17 



not universal, as if they grew up everywhere ; but not the 

 less, under favourable circumstances, the genuine growth of 

 the scientific intellect. 



Not only do I hold that the Axioms, on which the truths 

 of science rest, grow from guesses into Axioms in various ways, 

 and often gradually, and at different periods in different minds, 

 and partially, even in the end ; but I conceive that this may 

 be shown by the history of science, as having really happened, 

 wjth regard to all the most conspicuous of such principles. 

 The scientific insight which enabled discoverers to achieve 

 their exploits, implied that they were among the first to 

 acquire an intuitive conviction of the Axioms of their Science: 

 the controversies which form so large a portion of the history 

 of science, arise from the struggles between the clearsighted 

 and the dimsighted, between those who were forwards and 

 those who were backwards in the progress of ideas ; and these 

 controversies have very often ended in diffusing generally a 

 clearness of thought, on the controverted subject, which at first, 

 the few only, or perhaps not even they, possessed. The His- 

 tory of Science consists of the History of Ideas, as well as of 

 the History of Experience and Observation. The latter portion 

 of the subject formed the principal matter of my History of 

 the Inductive Sciences ; the former occupied a large portion 

 of the Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences ; which, I may 

 perhaps be allowed to explain, is, for the most part, a 

 Historical Work no less than the other ; and was written, 

 in a great measure, at the same time, and from the same 

 survey of the works of scientific writers. 



I am aware that the explanation which I have given, 

 may naturally provoke the opponents of the doctrine of 

 scientific necessity to repeat their ordinary fundamental ob- 

 jections, in a form adapted to the expressions which I have 

 used. They may say, the fact, that these so called Axioms 

 thus become evident only during the progress of experience, 



