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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/34771-8.txt b/34771-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..17ef27d --- /dev/null +++ b/34771-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5718 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Scientific Basis of National Progress, by George Gore + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Scientific Basis of National Progress + Including that of Morality + +Author: George Gore + +Release Date: December 28, 2010 [EBook #34771] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Keith Edkins and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + + +Page numbers enclosed by curly braces (example: {25}) have been +incorporated to facilitate the use of the Table of Contents. + + * * * * * + + +THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS + +OF + +NATIONAL PROGRESS, + +INCLUDING THAT OF MORALITY. + + + +G. GORE, L.L.D., F.R.S., + +_Author of "The Art of Scientific Discovery;" +"The Principles and Practice of Electro-deposition;" +"The Art of Electro-metallurgy;" &c._ + +[Illustration] + +NATIONS ADVANCE BY NEW KNOWLEDGE. + + + +WILLIAMS AND NORGATE, + +14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON; +AND 20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH. +1882. + + * * * * * + + +To the President (the Rev. N. Watson, F.R.S.), the Vice Presidents, the +Council and Members of the Birmingham Philosophical Society, I dedicate the +following small treatise, in appreciation of the fact, that although only a +young Society, they have certified in a substantial manner the views +persistently advocated by me respecting the National importance of +Scientific Investigation, and have shown so intelligent an example of +devotion to public welfare by establishing a Fund for the Endowment of +original Scientific Research. + + GEORGE GORE. + + _The Institute of Scientific Research,_ + _Birmingham._ + + * * * * * + + +THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF NATIONAL PROGRESS. + +------ + +CONTENTS. + +------ + + PREFACE. + + CHAPTER I. PAGE + + THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF MATERIAL PROGRESS 1 + + CHAPTER II. + + THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF MENTAL AND MORAL PROGRESS 83 + + CHAPTER III. + + NEW TRUTH, AND ITS GENERAL RELATION TO HUMAN PROGRESS 157 + + CHAPTER IV. + + THE PROMOTION OF ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 170 + + * * * * * + + +THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF NATIONAL PROGRESS. + +------ + +NEW KNOWLEDGE IMPARTS NEW POWER. + +------ + +PREFACE. + +As there exists at the present time in this country a considerable degree +of uneasiness in the public mind respecting our ability to maintain our +position in the race of progress, and as our future success as a nation +depends largely upon science, it is desirable to call attention to the +great public importance of _new_ scientific knowledge, and to the means of +promoting its development. + +Although the illustrations given in this book of the importance of such +knowledge to mankind, constitute but a small fraction of the number which +might be adduced, they are sufficient to show that by the neglect of +scientific investigation, we are sacrificing our welfare as a nation to an +enormous extent. + +The greatest obstacle to the discovery of new knowledge in this country, +lies in a wide spread ignorance of the dependence of human welfare upon +scientific research. I propose therefore to show in a brief manner, that +the essential starting-point of human progress, lies in scientific +discovery; also that new truths are evolved by original research made in +accordance with scientific methods; and to illustrate these statements by +examples; also to point out how such research can be encouraged. + +The book is divided into four chapters, viz.: _1st._ The Scientific basis +of Material progress: _2nd._ The Scientific basis of Mental and Moral +progress: _3rd._ New truth and its relation to Human progress: and _4th._ +The Promotion of original Scientific Research. As the object of the book is +only to call attention to the vast importance of _new_ truth, as as a +fundamental source of advance, and how to promote the discovery of it, the +essay is written as briefly as possible, and is not offered in any sense as +a complete exposition of the subject, especially the section relating to +the Scientific basis of Morality. + +The leading idea of the Book is that present knowledge only enables us to +maintain our present state, that national _progress_ is the result of _new_ +ideas, and that the chief source of new ideas is original research.[1] That +as _advance_ has its origin in _new_ knowledge; unless new discoveries are +made, new inventions and improvements must sooner or later cease. Another +prominent idea is, that truth is essentially the same in all divisions of +knowledge, and that the mental powers and processes employed in detecting +it are the same in all subjects. + +For reasons stated in the text, the influence of scientific discovery upon +mental and moral progress are treated together. Notwithstanding the far +greater importance of the mental and moral advantages of new truths, the +book treats chiefly of the pecuniary and material gains to mankind; mainly +because the latter are more easily understood and appreciated, the chapter +however on "The Scientific Basis of Mental and Moral progress," indicates +in a very brief and imperfect manner, the vast importance of new scientific +knowledge to mankind, as a source of mental and moral advancement. + +The chief object of this book is to disseminate more correct ideas +respecting the importance of _new_ positive knowledge, and the duties of +society in relation to it; and a further object is to assist in maintaining +Birmingham in the front rank of intellectual, social and moral advance, in +accordance with its motto "Forward." + + * * * * * + + +{1} + +CHAPTER I. + +------ + +THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF MATERIAL PROGRESS. + +During the last one hundred years this nation has advanced with unexampled +speed. More wealth has been accumulated by Englishmen since the +commencement of the present century, than in all preceding time since the +period of Julius Cæsar; one of the causes of this has been the discovery of +new truths of science, and their subservience to useful purposes by means +of invention. The great manufacturing success of this country has been +largely due to those applications of science, which have enabled us to +utilise our abundant stores of coal and iron-ore, in steam engines, +machinery, and a multitude of mechanical, physical, and chemical processes; +also to the discovery of electro-magnetism and its application in the +electric-telegraph, etc. And had it not been for these and other +adaptations of scientific knowledge, we should have competed in vain with +the cheaper labour and longer days of toil of continental nations. Other +great causes, such as our insular position, suitable climate, freedom, {2} +geographical position, etc., etc. have, however, also contributed to the +result. Commerce also in its turn has done vast things for mankind. + +The purely scientific knowledge we possess was discovered almost entirely +by means of original research, and to only a small extent by persons +engaged in industrial occupations. Probably not two per cent. of all the +important discoveries in pure science were made in manufactories; the +scientific experiments which are made in such establishments are usually of +the nature of invention, not of discovery, and are not often published, +because it is a usual object with men of business to retain as much as +possible of the pecuniary benefit of their labours to themselves. Whilst it +is the object of a business man to monopolise special knowledge; that of +the scientific man is to diffuse it, in order that all mankind may be +benefited and helped to improve. + +Discoveries in science are, however, occasionally made by practical men +engaged in technical employments. The hydro-electric machine originated in +this way, a man at Newcastle was attending to a steam boiler, and found +that he received electric shocks when he touched the boiler. This +circumstance was investigated by his employer, Mr. Armstrong, a scientific +man, and led him to construct the hydro-electric machine. The accumulation +of electricity in submarine telegraph cables was first observed at the +Gutta-Percha Company's works {3} London. It was noticed on testing a cable +by means of a voltaic battery (the cable being submerged in water) that +discharges of electricity flowed from the cable after the battery was +removed; this circumstance was investigated by Faraday, and led to +improvements in submarine telegraphy. In each of these instances the same +general method as that used by scientific discoverers was however employed, +viz., new experiments were made (though not intentionally) by putting +matter and its forces under new conditions, and new results were observed. + +Nearly all great modern scientific discoveries have been made by teachers +of science and others, who spend a large portion of their lives in +experimental investigation, searching for new truths, and not by persons +who have hit upon them by accident. The greatest discoveries in physics and +chemistry in modern times, were made chiefly by such men as Newton, +Cavendish, Scheele, Priestley, Oersted, Volta, Davy and Faraday: all great +workers in science. + +It is either by observing matter and its forces under new conditions or +from a new aspect, that nearly all discoveries are made; thus Priestley +placed some oxide of mercury in an inverted glass vessel, and heated it by +means of the Sun's rays and a lens, and discovered Oxygen. This substance +was nearly discovered by Eck de Sulsbach three hundred years before; he +heated six pounds of an amalgam {4} of silver and mercury, and converted +the latter metal into a red oxide like cinnabar, and he remarked, "a spirit +is united with the metal, and what proves it is this, that this artificial +cinnabar submitted to distillation, disengages that spirit." The "spirit" +was evidently oxygen. + +Some discoveries are made by observing the phenomena of bodies placed under +special conditions by those operations of nature over which we have little +or no control. All our knowledge of Astronomy, and much of that of geology +and physiology, was acquired in this way. + +Nearly all modern discoveries of importance in physics or chemistry require +long and difficult investigations to be made in order to completely +establish their truth. When Crookes discovered Thallium, he saw the first +sign of its existence in a momentary flash of green light in a +spectroscope, but he had to expend upon the subject several years of most +difficult labour, and a considerable sum of money, in order to prove the +correctness of his suspicion that he had discovered a new metal. M. Lecocq +de Boisbaudran discovered the metal Gallium and Bunsen discovered Rubidium +and Caesium in a similar manner. + +Discoveries in science, are usually made, not by trying to obtain some +valuable commercial or technical result, but by making new, reliable, and +systematic investigations. By investigating the chemical action of +electricity upon saline bodies, {5} Sir Humphrey Davy isolated sodium and +magnesium, which has led to the establishment at Patricroft near +Manchester, of the manufactures of those metals. By the abstract researches +of Hofmann and others upon Coal-tar, many new compounds were discovered, +and the extremely profitable manufacture of the splendid coal-tar dyes was +originated. + +Scientific discovery is the most valuable in its ultimate practical results +when it is pursued from a love of truth as the ruling motive, and any +attempt to make it more directly and quickly remunerative by trying to +direct it to immediately practical objects, decreases the importance of its +results, diminishes the spirit of inquiry, and sooner or later reduces it +to the character of invention. The greatest practical realities of this age +had their origin in a search after important truths entirely irrespective +of what utilities they might lead to. + +I do not intend by these remarks to imply that any new trades or +improvements in manufactures have been or can be effected without the +labours of inventors and practical men, but that there should be a more +judicious division of labour: one man to discover new truths, another to +put them into the form of practical inventions, and the business man to +work them; because it is proved by experience, that in nearly all cases +these different kinds of labour require men of widely different habits of +mind, and {6} that the faculties of discovery, invention, and practical +working are very rarely united in one man. + +Scientific investigations however, made in a manufactory, for the purpose +of ascertaining the various sources of loss of materials, the circumstances +which affect the amount or quality of the product; or made with the object +of substituting cheaper or more suitable materials, or for varying their +proportions, or for many other kindred objects, have in many cases resulted +in great benefit to the manufacturer, and have formed the basis of +successful patents. Some of the large brewers, chemical manufacturers, +candle companies, and many others, constantly employ scientific men in this +way to examine their materials, processes and products, and keep them +acquainted with the progress of discovery and invention in relation to +their own particular trades. + +No art or manufacture is so perfect as to be exempt from the influence of +discovery and invention, and no man can produce so perfect an article but +that, by the aid of science, a better may be produced. Science and trade +are mutually dependent, without the assistance of science, trade would be +unable to supply our daily increasing wants, and without the pecuniary +support of trade, science would languish and decay. + +"As long as arts and manufactures are left to be directed and improved by +simple experience, their progress is extremely slow, but directly +scientific knowledge is successfully applied to them, they {7} bound +forward with astonishing speed." Look at the art of taking portraits; for +hundreds of years it remained entirely in the hands of oil and water-colour +painters with but little progress in rapidity of production, but directly +science was applied to it in the form of photography, its advance in this +respect became amazing. Fifty years ago photography was almost unknown, but +immediately Messrs. Daguerre and Talbot, in 1844, made known their +processes, the new art began to advance, and so rapid has been its +progress, that at the present time many thousand persons are employed in +its exercise, and millions of portraits have been taken with an accuracy +and at a cost quite beyond the reach of the old method. + +Many persons hardly know the difference between science and art; a still +greater number cannot readily distinguish between a concrete science and a +pure one; and nearly all persons confound discovery with invention. A +science may be conveniently defined as a collection of facts and general +principles which are to be learned; an art as a collection of rules which +are to be followed:--Art therefore is applied science; and every art also +has a basis in science, whether that basis has been discovered or not. +Scientific principles underlie not only manufacturing processes, but also +sculpture, music, poetry and painting. + +Discoveries differ also from inventions: a scientific discovery is a newly +found truth in science, which in the great majority of cases is not in the +form of {8} applied knowledge. An invention is usually a combination and +application to some desired purpose, of scientific truths which have been +previously discovered. When Oersted first observed a magnetic needle move +by means of a current of electricity, he made a scientific discovery; but +when Wheatstone and Cooke applied Oersted's discovery in their telegraph +from Paddington to Slough, they made an invention. The success of the +electro-plating process was dependent upon knowledge previously discovered. +Mr. Wright, a surgeon in Birmingham, was led to the invention of the use of +cyanide of potassium in electro-plating and gilding, by reading in +Scheele's "Chemical Essay" (p.p. 405 and 406), that "if after these calces" +(_i.e._, the cyanides of gold and silver) "have been precipitated, a +sufficient quantity of precipitating liquor be added, in order to +redissolve them, the solution remains clear in the open air, and in this +state the ærial acid" (_i.e._, carbonic acid of the air) "does not +reprecipitate the metallic calx." + +Immediately a discovery is effected it is made public, and is afterwards +incorporated in the ordinary text books of science, ready for the use of +inventors; and in this way such books have become filled with valuable +knowledge acquired by researches in past times. All this knowledge (which +has cost millions of pounds and a vast amount of intellect and labour) has +been given by its discoverers freely to the nation. Some idea of the number +of scientific {9} researches which have been made since the year 1800, may +be obtained from the fact, that a mere list of their titles, with the names +of the authors, occupies eight large quarto volumes, of about one thousand +pages each, compiled and published at a cost of about ten thousand pounds, +by the British Government and the Royal Society. + +In discovery we search for new phenomena, their causes and relations; in +invention we seek to produce new effects, or to produce known effects in an +improved manner. The objects of the scientific discoverer are, new truth +and greater accuracy; whereas those of the inventor, are increased +usefulness and economy of results. The ancients classed inventors with the +gods, because they considered them great benefactors to the human race. +Discoverers may properly be viewed as priests and prophets of truth, +because they both reveal new knowledge to mankind, and predict with +certainty coming events. + +A man cannot usually invent an improvement unless he possesses scientific +knowledge, and, for that knowledge he must in nearly all cases resort to a +scientific book or teacher. The great practical value of new scientific +knowledge is proved by the fact, that when scientific discoveries are +published, there are numerous inventors and practical men, who immediately +endeavour to apply them to useful purposes. Since the first application of +coal-tar to the production of dyes, every discovery in that {10} branch of +chemistry has been closely watched for a similar purpose. + +A complete account of the growth and development of scientific discoveries +and inventions would form an extensive history, and would include numerous +instances of experiments attended by results which, sooner or later, +affected all mankind. Take that of phosphorus, for example. The first +evidence of the existence of that substance was obtained by the Saracens in +the eighth century. Achild Bechil distilled a powdered mixture of charcoal, +clay, lime, and dried extract of urine, and obtained a substance which +shone in the dark "like a good moon;" that substance was phosphorus. The +discovery contained in the results of that little dirty and stinking +experiment was the germ or seed of all the subsequent developments and +applications of phosphorus. About the year 1669 Bechil's experiment was +further developed by Brandt, a merchant of Hamburg, and the publication of +the wonderful properties of the substance produced a great sensation in his +fellow-citizens. "There was then cried nothing but triumph and victory +among the chymists. Those good people erected already in their thoughts so +many hospitals and poor-houses that no beggar should more molest any man in +the streets, made great legacies, and pious causes, and what not else." +"Besides, the other alchymists did encourage him yet more, and desisted not +to make him believe how this was the same fiery ghost of {11} Moses that in +the beginning moved upon the water, yea, his splendid shining face: the +fiery pillar in the desert, that secret fire of the altar wherewith Moses +burned the golden calf before he strewed it upon the fire and made it +potable." + +The experiment of Brandt was repeated by Kunckel before the courts of +Saxony and Brandenburg, although it was not a very delicate or agreeable +exhibition, "because the anctuous and daubing oyliness was not yet +accurately separated from it, and without doubt it was very stinking." +Brandt's process was further developed by Boyle, and published in the +Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, in the year 1692-3; and +phosphorus was afterwards obtained in larger quantity and in a purer state +by Hanckwitz, a chemist in Southampton Street, Strand, and sold by him at +three pounds sterling per ounce. Its price at present is less than three +shillings per pound. + +Margraaf, Fourcroy, Vauquelin, and Dr. Slare also extended our knowledge of +the substance; Gahn, in 1769, made the important discovery of phosphorus in +bones, and Scheele immediately devised the process now in use by our +manufacturers for extracting it from that substance. The commencement of +the use of phosphorus for the purpose of getting a light occurred about the +year 1803, but it was not until the year 1833 that the invention of +phosphorus matches became commercially successful. The use of such matches +is now universal, and it has {12} been estimated that the daily consumption +of them in Great Britain alone amounts to two hundred and fifty millions, +or more than eight matches per day for each individual in the kingdom. + +"There is nothing on the Earth so small that it may not produce great +things." The most abstract and apparently trivial experiments in original +research have in some cases led to inventions and results of national and +even world-wide importance. The contractions of a frog's leg in the +experiments of Galvani, and the movements of a magnetic needle in those of +Oersted, have already led to the expenditure of hundreds of millions of +pounds in laying telegraph wires all over the earth, and to an immense +extension of international intercourse. But the original experiment of +Oersted was not discovered without labour, it was only arrived at after +many years of research. + +The saying that "all great things have had small beginnings," is true, not +only of electric telegraphs, but also of the great trade of +electro-plating, and of the magneto-electric machine which is now largely +used instead of the voltaic battery. After Volta had made his small and +apparently unimportant experiments on the electricity produced by metals +and liquids, various persons tried the effect of that electricity upon +metallic solutions. Brugnatelli, in 1805, found that two silver medals +became gilded in a solution of gold by passing the electricity through +them. Mr. Henry Bessemer, in 1834, coated various {13} lead ornaments with +copper by using a solution of copper in a similar manner. And in 1836 Mr. +De la Rue found that copies might be taken in copper of engraved +copper-plates by the electro-depositing process. Faraday discovered +magneto-electricity in the year 1831, by rotating a disc of copper between +the poles of a magnet, and he has stated that the first successful result +he obtained was so small that he could hardly detect it. This simple +experiment was the origin of the magneto-electric machine, and many of +these machines are now used for producing the electric light, and for +depositing nickel, copper, silver, and gold, instead of by the voltaic +battery. These, and other engines, thermic, magnetic, electric, &c, will +probably, ere long, be constructed on as large a scale, and as many in +number, as the present steam engine. + +The discovery in olden times of the attractive properties of a fragment of +iron ore, was the basis of the invention of the mariner's compass, which +greatly improved navigation, and led to nearly all the chief maritime +discoveries which have since been made. The sciences of magnetism and +geometry form the basis of the art of navigation, and have thus made our +great foreign commerce possible. The discovery of magnetism enabled sailing +vessels to venture freely out of sight of land, and to traverse the wide +ocean with even greater safety than to sail near the shore. By its means +Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean and discovered America. By its {14} +means also, Vasco de Gama sailed round the Cape of Good Hope and discovered +a new route to India; and in the year 1500, another Portuguese Captain, +Cabral, was driven across the Atlantic, discovered Brazil, and was enabled +by the aid of the magnet, to send back a ship to Lisbon with news of the +discovery. By its assistance also Magellan discovered Patagonia and the +South Pacific Ocean; and by the completion of that voyage the Earth was +first circumnavigated and proved to be a globe. + +The geographical discoveries of the Portuguese, made by means of the +magnet, produced great national results; they profoundly changed the +balance of power and wealth among European nations, by changing the +direction of navigation and of the great streams of commerce between Europe +and the East. They gave a mortal blow to Italy and the cities of the +Mediterranean, by transferring Eastern commerce to Spain and Portugal: and +Egypt ceased to be the greatest route of commerce from Europe to India. + +A singular contract relating to geographical research was made in the +fifteenth century, between King Alphonso, of Portugal, and Ferdinand Gomez, +of Lisbon, by which the latter engaged to navigate a ship and explore the +coast of Africa, and to discover not less than three hundred miles of coast +every year, the measurement to be made from Sierra Leone. {15} + +Scientific discovery has in all ages been a most powerful agent of +civilization and human progress. The discovery of the black liquid which a +solution of nutgalls produces when mixed with green vitriol, led to the +invention of writing ink; and a knowledge of the properties of ink and +paper prepared the way for the invention of printing, by means of which +truth and learning have spread all over the earth. + +The apparently insignificant property possessed by amber, of attracting +feathers immediately after it has been rubbed, was known twenty-four +hundred years ago, and afterwards led to the discovery of electricity. In +later times, Dr. Franklin, by means of a kite, charged a bottle with +lightning, examined it, and proved lightning and electricity to be +identical. This knowledge, joined to the further discovery, that +electricity would pass freely through metals, led to the modern invention +of the lightning conductor, by means of which all our great buildings, +ships, lighthouses, arsenals, and powder magazines are protected from +lightning. + +"Coming events cast their shadows before them:" the discovery of the +instant transmission of electricity along wires by Stephen Gray and +Wheeler, about the year 1729, fore-shadowed the invention of the electric +telegraph. About the year 1819, Oersted, a Danish philosopher, after +fifteen years of study and experiment, to ascertain the relation of +electricity to magnetism, discovered that if a freely suspended magnetic +needle was supported parallel and near to {16} a wire, and an electric +current then passed through the wire, the needle moved and placed itself at +right angles to the current. This discovery, coupled with the previous one +of the electric conductivity of metals, formed the indispensable basis of +all our electric telegraphs. + +Original research is very productive of new industries and inventions. The +discoveries made by Volta, Faraday, and many other investigators, have led +to the process of electro-plating, the use of electric lights for +lighthouses, and for ocean steamships, and the great system of telegraphs. +Those of Davy, Wedgwood, and others, respecting the action of light upon +salts of silver, have resulted in the modern processes of photography, +which are now in use almost everywhere. The discovery of zinc, by +Paracelsus, has been followed by the use of that metal in galvanic +batteries, and the great use of "galvanized" iron for telegraph wires, for +roofing, and many other purposes. The discovery of nickel, by Cronstedt, +has led to the great modern use of that metal in electro-plating, and to +that of German silver in the construction of electro-plated and other +articles. The discovery of chlorine, by Scheele, formed the basis of nearly +all our modern processes of bleaching cotton and other fabrics. The +discovery of gun-cotton and nitro-glycerine has led to the use of those +substances in blasting rocks and in warfare. The discovery of oxygen, by +Priestley, has enabled us to understand and improve in a great number of +{17} ways the numerous manufacturing, agricultural, and other processes in +which that substance operates. Priestley made many experiments also on the +absorption of gases by water, and proposed the resulting liquids as +beverages; and those apparently trifling experiments have since expanded +into the large manufactures of aërated waters. The discoveries of +gutta-percha and india-rubber were indispensible to the great applications +of those substances in telegraph cables, and in a multitude of useful +articles. The discovery of chloroform and anæsthetics has led to their use +for the purpose of alleviating human suffering. The discovery, by Sir Isaac +Newton, of the decomposition of light by means of a prism, has led in +recent times to the invention of the spectroscope; to the use of that +instrument in the Bessemer steel process; to the discovery of a number of +new metals, thallium, rubidium, cæsium, indium, and several others, and to +the most wonderful discovery of the composition of the Sun and distant +heavenly bodies. + +Even the invention of the steam-engine was partly a consequence of previous +researches made by scientific discoverers. Watt, himself, stated in his +pamphlet, entitled "A plain Story," that he could not have perfected his +engine had not Dr. Black and others previously discovered what amount of +heat was rendered latent by the conversion of water into steam. "Each +mechanical advance in the steam-engine has been preceded by and the result +of the {18} discovery of some physical law or property of steam." "The +first step in the invention of the steam-engine was the experimental +research and the discoveries of the properties of steam by Hooke, Boyle, +and Papin."