ra SCIENCE AND MORALS. 125 



thing seriously, I find myself met by one of the 

 two horns of a dilemma. Either some meaning, 

 as unknown to usage as to the dictionaries, at- 

 taches to " laboratory ^' and " chemical," or the 

 proposition is (what am I to say in my sore need 

 for a gentle and yet appropriate word?) — well — 

 unhistorical. 



Does Mr. Lilly suppose that I put aside " as 

 unverifiable " all the truths of mathematics, of 

 philology, of history? And if I do not, will he 

 have the great goodness to say how the binomial 

 theorem is to be dealt with " chemically," even 

 in the best-appointed " laboratory "; or where the 

 balances and crucibles are kept by which the vari- 

 ous theories of the nature of the Basque lan- 

 guage may be tested; or what reagents will ex- 

 tract the truth from any given History of Rome, 

 and leave the errors behind as a residual 

 calx? 



I really cannot answer these questions, and 

 unless Mr. Lilly can, I think he would do well 

 hereafter to think more than twice before attrib- 

 uting such preposterous notions to his fellow-men, 

 who, after all, as a learned counsel said, are ver- 

 tebrated animals. 



The whole thing perplexes me much; and I 

 am sure there must be an explanation which will 

 leave Mr. Lilly's reputation for common sense and 

 fair dealing untouched. Can it be — I put this 

 forward quite tentatively — that Mr. Lilly is the 



