GREEK SCIENCE IN EARLY ATTIC PERIOD 



to come into prominence towards the close of the 

 nineteenth century. To have forecast even dimly this 

 newest phase of chemical knowledge, across the abyss 

 of centuries, is indeed a feat to put Democritus in 

 the front rank of thinkers. But this estimate should 

 not blind us to the fact that the pre-vision of De- 

 mocritus was but a slight elaboration of a theory 

 which had its origin with another thinker. The asso- 

 ciation between Anaxagoras and Democritus cannot 

 be directly traced, but it is an association which the 

 historian of ideas should never for a moment forget. 

 If we are not to be misled by mere word-jugglery, we 

 shall recognize the founder of the atomic theory of 

 matter in Anaxagoras; its expositors along slightly 

 different lines in Leucippus and Democritus; its re- 

 discoverer of the nineteenth century in Dal ton. All 

 in all, then, just as Anaxagoras preceded Democritus 

 in time, so must he take precedence over him also as 

 an inductive thinker, who carried the use of the scien- 

 tific imagination to its farthest reach. 



An analysis of the theories of the two men leads to 

 somewhat the same conclusion that might be reached 

 from a comparison of their lives. Anaxagoras was a 

 sceptical, experimental scientist, gifted also with the 

 prophetic imagination. He reasoned always from the 

 particular to the general, after the manner of true in- 

 duction, and he scarcely took a step beyond the con- 

 fines of secure induction. True scientist that he was, 

 he could content himself with postulating different 

 qualities for his elements, without pretending to know 

 how these qualities could be defined. His elements 

 were by hypothesis invisible, hence he would not at- 



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