[2] Had not the steam-engine been developed, it is clear that +railways, steamships, machinery, and all the other numerous uses to which +that instrument is now applied, would have been almost unknown. The +introduction of the steam-engine enabled abandoned Cornish mines to be +relieved of water, and to be worked to much greater depths. The discoveries +of nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, oil of vitriol, and washing soda, by the +alchemists and early chemists in their researches, led to the erection of +the numerous great manufactories of those substances which now exist in +England and in other civilized countries. There is probably not an art, +manufacture, or process, which is not largely due to scientific discovery, +and if we trace them back to their source we nearly always find them +originate in scientific research. + +So far has scientific discovery, and its practical applications to human +benefit by invention, now progressed, that every one considers this to be, +_par excellence_, the scientific age. And as discovery and invention +continue to progress with accelerated speed, we are encouraged to hope, not +only that scientific principles will ultimately be universally recognised +as {19} the regulators of all technical industry, but also as a fundamental +basis of morality.[3] + +"It is true that some processes of manufacture have not been consequences +of abstract scientific discovery--that they originally resulted from +alterations made in the rudest appliances, and that they have been directed +and improved by the results of simple experience. For ages past we derived +the benefit of scientific principles without a knowledge of their +existence. We trod in the beaten paths of experience ignorant of the truth +that we were acting in unison with fixed and certain laws. Numerous arts +and processes were in extensive operation long before the principles +involved in them were at all understood. The arts of enamelling and of iron +smelting were known hundreds of years before we were acquainted with the +principles of chemistry. In some rare instances also the recorded results +of daily experience in practical matters, tabulated and studied, have +ultimately led to the discovery of scientific laws; but all this is merely +the making use of our ordinary experience for the advancement of knowledge, +instead of making _special experiments_ for the purpose." + +Many of our processes and manufactures, those of glass and copper for +example, are of such great antiquity, it is impossible to ascertain with +certainty the special circumstances under which they originated; but after +we have fully considered the ways in which {20} various modern trades and +manufactures have first arisen, we shall come to the conclusion that all +manufactures and improvements in manufacturing processes, must have been +first produced by the same general means, viz., new observations, although +the special circumstances connected with the origin of each were different. + +Let us consider German-silver and its manufacture. That substance is an +alloy of copper, zinc, and nickel; it owes its peculiar whiteness or +"silver-like" appearance to the latter metal, and cannot be made without +it; it is certain, therefore, that by whatever means that metal or the +alloy was discovered, the discovery was the origin of the German-silver +manufacture, and was essential to all manufactures, processes, or +appliances in which German-silver, nickel, or any of its compounds are +used. Nickel was discovered by Cronstedt during the year 1751, and its +compounds were chiefly investigated by English and foreign chemists. +Cronstedt found it as a peculiar metal in the mineral called kupfernickel, +whilst chemically examining the properties of that substance. The general +method by which he discovered it was careful experiment, observation, and +study of the properties of matter. + +It is stated that the Chinese and other nations made alloys of nickel long +before nickel itself was known to be a distinct metal; they had found, by +experiment, that when ores of copper and zinc were mixed with a particular +kind of mineral and smelted, {21} a white alloy was obtained; but this also +proves the general statement already made, that the German-silver +manufacture was originated by means of new observations. It was by a more +skilful, but similar mode of procedure that Cronstedt isolated the metal +itself, and thus laid a definite basis of improvements in the manufacture +of its alloys. + +No art is probably more antique, or remained longer exempt from the +influence of science, than that of match making and obtaining a light. Many +adult persons can remember the primitive and old-fashioned tinder-box, +which had passed, with its flint and steel, from one generation to another +without any material improvement. Phosphorus, it is true, was definitely +discovered at least as early as the year 1669, but it was not applied to +match making till about 1833. Since then the progress of invention has been +so rapid that there are now numerous manufactories which produce many +millions per day of phosphorus matches; for instance, those of M. Pollak, +at Vienna, and of M. Fürth, in Bohemia, consume together more than 20 tons +of phosphorus annually, and give employment to about 6,000 persons, and as +one pound of phosphorus suffices for about one million German matches (or +600,000 English ones), those two makers alone produce the astonishing +number of 44,800 millions of matches yearly. + +Judging by means of the experience already acquired, we cannot reasonably +expect that {22} discoveries fraught with such momentous consequences as +those of magnetism or of galvanism and electro-magnetism, will be made very +often. The progress of scientific discovery is gradual; we have at present +but mere glimpses of the new world of truth which is being revealed to us +by means of research; we are only at the very commencement of a knowledge +of the inherent properties of matter and its forces, and consequently the +methods we employ to utilize them are extremely imperfect. Matter has a +general property of subdividing and transmuting forces; if we apply one +force to a substance or machine, it produces many effects, not only those +we want, but those also we do not want; when we heat a piece of iron, the +heat produces a number of changes, mechanical, electric, magnetic, and +chemical, and it is partly by means of what is termed the "internal +resistance" of bodies that these effects are produced, and we know but +little of that property. The explosive action in a gas engine produces not +only the mechanical force we desire, but also a quantity of heat we do not +want, and at a cost of a portion of the gas. In a similar manner, in the +steam-engine the largest portion of the heat of the coal is converted into +forces which are lost; a large amount of it is uselessly expended in +warming the machine itself and the surrounding atmosphere; much also is +lost by friction. + +That "knowledge is power" is an old maxim, but that _new knowledge is new +power_ is a new maxim {23} which scientific discovery has impressed upon +us. By means of discoveries we have acquired new powers; by those of +electricity we have acquired the ability of conversing with each other at +unlimited distances, and by means of those in optics we are enabled to +analyse the composition, and perceive some of the physical changes of the +most distant heavenly bodies. As our ignorance is probably much greater +than our knowledge, more inventions also, and extensions of human power, +must ultimately result from discovering new qualities of bodies, than by +applying to useful purposes their already known properties. + +Experience in science has already shown that it is by means of invention +based upon _new_ discoveries that the greatest utilities are obtained, +rather than by the exercise of invention upon knowledge acquired long ago. +The information obtained by research in former times has been largely +exhausted for the purposes of invention by modern inventors, and what we +very greatly require now is _new_ knowledge. Experience in science also +leads us to believe that the extent of possible discovery is as boundless +as Nature, and that an immense amount of new knowledge may yet be +discovered. Every discoverer of repute could supply a copious list of +investigations yet to be made. + +An infinite number of questions in pure science remain to be decided by +means of research. Is Electricity decomposible like radiant heat or light? +{24} Are the "elementary substances" really compound bodies? Are they all +compounds of Hydrogen? Are they all decomposed by very high temperatures, +as compound substances are "disassociated" by less elevated temperatures? +Under what conditions is Fluorine isolated? Do gases transmit heat by +conduction? Under what circumstances is Light converted into Electricity? +and into Magnetism? What is the actual size of an atom of Hydrogen? Does +Light (without heat) expand bodies? What is the actual molecular +arrangement of the atoms of Hydrogen at 60 Fahrenheit? What is the cause of +the absence of metalloids in the Sun? What are the properties of Fluorine? +What is the vapour density of Cæsium? Under what circumstances is heat +wholly converted into mechanical power? &c., &c. All these discoveries when +made, will probably, sooner or later, be productive of practical benefits +to mankind. + +Nearly every manufacturer in this country is deriving, from scientific +discoveries, advantages for which there has been little or no payment made +to the discoverers. The makers of coal-tar-dyes, and dyers of wool and +silk, are using Mitscherlich's discovery of nitro-benzine. Manufacturers of +picric acid and "French purple" have enjoyed the fruits of the labours of +Dr. Stenhouse. Makers of chlorate of potash and cyanide of potassium are +profiting largely by the discoveries of Scheele, Gay-Lussac, and others. +All the percussion cap makers {25} are indebted to Howard and Brugnatelli +for fulminating silver. Railway-contractors, quarry-proprietors, and +others, use nitro-glycerine discovered by Sobrero. Iron smelters are +benefiting by the discovery of Bunsen, that 42 per cent. of the heat of the +fuel was lost as combustible gases--these gases are now utilized. +Telegraphists and electro-platers are also indebted to him for his voltaic +battery. The producers of metallic magnesium owe the origin of their +process to him as being the first to convert it into wire and make known +its great light giving power. Multitudes of persons now use his well-known +"Bunsen's burner" for heating, cooking, and other operations. The various +telegraph companies, copper smelters, and makers of copper telegraph wire, +are using Dr. Matthiessen's discovery of the influence of impurities on the +electric conducting power of copper. Phosphorus-makers are reaping the +reward of the labours of Gahn and Scheele. The makers of electro-plate and +German silver are deriving profits from the labours of Faraday, who +investigated electrolysis; of Gay Lussac, who discovered cyanogen; and of +Cronstedt, who discovered nickel. Makers of Bessemer steel enjoy advantages +derived from the spectrum discoveries of Kirchoff. Iron and copper +smelters, metallurgists in general, dyers, calico printers, bleachers, +brewers, makers of vinegar, red lead, varnishes, colours, soaps, green +vitriol, phosphorus, oil-of-vitriol, and many others, are deriving benefit +from the discoveries of Priestley and {26} Scheele. Physicians and their +patients are receiving the reward of the labours of Soubeiran, Liebig, and +Dumas, in the discovery of chloroform; of the researches of Fourcroy, +Vauquelin, Pelletier, and others, in the discovery of quinine; and of many +other chemists who discovered numerous remedial substances. By means of the +discoveries of Oersted and others, embodied in the telegraph, manufacturers +are enabled to anticipate the state of the markets and of the weather, and +editors are enabled to obtain the earliest news. + +Suppose that Gay Lussac, in 1815, had not discovered cyanide of potassium, +and that it had never been discovered, it is highly probable that the +manufacturing returns of Birmingham and Sheffield would be much less in +amount at the present time than they are, simply because there is no other +known substance with which the electro-plating of base metals with gold and +silver can be satisfactorily effected. Or suppose that sal-ammoniac, +chloride of zinc, or other soldering agents had not been discovered, the +extensive and so-called "galvanizing" process could not have been effected, +because without those substances the iron articles immersed in the melted +zinc would not have received an adhesive metallic coating. + +On the other hand, science has in various cases rendered obsolete some +manufactures and superseded old customs, comforts and conveniences. We have +ceased, or almost so, to use tinder-boxes, snuffers, {27} sulphur matches, +rush-lights, tallow candles, sedan chairs, stage coaches, the ancient +water-bucket and well, and even the comparatively modern pump; coal fires +also are gradually being superseded by fires of gas, and articles formed of +solid silver are now being replaced by those of electro-plate; canals have +also to some extent been supplanted by railways. But in all these cases +science has supplied us either with something better or more suited to our +present wants. + +The great pecuniary benefits arising from the applications of science are +generally reaped in the first instance by the great manufacturers, +agriculturists, merchants, and capitalists. Countless fortunes have been +made by means of processes and manufactures based upon scientific +discovery. The pecuniary benefits of calico printing, bleaching, dyeing; of +the great manufactures of cotton, iron, pottery, beer, sugar, glass, +spirits, vinegar, gutta-percha, india-rubber, gun cotton, the numerous +metals, machinery, electro-plate, washing soda, German silver, brass, +phosphorus, manures, the common acids, numerous chemicals, and a multitude +of other substances and articles, have been extremely great. More than +eighteen hundred million pounds of sulphuric acid alone are manufactured in +Europe yearly. The pecuniary advantages of the use of the electric +telegraph and railways to merchants, the gains of capitalists by monies +invested in railways, telegraphs, steam-ships, cotton-mills, gas-works, +{28} iron shipbuilding, engineering, and other great applications of +science, have been enormous. The annual gas rental of London alone amounts +to more than two millions sterling; and even in Birmingham the produce of +gas is more than twenty-five hundred millions of cubic feet yearly. The +amount of capital expended in the construction of railways only in this +country, has been estimated at more than seven hundred millions of pounds, +and the total receipts upon British railways has reached forty-three +millions per annum. In the year 1875 our railways carried 200 million tons +of goods, and consumed ten million tons of coal; the Great Northern Railway +alone consumes 5,000 tons of coal each week. In the year 1877 there existed +in the entire world about 198,000 miles of railway, the whole having been +constructed since the year 1825. In the year 1880 six hundred millions of +journeys were made by passengers on British railways; and the stock of +those railways included 13,174 locomotives; 369,694 waggons, 28,717 +passenger carriages, and 22,712 other vehicles. The London and +North-Western Railway Company alone possessed, in the year 1873, no less +than 1,900 locomotive engines, each of a value of nearly two thousand +pounds; 4,000 carriages and 36,000 waggons; and it has been estimated by +competent authorities, that there are in the world 200,000 steam-engines, +having a total power of twelve million horses, or 100 million men. The +number of cotton spindles on the whole Earth is {29} estimated at about 71Œ +millions. In the United States of America there are about five thousand +telegraph stations, and 75,000 miles of line, which transmit yearly about +11,500,000 messages.--The telegrams of Great Britain number about +one-fourth of a million per week. The world's telegrams during the year +1877 numbered nearly 130 millions; and the world's letters about 3,300 +millions, or 9Œ millions each day. Even the little phosphorus match is +being manufactured and consumed at a rate estimated at more than ten +thousand millions daily. + +Much of the wealth of this country, resulting from science, has been very +easily obtained by its possessors. That acquired by means of our coal has +especially been obtained without commensurate effort. The amount of that +substance raised in Great Britain during the year 1876 was 734 millions of +tons. To draw upon a great stock of that mineral is like drawing money from +a bank, because coal, unlike any other abundant substance (except wood and +petroline), contains in itself an immense store of energy, which is evolved +as heat during combustion, and may be utilized. Each piece of coal contains +sufficient energy to lift its own weight twenty-three hundred miles, but it +costs only a small proportion of that power to extract and raise it from +the mine. I do not mean by these remarks to imply that the wealth accruing +from this great store of power in coal is derived chiefly by the owners of +coal mines. {30} + +This acquisition of wealth without commensurate sacrifice is not an +unqualified advantage; it constitutes a debt to nature, which upon the +great principle of causation, and of equivalency of action and reaction, +must sooner or later be repaid. Judging from the infallibility of the +action of those laws, and the signs of the times, this nation is now +beginning to repay in the form of emigration of trade to other lands, and +of relatively less rapid national advance, the debt incurred by undue +pecuniary success. An excess of money or power obtained without equivalent +effort, fails to properly develop the intelligence of its possessors, and +nations have been hastened to ruin in this way. Our great success in +getting money has attracted many from the pursuit of knowledge, and our +love of knowledge has not increased as fast as our wealth. The wealth of +the upper classes has, by decoying from study undisciplined young men at +our old Universities, kept down the general standard of scientific +instruction throughout the country, and, by leading to neglect of +scientific research, is now retarding our progress in arts, manufactures, +commerce, and civilization. The consequent relative poverty of the working +classes is also producing similar effects by retarding education, and +contributing towards the great deficiency of skilled labour, of which our +inventors, manufacturers, and others so strongly complain in the working of +their scientific processes. Had a just share of the great amount of money, +gained by the application of science to useful {31} purposes, been applied +to the payment and maintenance of scientific discoverers and inventors, as +it should have been, the general standard of scientific education would +have been higher, the poor would have had more employment and money, and +the happiness and civilization of all would have been greater. + +In a usual way the greatest pecuniary benefits, arising from science, +sooner or later go to enrich the possessors of land. The demand created for +coal, iron, lime, building-stone, and all the metals, by the industrial +applications of science, has greatly increased the value of land under +which those substances lie. The value of cultivated land has been +everywhere increased by the discoveries of agricultural chemistry. Land has +also been required for railways in nearly all parts of the kingdom, and has +thereby been considerably raised in value. Discoveries produce inventions, +inventions give rise to processes and manufactures, the employment of +workmen and others, and the erection of workshops and dwellings, and these +have rapidly increased the value of building ground. In Lancashire the +value of such ground has been greatly increased by the inventions of the +steam-engine and machinery, the discovery of chlorine, and their +application to cotton manufacture. In all the great manufacturing +districts, and in all the chief centres of industry, a similar result has +occurred. Wherever a railway has been constructed, the value of land has +also increased in {32} consequence of the increased facilities of +communication. All these great additions to the value of land are largely +due to the unpaid labours of scientific discoverers, and it may be said +that this nation has largely gained its wealth, and is still living in a +great degree on the products of those labours. Those great additions to the +value of land are also permanent, are continually increasing, and are +largely independent of any exertions on the part of the owners. That many +other influences, besides that of science, have contributed to the +development of our manufacturing and commercial prosperity is also true, +but it would be foreign to the subject of the present chapter to point them +out. + +It is a fallacious argument to say that scientific discovery and increased +value of land are only remotely connected together, a cause as certainly +produces its effect, however many connections lie between them, provided +the connections are certain--the number of links in a chain makes no +difference in the transmission of motion from one end of it to the other. +Great causes are frequently distant and wide-spread in their effects. +Persons in general can easily understand that an acorn planted in the +ground will in the course of time become an oak, because it is a palpable +and visible effect; but they cannot so readily perceive that the benefits +resulting from a knowledge of science ramify through all our manufacturing, +artistic, and commercial occupations, our social and moral {33} relations, +and our every-day life, not because the dependence of our welfare upon +science is less real, but partly because the connection between the two is +less understood. + +Not only has science benefited manufacturers, but also operatives, because +the extension of science to manufacturing purposes has compelled them to +make themselves acquainted with intellectual subjects. "Instead of +remaining mere machines, mechanically performing the work set before them, +they are obliged to exercise the faculties of observation and judgment in +watching the results and directing the action of mechanical, physical, and +chemical powers. Instead of following the blind path of experience, using +unknown forces to accomplish some definite result, they pursue their +labours with the aid of known and certain laws." It is true that in many +cases artisans who have acquired a little knowledge of science have thereby +been rendered conceited and unfit for their special employment, and this +has made many manufacturers object to technical scientific education for +their servants; but this would not be so much the case if scientific +knowledge were more generally and equally diffused. Arguments are not +unfrequently adduced to support the opinion that ignorance has its +advantages; but, however great the advantages of ignorance may be, those of +knowledge are greater. + +In consequence of the labours of scientific discoverers and inventors, the +progress of science is {34} such that in a very few years a knowledge of it +will be indispensible to all persons engaged in superintending or carrying +out manufacturing operations, and in all arts, occupations and appointments +in which man is dealing with matter. Science is fast penetrating into all +our manufactures and occupations, and "those who are unscientific will have +much less employment and will be left behind in the race of life." England +also will be compelled, by the necessities of human progress and the +advance of foreign intellect, to determine and recognize the proper value +of scientific research as a basis of progress. National superiority can +only be maintained by being first in the race, and not by buying inventions +of other nations. + +The philosophy of matter is the foundation of all manufacturing arts and +artistic processes; technical education, or the relation of science to +manufactures, &c., can only be properly imparted upon the basis of a +sufficient knowledge of theoretical science. Science tends to abbreviate +mental and bodily labour. The use of our reason saves us the labour of +using our senses, because it enables us to know that under certain +conditions a certain effect must occur. The use of our reason and senses +also saves us using our hands. + +The properties of a single substance are so numerous that if a workman was +to thoroughly study the whole of them, he would become a scientific +authority in the subjects of heat, light, electricity, {35} magnetism, and +chemistry. A blacksmith who knew all the physical and chemical properties +and relations of iron and steel would be quite a scientific philosopher. + +No man has more occasion to bless the introduction of the steam-engine, +machinery, the galvanic battery, and science in general, than the working +mechanic, because it has mitigated his physical toil by giving him the duty +of simply directing the labour instead of actually performing it; whilst it +has deprived him of one kind of employment it has provided him with +something better. But a few years ago the operatives in the silver-plating +trade had to lay the silver on the articles with their hands, with the aid +of a soldering iron; now they have simply to set their batteries in action +and watch the electricity doing it for them. In a similar manner the +working engineer at his metal-turning lathe has merely to direct the action +of his tools whilst the steam-engine performs the heavy labour of turning. + +There is not a man in this kingdom who has not derived some advantage, in +one way or another, from scientific research. The advantages of gas light, +electric light, rapid postal service and transmission of goods, railway +travelling, steam-ships for navigation, cotton apparel, photography, cheap +pottery, improved medicine and surgery, telegraphic forecasts of weather, +Australian preserved meats, &c., &c., have been reaped more or less by +everyone, even the very paupers. Not only has travelling been {36} +considerably cheapened and immensely increased, but also rendered more +safe:--in travelling by diligence in France the average number of persons +injured was 1 to every 30,000 carried; and killed, 1 in every 335,000; but +by railway, notwithstanding the average length of the journey has greatly +increased, the former has been diminished to 1 in 580,000, and the latter +to one in five millions; safety in travelling by sea has also been greatly +increased by means of improved lighthouses. By the rapid transmission of +messages by telegraphs and of commodities by steam-ships and railways, the +horrors of famine have been largely diminished; the health of this nation +has also been improved by greater variety of foods, and the increasing cost +of meat has been restrained. It is well known that in periods of famine, +the great loss of life has arisen, not from universal scarcity of food, but +from the loss of time in ordering and conveying it. Whilst also the +steam-engine has been the means of relieving hundreds of thousands of men +from mere animal toil; it has, with the aid of the printing-press, supplied +them with cheap daily intelligence. + +Science has also proved itself to be a great source of employment, as well +as wealth. By developing new processes it has given employment to whole +armies of workmen in numerous arts, manufactures, and occupations. Some of +those employments necessitating scientific training. About 300,000 persons +are employed on railways alone in Great {37} Britain, besides those who +were engaged in their construction; and in the postal department alone of +the telegraph service of this country more than fifteen thousand operatives +are employed. Chemical works also find employment for twenty-six thousand, +and gasworks for ten thousand work people. The telegraphs of the United +States of America alone, provide employment for about 7,000 persons; and +the railways of the world employ about 1,900,000 men. + +It may be objected that the extension of science in this country, instead +of increasing employment for workmen has produced an opposite effect, by so +increasing the production of goods by machinery, and by physical and +chemical processes, that we have glutted the markets of the world in years +gone by, and are now suffering the results of over-production. This is a +very limited view of the case; over-production is only true of particular +manufactures, and is a result of ill-directed commercial energy, to which +manufacturing skill is only a servant. The objection also contains its own +reply;--that it is certainly much greater to our advantage to have supplied +other nations with manufactured commodities, than that other nations should +have supplied us, as they would have done had they the manufacturing skill. +At present, however, continental nations are gradually supplanting us in +manufactures; and gradually supplying us with the goods which we {38} +formerly supplied them, and our fear is that this is largely a result of +our neglect of science. + +In many cases instead of superseding labour, science has changed its kind, +or its mode of distribution;--in the case of steam-ships, instead of +navigation being conducted entirely by nautical ability, it is partly +effected by the skill of the engineer; conveyance of goods by road and +canal has not been entirely supplanted, but partly supplemented by +conveyance by railways. The diminution of labour which sometimes occurs in +consequence of the progress of science is extremely small compared with its +increase. The number of waggoners and horses now employed, merely to +collect and deliver all the goods for railways, is actually much greater +than the whole of those employed for conveying all the goods of the country +before railways were constructed. + +It would be altogether a false argument to say that the practical benefits +derived from the labour of scientific discoverers by the different classes +of the community are uncertain or imaginary, because the discoveries and +the practical benefits are not in all cases immediately connected. We know +that the consumers of tea in this country derive benefit from the grower of +that herb in China through the hands of a series of intervening agents, as +certainly as if they received the tea direct from his hands. Cause and +effect are inseparable, and the remote effect of a {39} series of connected +causes is not less certain than the immediate ones. + +It is a remarkable fact, that of the multitude of rich manufacturers, +merchants, capitalists, and land-owners in this country, who have derived +such great pecuniary benefits from original scientific research, there is +scarcely one who has ever given to a scientific society, institution, or +investigator, a single thousand pounds for the aid of pure research in +experimental physics or chemistry;[4] the nearest approach to exceptions +are a very few wealthy persons who have devoted themselves personally to +scientific discovery. Manufacturers have willingly reaped the advantages of +the labours of unpaid discoverers, but have not adequately sowed the means +of future progress. Many of those manufacturers and others would, however, +willingly give money towards such an object if they understood the value +and the necessity of scientific research. + +Whilst also many millions of pounds are annually expended in this country +upon religious, philanthropic and other good objects, there is scarcely a +scientific society or institution (with the exception of the Royal Society +and the British Association) which expends even the small sum of five +hundred pounds a year on pure experimental research in physics or {40} +chemistry. In the Royal Institution of Great Britain, the average annual +expenses relating to experimental research, including salaries to +assistants for research in the laboratory, from the year 1867 to 1871, did +not amount to two hundred and fifty pounds. On the other hand, the "total +net receipts" of the British and Foreign Bible Society alone, amount to +about £213,000 a year. These circumstances strongly indicate extreme +ignorance of the value and necessity of new scientific knowledge, and an +equally strong desire to aid any good object which is understood. The money +given to charitable and religious objects is largely a result of the unpaid +labours of scientific investigators in the manner already described. The +fact that verifiable truth is seriously neglected, whilst millions of +pounds are annually devoted in this country to the support of dogmas and +doctrines, proves that the English nation is even now in a very imperfectly +civilized state. + +Considering the multiplicity and variety of philanthropic institutions and +bequests in this country, and the great effect original scientific research +has in ameliorating the condition of mankind, and reducing the amount of +human misery, it is surprising that no wealthy philanthropic individual has +bequeathed funds for the endowment of an institution for pure research in +physics or chemistry.[5] In {41} America, the Smithsonian Institution was +founded at Washington by benevolent and patriotic persons,[6] "for the +increase and diffusion of knowledge among men," and one of the objects of +that institution is "to enlarge the existing stock of knowledge by the +addition of new truths," and a portion of its plan is "to stimulate men of +talent to make original researches by offering suitable rewards for memoirs +containing new truths," and "to appropriate annually a portion of the +income for particular researches." + +What is the reason that scientific research is not sufficiently encouraged +in England? It is chiefly ignorance. There are very few good and important +subjects, understood by the public, which are not in this country greatly +assisted, nor many valuable public servants, whose labours are understood, +who do not receive liberal payment and reward; and scientific research and +discoverers therefore are neglected, not wilfully, nor because persons are +unwilling to encourage good objects, but because scientific discovery and +its great value to the nation are so little known. Scarcely a member of our +legislature, or of our Universities, is fully acquainted with the national +importance of scientific discovery,[7] and it {42} would probably be +impossible to find a subject of such great magnitude so little understood. +Comparatively few persons have clear ideas of the essential differences +between scientific instruction and research. + +Scientific research can only be successfully pursued by employing the +highest motive--viz., a love of truth in preference to all things; and this +is a condition which very few persons really understand, and a principle +which a still smaller number practise. Men in this country are so +accustomed to be actuated by the less noble motive of immediate +self-interest or of some apparent practical result, that they cannot +perceive that in scientific investigation the most valuable results can +only be obtained by employing the highest motive. However necessary and +effective the motive of immediate self-interest or of apparent practical +result may be in ordinary affairs of life, it will not enable a man to make +many discoveries, because it leads him away from those which are possible +to search for others which may or may not be possible. The beginning of +discoveries are often so very small, that it requires acute senses and +observation in order to perceive them; and if the mind is preoccupied with +a desire to discover some particular practical object, new phenomena are +overlooked. In discovery, man must follow where Nature leads. + +Another cause of want of encouragement of research, is the natural +selfishness which exists, {43} though in very different degrees, in all +men. Many wealthy persons wish things to remain as they are. Some +manufacturers would not aid research unless they could monopolize its +advantages. Students also generally prefer those subjects which are best +rewarded, and do not sufficiently consider their intrinsic value. The love +of truth for truth's sake alone is very weak in most men, and but few men +make the greatest good their chief object in life. + +The extreme ignorance in this country of the value of scientific research, +is also largely due to the narrowness of the "practical" character of the +English mind; men cannot perceive the deep-seated and universal sources of +their wealth, and they prefer those occupations which yield the most +obviously remunerative results. It is also partly due to scientific +investigators themselves not having pleaded their own cause; such men have +been so absorbed in the more important occupation of discovery, that they +have, probably more than any other class of persons, neglected to enforce +the just claims of their own subject. It is, however, chiefly caused by the +influence of misapplied wealth, operating through the old Universities and +large public schools. The sons of the wealthy are most of them educated at +those institutions, and according to evidence supplied by University +authorities to Royal Commissioners, many persons send their sons to those +places for other purposes than to acquire learning, and allow them too much +money. The considerable wealth of {44} these young men supplies them with +attractions which decoy them from industrious study, and the wishes of the +parents and students have been largely acquiesced in by the tutors and +college authorities. At our old Universities also, physical and chemical +knowledge is very much less rewarded than some other subjects, though +latterly a considerable improvement has been made in this respect, but even +now there is not a University in the kingdom in which a knowledge in +scientific research is necessary in order to obtain the highest scientific +honour.[8] In these various ways physical and chemical science has been +kept very low in our chief seats of learning; and scientific research is +greatly neglected by the governing authorities. + +It is reasonable to suppose that Universities should be fountains of new +theoretical scientific knowledge, as well as be the disseminators of it, +and that they (especially the old ones with their rich endowments) would be +certain to promote scientific research, as being especially a part of their +functions; but such is not the case. Our old Universities have not +established any professorships of original research; they make no payment +for such labour, nor reimburse any expenditure incurred in such occupation, +and afford but little facility for the prosecution of pure scientific +inquiry. Further, they discourage scientific discovery by giving the +greatest emoluments, and the {45} highest honours in science they have to +bestow, to young men who have never made a single original research, or +discovered a new fact in science. The money paid in the form of +comparatively sinecure fellowships, or retiring pensions to young men in +Oxford alone, "now amounts to about eighty or ninety thousand pounds a +year." It may be objected that young men are not capable of doing original +research, but as they do it in German Universities, they can also do it in +England, if they are properly disciplined, and are not decoyed from +industry by the possession or expectation of wealth. A man who has never +made a scientific research is not the most worthy recipient of the highest +scientific honours, and in Germany it would not be given to him; he is not +properly disciplined in the detection of error or the discernment of truth +in matters of science; he is deficient in accuracy of scientific judgment, +and in the true spirit of scientific inquiry. + +It is unnecessary to speak of what has been done during the last few years +at our old Universities and great public schools, in the erection of +laboratories, and in other ways for the promotion of science, because it +has been for the purposes of instruction, and not of original research. No +amount of ordinary instruction in science will remedy the evils caused by +want of original inquiry, because such instruction does not produce new +knowledge, but only disseminates that already possessed. {46} + +Many persons in this country think that all scientific men are +investigators, and that a portion of the funds of scientific institutions +generally are expended upon investigation, but such is rarely the case. +Many also consider that those scientific men who are applying new knowledge +are discovering new truths. And nearly all persons look upon inventors as +the only really practical scientific men, and upon discoverers as +unpractical enthusiasts who spend their lives in pursuit of vague theories. +But whilst the inventor is a great and useful agent of civilization, there +is one behind him who is greater than he, viz., the man who provides him +with the new knowledge upon which all his inventions must be based. + +The general aspect in which scientific research is viewed by many persons +in this country, is that of a refined intellectual pursuit, which may be +encouraged and honoured for the purpose of maintaining the tone of society. +The question, however, is not whether this nation shall encourage research +as a refined intellectual occupation, but whether it will contribute +towards its own welfare by aiding scientific discovery. + +Many persons also look upon scientific research as a hobby or as +unpractical, and upon discoverers as mere accumulators of knowledge, but +this is simply in consequence of their ignorance of the subject; if +discoveries were commercial commodities, the practical character of +research would be within their {47} comprehension. A man who discovers +knowledge for the use of invention is quite as practical a person as he who +converts that knowledge into inventions fit for practical uses. The men who +thus lead practical men must be practical themselves. Scientific +discoverers may be considered the most practical men in existence, because +their labours give rise to greater and more numerous practical results than +those of any other persons. The discovery of a single substance, such as +oil-of-vitriol, or washing-soda, has led to the formation of many valuable +inventions, patented or otherwise, and to the establishment of thousands of +manufactories. It is well known also that scientific discoverers are ardent +lovers of truth, and are therefore very willing to communicate their +knowledge for the good of mankind, and that manufacturers, men of business, +and others, not unfrequently obtain from them and from their published +researches, information of great value to themselves without even expecting +to pay for it; forgetting that a scientific man may communicate in a +passing remark, information which cost him years of labour to obtain. + +Some persons also think that science is changeable and uncertain--that the +discoveries of one generation are disproved by those of another, because +they occasionally see scientific theories altered and superseded. But the +real truth of the case is that the changes in the aspect of science which +we continually witness do not often result from _alterations_ in our {48} +stock of positive knowledge, but from _additions_ made to it. Demonstrable +truth is imperishable. It is true that many theories have been invented and +entertained for a while in the minds of scientific men, and have then +passed away, but we must remember that these are only the scaffolding of +science, and no part of its real fabric. They consist of ideas which, +whilst they assist us in understanding science, and in making discoveries, +form no real part of our positive knowledge. + +Other persons seem to think that the laws of matter are different in the +laboratory from what they are in the workshop; that the principles which +regulate a scientific experiment are different from those which govern a +large manufacturing process; but this is a wrong idea. The laws of matter +are universal, substances have nearly the same properties in all places and +in the hands of all men; water boils at the same temperature whether in the +retort of a chemist, the saucepan of a kitchenmaid, or the pan of a +soap-boiler; iron wire is as readily deprived of its rust in a chemist's +acid bottle as in a wire-drawer's pickling tub; a piece of phosphorus will +as readily ignite in the hands of a chemist as in those of a match maker; a +galvanic battery yields the same quantity of electricity whether it be in +the hands of an experimentalist or in those of a working electro-plater. + +It is true that many things which have appeared very promising in theory or +in experiment, have {49} failed altogether in practice, but why is this? it +is not that the principles of nature operated in the one case and did not +operate in the other, but that we have imperfectly understood them, that +from some unforeseen circumstances we have been unable to apply them; or +that we have indolently abandoned them without sufficient or proper trial. +In many cases we are unable to obtain the same conditions of success upon +the large scale that we have upon the small one. In other cases a process +fails because of its too great expense; many attempts have been made to +supersede steam as a motive power by means of electro-magnetism, and +engines driven by that force have been constructed of five or ten +horse-power, but the cost of driving them has been found to be at least ten +times the amount of that of the steam-engine of equal strength. And in +other cases we fail because we attempt _at once_ to carry out upon a large +scale that which has only been the subject of limited experiment, instead +of enlarging the process by small degrees, and adapting the apparatus, the +materials and the treatment, to the size of the operation. + +That also which appears very simple in the hands of an experimentalist, +almost invariably becomes much more complex when carried into practice in a +manufactory, simply because there is then a greater number of conditions to +be fulfilled. Electro-plating a piece of steel with silver is to a chemist +a very simple matter, because it is of no importance to him {50} whether +the silver adheres firmly, is of good colour, or is deposited at a certain +cost; but with a _manufacturer_ unless _all_ these conditions are +fulfilled, the process is a failure. These matters, however, belong to +invention and not to original discovery. + +We should not condemn theoretical science because we are not able, even +with fair and persevering trial, to apply it to any useful purpose, but +wait patiently until circumstances ripen for its application. Many +inventions which are inapplicable in one state of knowledge become +applicable by the progress of scientific research. The idea of an electric +telegraph, attempted by Mr. Ronalds, in the year 1816, with the aid of +frictional electricity, had to wait the development of the galvanic battery +and the discovery of electro-magnetism before it could be successfully +applied. + +Many manufacturers seem to think that because some of their operations are +completely routine, and have been handed down to them by their predecessors +in nearly their present state, they are not at all indebted to science; but +there is no manufacture, especially among metals, which has not in some +degree been aided by scientific discovery. + +In addition to the great benefits accruing from original research to all +classes of society, our Governments have also derived immense advantages +from the same source. The revenues have been greatly increased by the +universal advantages conferred upon all kinds of industry and commerce by +{51} scientific knowledge. The additional taxes upon increased incomes from +agriculture, arts, manufactures, mines; increased value of land and rents; +investments in railway, telegraph, steam-ship and other companies, have +been extremely great. From the sale of patents alone, a surplus sum of +nearly six hundred thousand pounds has already accumulated. Our Governments +are also indebted to original research for the use of percussion-powder, +gun-cotton, improvements in cannon, projectiles, rifles, armour-plated +ships, the ocean telegraph, field telegraph, the telephone, rapid postal +communication, the speedy transport of troops and war-material, and a +multitude of other advantages. The value of science to Governments in the +prevention of war by means of more ready correspondence through telegraph +is incalculable. Mr. Sumner, of America, at the period when the Atlantic +telegraph was first employed, stated that the use of that telegraph averted +a probable rupture between Great Britain and America. There was a period +when we did not possess such evidence of the great value of science; but +that time has now passed away, and our governing men have had abundant +proof of the national importance of scientific discovery, and of the +essential dependence of the welfare of this country upon scientific +research. + +Whilst vast sums of money are spent upon the applications of science in +military and naval affairs, research itself is neglected; the +superstructure is {52} attended to, but the foundations are left to decay. +A very small proportion of the money which is expended upon military +affairs would, if devoted to research, save a great deal of expense in +warfare:-- + + "Were half the power, that fills the world with terror,-- + Were half the wealth, bestowed on camps and courts, + Given to redeem the human mind from error, + There were no need of arsenals nor forts."--LONGFELLOW. + +Our Government has as yet made but little payment for the labour of pure +research in experimental physics or chemistry; it has, however, given four +thousand pounds a year for five years to be distributed by the Royal +Society among scientific investigators, partly as personal payment. Income +tax is deducted from these grants. + +Want of recognition of the value of science has been so general in this +country, that it is quite pleasing to quote a somewhat different case from +the _Illustrated London News_, January 4th, 1873, viz., that of the late +Archibald Smith, L.L.D., F.R.S. That gentleman was an investigator in pure +mathematical science, and devoted the latter part of his life to the +_application_ of mathematics in the computation, reduction, and discussion +of the deviation of the mariners' compass in wooden and in iron ships, and +made practical deductions therefrom in the construction of those vessels. +He published those practical applications of his scientific knowledge in +the form of an Admiralty Manual, which was afterwards reprinted in various +languages. Her Majesty's Government {53} subsequently "requested his +acceptance of a gift of two thousand pounds, not as a reward, but as a mark +of appreciation of the value of his researches, and of the influence they +were exercising on the maritime interests of England and the world at +large." The kind of labour rewarded in this case was not scientific +discovery, but the practical application of previously existing scientific +knowledge. + +The case of the late Dr. Stenhouse, F.R.S., is one of rather an opposite +kind. That gentleman devoted his life throughout to pure investigations in +organic chemistry, and published several of his researches in the +Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.