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NA TURE 



[August 28, 1884 



In speaking unfavourably of superfluous hypothesis let me not 

 he misunderstood. Science is nothing without generalisations. 

 Detached and ill-assorted facts are only raw material, and in the 

 absence of a theoretical solvent have but little nutritive value. 

 At the present time and in some departments the accumulation 

 of material is so rapid that there is danger of indigestion. By 

 a fiction as remarkable as any to be found in law, what has once 

 been published, even though it be in the Russian language, is 

 usually spoken of as " known," and it is often forgotten that 

 the rediscovery in the library may be a more difficult and un- 

 certain process than the first discovery in the laboratory. In 

 this matter we are greatly dependent upon annual reports and 

 abstracts, issued principally in Germany, without which the 

 search for the discoveries of a little-known author would be 

 well-nigh hopeless. Much useful work has been done in this 

 direction in connection with our Association. Such critical re- 

 ports as those upon hydrodynamics, upon tides, and upon spec- 

 troscopy, guide the investigator to the points most requiring 

 attention, and in discussing past achievements contribute in no 

 small degree to future progress. But, though good work has 

 been done, much yet remains to do. 



If, as is sometimes supposed, science consisted in nothing but 

 the laborious accumulation of facts, it would soon come to a 

 standstill, crushed, as it were, under its own weight. The 

 suggestion of a new idea, or the detection of a law, supersedes 

 much that had previously been a burden upon the memory, and 

 by introducing order and coherence facilitates the retention of 

 the remainder in an available form. Those who are acquainted 

 with the writings of the older electricians will understand my 

 meaning when I instance the discovery of Ohm's law as a step 

 by which the science was rendered easier to understand and to 

 remember. Two processes are thus at work side by side, the 

 reception of new material and the digestion and assimilation of 

 the old ; and as both are essential, we may spare ourselves the 

 discussion of their relative importance. One remark, however, 

 should be made. The work which deserves, but I am afraid 

 does not always receive, the most credit, is that in which dis- 

 covery and explanation go hand in hand, in which not only are 

 new facts presented, but their relation to old ones is pointed out. 



In making one's self acquainted with what has been done in 

 any subject, it is good policy to consult first the writers of highest 

 general reputation. Although in scientific matters we should 

 aim at independent judgment, and not rely too much upon 

 authority, it remains true that a good deal must often be taken 

 upon trust. Occasionally an observation is so simple and easily 

 repeated, that it scarcely matters from whom it proceeds ; but as 

 a rule it can hardly carry full weight when put forward by a 

 novice whose care and judgment there has been no opportunity 

 of testing, and whose irresponsibility may tempt him to " take 

 shots, ' as it is called. Those who have had experience in accu- 

 rate work know how easy it would be to save time and trouble 

 by omitting precautions and passing over discrepancies, and yet, 

 even without dishonest intention, to convey the impression of 

 conscientious attention to details. Although the most careful 

 and experienced cannot hope to escape occasional mistakes, the 

 effective value of this kind of work depends much upon the 

 reputation of the individual responsible for it. 



In estimating the present position and prospects of experi- 

 mental science, there is good ground for encouragement. The 

 multiplication of laboratories gives to the younger generation 

 opportunities such as have never existed before, and which 

 excite the envy of those who have had to learn in middle 

 life much that now forms part of an undergraduate course. 

 As to the management of such institutions, there is room for 

 a healthy difference of opinion. For many kinds of original 

 work, especially in connection with accurate measurement, 

 there is need of expensive apparatus ; and it is often 

 difficult to persuade a student to do his best with imperfect 

 appliances when he knows that by other means a better 

 result could be attained with greater facility. Nevertheless it 

 seems to me important to discourage too great reliance upon the 

 instrument-maker. Much of the best original work has been 

 done with the homeliest appliances ; and the endeavour to turn 

 to the best account the means that may be at hand develops 

 ingenuity and resource more than the most elaborate determina- 

 tions with ready-made instruments. There is danger otherwise 

 that the experimental education of a plodding student should be 

 too mechanical and artificial, so that he is puzzled by small 

 changes of apparatus much as many school-boys are puzzled by 

 a transposition of the letters in a diagram of Euclid. 



