9 
before been able to penetrate : but in adverting to one of the 
chief aims of this Institute, “ the elevation of the intellectual 
condition of the community,’' it is my wish to impress upon 
its members that this is not to be accomplished by adopting 
second-rate philosophy at second hand, but by enforcing the 
necessity for primary research ; by creating a taste for inde¬ 
pendent and thoughtful obsen'ation; by fortifying the powers 
of perception, while the attention is engaged and the curiosity 
gratified ; by urging its members to strike out for themselves 
a track different from that which can only lead to mediocrity; 
by enlisting the active and strenuous, fostering in them a 
vigorous and self-relying habit, and thus, by strengthening 
the strong, arouse the listless and inattentive, and, having 
kindled such a spirit, using every means to make it permeate 
through every grade. 
That such consequences may be looked for, is probable, 
when we consider that labour, whether physical or intellec¬ 
tual, is eminently social, and always most effective when 
combined—yet, that the achievements which human industry 
has made conspicuous have been won not always by the com¬ 
bination of many hands, but by the co-operation of many 
minds and the accumulated experience of many men. 
In the elaboration of each separate idea, a compensating 
mutual relation with some other cognate idea is found, which 
brings a fresh agency to bear upon, assimilate or clash with 
it; such attrition, different from that which wastes and dimin¬ 
ishes physical bodies, serving to sharpen and refine the mind» 
correct, enlarge or perfect the idea. A mutual dependency 
of powers, faculties and functions is also an interesting fea¬ 
ture in labour, tbrough which arises the reflection of itself 
upon itself and the reaction of its votaries upon each other. 
The philosopher would be helpless without the assistance of 
the mechanic, who furnishes him wherewith to pierce through 
space beyond the range of human ken ; to measure the hea¬ 
vens as mth a meteyard ; to trace the erratic course and 
predict the occultation and reappearance of the comet; to 
calculate with unerring certainty the effect of every perturba¬ 
tion arising from the constant, yet change-producing influence 