[9] His discoveries are +very numerous, and although not much applied to practical uses by himself, +the result of his researches on Lichens, and the yellow gum of Botany Bay, +have been applied extensively by other persons in the manufacture of +"French purple" and picric acid, and will doubtless continue to be applied +to valuable uses. He held the Government appointment of Assayer to the +Royal Mint, London, an office for several years unprofitable to him, but of +increasing remunerative value, and which would have been subsequently worth +£1,200 a year; but after the decease of his colleague, Dr. Miller, in 1870, +that office, which was then worth to him about £600 a year, was abolished +by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and he lost the {54} appointment, +receiving, however, £500 as compensation. An application was therefore made +to the Government, and a partial recompense to him was obtained, by Her +Majesty granting him one hundred pounds a year "for eminence in chemical +attainments, and on account of loss by suppression of office in the Mint." +The only difference in these two instances, was, that in the second there +was a very much greater amount of pure research and discovery, and a much +smaller degree of applied knowledge. + +These instances illustrate the statement, that however great an amount of +valuable knowledge in pure science a man may discover and publish, or +however freely he may provide others with the materials of invention and +wealth, if he never invents anything, nor applies his knowledge to useful +purposes, he is usually less rewarded even than an inventor. "The more +intrinsically valuable the labour, and the greater the degree of profound +original thought required to direct it, the less is it usually appreciated +by the governing men of a nation." Absorbed in exciting questions relating +to political emergencies, and national matters requiring immediate +attention, even men of great administrative ability fail to appreciate the +less direct though more fundamental sources of a nation's happiness and +wealth. In harmony with these instances also, we find that it is not the +pure sciences, but the concrete and applied ones, such as meteorology, +geology, natural history, &c., in the Meteorological Department, the {55} +Geological Survey, the British and South Kensington Museums, the Geological +Museum, &c., and the National Gallery of Art, which have received the +greatest degree of support from our Governments. + +That discoverers are not treated by us as we treat other valuable members +of the community is quite clear; either a physician, a judge, divine, +lawyer, or railway superintendent of high ability, obtain from one to many +thousand pounds a year, but a discoverer in pure physics or chemistry is, +in scarcely any case, paid anything for his labour. That most eminent +discoverer, Faraday, received for his scientific lectures at the Royal +Institution of Great Britain, only £200 a year and apartments, during many +years, and absolutely nothing for his great discoveries; and during the +remainder of his life he only received a few hundred pounds per annum, +including a pension of £300 pounds a year from Government. In contrast with +this, the general manager of the Midland Railway has £4,000 a year. A +General of our army receives £2,000, and a Field Marshal £4,000 a year (See +"Whitaker's Almanack," 1873, pp. 121 and 138). A Head Master of either of +the great public schools obtains from £3,000 a year upwards. An Archbishop +of Canterbury receives £15,000 a year, besides a great amount of influence +and power in the form of patronage to 183 livings, a palatial residence, +and a seat in the House of Peers. A Bishop of London has £10,000, the +patronage of 98 livings, and a seat in the House of Lords. I do not, {56} +however, mean to imply that these large emoluments are not deserved. Whilst +also there are nearly 13,000 church benefices in England (See the "Clergy +List," also "Whitaker's Almanack," 1873, pp. 153 and 155, and "Walford's +County Families," 1872, pp. 173 and 610), there is scarcely a single +appointment entirely devoted to scientific discovery, nor a single +professorship in original research in science. I leave my readers to judge +to what extent these instances illustrate the statement that discoverers +are not treated by us as we treat other valuable members of the community. +Partly in consequence of the foregoing neglect, the proportion of persons +wholly devoted to scientific research in this country probably does not +much exceed one in one million of the population. + +It is scarcely credible that in a wealthy and civilized country, whilst the +non-productive classes are protected in the enjoyment of titles and +material wealth which in many cases they have not earned, the greatest +scientific benefactors of the nation are constrained to live in straitened +circumstances whilst working for the pecuniary and other advantages of +those classes, and of manufacturers, capitalists, land-owners, and the +nation in general. By these remarks it is not intended to imply that +discoverers are intentionally neglected; but that the injustice they suffer +is a disgrace to this country, and reflects discredit upon the governing +classes, and especially upon those who reap the greatest advantage. {57} + +The men who are rewarded highly in this country are not always those who +yield the greatest service to the nation, but frequently those who render +the most immediate or most apparent benefit; to stop short at this cannot +produce the greatest degree of success. The national services of a great +discoverer are probably not equalled by those of any man. Who can estimate +the value of the commercial, social, moral, political, and other great +advantages to the world, of Oersted's discovery of the principle of +electro-magnetism, which enabled the invention of the electric telegraph to +be made? The men we reward the highest are not those who discover +knowledge, but those who use or apply it; physicians, judges, bishops, +lawyers, railway managers, military and naval officers, and head masters of +schools, all of them gentlemen who render great services to the nation, by +using, diffusing, and applying knowledge already possessed. + +It requires less rare ability to apply knowledge to new purposes by means +of invention, than to discover it; it is still less difficult to diffuse it +by means of tuition and lectures, because the labours of a teacher consist +largely of a repitition of other men's discoveries and inventions; and to +use scientific knowledge in the ordinary business of every-day life, +requires a still more common degree of ability. + +A chief reason why ordinary business capacity is paid for whilst original +research is not, is the fact that research is not considered a necessity; +many {58} persons do not perceive its immense future value. Men perform +those duties first which they feel they must: they are also willing to pay +for the performance of those duties which press most urgently upon them, +and defer all other kinds of labour that they consider will bear +postponement. Most men act upon this rule, until they acquire a habit of +sacrificing the future to the present, of neglecting more important matters +in order to attend to less, and of living too much for money, without +sufficient regard for the more valuable condition, viz., individual and +national improvement. These circumstances also largely explain the fact +that it requires more pressure to induce individuals or governing bodies to +aid original research than to assist any other good object. Other chief +reasons why persons in general cannot perceive the great practical value of +new scientific truth are, because the perception of it requires a +scientifically trained mind. The greatest truths are frequently the least +obvious, and are therefore valued the least. + +It may be objected that research is not aided, because it sometimes takes a +long time to acquire a practical shape and make it pay. We do not omit to +plant an acorn because it requires many years to become an oak; we do not +neglect to rear a child because he may not live to become a man; but we +leave scientific discovery to take care of itself. The intense desire which +exists in this country for "quick returns" has shewn itself in the much +greater readiness to aid technical education than to promote {59} permanent +progress by means of original research. But the discoveries made in such a +place as the Royal Institution of Great Britain have had a vastly greater +beneficial effect upon civilization than that of any technical institution +which has ever existed. + +In a letter received by me from the Duke of Somerset, and which I have +permission to publish, the true state of things in this country in relation +to pure research is stated with remarkable accuracy and brevity:-- + +"The hindrances to scientific studies in this country are very many. The +gentry are almost invariably educated by the clergy, and the clergy have +seldom had time or opportunities for any scientific study. They usually +take pupils or become tutors as soon as they have taken their degrees, and +can only teach the Latin and Greek which they have themselves learned. The +commercial classes value what they call practical science; this means some +application of science for the purpose of making money. Competitive +examinations may promote a superficial acquaintance with the elements of +science, but are unfavourable to the development of scientific culture. The +scientific associations tend to degrade science by exhibiting scientific +men as candidates for applause from assemblies which seek amusement and +startling results from lectures and experiments. The advancement of +science, is therefore, left to comparatively few men, who are unregarded +and unrewarded." {60} + +To remedy this state of things we require a general encouragement of pure +scientific inquiry by the State and Universities. It is thought by some +persons who have given special attention to the subject, that the State +ought to encourage such research and science in general, by appointing a +Minister of Science possessing scientific knowledge and good administrative +ability; a Scientific Council to advise our Governments in all important +matters relating to science; and by establishing State laboratories for +pure scientific inquiry, with discoverers of repute in them wholly engaged +in research in their respective subjects. + +There are also many new experiments, investigations, and explorations, +which neither private individuals, nor even corporate bodies, such as the +Royal Society, the British Association, Geographical Society, can +effectually make, and which only a Government can carry out, such as Arctic +expeditions, trigonometrical surveys, deep sea dredging operations, +magnetic observations, determinations of longitude, meteorological and +astronomical observations, researches on tides, observations of +earthquakes, determinations of the height of mountains and the density of +the crust of the earth, experiments on the best form of ships, geographical +explorations, and many others. + +It is clear from the enormous advantages which this nation has already +derived from scientific discovery in physics and chemistry, pursued with +only {61} the aid of the very limited means of private persons, that had +research in those subjects been sufficiently supported, the manufactures, +arts, commerce, wealth, and civilization of this country would have been +much greater than they are; emigration also of the industrious classes, +disease, pauperism, crime, the evil effects of famine, etc., would have +been much less. The amount of knowledge and riches obtainable by means of +research and invention is practically unlimited, and it is astonishing that +this immense source of industry and wealth in a nation should have been so +neglected by our Governments. The practical value of new scientific +knowledge is vastly greater than that of all our goldfields or even of our +coal supply, because it would not only enable us to obtain from coal +several times the amount of available heat and mechanical power we now +secure, but also to apply to our wants the numerous other materials +composing the crust of our globe and the contents of our oceans; also all +terrestrial forces, the internal heat, the tidal energy and atmospheric +currents, and the immense amount of power this Earth is continually +receiving from the Sun. Whilst at present vast amounts of materials and +energy remain unutilized, nearly all those terrestrial substances and +forces might probably be rendered of service to us if we possessed +sufficient knowledge. + +That scientific research is a far greater source of wealth and wellbeing +than our stores of coal is easily proved. At present we obtain in our best +{62} steam-engines only about one-seventh (or less) of the mechanical power +producible by the combustion of the coal, the remainder being lost in +various ways. And this occurs simply because we have not yet discovered a +method of wholly converting heat into mechanical power. In some other +instances we are able to convert one force wholly into another without +loss, as for example: the chemical action of a voltaic cell into +electricity; and by means of research we shall probably be enabled to +effect a similar complete conversion of other powers into each other. The +effect of converting heat wholly into mechanical power would be equal to +increasing our stock of coals for that purpose to seven times its present +amount. This instance is only one of the many thousand possible ways in +which research may yet prove of value to mankind. + +It is true that a very large amount of original research in physics and +chemistry has been done in this country; the contents of our scientific +journals and of the publications of our various Learned Societies prove +this. It is also true that the English nation has been pre-eminently active +in applying scientific knowledge to practical uses by means of inventions, +and has been generally the first in carrying out inventions on a large +scale. We have been either the first, or nearly so, in developing +steam-engines, railways, locomotives, rapid trains, gas works, flour mills, +blast-furnaces, cotton machinery, cheap postage, light-houses, +electro-plating, lucifer-matches, {63} electric-telegraphs, submarine +electric cables, great engineering establishments, iron ship-building, and +many other important enterprises. Three out of four of all the great ocean +steamers, and three-fourths of all the locomotives of the world were +constructed in this country.[10] By means of our enterprise and capital +also, the first railways, telegraphs, gas works, cotton mills, modern water +works, suspension bridges, water wheels, harbours, lighthouses, &c., &c., +in nearly all parts of the world were constructed; and foreign nations have +been inducted into the practical methods of working our great manufacturing +and technical applications of science. + +By means of English enterprise and skill the cities of Aix-la-Chapelle, +Altona, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brussels, Cologne, +Frankfort-on-Maine, Ghent, Haarlem, Hanover, Lille, Rotterdam, Stolberg, +Toulouse, Vienna, and others were lighted with gas. We formed Water +Companies or Waterworks in Amsterdam, Berlin, and other cities, and drained +Naples. We utilized the falls of the Rhone at Bellegarde, and thus obtained +10,000 horse-power for the use of the French manufacturers. We also sent +the first steam-boat to Coblentz in 1817, and the first to America. We laid +the first Atlantic cables. And as a general truth, we have been foremost in +invention, application and enterprise. + +{64} + +Recent International Exhibitions however, and the migration of various +branches of our trade to the Continent and America, have shown that the +degree of our relative superiority in manufacturing skill is diminishing. +Other nations, especially the German and American, perceiving the +dependence of invention upon research, and the enormous pecuniary and other +advantages gained by us, by the application of scientific knowledge to +manufacturing and other purposes, have within the last few years aroused +themselves, and are now pursuing pure science much more energetically than +ourselves. A few years ago the relative number of original researches made +per annum in England, France, and Germany were in the proportion 127, 245, +and 777. Many of those made in Germany were valuable ones, and were made by +Students in order to obtain a degree. Other nations are rapidly gaining +upon us in the application of science to industrial purposes, and have even +surpassed us in the extent of some of their manufacturing and technical +operations. Many persons who have visited Europe and America at intervals +during the last twenty years have testified to this. + +The Vielle Montagne Zinc Company in Belgium employ 6,500 workmen, and +produce annually 32,000 tons of zinc. The John Cockerill Company, +engine-builders, Seraing, near Liege, employ nearly 8,000 men. Krupp, the +great engineer at Essen, near Dusseldorf, employs about 10,000 workmen; his +works at Essen alone cover 450 acres, and 1,000 tons {65} of coal are +consumed in them daily. The Anzin Company (Valenciennes) "is the largest +coal company in the world, producing no less than 1,200,000 tons per annum, +and employs 8,000 hands." The Chatillon and Commentry Iron and Coal Company +(France), produce annually from 300,000 to 350,000 tons of coal and coke, +nearly 70,000 tons of iron and steel, and employ nearly 9,000 workmen. At +the Creuzot Ironworks (France), "the mineral concessions cover an area of +nearly six square miles, the coal-fields nearly twenty-five square miles, +the building 296 acres. There are nearly forty-five miles of railway +between various parts of the works, upon which are generally running +sixteen locomotives. The galleries in the mines are more than twenty miles +long." 10,000 persons are employed in the works and the annual amount of +wages paid equals £400,000.[11] + +Our practice with regard to original science has been very different from +the plan carried out in Germany. Within the last few years great +laboratories have been erected in Berlin, Leipzig, Aix la Chapelle, Bonn, +Carlsruhe, Stuttgardt, and other places, at the expense of the State, and +special provision has been made in them for original scientific research. A +glance at the frequently published list of scientific investigations made +in different countries will shew us that the Germans have been making a far +greater number of discoveries in science than ourselves. + +Sir R. B. C. Brodie, Professor of Chemistry at {66} Oxford, speaking of his +experience when a student at Geissen, in Germany, states: "I say that the +enthusiasm and earnestness of the young men in the laboratory was quite +unparalleled in my experience at Oxford. The dilettante sort of way in +which things go on there is very inferior indeed to the way the German +students study. At Heidelberg, I have been told, there are about eighty +professors, and amongst those professors are some of the most eminent men +in Europe, so that they have a staff quite unsurpassed." + +The industry of the Germans in scientific research is quite remarkable, +they are availing themselves of the great fountain of knowledge to a much +greater extent than ourselves, and are already beginning to reap the +reward. Within the last few years they have succeeded, by means of +researches, in making alizarine, the colouring principle of madder. +"England produces immense quantities of benzene, the greatest part of which +goes to Germany, there to be converted into aniline dyes, a considerable +quantity of which goes back to England. No other country is so far advanced +in the manufacture of the coal-tar colours as Germany. The quantity of +alizarine manufactured by the German makers far surpasses the English +production." (See "Alizarine, Natural and Artificial," by F. Versmann, New +York, 1873). Statements of this kind are frequently published, and made by +our manufacturers and others, of the departure of branch after branch of +our manufactures to the Continent, and of continually increasing +importation of foreign-made articles. {67} + +Some persons, having become aware of the cosmopolitan nature of scientific +research, have suggested that it is a matter of no importance to us as a +nation whether we make researches or not, as foreigners would make them, +and we could apply them. But no honourable man would, after reflection, +seriously maintain such a proposition, because it implies a willingness to +obtain from the labours of other persons, advantages without paying for +them. It is partly this absence of a desire to pay for the labour of +investigation, which is now damaging the manufacturing and commercial +prosperity of this country. It is also certain that however much we may +have hitherto succeeded commercially, without making payment for research, +we should have succeeded much better had we properly assisted investigators +in pure science. Our success has hitherto been obtained, not in +consequence, but in spite of the disadvantageous circumstances under which +discoverers have laboured. + +The commercial argument in favour of encouraging research, although the +most effective with the great mass of persons, and therefore much dwelt +upon in this chapter, is however quite a secondary one; the encouragement +of truth for the sake of its own intrinsic worth, in preference to the +material or extrinsic value of its results, should be the foundation of all +aid to discovery. Justice, also, ought to come before all minor +considerations, and no upright man would wish for a moment that anyone, and +much less the greatest scientific intellects in the country, should work +for his benefit without being remunerated. {68} + +It has been objected that Continental nations, the Germans in particular, +have pirated our patents, infringed our designs, imitated our labels, used +our names, and taken our improvements wholesale, and this may be true. But +we still have had by far the largest portion of the reward of our greater +energy and inventive skill; we have had the great advantage of being first +in the markets of the world; and that advantage can only be retained by our +being the first in the pursuit of original research, as we have so long +been in the application of science to industrial arts, and not by +purchasing foreign inventions, nor by accepting gifts of unrecompensed +researches. + +Nations as well as individuals are apt to push to an extreme the means by +which they have succeeded in gaining either riches or power. We have +devoted ourselves relatively too much to the pursuit of money and too +little to the pursuit of knowledge. The desire for wealth is in this +country so great, that probably nothing but a loss of that wealth will ever +make us properly encourage the pursuit of new knowledge. + +Whilst research is being neglected, manufacturers and others in all +directions are asking for improvements in their machines and processes; +employers of steam engines want to obtain more power from the coals; makers +of washing soda wish to recover their lost sulphur; copper smelters, want +to utilize the copper smoke; glass makers wish to prevent bad colour in +their glass; iron puddlers want to economise heat; gas companies are +desirous of diminishing the {69} leakage of gas; iron smelters wish to +avoid the evil effects of impurities in the iron; manufacturers in general +want to utilise their waste products and prevent their polluting our +streams and atmosphere; and so on without end. And inventors are +continually trying to supply these demands, by exercising their skill in +every possible way, with the aid of scientific information contained in +books; but after putting manufacturers and themselves to great expense, +they very frequently fail, not always through want of inventive skill, but +often through want of _new_ knowledge attainable only by means of pure +research. Judging from the vast amount of inventive skill already expended +upon the steam engine, and the small proportion of available mechanical +power yet obtained from the coals consumed in it, it is highly probable +that a machine for completely converting heat into mechanical force cannot +be invented until more scientific knowledge is discovered. + +It must not be supposed from these remarks, that discoveries which will +enable a man to make any particular invention, can be produced to order; +that is only true to a very limited extent. Men are beggars of nature, and +must not expect to be permitted to choose her gifts, or dictate what +secrets shall be disclosed. We may however be certain that if we acquire a +very much greater supply of new scientific knowledge, we shall then be able +to perfect many good inventions, though not always of the kind we wish, or +in the way we expect. The great sewage question {70} may perhaps be solved +in quite an unexpected way, possibly by the discovery of some substance +capable of precipitating ammonia and organic matter from their solutions. + +Nearly all our manufacturing processes are full of imperfections; thus the +loss of gas by a single large provincial gas company, after that substance +has left the works, amounts to nearly one hundred and fifty millions of +cubic feet per annum, and to a value of about £18,000; and the soil of all +our large cities and towns is permeated and rendered foetid by coal gas. +And it has been stated by an eminent authority in such matters that we +might save 500,000 tons of coal a year by economizing the waste heat of +furnaces, by purifying the coal, coking it, etc. In a single chemical +manufactory, out of about two thousand tons of hydrochloric acid used per +annum, about eight hundred tons have been allowed to flow away as a +polluting substance, because it was not possible to utilise it. The loss of +material from a single large glass works equals fourteen hundred tons per +annum, and a value of £8,000. Similar grave defects might be pointed out in +nearly all our large manufactures, by those acquainted with the subject. + +Inventions are wanted for quickening the process of vinegar making, and +diminishing the percentage of loss of the acid. For bleaching discoloured +fats. For quickening the process of converting cast iron into malleable +iron. To easily separate nitrogen from the oxygen of the atmosphere. To +economically convert {71} the nitrogen of the air into valuable products, +such as nitric acid and ammonia. To find uses for the immense quantities of +minerals which abound all over the earth; to utilise wolfram and find +applications for tungstic acid; to apply titanic acid to great industrial +purposes; to produce aluminium on the large scale, as we now produce iron. +To tan leather more quickly, and without detriment to its quality. To +prevent the rusting of iron. To more perfectly prevent smoke. To collect +and use the sulphuric acid of the salt cake consumed in the glass +manufacture. To make window glass by means of common salt. To deodorise +offensive substances. To find larger uses for phosphorus, sodium, +magnesium, and common salt. To remove phosphorus and sulphur from iron +ores, and sulphur from coal and coke. To obtain a good white alloy as a +cheaper substitute for German silver. To convert white phosphorus into the +red variety by a less dangerous process than the present one. To prevent +the putrefaction of "peltries" in glue making. To obtain better and cheaper +materials for colouring glass. To more perfectly prevent animal food from +change. To obviate or prevent explosions in mines. To perfectly purify +ordinary red lead for making flint glass. A cheaper process for converting +common salt into washing soda; and so on without end. + +We also very badly require a method of recording our thoughts in readable +forms upon paper, without the slow and laborious process of writing. An +incalculable amount of brains and of intellect, especially of {72} the +greatest thinkers, would be saved by such a discovery. The curative arts +also are permeated with empiricism, and thousands of lives of persons of +all classes of society, are annually lost in this country through want of a +more perfect scientific basis of medicine, attainable only by means of +experiment and observation. + +In this country, such great practical results have been obtained by means +of invention, that many persons suppose a sufficiency of inventive skill +will enable us to effect every possible scientific object, and are +surprised that no one can invent a plan of utilising the entire heat of +coals, or a mode of overcoming the sewage difficulty, or prevent the great +leakage of coal gas, or arrest epidemics, or produce a steam engine which +shall work without waste of power. The progress of invention however +depends upon that of discovery, and these various inventions, etc., wanted +by manufacturers and others probably cannot be perfected until suitable +_new_ knowledge is found. Every new invention has its own appropriate +discoveries, by means of which alone it can be perfected; it was not +possible to perfect the idea of an electric telegraph before the +discoveries of Volta and Oersted were made. According to scientific laws, +out of everything proceeds everything, and out of nothing, nothing can +come, even ideas are not created. An unlimited number of inventions cannot +be made by means of a limited amount of scientific knowledge; and our +present stock of such information applicable to {73} invention, is very +insufficient. One great reason why only a small portion of patents are of +practical value; and so many useless ones are taken out is, that in +consequence of our so-called "practical" spirit, we overestimate the power +of invention and under-value the discovery of new abstract truths; because +also invention has done so much, we think it will continue to do so, but +the latter depends upon a continued supply of discoveries. + +Nearly every manufacturer is aware by painful experience of the great and +almost incessant variation that occurs in the quality and properties of the +materials used in his trade, and the frequent risk of failure of his +process. In the manufacture of iron, for example, the presence of much +phosphorus, sulphur, or silicon in the ore is liable to be very detrimental +to the quality of the iron produced from it; in the manufacture of glass, +the least quantity of iron in the materials will seriously injure the +colour of the product; in the selection of copper for telegraph wire, if it +contains the least trace of arsenic, the wire will not conduct the +electricity properly. The difficulties experienced in procuring suitable +materials for a manufacturing process are in some cases very great; and +when they are procured, additional difficulties arise from the inability of +the manufacturer or his manager to analyse them. + +Every manufacturer is also aware that the difficulties encountered in +manufactures are not limited to the substances employed, but extend to all +the different {74} processes and stages of processes through which these +substances have to pass, and to all the forces, tools, machinery, and +appliances employed in those processes; in the manufacture of glass, for +example, the greatest care has to be exercised in the making and gradual +heating of the pots in which the glass is melted, the proportions of the +materials, the construction of the furnaces, the management of the heat, +and a whole host of minor conditions too numerous to mention, all of which +must be attended to with the greatest care. In the manufacture of iron and +steel, the smelting of copper, the refining of nickel, the preparation and +baking of porcelain, and in many other trades, innumerable difficulties, +all having