THE CONQUEST OF NATURE 



class. And there is no possibility of his receiving any 

 such sums as the man who plans the work, but does 

 nothing with his own hands. 



It has always been so. Just as "those who think 

 must govern those that toil," so the thinker must com- 

 mand the high reward. Partly this is because man, 

 considered as a mere toiler, is so relatively inefficient a 

 worker. When he strives to work with his hands, his 

 effort is but a pitiful one; he can by no possibility 

 compete (as regards mere quantity of labor) with the 

 ox and the horse. He is impatient of his own puerile 

 efforts. It is only when he brings the products of 

 ingenuity to his aid that he is able to show his superior- 

 ity, and to justify his own egotism. So it is that in 

 every age he has striven to find means of adding to 

 his feeble powers of body through the use of his rela- 

 tively gigantic powers of mind. And in proportion as 

 he thus is able to "make his head work for his hands" 

 as the saying goes, he verges toward the heights of civil- 

 ization. To accomplish this more and more fully has 

 ever been the task of science as applied to the industries. 



It will be our object in the ensuing chapters to inquire 

 how far science has accomplished the protean task 

 thus set for it. We shall see that much has been done ; 

 but that much still remains to be done. In proportion 

 as the problems are unsolved, science is reproached 

 for its shortcomings and stimulated to new efforts. 



In proportion as labor has been minimized and pro- 

 duction increased in just that proportion has science 

 justified itself; and in the same proportion has the 

 Conquest of Nature been carried toward completion. 



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