? 



But, then, if you are really thinking about human- 

 ity, if you look to the good of mankind in your 

 studies, a formidable question arises before you; 

 for, however little you may have of the critical spirit, 

 you must at once note that in our society of to-day 

 science is only an appendage to luxury which serves 

 to render life pleasanter for the few, but remains 

 absolutely inaccessible to the bulk of mankind. 



More than a century has passed since science laid 

 down sound propositions as to the origin of the uni- 

 verse, but how many have mastered them or possess 

 the really scientific spirit of criticism ? A few thou- 

 sands at the outside, who are lost in the midst of 

 hundreds of millions still steeped in prejudices and 

 superstitions worthy of savages, who are conse- 

 quently ever ready to serve as puppets for religious 

 impostors. 



Or, to go a step further, let us glance at what 

 science has done to establish rational foundations 

 for physical and moral health. Science tells us how 

 we ought to live in order to preserve the health of 

 our own bodies, how to maintain in good conditions 

 of existence the crowded masses of our population. 

 But does not all the vast amount of work done in 

 these two directions remain a dead letter in our 

 books? We know it does. And why? Because 

 science to-day exists only for a handful of privileged 