their origin in the properties of matter and forces, continually +beset the manufacturers. In some cases difficulties occur which perplex +both the workman and the scientific man called in to his aid, and so far +from an unscientific workman being able to overcome them, even with the aid +of the scientific man, he is unable to do so. + +The hidden difficulties which beset a manufacturer are not unfrequently so +inscrutable that the present state of knowledge in science fails to explain +them. Who can tell why it is that wire-work of brass or German silver +becomes gradually brittle by lapse of time? Or why varnish made in the open +country has different properties from that made in a town? Or why silk dyed +in Lyons should possess a finer colour than the same silk dyed by the same +process in Coventry? {75} With our present extremely imperfect knowledge of +Physical and Chemical science, we can perhaps hardly form an idea of the +amount of knowledge yet to be discovered respecting the phenomena which +manufactures present. + +One of the inevitable results of these difficulties in manufacturing +processes and of deficiency of knowledge, is the production of a large +amount of goods of an inferior quality; and useless goods, technically +called "wasters," the cost of which has to be laid upon the saleable ones, +and thus the price of the latter is enhanced to the consumer. For instance, +flint glass discoloured by iron has sometimes to be sold at a loss for +making common enamel; waste window glass has to be sold as "rockery" for +ornamenting gardens, and defective articles of glass or metal have to be +re-melted. + +In consequence of this want of new knowledge, manufacturers continue to +suffer losses which might be avoided; high prices of useful articles are +maintained; defects in their quality are not improved; preventable +accidents still continue to happen; the health of workmen continues to +suffer; many means of curing diseases remain unknown; medical practice +remains full of empiricism, &c., &c. + +The great sewage question is apparently in this predicament; we are +probably trying to solve it without first discovering the requisite +knowledge; inventors, engineers, and consulting chemists have racked their +brains, and have not been able to devise a satisfactory {76} remedy, and +meanwhile the health of the entire population of this country is suffering. +If we so neglect the fundamental means of ameliorating our condition we +deserve to suffer. One would suppose that cholera, contagious diseases, +colliery accidents, pollution of air and water, enormous waste of heat from +fires, and a multitude of other evils which depend upon physical and +chemical conditions, are of but little importance, that we should so +neglect one of the most effectual means of preventing them; and it is +perfectly clear that by neglecting to aid research, those who gain so much +money and advantage from original science, and render no return, are +unwittingly sacrificing national interests upon a large scale to personal +benefit. + +The practice of some manufacturers using and deriving great profit from new +knowledge evolved by research, without recompensing the discoverers, +sometimes causes injury to the public welfare by preventing the publication +of discoveries which have an immediate practical application. Experience of +this kind has constrained me to postpone the publication of a method I have +found of readily and quickly converting lumps of white phosphorus into the +red variety in a state of powder without protracted heat or grinding. + +"What will be the next chapter of British enterprise and invention, and who +and where the men to perform the chief part in it? As to the work to be +done, there can be no doubt or mystery, for not a day passes {77} without +loud complaints, indignant remonstrances, fatal oversights, sad +mis-calculations, terrible shortcomings, social or material evils to be +remedied if possible, whole masses of people, indeed whole classes to be +succoured and lifted out of the slough, and enormous difficulties placed by +nature in our way evidently that we may exercise our wit and our virtues in +the attempt to overcome them. Here, from all these Isles, there arises a +despairing cry from agriculture, as if it had really reached the end of its +tether, and had found itself landed in utter helplessness and insolvency--a +bad speculation altogether. Here are countless problems, and at the same +time countless discoveries, which if they lead to nothing else, prove the +inexhaustible nature of our dominion over the elements. Then, for the sea, +with its terrible average of wreck and total loss running on without +intermission and with but rare abatement, who shall say there is here no +work for the discoverer and inventor who will give his heart and soul and +mind to it?" + +It is indeed high time, that by means of discoveries which will enable us +to predict with certainty the nature of coming seasons, we shall be better +enabled to cope with adversities in agriculture; also, that the numerous +wrecks, and the thousands of lives lost with them every year on our coasts, +should be diminished. But these desirable results cannot be effected by +invention based upon insufficient knowledge; invention must be preceded by +general as well as special research, because the former often discloses +important {78} truths which we cannot predict. Our present electric lights +in light-houses and on large ocean steamers, had their origin, not in +direct inventions or special researches for the purpose, but in abstract +researches on apparently remote subjects. + +It is nothing less than a national crime that proper provision has not yet +been made for investigating scientifically the causes of famine and +pestilence, also physiology and pathology, and the discovery of the laws +which regulate diseases and epidemics. What can be more painful to behold +than a mother and father deprived of a whole family of five or six children +in rapid succession by scarlatina or other contagious disease, and both the +parents and medical men utterly unable to save them; and this is a common +occurrence. Persons who are ignorant of science look with an abject feeling +of helplessness upon great national calamities, and even upon private +afflictions, such as a local epidemic, as if there was absolutely no +remedy, whilst scientific men believe that by extension of knowledge, such +evils might be largely avoided or prevented. + +Many persons however, actuated by the very kindest of motives, but +insufficiently acquainted with the necessity, conditions, results, and +advantages of experiments, unwittingly obstruct the discovery of new +knowledge in physiology and pathology, by attempting to prevent experiments +being made upon animals. + +We should not strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. Nearly every step in +life involves a choice {79} between two alternatives, and this is the case +with experiments upon living creatures, either such experiments must be +made, or the wholesale slaughter of men and other animals, by pestilences, +epidemics, small-pox, foot and mouth disease, &c., must continue. Many of +the properties of living bodies, like those of dead ones, can only be +ascertained by means of experiments, no other course is possible; and the +knowledge so obtained enables us not only to prolong the lives but also to +alleviate the sufferings of all kinds of living creatures. Nearly all our +medical and surgical knowledge has been obtained by observation and study, +either of the results of experiments made by ourselves, or by the course of +nature for us; and the former is often attended by immeasurably less pain +and expence than the latter. No one who has ever made in a proper manner +new experiments, would venture to assert that valuable knowledge is not +gained by them; and this statement is as correct of experiments in +physiology as in all the other sciences. + +The total amount of pain inflicted upon animals by vivisection experiments +in this country is infinitesimally small--because, firstly, the proportion +of experimentalists in so-called "vivisection," does not amount to one +person in one million of our inhabitants:--secondly, students cannot be +induced to enter upon scientific research in physiology, because such +labour is unrewarded, either by enabling them to obtain certificates, +degrees, or money. Whatever pain also, {80} is inflicted in such +experiments, is by men of the highest eminence in physiology, and therefore +by the most competent persons. + +Experimental research is an occupation requiring an exceptional kind of +ability and experience; and persons who have never made experiments, nor +studied their relation to human welfare, are largely incompetent to +determine when and how they should be made, the real effects of them, or +the value of the knowledge they afford. To persons inexperienced in +scientific research, many experiments appear useless, which have great +practical value, either immediately or at a later period. Our greatest +curse is ignorance; and knowledge, by enabling us to avoid the fatal +effects of pestilences, and epidemics, is as necessary as food to mankind. +The "Anti-vivisection" movement however is but one of the phases of the +ever-existing conflict between the advancing and retarding sections of +mankind. + +Greater sympathy with suffering accompanies greater civilization. The +increased humanity of the present age over that of previous ones, is +largely due to the discovery and extension of new scientific knowledge. +Science, by showing more clearly to man his true position in nature and in +relation to his fellow-men and other animals, has rendered more evident the +concrete fact, that the happiness of each depends upon the happiness of +all, and the happiness and welfare of all upon that of each individual. It +has also operated in a more apparent, though less {81} important way, by +inculcating better systems of hygiene, improved sanitary arrangements, &c, +&c. It is not to the zeal of "anti-vivisectionists," but to the +well-directed labours of experimental medical men, that mankind are +indebted for the discovery and invention of nearly every known method of +preventing and alleviating animal suffering and of prolonging human life. +This statement is true of vaccination, the use of chloroform in general +surgery, dentistry, and midwifery, of carbolic acid spray in surgical +operations; the abolition of the practice of searing amputated limbs with a +red-hot iron; and many other improvements. Ferrier's comparatively recent +vivisection experiments have already enabled medical men to treat more +successfully those formidable diseases, epilepsy and abcess of the brain. + +What this nation badly requires, is not less experimental research, but +more. When famines result from insufficiency of Solar heat, instead of +investigating the conditions of the Sun's surface to enable us to predict +their occurrence and provide accordingly, we allow them to come upon us in +our unprepared state and produce their fearful effects. When contagious +disease overtakes us, what do we do? Instead of previously employing and +paying scientific investigators to make experiments in physiological and +chemical science, to enable us to combat it successfully, we vainly attempt +to apply our present stock of chemical and physiological knowledge to ward +off the difficulty. When high price of fuel intervenes, instead {82} of +previously giving discoverers the means of finding new principles relating +to heat, and to chemical, and electrical action, we ineffectually endeavour +by means of invention, to economise fuel. These are the pottering, +short-sighted, and ignorant ways in which "the great English nation" +temporises with great evils, and permits national welfare to be sacrificed +to private gain, instead of employing for the discovery of new knowledge +some of that superfluous wealth which in many instances is a curse to its +possessors. + + * * * * * + + +{83} + +CHAPTER II. + +------ + +THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF MENTAL AND MORAL PROGRESS.[12] + +It is not highly necessary after what has been already said in these pages, +to adduce much evidence to show that scientific discoveries, either +directly or through the medium of the inventions based upon them, have been +a great cause of mental and moral progress. As however there are many +persons who do not perceive the dependence of such progress, and especially +of moral advance, upon science, a few of the chief relations of those +subjects to each other may be pointed out. + +The dependence of mental progress upon science may be rendered manifest in +several ways:--1st. By showing that new scientific knowledge is continually +extending and modifying our views of existing things. 2nd. That inventions +based upon scientific discoveries have aided and extended our mental +powers:--3rd. That mental phenomena may be made the subject of experiment, +observation, analysis, and {84} inference:--4th. That the criteria of +truth, and the mental powers and processes employed for discovering and +detecting truth, are the same in mental as in physical science, and, 5th. +That mental action is subject to the great principles and laws of science. +And moral progress may be proved to have a scientific basis:--1st. By +shewing that moral actions are a class of mental actions, and therefore +subject to the same fundamental laws and influences:--2nd. That the +discovery of new scientific knowledge, and the use of inventions based upon +it, often conduce to morality:--3rd. That moral phenomena may be made the +subject of experiment, observation, analysis, and inference:--4th. That the +criteria of truth, and the mental faculties and processes employed, in +discovering truth, are the same in moral as in physical science:--5th. That +the fundamental rules of morality are subject to the great principles of +science:--6th. That moral improvement follows in the wake of scientific +advance:--and 7th. By showing the moral influence of experimental research +in imparting "the scientific spirit;" promoting a love of truth; dispelling +ignorance and superstition; detecting error; imparting certainty and +accuracy to our knowledge; inculcating obedience to law; producing +uniformity of belief; aiding economy and cleanliness, promoting humanity, +&c, &c. Each of these will be treated with extreme brevity. + +MENTAL PROGRESS. + +The chief object of this chapter is only to shew {85} that mental action is +largely consistent with the great principles of science; not that in our +present state of knowledge, mental phenomena can be entirely explained by +them, or that mental actions involve nothing more than physical and +chemical processes. + +That mental progress is advanced by scientific discovery is a common +circumstance. Our ideas of facts, our knowledge of general principles, our +views of man, of nature, and of the Universe; and even our modes of +thought, have been gradually and profoundly changed by the new knowledge +acquired by means of scientific research. This truth is capable of being +most extensively illustrated by a multitude of facts in the whole of the +sciences, and in the arts, manufactures, and other subjects dependent upon +science. For example, in astronomy, great changes, produced by the results +of scientific discovery have taken place in our ideas respecting the +magnitude of Space and of the Heavenly bodies, the constitution, form, and +motion of the Earth, the functions of the Sun and Moon, the distances of +the Sun and fixed Stars, the nature of eclipses and comets; and a great +many other matters. In terrestrial physics, the mental advances have been +equally great in our ideas respecting the causes of tides and of winds, the +pressure of the atmosphere, the existence and course of the Gulf Stream, +the physical conditions of the Equator and Poles, the conditions upon which +day and night, summer and winter depend, the depth of the ocean, the height +of the atmosphere, the cause of rainbows, of {86} rain, hail, snow, mist +and dew, of thunder and lightning, the composition of air, water, mineral, +and organic substances, and other most numerous and varied phenomena. In +the subjects of heat, light, electricity, magnetism, chemistry, vegetable +and animal physiology, psychology and morality, and the more concrete +subjects depending upon them, such as politics, trade, commerce, +government, &c., our ideas have equally advanced, in consequence of +scientific research; and to fully describe the mental progress resulting +from discovery in nearly all branches of human knowledge would require a +series of books to be written on the History of all the Sciences. + +Other causes also, which I need hardly mention, besides scientific +discovery, have of course contributed to the mental progress of mankind. We +arrive at true ideas, not only by the more certain and systematic process +employed in scientific research, but largely also by the uncertain method +of trusting to instinct and habit, by adopting dogmatic opinions, and by +the semi-scientific plan of following empirical rules. + +Dogma and empiricism, in nearly all subjects, has rendered immense service +to mankind. Contemporaneously with the progress produced by new knowledge, +the mental condition of man has been maintained and prevented from +receding, by the combined influence of hereditary mental proclivity, +acquired habit, promulgation of dogmatic opinions and empirical rules, and +by previously known verified truth. Religious {87} belief has thus been the +forerunner of Science. Dogma and empiricism are indispensable agents of +civilization; they cannot be dispensed with by the great mass of mankind, +who have not the time at command, nor possess the other means, necessary +for acquiring verified knowledge. They afford rough and ready guides and +useful "rule of thumb" methods, though less certain and less accurate than +those afforded by verified and definite science. + +That various inventions, based upon scientific discoveries, have greatly +aided and extended our mental powers is quite certain. The discovery of the +properties of a mixture of solution of nutgalls and green vitriol, has, +through the invention of ink, exercised an immense influence in promoting +the mental developement of mankind; and the discovery of the properties of +esparto grass and other materials for making paper has contributed to this +result. Every discovery also resulting in inventions which facilitated the +transmission of intelligence has had a similar effect. Amongst these are +magnetism, which, in the mariner's compass greatly assisted navigation and +the conveyance of letters by sea; and the steam engine which facilitated +the transmission of letters by land and by water; the electric telegraph, +the telephone, and other contrivances for transmitting ideas, have also +greatly promoted mental advance. The steam engine, by largely abolishing +physical drudgery, gave time for study and mental and moral improvement. It +has been said that "it is impossible to lay down a {88} railway without +creating an improved intellectual influence. It is probable that Watt and +Stephenson will eventually modify the opinions of mankind, almost as +profoundly as Luther and Voltaire." Photography has exercised an immense +intellectual influence of an improved kind, by making common to all mankind +views of the beautiful scenery of all parts of our globe, and portraits of +individuals of all nations and of all classes of society. Processes of +printing from electrotype plates, pictures and letter-press, upon the paper +wrappers used by grocers and other tradesmen, have also carried into the +homes of millions of poor persons truthful ideas and an improved +intellectual influence. The invention of steel pens, of which a thousand +millions are made yearly in Birmingham alone, must also have considerably +aided intellectual progress. The various calculating machines used by +merchants, the copying presses, papyrographs, and the numerous inventions +for copying and multiplying letters and circulars and for domestic +printing, have saved intellectual toil, and promoted the diffusion of +intelligence. These are only a few of the numerous ways in which inventions +based upon scientific discoveries, have resulted in mental progress. + +Less perhaps has been done in the way of actual definite scientific +experiments upon mental actions and processes than in almost any other +department of science, and this is partly accounted for by the fact that +the other sciences require to be largely advanced before we can use them to +examine mental action, {89} and partly also because (as occasionally +happens) the latter has been a neglected subject of research. During the +past few years however, various experimental investigations have been made, +especially by Donders in Holland, and Mosso in Turin, for the purpose of +elucidating the physical conditions of mental action; and it has been found +that instead of an act of thought being instantaneous, as was formerly +believed, it requires a variable time.[13] Numerous desultory experiments +made upon dreamers, and with drugs, alcohol, &c., upon persons in the +waking state, also prove that mental phenomena are amenable to scientific +research. F. Galton has even proposed experiments and methods for measuring +the mental faculties of different persons.[14] The effects of exciting +different parts of the brain of animals by means of electric currents, and +the localization of the functions of the brain effected by the experiments +of Ferrier, Hirtzig and others, also tend to throw further light upon +mental phenomena. The fact alone that mental actions and conditions may be +made the subject of experiment, and consequently of observation, +comparison, analysis and inference, proves that they may be rendered +sources of new facts and principles, and are therefore within the domain of +science. As the dependence of mental phenomena upon physical conditions has +been clearly demonstrated, an extensive reduction of them to scientific +laws is only a question of time and labour. + +{90} + +The principles of nature and the modes of mental action are the same for +all men. It necessarily follows from the essential nature of truth and the +invariability of the chief methods of detecting it, that the criteria of +truth in mental science, and the mental powers and processes by which truth +is arrived at and detected in that science, are essentially the same as in +the physiological, chemical, and physical ones. In each of these subjects, +we first, either with or without the aid of experiment, make observations, +record facts, compare them, and draw conclusions from our comparisons; we +also group the facts, and the conclusions, in every possible way, and then +draw other conclusions; we also analyse, combine, and permutate the various +truths arrived at, and cross examine the evidence in every possible manner +in order to extract from it the greatest amount of new knowledge. And in +each case we employ as the criteria of truth, the test of consistency with +the whole of the evidence bearing upon the case, and especially with the +great principles of science. We determine what is true, chiefly by +comparison with those principles, because they are the most firmly +established true ones and the most universal. There is no royal road to +truth, and no special mental faculty for detecting it in any subject; and +it is in consequence of our mental faculties being so very finite that we +have no easier way of arriving at truth. + +No dogmatic teaching can ever, except by accident, fully explain to man the +true nature of mind; and {91} only in proportion as man becomes enlightened +by extension of new scientific knowledge, especially in physiology, will he +be able to view himself in a true aspect apart from his consciousness. +Science penetrates deeper than metaphysical speculation, into the nature of +mental action, chiefly because metaphysics deals only with old ideas, +whilst science furnishes us with new experience and therefore with new +conceptions and wider evidence. + +Fallacies are very prevalent, every subject of human study is liable to a +very large class of errors arising from the extremely imperfect state of +our knowledge, and in very few subjects is our ignorance as great as in +that of mental and moral phenomena. Every different subject of study also, +has, in consequence of its special peculiarities, its own peculiar class of +fallacies, into which the student of it is likely to be led, unless he is +previously guarded against them. In accordance with this truth, the study +of man's nature, especially the mental and moral portions, is particularly +liable to a class of errors arising from the circumstance, that the +phenomena to be observed and the observing power are intimately connected +together, each influencing and disturbing the other. The obstacles to our +arriving at truth in the study of mental and moral actions, are greater and +more frequent, the more nearly and intimately related the phenomena to be +observed and contemplated, are to the observing and contemplating faculty, +or rather to the contemplative action. When the two mental {92} actions are +extremely intimate, as when attention is directed to the action of will +(which is itself a conscious act of attention) undisturbed thought becomes +very difficult; and when further, the contemplative faculty attempts to +contemplate itself, as when consciousness attempts to observe +consciousness, in order to define it, the attempt results in almost +complete failure, probably because the two actions (observing and being +observed) being opposite in kind, cannot coexist at the same time in the +same structure. Knowledge of the exact nature of consciousness therefore, +will probably only be arrived at by indirect means, when physiological and +other knowledge is sufficiently advanced. + +Consciousness, when uncorrected by sufficient knowledge and inference, is a +great source of error. That which we feel, we think exists whether it does +or not, until the subject is correctly explained to us. The incessant and +irresistible obtrusion of consciousness exercises dominion over every mind, +even of our greatest thinkers, and causes disturbance and interruption in +nearly every train of thought. It is largely the cause of some of our most +general ideas and emotions and insensibly influences our views of man and +nature. It produces true impressions as well as erroneous ones. It is a +cause of the feeling that an occult spirit exists within us independent of +our material structure. Combined with the almost equally persistent +impression of the uniformity of nature, it largely produces the idea that +the spirit within us, {93} will live and be active for ever. And by uniting +with the frequent impressions of failure of our efforts and desire for more +perfect enjoyment, it largely originates the idea of everlasting happiness. + +It is in accordance with modern scientific knowledge, to view the mind, not +as a collection of distinct faculties, but rather as a single kind of +power, like each of the physical forces, having several different modes of +action; and as that which perceives, thinks, and wills. Its oneness is +shewn by its inability to be simultaneously occupied by several diverse +feelings, thoughts, or volitions, and by our incapacity to think of many +varied ideas at once; the more ideas also or objects we attempt to perceive +at once, the less we realize of each. In proportion as the mind is engaged +upon one idea, so is it also unable to be occupied with another. Strong +feelings exclude intellectual action. The mind can only execute several +actions at a time, provided they have been rendered more or less automatic +by habit, &c., but as all mental acts are in different degrees imperfectly +automatic, and require more or less attention, and each individual mind is +limited in its power, every such act withdraws a portion of attention from +the more engrossing ideas. Power of mind and power of maintaining attention +are nearly synonymous. + +The recognised fundamental elements of mind are Receptivity and Perception +of impression: Retentiveness of impression: Perception of agreement (or +similarity) of impression: and Perception of difference {94} of impression. +All purely mental acts appear to be resolvable into these. + +Many persons still entertain the idea that mental actions are largely +independent of the natural conditions to which physiological, chemical, and +physical