SCIENTIA SCIENTI ARUM. 
^ | ''HE proposal to form a new Scientific Society in London 
j 7 tere so man y already exist, may naturally be re- 
garded as calling for some explanation. Such a proposal 
would seem to imply, either that the existing societies are 
defective in their aims, or that they fail to carry out their 
objects satisfactorily ; or else, at the least, that the new 
Society has some other and further end in view than is con- 
templated by those previously established. Now, it may 
irankly be admitted that there is some degree of truth in 
each of these alternative propositions ; and they might all be 
tairly urged a,s affording grounds for the establishment of the 
Victoria Institute or Philosophical Society of Great Britain, 
lhe great object of the Victoria Institute, as originally pro- 
pounded m the Circular of 24th May, 1865,* and as set forth in 
Circular No. 4 of July, as the primary Object of the Society, 
is to defend the revealed truth of Holy Scripture against 
oppositions arising, not from real science, but from pseudo- 
science; and this is an object which no previously existing 
scientific society has made its aim. But then, it must be 
observed, that if existing scientific societies had duly fulfilled 
their aims, and guarded scientific truth, pseudo-science 
would never have been allowed to pass current as truth 
opposed to the Scriptures, and there would then have been no 
place lor a new scientific society to expose the fallacies of mere 
quasi science. But this leads us further to consider whether 
this state of things may not be primarily due to some defect 
m the aims of the old societies, to which this inroad of pseudo- 
science is fairly attributable, rather than to the failure on 
the part of modern scientific men to do justice to the objects 
ol their investigations. I venture to think that this is the 
true explanation of the facts of the case, as I shall now 
themselves *° piWe ‘ But first let us look at the facts 
* See p. 30. 
