22 INTRODUCTION 



source of pure and genuine pleasure, and a 

 solace in periods of trouble and vexation. 

 But I ask students of Nature to conduct their 

 studies with reverence and humility; with 

 reverence, by remembering the Creator 

 when they are studying the creation ; and 

 with humility, by remembering the past 

 history of science, when they are tempted to 

 make dogmatic assertions. Most of the 

 theories of only a century ago are either 

 modified or exploded to-day, and many of the 

 ' fairy tales of science,' of that date, are now 

 regarded as fairy tales indeed. 



I make my request with more confidence 

 from the fact that the best and most enduring 

 work has been done by naturalists, who have 

 conducted their researches in the spirit I 

 desiderate. The Creator, who made man and 

 his surroundings, implanted in his mind 

 faculties of perception, comparison, analysis, 

 and judgment. The scientist, who applies 

 these faculties to the observation and study of 

 Nature, is both exercising a right and fulfilling 

 a duty, so long as he keeps within the bounds 

 of humility and reverence. Scientia means 

 ' knowledge,' but not necessarily 'fulness 