phenomena are subject. The unscientific mind is readily beguiled +by easy schemes of mental action, or simple systems of mental and moral +philosophy, unaware that great abstract truths often require deep thought +to discover them, or even to perceive them when discovered and published. +"A false notion, which is clear and precise, will always meet a greater +number of adherents in the world than a true principle which is obscure." +It is not until unscientific persons have become used to advanced +scientific ideas and nomenclature, and knowledge as so far progressed as to +enable thinking men to illustrate those ideas freely in familiar language, +that great abstract truths are believed by the public. The ordinary and +simple theory of the operations of the human mind is, that they often arise +without any cause, and are frequently not obedient to ordinary influences, +and this idea is still entertained and promulgated even by some of our most +popular ministers of truth. It is therefore necessary in order to further +prove that new scientific knowledge is really a basis of mental progress, +to point out a few of the chief ways in which mental action essentially +depends on scientific principles, and to adduce a few instances in which +other substances than brain exhibit essentially similar phenomena. To {95} +shew this however in a more satisfactory manner would require a large +treatise to be written upon the subject. + +The human brain and mind are evidently subject to the ordinary laws of +matter and energy. Receptivity and retentiveness of impression is not only +a property of brain, but of all solid matter without exception. Moser's +pictures, and Chinese mirrors, the impressions on each being reproducible +by warm breath, are examples of this. And as these two properties are +fundamental elements of mind, they must be present in and essential to, +every mental action. + +All phenomena require time and all matter occupies space; thought and brain +are no exception to this. Whilst all persons say "I must have time to +think," many believe that thought is instantaneous. Time is a necessary +condition of all thought, and therefore of all comparison, inference, +imagination, and mental analysis; it takes time even to form an idea, or +draw an inference from it, and the two cannot be formed simultaneously. +Professor Donders, of Utrecht, has invented what he terms a Noëmatachograph +for registering the amount of time occupied in mental processes, and by the +aid of that instrument has ascertained that the time required by a man of +middle age to perform a single act of simple thought is about one +twenty-fifth part of a second. It has also been ascertained that the time +required is longer in some persons than in others; and longer if the {96} +subject of thought is one with which the thinker is not familiar. Mosso, by +means of an instrument which he calls a Plethysmograph, has shewn, that +during mental action, either in the waking state, or in dreaming, there is +a greater amount of blood determined to the brain, and more during +difficult than during easy mental action. These are instances of scientific +research casting a light upon mental processes. + +Coexistence of matter and energy is another great truth which appears to be +applicable to all nature; wherever there is matter, there is either active +or stored up power; and as particular forms of energy are in some cases +most exhibited by particular kinds of substance, (as magnetism by iron), so +mind is associated with living brain. As also we never see the physical +powers exhibited except by material substance, so have we never yet +observed mental action in a space devoid of material. The most perfect +vacuum yet produced contains many millions of particles of substance in +each cubic inch. Of all the countless number of scientific phenomena +observed since men have been able to reliably investigate, not one has +afforded us conclusive evidence of mental action entirely independent of +these conditions. In accordance also with the usual truth in science, that +complicated action requires complex structures; mind, being the most +intricate action, is manifested by the most complicated body. + +Mind, like each of the physical forces may be {97} viewed as a mode of +energy; it is essentially dynamic; activity or change, within or without +us, appears to be the original source of all our mental impressions, and +the cause of their re-excitement in an act of memory. A man's mind, being +continually excited by circumstances, must be active whether he will or no, +and if it does not possess sufficient truthful ideas entirely to occupy it, +it must be more or less occupied with erroneous ones. "We can neither feel, +nor know, without a transition or change of state--and every cognition, +must be viewed as in relation to some other feeling, or cognition," (Bain. +Mental and Moral Science, p. 83); _i.e._ the mental effect of impressions +upon us depends upon our immediately previous mental state; consciousness +and perception appear to be based upon cerebral change or activity; after +strong excitement of consciousness an increased amount of acid products is +found in the secretions. "It is a general law of the mental constitution, +more or less recognised by inquirers into the human mind, that change of +impression is essential to consciousness in every form," (Bain. Emotions +and Will, 3rd edi. p. 550). A sufficient degree also of such change is a +necessary condition of conscious perception; it is the stronger or more +rapid only of mental changes that excite our consciousness. + +We perceive nearly all things by means of a difference of impression which +they make upon us; by contrast. That which makes no such difference of +impression, such as the great uniformities of time and {98} space, makes no +immediate impression upon us. We only know of the existence of those +uniformities by inference from our perceptions of sequences or of relative +difference. Although the Earth moves at the rate of 62,000 miles an hour in +its orbit, consciousness does not perceive it. If also there was no error, +we should be less immediately able to discern truth, without pain we should +lose much of the enjoyment of pleasure. Without the contrast of +imperfection we could not directly appreciate perfection. + +This principle of "relativity," or of change of impression, operates both +in the phenomena of dead and living matter and in those of mind; the +selenium in a photophone is kept in a state of motion or activity, not by a +beam of uniform light, but only by one which changes; electrical action is +excited by a relative difference of friction, of temperature, of chemical +action, &c.; chemical action also often results from a relative difference +of property of two bodies. That the most inscrutable phenomenon of mind, +viz., consciousness, is largely dependent upon relative physical and +chemical conditions, is proved by the powerful influence which alcohol, +chloroform, opium, haschish, and other substances, have in exciting or +depressing it. These facts prove that excitement of consciousness or mental +action depends upon precisely the same general condition, viz.: change of +impression, as the excitement of some of the physical forces; and that mind +possesses a similar property to the physical forces of being changed by +inequality of impression. {99} Whilst copious evidence is available to shew +that the mind is excitable by physical causes, no more conclusive proof +exists that a mental impression arises without a natural cause, than that a +physical one, such as a photographic impression, arises in that way. +Abundant evidence of non-creation of ideas out of nothing might be adduced; +even imagination and invention are subject to this limit, because an +unlimited number of new conceptions cannot be formed from a limited number +of previous ideas. + +The dependence of the mind (like any other mode of energy) upon physical +conditions, is further proved by the fact that the mental and moral states +of a man are largely governed by sensation; if the latter is unhealthy it +makes the mind so, and it makes some difference what the part of the body +is in which the sensation exists; most commonly it is the viscera. The mind +is also intimately dependent upon the physical condition of the brain, and +is largely affected by the quantity and quality of the blood in that organ. + +The most fundamental principle which pervades every one of the sciences, +and agrees with the actions of every natural form of energy without +exception, including mind, is, that of consistency or non-contradiction. No +machine or scientific apparatus of any kind can perform two contradictory +acts at the same time. It is both a physiological and psychological fact, +that we cannot experience two contradictory sensations, nor perceive two +contradictory ideas at the {100} same instant. We can neither feel, +perceive, nor observe, one thing, whilst we are feeling, perceiving, or +observing, one of a contradictory nature; nor can we perform any two +contradictory acts of comparison, inference, imagination, or volition, +simultaneously. As also two mental actions are often not exactly alike, or +entirely harmonious, they must so far as they are really contradictory, be +mutually exclusive; and one of them must partly prevent the other, the +strongest one prevailing, and this general truth is commonly though not +explicitly, recognised in the maxim, that to do anything well, we must do +only one thing at a time. In accordance with the universal truth, that +contradictions cannot co-exist, it is well-known that one disease +frequently expels another from our frame, and the action of +counter-irritants is based upon the same principle. The fortitude of +martyrs may probably be explained by this power of one set of ideas and +feelings to exclude another, and the facts of mental physiology afford +plenty of other examples. + +It is probably because we cannot simultaneously perform two contradictory +actions, that we cannot contemplate consciousness, or think of an idea and +at the same time think of that act of thought. In accordance with this, +even Newton, and other great geniuses, have been unable to accurately +describe the mental processes by means of which they arrived at their most +difficult results. In consequence also of this, we cannot define +consciousness, and are often {101} unable to directly observe or analyse +our mental actions, especially those of a very abstruse or complex kind. +Much of the knowledge of the operations of our mind, we are therefore +obliged to obtain by indirect means; by analogies, and inferences from the +phenomena of nature, &c., and in this way our knowledge of mental action +largely depends upon our acquaintance with physical and chemical science, +and can only advance as it advances. To clearly understand one subject we +are often obliged to study several others. Ignorance of science in general, +and of cerebral physiology in particular, is the chief obstacle to our +acquiring a more accurate knowledge of mind. + +Next to consistency, the great principle of causation constitutes the most +essential part of all natural truth, and to deny the operation of this +principle in particular cases of mental action, simply because we, with our +very finite powers, cannot in the extremely imperfect state of our +knowledge, yet fully explain some of the most difficult, complex, +transient, and ever-changing phenomena of will and consciousness, is +contrary to the most weighty evidence. "The Will" is a conscious mental +effort to effect an object, the idea of which is already in the mind, and +being a mental "effort" it absorbs the mind and thereby incapacitates it at +the moment from observing its own action. + +If any phenomenon (such as mental action) is essentially dependent upon +another, it must be connected {102} with it in a never-failing or +indissoluble manner, so that when the one occurs the other is always +present, otherwise it would not be essentially dependent. The only known +connections of this kind are those causation and continuity of phenomena, +according to which every phenomenon has a cause, and all phenomena are +indissolubly connected in endless series. The evidence of the truth of +these principles is so vast, that even all mankind thinking through all +ages, and after having made an almost infinite number of definite +experiments and observations, have never yet met with a single well +verified instance of their failure; and we are therefore justified in +inferring that they are universal. There are however instances in the +physical and chemical sciences, as well as in mental action, where the +dependence of phenomena upon those principles is not very apparent, and has +not yet been sufficiently proved, but it is probably in consequence of our +imperfect knowledge and limited faculties, that we are unable as yet to +fully trace such dependence. The history of science, abundantly proves that +we should not assume that a phenomenon arises without a natural cause, +simply for the reason that it is very difficult to trace its origin, but +wait patiently for more knowledge respecting it. It is unphilosophic and +contrary to reason to attribute to occult agencies, effects which may be +explicable by ordinary causes, or to refuse to believe in more abstruse +causes where the assumption of simple ones is contradicted by some of the +evidence. {103} + +The principle of causation forms the basis of many minor ones, such as +selection, evolution, differentiation, &c. Plurality of causes also is a +very common circumstance in all the sciences, and especially in concrete +phenomena, and in the complex ones of animal life; the arrival of a ship +for example at a distant port, is a result of many conditions. Similarly +with most of our mental actions, they are compounds of feeling and +intellect, and produced by many causes, such as hereditary tendency, +acquired habit, internal and external mental excitants, dogmatic belief, +knowledge of empirical rules, and occasionally of verified principles. +Several of these causes also frequently conspire to produce a single idea +or decision. + +Various general principles of lesser magnitude arise from the combined +action of two or more of the greater ones, and these also appear to operate +in mental actions as well as in physical ones. Thus by the combined +influence of causation and of the principle that every phenomenon occupies +time, "effects often lag behind their causes;" and in some cases during a +long period. The greatest heat of summer for example usually occurs several +weeks after mid-summer. The mental effects of early mistakes are often not +fully experienced until old age. The decline of a nation also follows a +long time behind the period of action of the chief causes which produce it. + +Although effects are indissolubly connected with their causes, they +frequently do not occur in an active form until a long period after them. +In such cases {104} they are stored up in what is termed a potential or +latent state, ready for liberation at a future occasion, when the suitable +conditions are present; the storage of chemical power in gunpowder, of +solar heat in coal, and its subsequent liberation in our fires, are +suitable examples. The principle of deferred activity and storing up of +power, occurs also in vital and mental phenomena; potential heat is stored +up in our food, and is afterwards evolved by oxidation in our tissues. +Muscular power is stored up during sleep, ready to be evolved during +labour. The storage also of cerebral impressions, and cerebral energy, +ready to call forth ideas, and thereby powerful emotions, by the exciting +action of memory, may also be viewed as an instance of similar kind +belonging to mental phenomena. A new and striking instance of the storage +of energy has been shewn in Faure's improved form of secondary voltaic +battery, in which the most powerful voltaic current may be (at least +practically) stored up (in a box containing lead plates immersed in dilute +sulphuric acid) and conveyed to a distance with little loss, and then +liberated. + +Exciting causes operate very extensively in mental actions as well as in +physical ones, a mere look or word from an eloquent speaker will excite the +passions and liberate the muscular power of a multitude. Every part of the +human body, especially the muscles and nerve centres, is a store-house of +power always ready to be set free by the slightest suitable causes; this is +strongly illustrated in the irrepressible activity {105} of children, and +in the excitable passions of young men and women. The more immediate cause +of this power is the oxidation of assimilated food; and the source of power +in the food is the heat of the Sun stored up in the plants and animals they +have eaten. + +The subsequent liberation of power under the influence, often of very +slight causes, long after the original cause has ceased to act, has led us +to conclude erroneously that causes are not always proportional to effects. +Proportionality of effect to cause appears to be universal; it probably +operates in mental as well as in physical actions, our faith in education +as a means of intelligence is based upon this; the more complete the +education of a particular individual, the greater usually is his degree of +intelligence. Proportionality of cause to effect is apparently disobeyed +not only in physical but also in mental phenomena. Throughout the whole +realm of nature, minute circumstances often act as exciting, deflecting, +and guiding causes, and contribute to the production of apparently +disproportionate effects. Thus a spark will discharge the largest cannon; a +touch determine the most distant electric signal; a word or look, excite +the strongest emotions; the little change of position of a railway point +will direct a train either to distant North or South; the minute change of +contact of the telegraph switch, will determine the signal to places wide +asunder; one false idea also at a critical moment will often lead a man or +woman to ruin; and in all these classes of cases, {106} whilst trifling +causes _appear_ to produce great effects; the real causes are the stored up +latent powers set free or directed. It is astonishing how small a +circumstance will excite an idea, and deflect the entire current of our +thoughts; and it is equally surprising what great physical and chemical +effects are often started by most minute exciting or deflecting conditions; +the explosion of seven tons of dynamite at Hell-gate, near New York, by the +pressure of a child's finger closing an electric circuit is a suitable +example. + +Every phenomenon therefore whether physical or mental, is probably +connected in an indissoluble manner with some preceding phenomenon, either +immediately in point of time, or remotely through some static condition, +usually that of stored up power. In this sense the great principle of +continuity of phenomena appears to be universal, and the present state of +the Universe is said to implicitly or potentially contain all the future +states of the Universe. Mind also in this way, like each of the physical +forces, often acts as a link in an endless chain of causes and effects, and +is connected with non-mental phenomena in accordance with the great +principles of science. + +Science has demonstrated what has been termed the "Convertibility of +Forces," or, that when one form of energy disappears, another form (or +forms) of energy, and in precisely equivalent amount, is produced in its +stead, either in a latent or active state. The equivalent quantities of the +various forms of {107} energy have also been discovered by actual +experiment and measurement. A pound weight falling through 772 feet gives +forth as much energy as would (in the form of heat) raise the temperature +of one pound of water one Fahrenheit degree. We know that so much +mechanical power is equal also to so much electric current, chemical +action, &c., and a large amount of evidence exists to show that these +transformations of energy occur in all the organs of living creatures, and +in obedience to the law of their equivalents. How far mental power is a +"mode of energy" transformable, and obedient to the laws of equivalence, +are interesting questions for future research. + +The mechanical principle of action and reaction is another which can be +traced in mental as well as in physical phenomena. Mental excitement is +often succeeded by mental depression, "after pleasure follows pain." The +power of mental self-guidance and self-education is largely dependent upon +the two well known scientific principles of latent energy, and action and +reaction. We are able to liberate energy, not only in cases where it will +influence inanimate matter but also ourselves. The principle of +self-guidance is not restricted to living creatures, nor is self-regulation +limited to mental power. The principle of self-regulation operates in +clocks, watches, musical boxes, the governors of steam engines, water +regulators, gas regulators, &c., &c., and upon an immense scale in the +movements of the heavenly {108} bodies. With the electric locomotive, the +greater the load it has to draw, or the steeper the incline it has to +ascend, the more strongly does it exert its strength, up to the full limits +of its power. Neither in physical nor in mental actions can a body or force +usually act directly upon itself to change its state whether of activity or +rest. In both classes of cases however we meet with plenty of instances +where, a body by an almost imperceptible expenditure of energy on its own +part either alters some surrounding conditions, or excites a powerful +liberation of energy in another body which then reacts upon it to change +its state. In this way the action of clock-work in the self-exploding +apparatus of a torpedo liberates at a particular moment a spring, and +causes an explosion which destroys the apparatus. Similarly, whilst a man, +in many cases, is unable to _directly_ alter his mental state, to increase +or diminish his mental activity, to cause sleep, &c., he is able +_indirectly_ to change his mental condition by drinking stimulants or by +adopting means of self-education; and to induce sleep by means of opium, +suitable exercise, &c. + +The principles of indestructibility or conservation of matter and energy, +flow from the preceding ones, and are exhibited in mental actions as well +as in physical ones. Whilst the universal experience of mankind has not yet +afforded us a single well verified instance of actual creation or +destruction of matter or energy, it has supplied us with plenty of examples +of apparent destruction and creation of each of them. {109} But scientific +knowledge corrects the uncertain testimony of consciousness; whilst we see +coal burn and be apparently destroyed, science proves to us that the +elements composing it remain undiminished. We observe also that the heat of +the fire dissipates and is apparently lost for ever; but science again +proves that it is either stored up in the latent state, ready to be again +liberated at a future time, or else converted into other forms of energy. A +given atom of matter or a portion of energy, therefore, to the best of our +knowledge, continues and persists for ever. As we cannot either create or +destroy matter so also can we not create or annihilate energy, and this +truth probably holds good with regard to mental as well as to physical and +chemical power. Great changes of state in bodies (as in the combustion of +wood &c.) have led us to erroneously think that the substances are +destroyed; and great apparent differences of property, such as those of +diamond and charcoal, have led us similarly to conclude that they are +entirely distinct and independent of each other when they are not. + +As the cerebrum of man is composed of matter, and during excitement, its +parts are active, we might confidently predict that its particles obey the +First law of Motion, viz.: that a body in a state of rest or motion will +continue in that state of rest or motion until some cause arise to prevent +it. So it has been found that the action of the vital and mental forces +have a degree of persistence, like the physical ones. It has been +experimentally found that portions of {110} living bone transplanted to +fleshy parts of animals where there was no bone, continued to grow for a +time by a life of their own, and increased by formation of additional bone, +like a crystal grows in its medium; but after a time they diminished and +disappeared. In a similar manner we are all of us aware of the persistency +of ideas, even in opposition to the will, after the cause of them has been +removed. Sometimes we cannot retain an idea because of the persistence of +others; and at other times we cannot get rid of one, for a similar reason. +Our mental habits also have often very great persistence. + +The principle of heredity may be viewed as a result of the First law of +Motion, and appears as Persistency of state, either of structure, form, or +mode of action. It appears both in inanimate bodies, living structures, and +in mental phenomena; in the latter, as hereditary mental peculiarities. The +principle of Persistency of structure and Heredity of form and property, +during repeated or even continual dissolution and aggregation of a material +substance, is more or less manifest nearly throughout the whole of nature. +In the formation of crystals it is clearly seen; each crystallizable +substance will only grow into its own shape or shapes; each particle of +common salt, during an endless series of successive solutions and +aggregations into the solid state, always forms a more or less perfect +cube; that of silica a hexagon; and so on throughout the entire series of +thousands of different crystalline bodies. As each {111} form of crystal +only produces crystals of like form and property (or at most in certain +cases a limited number of modified forms, as in the instance of calcic +carbonate, &c.) so also each seed, both of animals and vegetables, only +produces its own particular essential shape and collection of functions. +The same principle shews itself in the transmission of particular types of +disease, and of eccentricities of organization, from one generation to +another of animals. Peculiar malformations of body and characteristics of +mind often persist in families from generation to generation. This +persistency or heredity of structure and of property is not limited to +solid bodies, but exists also in liquids: "The effect of vaccine virus upon +the liquid blood, in producing a permanent and organic change in its +constitution and character, which continues to exercise a protective +influence against small-pox, in the great mass of cases, through a long +life, during which time the blood must have undergone, many thousands, if +not millions of changes and modifications." (F. Winslow. "Obscure diseases +of Brain and Mind," page 432). The same persistency of structure and +property of structure, has even been detected in vapours; the vapour of red +iodide of mercury for example, deposits only crystals of red iodide, whilst +that of the yellow deposits only yellow (see Gmelin's Handbook of +Chemistry, vol. 1, p. 100.) + +We often appear to mentally select when we only yield to causes acting upon +us, _i.e._, to the strongest influence or motive. That "self-preservation +is the {112} first law of nature," is not only true of living creatures, +but largely also of dead substances. Inanimate as well as animate matter, +appears to usually select what is good for itself. Apparent selection, +which is manifested in the phenomena of instinct, is exhibited not only by +brain, but by all material substances. Acids appear to select bases, North +magnetism rejects North and prefers South magnetism. Also if a piece of +zinc is put into a mixed solution of the nitrates of silver, magnesium, +calcium, strontium, barium, lithium, sodium, potassium, and rubidium, it +will select the silver only with which to form a "metallic tree," and +reject all the other metals. Everything which aggregates or grows to a +definite shape, appears to select its material; if a crystal of a +particular salt is placed in a mixture of saturated solutions of different +salts, it will only select and assimilate to itself suitable material, +either particles of the same composition as itself, or those which are +isomorphous with it, _i.e._ belonging to the same crystalline system. In +living bodies also, the same principle operates; Living