INTRODUCTION. 
3 
Sir Isaac Newton saw the apple fall while he was 
lying beneath the tree that bore it. Many others had 
seen the same phenomenon. But he asked himself 
why the apple should move toward the earth—why it 
did not fail in some other direction. That question 
immortalized Newton; it led to the discovery of the 
laws of gravitation. He gave his thoughts to the 
world. Others read them and began to think about 
the forces manifested in the universe. Astronomers 
gained new light and formulated new theories; math¬ 
ematicians were able to present new demonstrations 
of those theories. All these in a certain sense were 
the result of Newton’s attention to the falling apple. 
Much that we call science to-day originated in a simi¬ 
lar way and passed through a similar confirmation— 
a thought, discussion, proof. 
Questions, suppositions, and hypotheses are not 
science, but they are aids to it. To prove or disprove 
them facts are brought into line, and probable evi¬ 
dences are discussed, proofs are gathered up and laid 
at the pure shrine of Science. 
“ He most lives who thinks most, feels the noblest, and acts 
the best.”—B ailey. 
