ASSUMPTION AND FACT IN THE THEORIES OF 
SOLAR AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS.. 
BY 
John Robie Eastman. 
ADDRESS AS RETIRING PRESIDENT. 
Delivered December 7, 1889. 
Since the beginning of the historic period, a comparatively 
few important general themes have furnished the necessary 
pabulum for the serious cogitations of mankind; and for 
many centuries the whole range of human thought was 
covered by that comprehensive term Philosophy. 
The earliest definite systems of Philosophy were born of 
the speculative and reflective intellects about the eastern 
limits of the Mediterranean sea, and reached their maturity 
under the fostering care and the keen criticism of the high¬ 
est Grecian culture. The study of Philosophy was for suc¬ 
cessive ages the touchstone that separated the learned from 
the ignorant, and its masters were believed to hold the keys 
to all knowledge. Most of the systems set forth boldly the 
solutions to all the moral, religious and material problems 
of the universe. 
The speculative theories dealing with the moral world had 
their origin deep in the minds and hearts of men, and were 
founded on observation, experience and reflection. These 
theories could be brought at once to a rigid test in the daily 
life of every human being and, therefore, were adapted to a 
healthy and normal development. 
16—Bull. Phil. Soe., Wash., Vol. II. 
( 143 ) 
