244 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Mr. Spencer is perhaps too little con- 

 cerned for the passing influence of his 

 doctrines, and, except that the heavy 

 expenditure of publication requires to 

 be sustained as it proceeds, he would 

 be content to leave their character to 

 the verdict of the future. But many, 

 believing that his system of thought is 

 of great, immediate, and practical value, 

 were anxious that something should be 

 done to give it a stronger hold upon 

 public attention. Mr. Spencer was 

 therefore urged to suspend for a time 

 his methodical work, and to address a 

 wider circle of readers by the prepara- 

 tion of a small popular volume, and by 

 using the channels of periodical publi- 

 cation. 



Moreover, he had reached a stage 

 in the unfolding of his system which 

 was not only favorable to such an 

 episode, but which urgently required 

 it. That which the world will prob- 

 ably regard as the great work of his 

 life, should he be able to complete 

 it, and which is also of the greatest 

 moment to society, is still before him ; 

 while all that he has hitherto done is 

 but a preparation for it. This is noth- 

 ing less than to organize and place 

 upon its proper foundations the science 

 of man's social relations. A dozen 

 years have been occupied in laying the 

 foundation upon which alone the social 

 science can be built. " The Principles 

 of Sociology " is to be his next and 

 great work, and it was felt to be on 

 every account desirable that Mr. Spen- 

 cer should say something at this time 

 to the reading public on the nature, 

 claims, scope, limits, and difficulties, 

 of this important subject. This he 

 consented to do, and, in the preface to 

 " The Study of Sociology," he admits 

 that he does not now regret it. 



And the object proposed has been 

 already in a good degree attained ; the 

 articles have been widely reprinted 

 and extensively read. That they will 

 have a large and salutary influence 

 upon public sentiment admits of no i 



question. The views have been repro- 

 duced and commented upon extensively 

 by the press, who have generally rec- 

 ognized their importance, and the need 

 that they should be well understood in 

 a country where all men are govern- 

 ment-makers. A marked illustration 

 of the effect of these papers and of 

 Mr. Spencer's tables of "Descriptive 

 Sociology," the first of which is now 

 published, is furnished by the recent 

 inaugural address of Lord Houghton 

 before the British Social Science Con- 

 gress. The Times of October 2d re- 

 ports him as saying : " Their considera- 

 tion has impressed me strongly with 

 the uncertain data on which all Social 

 Science is founded, and the importance 

 of the connection between Sociology 

 and Biology which Mr. Spencer, both 

 in his philosophical works and in the 

 elaborate tabular statement of social 

 facts which he has supervised, and 

 which I earnestly commend to your 

 notice, is now expounding and illus- 

 trating." It was to exert an influence 

 of just this kind that " The Study of 

 Sociology " was prepared. It is hence 

 not to be regarded as a treatise upon 

 sociological science, but rather an in- 

 troduction to it. It treats of questions 

 which bear upon it, but which Mr. 

 Spencer could not properly deal with 

 in his forthcoming " Principles of So- 

 ciology." 



Men of science have their discour- 

 agements, general and special. The 

 English just now have a spasm of un- 

 happiness because the government will 

 not allow them to accept honors from 

 foreign sovereigns. It seems that the 

 Emperor of Brazil and the King of 

 Sweden are inclined to bestow their 

 marks of favor upon English savants, 

 who would be glad to accept them, but 

 a regulation of the Foreign Office, 

 dated 1855, forbids any subject of her 

 majesty to accept a foreign order, or to 

 wear its insignia, without the queen's 

 permission ; and it is declared that 



