358 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XII. No. 297. 



which an historical writer can ascribe to 

 himself. Without doubt they are funda- 

 mental qualities necessary for historical re- 

 search, but in order to bear fruit they re- 

 quire to be exercised by one whose mental 

 qualities are such as to enable him to ana- 

 lyze the data brought together by his dili- 

 gence, to discriminate between the false and 

 the true, to possess an insight into the com- 

 plex motives that determine human action, 

 to be able to recognize those facts and inci- 

 dents which had exercised either a primary 

 or only a secondary influence on the aifairs 

 of nations, or on the thoughts and doings 

 of the person whose character he is de- 

 picting. 



In scientific research, also, diligence and 

 accuracy are fundamental qualities. By 

 their application new facts are discovered 

 and tabulated, their order of succession 

 is ascertained, and a wider and more inti- 

 mate knowledge of the processes of nature is 

 acquired. But to decide on their true sig- 

 nificance a well-balanced mind and the ex- 

 ercise of prolonged thought and reflection 

 are needed. William Harvey, the father 

 of exact research in physiology, in his mem- 

 orable work ' De Motlu Cordis et Sanguinis,' 

 published more than two centuries ago, 

 tell us of the great and daily diligence which 

 he exercised in the course of his investiga- 

 tions, and the numerous observations and 

 experiments which he collated. At the same 

 time he refers repeatedly to his cogitations 

 and reflections on the meaning of what he 

 had observed, without which the compli- 

 cated movements of the heart could not 

 have been analyzed, their significance deter- 

 mined, and the circulation of the blood in a 

 continuous stream definitely established. 

 Early in the present century, Carl Ernst 

 von Baer, the father of embryological re- 

 search, showed the importance which he 

 attached to the combination of observation 

 with meditation by placing side by side on 

 the title page of his famous treatise ' Ueber 



Entwickelungsgeschichte der Thiere' (1828) 

 the words Beohachtung und Reflexion. 



Though I have drawn from biological sci- 

 ence my illustrations of the need of this com- 

 bination, it must not be inferred that it 

 applies exclusively to one branch of scien- 

 tific inquiry ; the conjunction influences and 

 determines progress in all the sciences, and 

 when associated with a sufficient touch of 

 imagination, when the power of seeing is 

 conjoined with the faculty of foreseeing, of 

 projecting the mind into the future, we may 

 expect something more than the discovery 

 of isolated facts ; their co-ordination and the 

 enunciation of new principles and laws will 

 necessarily follow. 



Scientific method consists, therefore, in 

 close observation, frequently repeated so as 

 to eliminate the possibility of erroneous 

 seeing ; in experiments checked and con- 

 trolled in every direction in which fallacies 

 might arise ; in continuous reflection on the 

 appearances and phenomena observed, and 

 in logically reasoning out their meaning 

 and the conclusions to be drawn from them. 

 Were the method followed out in its in- 

 tegrity by all who are engaged in scientific 

 investigations, the time and labor expended 

 in correcting errors committed by ourselves 

 or by other observers and experimentalists 

 would be saved, and the volumes devoted 

 annually to scientific literature would be 

 materially diminished in size. Were it ap- 

 plied, as far as the conditions of life admit, 

 to the conduct and management of human 

 affairs, we should not require to be told, 

 when critical periods in our welfare as a 

 nation arise, that we shall muddle through 

 somehow. Recent experience has taught 

 us that wise discretion and careful prevision 

 are as necessary in the direction of public 

 affairs as in the pursuit of science, and in 

 both instances, when properly exercised, 

 they enable us to reach with comparative 

 certaintj' the goal which we strive to at- 

 tain. 



