CONCLUSION 



V 



IN the preface to a recently published and very excellent 

 work on the History of Science by Prof. Libby, the follow- 

 ing sentences occur : 



" The history of science is an aid in scientific research. 

 It places the student in the current of scientific thought, 

 and gives him a clue to the purpose and necessity of 

 the theories he is required to master. It presents 

 science as the constant pursuit of truth rather than the 

 formulation of truth long since revealed ; it shows 

 science as progressive rather than fixed ; dynamic rather 

 than static, a growth to which each may contribute. 

 It does not paralyse the self-activity of youth by the 

 record of an infallible past." 



" It is only by teaching the sciences in their historical 

 development that the schools can be true to the two 

 principles of modern education, that the sciences should 

 occupy the foremost place in the curriculum, and that 

 the individual mind in its evolution should rehearse 

 the history of civilisation. . . . The history of science 

 studies the past for the sake of the future. It is a story 

 of continuous progress. It is rich in biographical material. 

 It shows the sciences in their inter-relations, and saves 

 the student from narrowness and premature specialisa- 

 tion." 



These sentences express exactly the conceptions that 

 prompted the compilation of these lectures. They will 

 have fulfilled their purpose if they have given you, even 



though in the briefest outline, some idea of the stages 



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