tissues, whether of +animals or vegetables, usually select from their nutrient fluids, and +assimilate, particles only of those kinds of matter which are suitable for +their structure; in this way, a bone assimilates lime and phosphoric acid +from the multitude of different substances conveyed to it by the blood. And +in all these cases, the selecting material appears to act as if it +possessed the powers of instinct, perception, comparison, judgment, and +{113} volition. The act of self-repair is clearly connected with this, and +is not limited to living structures; Sir David Brewster observed that if a +portion of the surface of a perfect crystal of alum is very slightly +abraded by dissolving a film from it, and the crystal be then immersed +during a very brief period in a saturated solution of alum, the abraded +portion repairs itself. The subjects of "malformation of crystals," and +"diseases of crystals" have been scientifically investigated. The power of +selection (or rather of apparent selection) is no doubt a result of the +combined action of causation and of the inherent properties of bodies, and +depends, like consciousness, upon difference of impression, the strongest +suitable influence determining. If apparent selection can thus be performed +by inanimate matter, we should not, except for a very sufficient reason, +assume the existence in living creatures, of a special occult power to +perform the same function. In the selection of ideas also the intellect +acts according to the purely scientific method. + +We frequently appear to mentally adapt ourselves to particular +circumstances when we are really determined by causes; and this apparent +adaptation is also seen in ordinary physical and chemical phenomena. The +course of a river for instance, adapts itself to the configuration of the +country through which it flows, and if it cannot pass wholly by one +channel, as in seasons of flood, or on occasions of accidental obstruction, +it travels through several; and a similar result {114} occurs with the flow +of the blood when an artery is tied or becomes obstructed. A plant when +growing in a dark recess, bends itself towards the light as if it preferred +light; and its roots adapt themselves to the forms of existing obstacles. A +decapitated frog jumps away from a source of irritation, as if he still +possessed sensation, volition, and choice. A man seeking his way through a +crowd avoids the course in which the throng is densest. The human mind +also, chooses as it were, the easiest way of solving a problem, and usually +adapts itself to altered circumstances. + +The principle of evolution also operates both in physical and mental +actions, and is a result of that of causation. Complexity of structure and +function is evolved out of simplicity of composition and property by +plurality of causes and conditions. For instance, many complex forms of +crystals of ice are produced from water. Calcspar crystallizes in more than +one hundred varieties of form, (all derived from an obtuse rhombohedron) +under the influence of a number of slightly different conditions of +temperature, impurities in the solution, &c. The most complex bodies are +evolved out of the simplest, the bodily frame of man himself (and that of +other animals) is constructed of less than twenty of the elementary +substances. The same simple substances are capable of yielding very +different and more complex bodies under different conditions; thousands of +different chemical compounds are composed of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon +only. In the development of {115} living forms from ova, the ultimate form +produced does not exist in the germ, any more than a crystal exists in its +solution, but is a natural consequence of the forces acting in and upon the +germ, like the cubical form of a crystal of common salt is a result of the +forces acting in its constituents under the conditions of its environment, +especially those of pressure and temperature. The extent to, and manner in +which, the force and principle operate, depend upon the material substance, +and its conditions internal and external. + +It is a common circumstance, both in physical, mental, and moral subjects, +for the apparent to be the very opposite of the real. This general truth +has been repeatedly illustrated in an incidental manner in this book, and +need not be much further elucidated. Phenomena are none the less real, +however, because they are not readily manifest; our earth is as much tied +to the sun by the invisible power of gravity, as if it was attached to it +by visible material chains. Mistaking the apparent for the real, largely +explains the persistency of certain beliefs, and why it is that persons +unacquainted with science, cling to self-deception, and resist some of the +most firmly established truths. The more evident but untrue explanation is +believed, whilst the less apparent but true one is rejected. It is the +chief cause of the belief that "the will is a supernatural power." To a +scientific man however, apparent contradictions are not unfrequently a sign +of truth; too accurate results sometimes {116} indicate that they have been +artificially made to appear correct. + +Sympathetic action or propagation of similar influence by immediate +impulse, is a property of all the natural forms of energy, as well as of +mind. Similar actions are propagated thus in all kinds of dead substances, +as well as in the living brain. Matter is sympathetic to sound in the +phenomena of singing-flames, and a vibrating string responds to a +particular note in obedience to well-known laws. Iodide of nitrogen may be +caused to explode by the influence of a particular note from a fiddle. In +the phenomena of light, with a spectroscope, a luminous gas is sympathetic +with, and emits and absorbs, only particular kinds of luminous rays. In +chemical action also, combustion excites combustion, ferment excites +ferment, infection communicates infection, and the similar chemical change +is transmitted from molecule to molecule. Mental excitement and disease in +one person, often excite similar phenomena in another, as is seen in +"religious revivals," and well-known epidemics, such as the "dancing +mania," "preaching epidemics," the "leaping ague," the "mewing contagion," +etc., etc., (See "Epidemics of the Middle Ages," by Hecker; Sydenham +Society publications; also Carpenter's Mental Physiology, p. 312.) Like +excites like in the actions of each of the forces of nature; both in +physical, chemical, and mental action, the kind of impulse transmitted is +similar, unless conditions exist which transmute it. Dynamite, {117} +started into combustion by a flame, burns slowly away; but when started by +a detonating substance, detonates violently. Guthrie has also discovered +that if a melted cryohydrate (_e. g._ a chilled saturated aqueous solution +of a solid salt) is cooled to a certain greater extent, it will not +solidify--nothing separates out, although the solution is four or five +degrees below its proper solidifying point. If a little crystal of ice be +then thrown into it, nothing separates but ice, which comes to the surface. +If we throw in a little anhydrous salt, nothing but the anhydrous salt +separates out, and that sinks to the bottom. But if we throw into it a +crystal of a previous crop of cryohydrate, then nothing but the cryohydrate +separates. In this case also, like evidently excites like only, in +obedience to physical laws. (Addresses, Science Conferences; South +Kensington Museum, 1876; Vol. 2, p. 108). Even two clocks, when hung near +each other, against a board or surface which readily transmits vibrations, +have been known to exhibit, by synchronous action, an apparent sympathy, +which changed their rate of going. + +Periodical phenomena, also, brought about by definite causes, occur in +mental, as well as in physical phenomena. In the former we have the +phenomena of sleep, and in the latter, definite causes produce summer and +winter, day and night, the tides, cycles of solar spots, maxima and minima +of magnetic intensity, etc., etc. + +Conversely to the manifestation of the principles of {118} inanimate matter +by living bodies and in mental action, so have modern inventions +demonstrated the possibility of the performance by inanimate substances and +apparatuses, of the functions, not only of our bodily organs, (as of +locomotion by the steam engine,) but also of our senses and intellect, and +in some cases, to a degree far surpassing unaided human power. Apparatus, +sensitive to sound, have been constructed, as in the microphone and +singing-flames; others capable of reproducing articulate speech, as in the +phonograph, telephone, etc.; others again sensitive to light, as in the +production of visible images by photography, and reproducing them at a +distance through wires by means of the photophone; the power of indicating +or foretelling future events has also been embodied in instruments called +"tide predictors," and that of evolving inferences has been shewn in +Jevon's "Logical machine." + +The various facts mentioned in this chapter prove that mind agrees with the +various forms of physical energy in many essential points, and obeys many +of the same laws or principles. Examine whatever general phenomena of the +mind we may, we can always detect some apparent or real connection of them +with the great principles of inorganic nature; and in order to prove the +dependence of them upon the great principles of science it is not necessary +to show that all such actions are subject to those principles. Until the +whole is explained however, there will always remain mysterious phenomena +to cavil about. {119} + +MORAL PROGRESS. + +At the present time few competent persons have largely investigated the +fundamental relations of morality to Physical Science, consequently moral +actions are usually considered not to have a scientific basis, and the +doctrine is still extensively taught that some moral phenomena are +essentially supernatural. + +As new scientific knowledge has increased, belief in witchcraft, sorcery, +demonology, exorcism, evil influences and omens, unseen spirits, a God of +evil, supernatural and occult powers, supernatural sources of strange +diseases, evil presages from comets and eclipses, fetishism, worship of +images and of the Sun, a belief that the Earth is the chief body in the +Universe, that man is the "Lord of Creation," &c, &c. have largely passed +away, and beliefs more consistent with facts and with true inferences drawn +from them, have taken their place. Belief in the supernatural nature of the +human will however is still largely retained. A writer on morality, +says--"In every genuine volition we have a phenomenon not law-determined, +law-regulated, and law-explained."[15] A popular expositor of religion +says--"The phenomena of the human soul are essentially different from the +phenomena with which the student of science is most familiar, and must be +investigated on other principles and by other methods." "The voluntary +activity of man lies beyond the limits of science." "Every language man has +ever spoken--no matter how {120} perfect or how rude--the literature of the +ancient and the modern world, the indestructible instincts of the human +soul, the testimony of consciousness, unite to affirm that the human will +is independent of natural law." "The will is a supernatural power." "I +myself am not under the dominion of natural law;" "my moral life is +essentially a supernatural thing." "As soon as you approach the +intellectual and moral life of man, you enter a region in which you have to +do with a new order of facts." &c.[16] + +Morality, the subject of duty, or of right and wrong-doing in conscious +creatures, is usually considered to relate only to those actions over which +a man has or might have had control, and which it was his duty either to +perform or avoid, and not to those which are entirely beyond his influence, +it is therefore essentially dependent upon the power of selection or +choosing. As then all moral actions require voluntary choice between right +and wrong, and every act of choice is a mental one of comparison of two or +more things, all moral actions are mental ones. We cannot compare things +which have not made any mental impression upon us. We know further, and the +evidence already given proves, that mental actions are intimately dependent +upon the principles of nature operating within and around us. If then all +acts of morality (or immorality) are mental ones, and if all mental actions +are intimately dependent upon the great principles of nature; then all acts +of morality {121} are dependent upon those principles. Morality also cannot +be properly understood without a knowledge of various sciences, especially +biology, because it relates to human creatures, all of whom are morally +affected by the various forces and substances belonging to the physical and +chemical sciences. + +Having shown that moral actions are mental ones, and adduced evidence to +prove that mental actions are largely subject to scientific principles;--it +follows as a necessary consequence, that moral actions also largely obey +those principles, and I need not repeat that evidence. + +The extension of scientific knowledge conduces in a very general way to +moral progress, by diffusing the "scientific spirit," increasing our love +of truth, facilitating the attainment of greater certainty and accuracy, +enabling us to more perfectly avoid error, reducing our ignorance, +dispelling superstition, inculcating obedience to law, diminishing +difference of opinion and thereby lessening strife, conducing to humility, +to greater economy of means, to increased cleanliness, &c, &c. Scientific +research also, by disclosing to man his true position in nature, enables +him to act in harmony therewith, and thus increase his morality and general +happiness. + +Knowledge is as free as the air, once diffused it becomes impressed upon +the brains of men and cannot be easily destroyed or restrained; and the +greatest moral effects of science are cosmopolitan ones. Inventions based +upon new scientific truths are gradually {122} breaking down the barriers +between the various nations of the Earth, and infusing common interests +amongst all mankind. Nothing is uniting the sympathies of different +nations, increasing the friendly feelings between them, and diminishing the +probability of war, more than the increasing facilities of communication +brought about in a great measure by the developments of science and art; +more particularly by ocean steam navigation, rapid postal communication and +the telegraph, (see p. 51). At the present time there are about six +Atlantic telegraph cables in use, and an almost daily service of passenger +steam ships across that ocean. The use of inventions based upon scientific +discovery has aided moral progress in various ways. All inventions are made +with the object of supplying some real or supposed want, and nearly +everything which supplies a common want, conduces to contentment and +happiness and the general progress of mankind. No one can possibly measure +or estimate the advantage of the inventions of writing and printing, in +helping men to avoid quarrels, to settle differences of opinion, to +sympathise with suffering, to give advice: &c. Similar moral functions are +also performed by the electric telegraph, and a few specimens of some of +the messages sent through the wire would clearly illustrate this fact. +Great moral progress has also resulted from cheap daily intelligence, +collected largely with the aid of the telegraph; and of cheap books +produced by means of the steam engine. It is estimated that 250 millions +{123} of copies of newspapers are yearly published in Great Britain. The +Bible and Religious Tract Societies could hardly have existed had not the +properties of the ingredients of ink been discovered. The present +multiplicity of testaments, prayer-books, hymn-books, &c., has also been +rendered possible by the invention of printing. As darkness is favourable +to crime, so the invention of gaslight has conduced to morality. The +numerous sources of intellectual and moral enjoyment, developed by +inventions based upon scientific discovery, have attracted mankind from +more sensual and less moral amusements, and the invention of the +piano-forte has operated largely in a similar manner. + +In many respects, the poor man of to-day can command social comforts, +conveniences, and pleasures, which an emperor could not in former times. +Who can estimate the amount of beneficial moral influences of an indirect +kind obtained by means of modern science? The relief from pain by +chloroform and other new medicines, the diminution of domestic toil by the +sewing machine; the increased health and pleasure obtained by access to the +country and seaside by means of railways; the diminution of anxiety +resulting from more speedy conveyance of letters, and especially of +messages by telegraphs, the increased pleasure of life resulting from being +surrounded by objects of beauty multiplied cheaply by means of scientific +processes, such as photography? + +The human mind cannot greatly resist impression, the various effects of +scientific research necessarily {124} produce an influence upon it. Whilst +great deep-seated truths make a powerful impression on the minds of +philosophers, the great practical effects of science in inventions, &c., +profoundly impress the mass of mankind. One of the chief influences of the +discovery of important scientific truths and of their practical application +in some wonderful way, such as in the telescope and microscope, phosphorus +matches, photography, electro-plating, the electric light, the +spectroscope, microphone, telephone, &c., is to produce a profound and +wide-spread impression of the existence of a great and mysterious +influence, which produces (or enables us to produce) such striking effects. + +Whilst also the novelty of the practical effects of new scientific truths +in inventions, astonish persons in general; the definiteness of scientific +phenomena, and the certainty with which they may be reproduced convince all +competent persons who examine them, that they are rigidly subject to +definite laws. In this way the antique belief that natural phenomena are +produced by supernatural agencies, is gradually being abandoned, and the +more moral conviction of the omnipresence and universality of law has been +largely established in its stead. Every new scientific fact and invention +thus becomes a new proof of the universality of law. Belief in the +supernatural has diminished in proportion as scientific knowledge has +advanced; instead of natural phenomena being erroneously ascribed to +demons, spirits, supernatural {125} powers, and occult causes, they have +been proved to be results of natural powers, acting in accordance with +known principles. Assertions which have been made, that "the will is a +supernatural power, independent of natural law" &c., are not supported by +evidence at all equal in cogency to that in proof of the statement, that +our mental and moral powers as a whole act in accordance with the great +principles of science. + +That moral phenomena, like those of the physical sciences, are capable of +being made the subject of experiment, observation, comparison, analysis, +and inference, is very manifest. Every case of bribery may be viewed as an +experiment in morality. The very common case where an employer tests the +honesty of a servant by some contrivance, is also a trial of a similar +kind. The dependence of the moral powers upon scientific conditions, is +clearly seen in the influences of intoxicating drinks. A mere natural +substance could not possibly overcome the influence of a power which exists +entirely independent of it; _i.e._, a "supernatural" one. Even the greatest +believer in the "supernatural" power of the human will, deplores the +serious injury which the abuse of alcoholic liquors produces upon mankind, +rendering the will powerless, and debasing the moral sentiments. The +effects of opium, haschisch, &c., are other examples. A vast number of +experiments remain to be made of the effects of drugs and organic +compounds, both solid, liquid and gaseous, upon moral actions; {126} which +will probably prove a still greater degree of dependence of those actions +upon purely physical and chemical conditions. + +The "order of facts" in the subject of morality requires precisely similar +mental treatment to those to which scientific investigation has been +already applied with such great success, and which include all phenomena +admitting of observation, comparison, analysis and inference; and not only +those in which we are able, but also those in which we are not able to +produce by means of experiment, the phenomena to be observed, such as those +of astronomy and geology. Different subjects also are experimental in +different degrees, physical science is more experimental, physiology is +more observational; morality is partly experimental, and therefore capable +of reduction to scientific system by means of our intellectual powers. + +In consequence of the essential nature of truth being the same in all +subjects, and of the fundamental processes of mental action in the +determination of truth being also alike in all, the essential modes of +arriving at and detecting moral truth are the same as those employed in +research in the physical sciences. We possess therefore no special faculty, +call it "conscience," or what we may, by which we are enabled to infallibly +arrive at truth in moral questions. What is right and good, and what is +wrong and evil, are determined by precisely the same general means as what +is true; our much vaunted consciousness alone does not infallibly tell us; +reason alone, {127} acting upon the evidence, is the final arbiter in any +doubtful or disputed case. The truth of moral questions must be examined +and tested by precisely the same mental faculties and processes as those +employed in physical science, viz:--by the faculties of perception, +observation, comparison, and inference, acting upon the whole of the +evidence; and by the processes of observing facts, comparing them, +inferring conclusions; by analysing and cross-examining the evidence in +every possible way, and extracting from it the largest amount of consistent +knowledge. + +Although we cannot detect moral truth by any other than intellectual +processes, we may however arrive at correct moral conduct in two ways, +viz:--either blindly or intelligently. We arrive at it blindly or +automatically by the process of trusting to our inherited and acquire +tendencies and dogmatic beliefs; and intelligently by the conscious use of +our knowledge and intellectual powers; and each of these methods has its +advantages. The former process being an empirical one, is very uncertain +and cannot be employed for the judicial detection of truth, or the certain +discrimination of it from error, it has however to be trusted to in all +cases where we are deficient in knowledge, or have not time for +investigation. Truthful ideas and correct conduct also, which at first +require the exercise of considerable intellect and much self-discipline, in +order to arrive at them, become by habit so completely converted into +acquired tendencies as to be automatic. It is not improbable {128} that +many of our truthful ideas and correct tendencies were originally arrived +at by intellectual processes; and have become incorporated into our mental +and physical structure by habit, education, and inheritance. + +The scientific basis of morality is further shewn and essentially proved by +the fact that the fundamental rules of morality are dependent upon +scientific principles. According to Dr. Clarke, the two fundamental "rules +of righteousness" which regulate our moral conduct are, first, that we +should do unto another what we would, under like circumstances, have him do +unto us; and second, that we should constantly endeavour to promote to the +utmost of our power, the welfare and happiness of all men (to the latter +might well be added, the welfare of all sentient creatures). The first of +these rules is essentially dependent upon the scientific principle of +causation, viz:--that the same cause, acting under the same circumstances, +always produces the same effect, if what we did for another person under +like circumstances might produce a different effect to what it would when +done for ourself, the rule could not be depended upon and would be of no +use. The second also agrees with the great principles of science, for the +more we obey those principles, the more do we really "promote the happiness +and welfare of all men." The first of these rules however in the form +usually stated, is incomplete, because it does not provide for the +circumstance, that many persons desire to have done unto themselves, not +that which {129} is most right, and really most for their welfare and that +of mankind in general, but that which would most please them. The desire of +immediate pleasure or consolation is greater than the love of truth in +nearly all men, and this is connected with another fact, viz:--that persons +unacquainted with the great principles of science, have not the advantage +of the moral sustaining power of those principles, and are compelled in +circumstances of trial to seek extraneous mental relief. + +The desire to do right is not the primary source of morality; there must be +a cause for that desire, and this fact also shews that moral phenomena are +dependent upon the scientific principle of causation. We can also much +better understand a subject, especially a complex one like that of morals, +when we can co ordinate its facts in a scientific manner, by referring them +to some general principle which governs or includes them. Referring moral +actions to a verified scientific principle, is more satisfactory than +referring them to a less definite source such as "conscience"; the +"testimony of consciousness"; or "the indestructible instincts of the human +soul," because a principle affords a more consistent explanation than a +dogmatic idea. The fact also that the discoveries of science usually +precede the developments of the moral advantages of science to mankind, is +in harmony with the general truth that effects follow their causes, and +with the conclusion that moral rules and moral progress have a scientific +basis. {130} + +In a general way, the influence of science upon moral progress is connected +with what has been termed, "the scientific spirit." This characteristic +consists mainly of an intense love of truth, a desire to acquire new +knowledge, to arrive at certainty and accuracy; also an obedience to law in +general, and a consequent philosophic resignation to inevitable ills. +Science inculcates these qualities, and it is well known that scientific +discoverers have usually been highly moral persons, truthful, accurate, law +abiding, patient, persevering, temperate, &c. On the other hand, the most +lawless persons are usually those who are most ignorant of the great laws +which govern their actions, who over-estimate human power and ability, and +are impelled by ill-regulated enthusiasm or feeling. + +Belief in and obedience to law, being a fundamental moral quality, is in +its turn the source of other moral qualities of less importance; for +instance, it tends to produce calmness, resignation, contentment, patience, +submission to the inevitable, &c. No man can be highly moral who disobeys +the great principles of nature. We may however obey those laws either +intelligently, by acquiring a scientific knowledge of them; empirically, by +obeying rules framed in accordance with them; or blindly, by obeying dogmas +which happen to agree with them. Those who do not understand laws cannot of +course intelligently obey them, and those who most disobey them, consist +nearly wholly of those who do not understand them. {131} Superstition, +ignorance of natural law, and a belief in occult powers, encourages +lawlessness, injures the moral sentiments, and is often attended by +bigotry, associated with strife, schism, and sectarian dispute. + +Probably the greatest influence which scientific discovery has had upon the +moral progress of mankind, has been by inculcating an intelligent love of +truth on account of its own intrinsic goodness; in this respect it stands +pre-eminent. Love of truth is a fundamental virtue because it is the basis +of many smaller ones. It is more virtuous, also, to pursue