INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
97 
Is this principle of a thorough, systematic organization of every 
species of work thoroughly appreciated at the present time ? 
I think it is one of the most important characteristics of modern 
developement of thought, but I do not think, judging from the 
work now in hand of men of eminence and men of no eminence, 
that it is a characteristic which is as yet fully appreciated. But it 
seems to me that the tendency of thought sets strongly in that 
direction. 
I am speaking of the pursuit of every subject of inquiry that 
can occupy the human mind, of those which attract our attention 
as an Institution, and of all others also. No results, it appears to 
me, can be obtained at all likely to satisfy the mind and allow it 
to rest contented, undisturbed by doubt, except through a process 
of systematic inquiry by analysis and detail, advancing from parti- 
culars to generals, by the logical methods of induction and deduc- 
tion. 
It is not requisite to limit the range of imagination, speculation, 
and theory, but those efforts of mind, admirable as they have been 
and continue to be, must be distinctly recognized as such, and be 
permitted to have no more and no less than their due hold on the 
understanding. They have seldom if ever proved to be correct, 
but they have often led to discoveries of the greatest value, by the 
suggestions which they have offered. 
If the work before us, that appears as we proceed hardly to 
have been begun, is not conducted in all its departments on a 
methodical system, to which every mind ought to be trained, it 
seems to me that infinite waste is the consequence, a waste of 
power, a waste amounting to an abuse of gifts, a waste of energy, 
and a waste of life. We have ample evidence that in every sort 
of competition it is hopeless for disorganization to contend against 
organization, or for inferior organization to succeed in a struggle 
with superior organization. Our experience confirms the power of 
this marshalling of detail in order and regularity wherever we 
have felt its force, and teaches us plainly that it must form the 
basis of intellectual progress. 
The philosophy of Auguste Comte, the positive philosopher, now 
engaging so much attention, is remarkable for the complete me- 
thodical system which he lays down for the conduct of mental 
operations, and is an example of the tendency of modern thought 
towards method and order. 