From the general spread of a more scientific education we are 

 warranted in expecting important lesults. Just as there are 

 some brilliant literary men with an inability, or at least a distaste 

 practically amounting to inability, for scientific ideas, so there 

 are a few with scientific tastes whose imaginations are nev»r 

 touched by merely literary studies. To save these from 

 intellectual stagnation during several important years of their 

 lives is something gained ; but the thoroughgoing advo- 

 cates of scientific education aim at much more. To them 

 it appears strange, and almost monstrous, that the dead 

 languages should hold the place they do in general edu- 

 cation ; and it can hardly be denied that their supremacy is 

 the result of routine rather than of argument. I do not myself 

 take up the extreme position. I doubt whether an exclusively 

 scientific training would be satisfactory ; and where there is 

 plenty of time and a literary aptitude I can believe that Latin 

 and Greek may make a good foundation. But it is useless to 

 discuss the question upon the supposition that the majority ol 

 boys attain either to a knowledge of the languages or to an appre- 

 ciation of the writings of the ancient authors. The contrary is 

 notoriously the truth ; and the defenders of the existing system 

 usually take their stand upon the excellence of its discipline. 

 From this point of view there is something to be said. The laziest 

 boy must exert himself a little in puzzling out a sentence with 

 grammar and dictionary, while instruction and supervision are 

 easy to organise and not too costly. But when the case is stated 

 plainly, few will agree that we can afford so entirely to disregard 

 results. In after life the intellectual energies are usually en- 

 grossed with business, and no further opportunity is found for 

 attacking the difficulties which block the gateways of knowledge. 

 Mathematics, especially, if not learned young, are likely to re- 

 main unlearned. I will not further insist upon the educational 

 importance of mathematics and science, because with respect to 

 them I shall probably be supposed to be prejudiced. But of 

 modern languages I am ignorant enough to give value to my 

 advocacy. I believe that French and German, if properly 

 taught, which I admit they rarely are at present, would go far 

 to replace Latin and Greek from a disciplinary point of view, 

 while the actual value of the acquisition would, in the majority 

 of cases, be incomparably greater. In half the time usually 

 devoted without success to the classical languages, most boys 

 could acquire a really serviceable knowledge of French and 

 German. History and the serious study of .English literature, 

 now shamefully neglected, would also find a place in such a 

 scheme. 



There is one objection often felt to a rnodern^ed education, as 

 to which a word may not be without use. Many excellent people 

 are afraid of science as tending towards materialism. That such 

 apprehension should exist is not surprising, for unfortunately 

 there are writers, speaking in the name of science, who have set 

 themselves to foster it. It is true that among scientific men, as 

 in other classes, crude views are to be met with as to the deeper 

 tkings of Nature ; but that the life-long beliefs of Newton, of 

 Faraday, and of Maxwell are inconsistent with the scientific 

 habit of mind is surely a proposition which I need not pause to 

 refute. It would be easy, however, to lay too much stress upon 

 the opinions of even such distinguished workers as these. Men 

 who devote their lives to investigation cultivate a love of truth 

 for its own sake, and endeavour instinctively to clear up, and 

 not, as is too often the object in business and politics, to ob- 

 scure, a difficult question. So far the opinion of a scientific 

 worker may have a special value ; but I do not think that he 

 has a claim, superior to that of other educated men, to assume 

 the attitude of a prophet. In his heart he knows that under- 

 neath the theories that he constructs there lie contradictions 

 which he cannot reconcile. The higher mysteries of being, if 

 penetrable at all by human intellect, require other weapons than 

 those of calculation and experiment. 



Without encroaching upon grounds appertaining to the theo- 

 logian and the philosopher, the domain of natural science is 

 surely broad enough to satisfy the wildest ambition of its 

 devotees. In other departments of human life and interest, 

 true progress is rather an article of faith than a rational belief ; 

 but in science a retrograde movement is, from the nature of the 

 case, almost impossible. Increasing knowledge brings with it 

 increasing power, and great as are the triumphs of the present 

 century, we may well believe that they are but a foretaste of 

 what discovery and invention have yet in store for mankind. 

 Encouraged by the thought that our labours cannot be thrown 

 away, let us redouble our efforts in the noble struggle. In the 



