A HISTORY OF SCIENCE 



future will see no radical distinction between the 

 superstitions of the thirteenth century and the super- 

 stitions of the nineteenth century. But he will prob- 

 ably admit that a greater change took place in the 

 world of thought between the year 1859 and the close 

 of the nineteenth century than had occurred in the 

 lapse of two thousand years before If this estimate 

 be correct, it is indeed a privilege to be living in this 

 generation, for we are on the eve of great things, and 

 beyond question the revolution that is going on about 

 us denotes the triumph of science and its inductive 

 method. Just in proportion as we get away from 

 the old metaphysical preconceptions, substituting for 

 them the new inductive method, just in that proportion 

 do we progress. The essence of the new method is to 

 have no preconceptions as to the bounds of nature ; to 

 regard no phenomenon, no sequence of phenomena, as 

 impossible ; but, on the other hand, to accept no alleged 

 law, no theory, no hypothesis, that has not the warrant 

 of observed phenomena in its favor. 



The great error of the untrained mind of the primi- 

 tive man was that he did not know the value of scien- 

 tific evidence. He made wide leaps from observed 

 phenomena to imagined causes, quite overlooking the 

 proximal causes that were near to hand. The un- 

 trained observer of to-day makes the same mistake; 

 hence the continued prevalence of those superstitious 

 misconceptions which primitive rnan foisted upon our 

 race. But each new generation of to-day is coming 

 upon the field better trained in at least the rudiments 

 of scientific method than the preceding generation, 

 and this is perhaps the most hopeful feature of present- 



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