178 
EDITORIAL OBSERVATIONS. 
grow there, and birds, that may have been the conveyers of 
their seeds, sing blithely in the branches thereof. At last 
man comes. He boldly takes possession of that which he has 
had no hand in producing ; claims it as his own ; breathes 
its air, tills its soil, peoples it with domestic animals, and 
navigates the surrounding seas. 
Who cannot see in all this the advantages that are to be 
derived from subdivision so as to accomplish an object; and 
how much may be effected by co-operation ? Therefore, no one 
should consider his efforts, however humble they may a} pear 
to him to be, as altogether valueless, since the many can, and 
often do, achieve that which the few fail to perform. One 
rivulet could not have removed the barrenness of the desert, 
nor one polyp have formed an island; nevertheless, many 
acting together did both. And who is not desirous of con- 
tributing, if it be only a small stream, to the ocean of Truth ? 
Or who would not add an increment, however minute, to the 
expanse by investigation ? Science, it has been observed, is 
a commonwealth. Each member, therefore, has an interest 
in its welfare, and can add something, if he will, to increase 
its boundaries. Moreover, it is his duty to do so. It is 
likewise diffusive; nay, more, it provokes to laudable emula- 
tion. As masses of matter, lying near to each other in a line, 
are all of them moved, if so be force is applied to one end of 
the series ; so, impetus being once given to a community, by 
which its inertia isdisturbed,it goes on, on, on, until it develops 
that which had otherwise remained for ever hidden ; but being 
aroused from its dormant state, it, in its turn operates as an 
incentive to others, causing each to act as feeling his indi- 
vidual responsibility. Or, to take another figure, this mental 
development may be compared to catalytic action — a body in 
the act of undergoing a particular change, which induces the 
same change in another lying beside or in contact with it, 
by effecting a disturbance in the molecular equilibrium, — 
thus giving rise to the production of the like substance ; a 
species of intellectual ferment or contagion. 
The above similes arose in our minds while perusing an 
f Essay on Purgative Agents/ by Mr. J. Field ; a review of 
which is inserted in our present number. As yet, he is but a 
