80 
CONSTANCE C. W. NADEN. 
Apr., 1890. 
A sympathetic and valuable memoir of her in “Edgbastonia,” 
for February, 1890, by her friend and former teacher, Pro¬ 
fessor Lapwortli, LL.D., F.R.S., justly states :—“ She had a 
habit of referring everything to first principles, and of utterly 
ignoring the views of the authoritative specialists. Intensely 
sympathetic as was her mind for what was novel, wonderful, 
or strange, it was impatient of everything that was dogmatic 
or authoritative. The chief enquiry was always not ‘ What 
do the specialists say ? ’ but, ‘ Is it true, and why ? ’ ” 
Her own practical estimate of her philosophy is thus 
aptly described in a letter to a friend, quoted in an interesting 
biography, in the “ Mason College Magazine ” for February, 
1890 :—“ My ‘ philosophy ’ is to get all the good out of life 
that it will give, under all circumstances, which involves 
making the best of trouble, and bearing it so as to gain moral 
strength ; and even if we can't always live up to this ideal, it 
is good to keep it in sight.” 
In all, Miss Naden delivered a series of three addresses 
or lectures on the doctrine of evolution before the Section, 
namely, “ Special Creation and Evolution,” “ The Data of 
Ethics” (previously mentioned), and “The Principles of 
Sociology” (the last of which, recently published in the 
“ Midland Naturalist,” has mournful memories connected 
with it, and will be presently referred to), which constitute, 
in an essential form, much of the pith and marrow of the five 
great divisions of the “ Synthetic Philosophy,” as originally 
grouped by Mr. Spencer in his Prospectus of June 5, 1862, 
and to which he has systematically adhered ever since. As 
a matter of fact, these addresses were not delivered in con¬ 
secutive order. That on “ The Data of Ethics ” should, of 
course, have come last; but this is of little moment. Com¬ 
bined, they form a miniature synthetic trilogy, which presents 
many of the main features of the evolution philosophy, and 
which may be read with equal profit and advantage, either 
by the tyro or by the advanced student. Speaking generally, 
they express the highest truth developed by Mr. Spencer’s 
system, that “evolution can end only in the establishment 
of the greatest perfection and the most complete happiness.” 
The attention of Mr. Spencer was directed to these papers, 
in which he took much interest, and frequently expressed his 
approval of them. They were reprinted by the Section, 
and well circulated among students of the doctrine of evolu¬ 
tion. 
Miss Naden was a prolific prose writer in other depart¬ 
ments, and as she sometimes wrote under her full name, and 
