124 DISCOVERY OH. v 



time, which is more than can be said of most writers 

 to-day. 



We are often told that men of science should culti- 

 vate the art of literary expression, but the stronger 

 necessity for literary men to have at least a nodding 

 acquaintance with the outstanding facts of natural 

 knowledge is overlooked. A well-known author has 

 unkindly said, " The man of science appears to be the 

 only man in the world who has something to say, and 

 he is the only man who does not know how to say it." 

 The retort invited by this remark is that the man of 

 letters frequently has nothing to say, and he says it at 

 great length. The first business of the man of science is 

 to create new knowledge, and not necessarily to clothe 

 his discoveries in a pleasing dress, though he may do so. 

 The facts of science provide material upon which literary 

 art may be exercised, but the two functions of exploration 

 and fine expression are rarely found together. 



The methods of accurate observation and cautious 

 interpretation demanded of scientific investigators do 

 not readily lend themselves to attractive description, 

 and the results require more mental concentration to 

 understand them than is usually demanded of a literary 

 performance. A writer of romance can let his imagina- 

 tion have free play, but when natural occurrences enter 

 into the story they should be presented accurately, if the 

 material is to be used rightly. Nothing is easier than 

 to be deceived by appearances, or to accept a belief 

 without inquiry into its foundations ; the scientific plan 

 of asking for evidence, and of limiting statements to 

 those for which good justification can be produced, is 

 much more tiresome, yet it is the only way by which 

 truth can be attained ; and that after all is the highest 

 aim. 