truth on account +of its own intrinsic and unqualified goodness in all respects, than for any +narrow extrinsic quality, such as the personal pleasure or utility it may +afford, or on account of any personal gain or loss, reward or punishment, +which may result from pursuing or neglecting it. In the present imperfect +state of civilization however, the great bulk of mankind unavoidably employ +less noble, as well as the noblest motives, as a means of improvement. Most +men can only be moved to do right by means of inferior motives, one of the +most effectual of which in a commercial nation is "small investments, large +profits, and quick returns;" an expectation of great reward in return for +small self-sacrifice. + +The discovery and dissemination of verified scientific knowledge is a purer +kind of occupation than the promulgation of any kind of dogma, because the +statements of verified science are usually capable of demonstration, whilst +those of doctrine, being often {132} contradictory, may, or may not be +true; mere affirmation also, when not based upon proof, is often dangerous +to morality. In dogmatic subjects a man may tell untruths with impunity, +because no one can disprove or convict him; but in demonstrable ones, a man +dare not utter falsehoods, because others will prove his statements to be +erroneous. It is demonstration rather than doctrine that is of divine +origin. A man also who practises scientific research is largely compelled +to adopt the most truthful views of nature, in order to enable him to make +discoveries. + +Real science is largely independent of opinion or faith. Whether we believe +or not that a piece of clean iron immersed in a mixture of oil of vitriol +and water, evolves hydrogen gas, the fact itself remains unaltered. It is a +great and glorious circumstance for mankind, that human progress depends +essentially upon a knowledge of new verified truth. As verified +experimental knowledge can only come from the great source of all that is +good, to doubt the value of new demonstrable truth, is practical atheism. +Those also who systematically investigate sources of verifiable truth, are +much more likely to ultimately arrive at the fountain of all truth, than +those who employ unsystematic methods, or prefer unproved beliefs to +verified knowledge. + +Another of the most powerful ways in which scientific discovery has +promoted moral progress has been an indirect one, viz., by diminishing +ignorance. Deficiency of knowledge is the parent of a vast {133} amount of +evil and failure. "There is no instance on record of an active ignorant +man, who, having good intentions, and supreme power to enforce them, has +not done far more evil than good." (Buckle, "History of Civilization," vol. +1, p. 167). Ignorance largely precludes happiness, and intelligence is an +indispensable condition of the highest morality. There are plenty of +difficult positions in life in which the desire to do right is not alone +sufficient, we must intelligently know what is the right course to pursue. +We are all of us ignorant in different degrees, and must be content in many +matters to walk by faith until we can walk by sight, and to act according +to rule and precept until we have discovered general principles to guide +us:--blind dogmatic morality and "rule of thumb" method is vastly better +than none, and has rendered great services to mankind. Whether comforting +doctrines are true or not, the great bulk of mankind prefer them because +they afford immediate relief; and whether they be erroneous or truthful, +men will be benefited by them and continue to believe in them, until their +minds are sufficiently advanced to receive a knowledge of verified +principles. Rules of morality however, when presented to us with a basis of +demonstrable truth, come with a degree of divine authority, and possess +greater claim to our observance, than the same rules presented to us as +empirical or dogmatic statements only. + +In proportion to our ignorance the more we dislike to be apprised of our +defects and the more inclined are {134} we to continue uninformed; because +the less intelligent we are the less are we able to perceive the evil +effects of our blindness or the advantages of knowledge. As also the +present state of civilization is very imperfect, and unsolved problems +exist in all directions, ignorance and all its evil consequences are +extremely prevalent. It causes the great mass of mankind to neglect better +objects for the sake of money. It indirectly constrains lawyers to neglect +moral evidence. It induces medical men to withhold truth from ignorant +patients. It causes ministers of religion to prefer doctrine to +demonstration. It would therefore be comparatively easy to compose lists of +our moral deficiencies, and of improvements urgently needed in morality, +far more extensive than the very incomplete ones of our material +shortcomings already given (see pp. 68 to 78). To enumerate however the +imperfections in the moral conduct of mankind, the frauds in trades, the +undue advantage taken of the defenceless, the deceit and empiricism in +professions, the professional trading on human weakness, the cruelty of +field sports, the hollow motives of social, political, and religious life, +the propagating as infallible truth, doctrines which may be fallacious, is +not the object of this Chapter; but rather to make clear the fact, that the +extension of the domain of verified truth by means of scientific research +is highly conducive to moral progress. + +The extension of new scientific knowledge is influencing morality and +gradually reducing the selfishness {135} of mankind, by proving that there +exist no royal roads to happiness, and that the greatest amount of +individual and national success can only be secured by a genuine pursuit of +truth, as an individual and cosmopolitan duty. Increased knowledge is +gradually proving to mankind that the purest happiness is to be obtained by +intelligent and virtuous conduct. By shewing Man the unreasonable character +of some of his fears and hopes, and substituting for them a greater variety +and extent of intellectual pleasures, science is slowly making him more +satisfied with his lot on this Earth. Meanwhile the great mass of mankind +are still pursuing the ever retreating phantom of an easy way to happiness; +the great laws of nature however cannot be evaded, the avoidance of evil +and the attainment of good can only be secured by obeying all the great +laws which govern our nature. + +Progress in morality is largely dependent upon the diffusion of belief in +the universality of scientific laws. When men understand those laws, know +that their action is irresistible, and that they have no alternative but to +obey them or suffer, they acquire a habit of obeying them. Universality of +law in moral actions is often considered to be incompatible with the +existence of freedom of the will in selecting ideas, and choosing courses +of conduct; but we are free or not, according to circumstances, both to +think and to act. All things are free to be active or not, in accordance +with their properties and surrounding conditions, but not in {136} +contradiction to them; and the human will is no exception to this +statement. The "will" is only free within certain limits; it cannot act in +opposition to its strongest motives or causes of action. We believe +ourselves to be much more free than we are, because we often do not know +the causes which determine us, and we frequently fail to detect those +influences, because we cannot think, and at the same time clearly observe +our act of thought and its motives. Freedom of the will does not enable us +to set aside laws: entire freedom from law in any instance is probably only +apparent. This limited degree of freedom of the will indicates the +dependence of volition upon scientific laws, because a supernatural power, +being entirely independent of natural law, could not be limited by it. To +affirm without proof that the human will is a "supernatural power" is to +implicitly deny the universality and constancy of natural laws. New +knowledge developed by Science, imparts to us liberty, but not license; +and, so far from diminishing the freedom of the will, increases it by +showing us what conditions we must fulfil and obey in order to effect our +objects. We acquire power by being first obedient; and this is in +accordance with the principles and facts of science; we must obey nature +before we can make nature obey us; the elementary bodies, also, usually +acquire the free state, latent power, and the ability to evolve heat and +electric energy, only by being first subjected in their crude state to a +process of reduction and purification. {137} + +Few circumstances connected with the discovery of new truths of science, +have had a greater moral effect, than the very high degree of certainty of +such truths. The moral result of this is a corresponding degree of +confidence in the statements of science. Trustworthiness is a great moral +quality. Uncertainty is a continual hindrance to action and enjoyment; and +many persons are driven to believe in error, and hence to commit sin, +rather than remain in suspense. Contradictions of doctrine, and the +consequent uncertainty of belief, in any subject, are fertile sources of +strife. Science consists, not merely of opinions and words, but also of the +tangible realities which those opinions and words represent, the forces, +substances and phenomena of the material Universe. Some persons however +fancy that the results of science are as uncertain as those of the +undemonstrable subjects with which they are familiar. + +Another way in which science has contributed to moral progress, has been by +requiring greater accuracy in nearly all human actions, and thereby +diffusing greater exactitude of language and of conduct, which has spread +itself throughout all civilised society. Previous to the use of watches and +clocks, persons were no doubt much less exact in fulfilling their +appointments; the establishment also in our chief towns, of electric +time-keepers regulated from Greenwich Observatory, is increasing exactitude +in our large communities. Since the introduction of railways, millions of +persons have been compelled to be more {138} exact in their movements, by +the risk they incur of missing their train. Numerous inventions and +processes based upon scientific discoveries could not be worked at all +unless men possessed habits of greater accuracy than formerly. Workmen now +require higher moral and intellectual education, and their duties require +more intelligence and involve greater responsibility. + +Science diminishes error, and the avoidance of error is a large step +towards the attainment of truth. There is no tyranny equal to that of false +ideas. Error often produces immoral acts, and every act of immorality is a +mental error. "The ignorant justice-loving man, enamoured of the right, is +blinded by the speciousness of wrong." "Inaccuracy of thought is the cause +not only of the errors we meet with in the sciences, but also of the +majority of the offences which are committed in civil life,--of unjust +quarrels, unfounded law suits, rash counsel, and ill-arranged undertakings. +There are few of those which have not their origin in some error, and in +some fault of judgment, so that there is no defect which it more concerns +us to correct."[17] + +Our senses and consciousness are often great deceivers, and unless +corrected by sufficient knowledge, are frequently as great a source of +error in moral questions as in mental ones.[18] Their incessant influence +is a cause of selfishness, and of the fallacious tendency existing in +nearly every man, to exaggerate the importance of himself and of everything +relating to him. {139} It has led man to consider himself "the Lord of +Creation";--to believe that his volitions are not subject to natural laws +&c.:--and has given rise to the comparatively narrow-minded idea "the study +of mankind is man." The fact that consciousness frequently misleads men of +energetic temperament who feel their energy, indicates its connection with +a physical basis. + +Consciousness is also an essential condition of what we term evil. If we +define evil as that which produces pain or discomfort in sentient +creatures, then evil is that influence only which unpleasantly affects +consciousness. And if we admit this, then all evil is relative, and there +is no absolute evil; because, if there were no sentient creatures, there +would be no evil. It is manifest also, that if the existence of evil is +dependent upon that of sentient creatures, and if the existence of such +creatures depends upon physical conditions, and upon the operations of the +great principles of science, then the existence of evil must itself depend +to that extent upon those conditions and principles. What we term Evil, is +caused, not only by the actions of man, but also on a large scale by the +operation of the simplest forces of matter, in earth-quakes, storms, +volcanic outbursts, droughts and famines, pestilences, etc. Evil (as well +as good) may therefore be viewed as a result, to some extent, of the +operation of the laws of the Universe; and here again we are compelled to +recognise a scientific basis of morality. {140} + +That the same causes, acting under different conditions, produce different +and even opposite effects, is a well-known scientific truth. The same heat +of summer which causes our foods to decay, promotes the growth of plants in +the soil; the same cold of winter which increases the pain of bronchial +affections, and cuts short the lives of aged and infirm persons, acts as a +stimulant and a source of pleasure to the young and healthy. We need not +therefore be surprised, that the same physical conditions and principles of +nature, act as causes or conditions both of what we term evil and what we +term good. If, also the theory of relativity in physical and mental action +is true, that change of impression is a necessary cause or condition of +consciousness, and that previous experience of pain increases the +perception of pleasure, we possess in that theory, as one of the general +ideas of science, a partial basis of morality. All these remarks tend to +shew, that in order to obtain a truly scientific view of the nature of man, +and of man's position and duties in the Universe, we must avoid the errors +caused by uncorrected consciousness. + +Another great moral effect of the continual discovery of new truth in +science, is the gradual production and diffusion of uniformity of belief, +first amongst scientific men, and then amongst the mass of mankind. This +uniformity of belief is a necessary result of the invariability of fact and +law; it does not extend to scientific opinions, hypotheses or theories, +because they are not necessarily facts, and may be {141} erroneous. A +knowledge of science tends to remove differences of opinion between man and +man, because it enables every honest examiner to obtain essentially similar +results. Scientific research will gradually disclose what is true and what +is untrue in doctrine and empirical rules; and what is true will be +retained. A universal religion or a scientific philosophy which is composed +of contradictory creeds cannot be wholly true. Science is gradually +superseding unreasonable beliefs, and inaugurating a true universal gospel +in which all men will eventually think alike in fundamental matters. The +continued discovery of new truth must of necessity sooner or later lead +mankind to the source of all truth and to universal satisfaction and +happiness. It has been frequently stated that science is antagonistic to +religion; it is evident however that as science is so conducive to +morality, it cannot be opposed to true religion, but only to false or +unfounded beliefs. Nothing shews more plainly a weakness of moral +confidence and a deficiency of faith in an over-ruling power, than a fear +that the pursuit of scientific truth will lead to results injurious to +mankind. What we most need to fear is, not that our most cherished +doctrinal beliefs may be proved to be mistakes, but that we through +deficiency of knowledge may be led to do wrong. + +There are plenty of questions, especially in matters of theory and doctrine +in concrete subjects, which science cannot directly and absolutely decide +either one way or the other, but respecting which, by the {142} aid of new +knowledge and of inference based upon it, science gradually accumulates so +large a preponderence of evidence as conclusively settles them to the +conviction of every unprejudiced and reasonable person. Many of the most +deeply interesting questions in mental science and morality are of this +kind; and will probably be settled in this manner. It is well-known also to +scientific men that the indirect conclusions of the intellect and reasoning +power are often more certain than the direct evidence of the senses and +consciousness; we are more certain for instance that the Earth is a sphere +than that it is a plane, although the former conclusion is arrived at +largely by inference, whilst the latter is the direct testimony of +uneducated consciousness. Whilst our senses and consciousness inform us +that the Earth is a fixed body, inference proves to us that it is rushing +through space at an immense velocity. Sense and consciousness are not +intellect, although they are often treated as such. Their functions are to +perceive and observe, to act as witnesses, to supply evidence to the +judgment, and not to usurp the reasoning power. Even the universal +consciousness of all mankind is insufficient to overthrow the final +decisions of the intellect, or to decide what is true or false, because the +senses and consciousness cannot compare or infer. As it is the force and +repitition, and not the truthfulness of mental impressions, which largely +determines belief, we are capable of believing error as well as truth, and +we believe much that is erroneous until the {143} corrections of the +intellect are applied to the evidence of the senses and feelings. The +correctness or otherwise of our present beliefs will be tested in the +future as others have been in the past, and the new experiences requisite +for the purpose will probably be obtained by means of original research. It +is a great mistake to suppose that the warrantable inferences deduced from +scientific knowledge will not sooner or later profoundly influence +questions relating to the highest hopes and aspirations of the human race, +such as the independent existence and immortality of the human soul; that +of a personal Ruler of the Universe; freedom of the will; the origin of +evil; future reward and punishment; &c. By extension of knowledge a +scientific system of morality will be formed. The great principles which +govern the phenomena of all bodies are gradually being discovered, and when +found we deductively apply them to ourselves, and thus arrive at a +knowledge of our true position in nature, our duties, our proper course of +conduct, &c. Science also by disclosing to us the true relations of matter +to mind in the human brain, will probably not only make known to us the +true limits of our mental powers and of the knowable, but also help to +solve the problems of the relations of the Universe and of Man to an +intelligent Creator. It will decide such questions, largely by shewing us +whether or not the ideas we entertain respecting them are consistent with +the more extensive knowledge evolved by research. A part of the data from +which we may {144} safely predict that science will in the future exercise +so great a moral influence over mankind, is the fact that its chief +principles are fundamental guides and regulators of human action. + +Probably nothing has a greater effect in making a man humble and reverent +than a thorough knowledge of science. By the inventions of the telescope, +microscope, spectroscope, telegraph, microphone, telephone, &c., the +extremely finite extent of all our faculties has been abundantly +demonstrated. Whilst the wonders of the telescope have developed an +intelligent sentiment of reverence, by revealing to us a portion of the +vast amount of the Universe of matter and energy, those of the microscope +have strengthened that sentiment by affording us an insight into the almost +endless complexity of minute creatures, substances and actions. Whilst also +these and other scientific instruments and appliances have proved the +excessively limited extent of our senses; the inscrutable character and +immense number and variety of problems of nature yet unsolved, equally +demonstrate the extreme feebleness of our mental powers. To obtain an +accurate acquaintance with science also, and especially to discover new +scientific truths, it is absolutely necessary to set aside human pride, and +approach the subject like a little child; no other course is possible. + +A knowledge of geology and astronomy also makes a man humble and reverent. +The fact that this globe must have existed myriads of years; and is always +moving at the immense velocity of more than 62,000 {145} miles an hour in +its orbit, is sufficient to convince any unprejudiced person of his own +transient physical existence and his comparative physical feebleness and +insignificance. Hitherto, man has largely been accustomed, through the +influence of uncorrected impressions and other causes, to view all nature +as having been expressly provided for him, but science informs us that +whilst this Earth is suitable for his abode, and Nature ministers to his +necessities and pleasures, it is only on condition that he first obeys the +great laws of matter and energy, and adapts himself to their requirements. +The operation of those laws often ruthlessly destroys thousands of men by +pestilence, famine, drought, and other great calamities, and man can do +nothing which is incompatible with them without suffering a penalty. +Science shews that man is but one out of at least 320,000 different species +of animals; it also discloses the fact that the entire human population of +this globe constitute only about one 50,575,785 millionth part of the +Earth, and proves to us that the Earth itself is but a speck in the +Universe, one out of at least 75 millions of worlds; and that not only is +it merely a planet revolving round the Sun, but that the Sun is only one of +a multitude of Suns, and is itself, with all its planets, revolving round a +still more distant centre in space. + +There is scarcely a faculty man possesses, which is not immeasurably +limited in comparison with the powers and capabilities of inanimate nature. +His physical energy, when compared with that of the {146} momentum of this +Earth, is so exceedingly small that it can hardly be conveyed to our minds +by means of figures; even the steam engine, excessively wasteful as it is +of power, far surpasses him in strength. The duration of his existence is +to that of the world he inhabits, as nothing to infinity. His power and +speed of locomotion are also very limited; the globe to which he is fixed +by gravity, moves in one hour through a distance greater than he could walk +in twenty years. Practically, by circumstances, he is almost rooted like a +vegetable to the locality where he exists; comparatively few men have +walked even a hundred miles from their homes, or have been conveyed round +this little globe by the aid of all our improved means of transport. A +balloon can ascend in the air, but a man cannot; without the aid of that +apparatus he is absolutely fixed to the surface of the Earth, and with the +assistance of all the appliances of science, he cannot yet ascend even ten +miles into the atmosphere, nor dive more than a few fathoms into the sea. +His senses are equally contracted; his perceptions of touch and sound are +far less delicate than that of the microphone; a photographic surface will +detect vibrations of light which he cannot at all perceive, and record +images more quickly than his brain; and for the detection of magnetism and +the chemical rays of light he possesses no sense whatever:--electrometers +and galvanometers can detect thousands of times smaller quantities of +electricity than he can perceive:--whilst a bolometer renders manifest a +one {147} hundred-thousandth of a Centigrade degree change of temperature, +he can hardly detect a difference of an entire degree; and whilst carbon +and platinum may be heated to whiteness without material change, a rise or +fall of about five Fahrenheit degrees in his temperature endangers his +life. His mental and intellectual powers are as limited as his senses; he +can hardly reckon without making an error even a single million, nor can he +conceive an adequate idea of a billion; a million miles or a millionth of +an inch are each quite beyond his immediate perception; an extremely minute +circumstance also is capable of disturbing and entirely diverting his train +of thought. He cannot create or destroy even a particle of dust, nor form +out of nothing a single idea. The velocity of transmission of his nervous +power, and the speed of his execution of will, are also extremely slow in +comparison with that of an electric current in a copper wire. Every person +is aware that he can only very slowly receive and understand a new idea. +His mental advance is as tardy as his locomotion, a sixth part of his life +is spent in acquiring the merest rudiments of universal knowledge. Whilst +his reasoning power, when applied to actual and truthfully stated +experience, is truly "the great guide" of his life, it only renders +explicit what was already contained in that experience; for when he draws +an inference, he usually only states in one form of words, what he has +already implicitly included in the propositions; and if the inference +contains more than this it is {148} unwarranted. His mental helplessness in +the absence of knowledge, is equal to his physical incapacity in the +absence of light. Nearly every problem of nature also is so complex, and +affected by so many conditions, that his reasoning power only enables him +to advance a very minute step at a time in the discovery of new knowledge; +he is then obliged to halt, and have recourse to new experiences obtained +either by means of experiment and observation, or by the latter alone. + +Man's moral actions are largely the effect of circumstances; his thoughts +and actions are probably the whole of them limited by law. He is never free +from the influence of causation. His mental and moral freedom are limited +by the epoch in which he lives, by the customs of his nation, by the +individuals by whom he is immediately surrounded, by the alcoholic +stimulants of which he partakes, and by his own physical and mental +constitution, his degree of intelligence, &c., &c. Whether he is willing or +not, he is incessantly compelled to receive sensuous and mental +impressions, and be influenced by an almost infinite number and variety of +agencies acting upon him both from within and without:--To be mentally and +physically active, and perform all the bodily functions and acts necessary +to his existence:--To live on this globe in presence of all its phenomena, +and be carried through space at an immense velocity:--To undergo through a +long series of generations a progressive existence and development of +civilization, &c., &c. {149} He is more subject to the laws of the Universe +than those laws are subject to him; and he can only exercise his will +successfully and become their master by first obeying them. + +Under the influence of the light and heat of the Sun, the entire population +of this planet (about fifteen hundred millions) are renewed out of the +crust of the Earth every few years, by breathing the air, drinking the +water, feeding upon plants which take their constituents from the Earth, +water and air; or by eating animals which have lived upon plants; and if +that heat and light, or that supply of food and air, were to cease, all +those human beings would die, and all the moral phenomena of man on this +globe would terminate. Whilst man cannot exist without the support of +inanimate nature and the operation of its laws, inanimate nature and its +laws can exist without him. That also which is naturally ordained by +Creative power to be dependent, cannot be essentially more important than +that upon which it depends for its existence. The essential importance of +man in relation to the Universe, exists only in his own imagination. + +These facts shew that the principles of science, and the physical and +chemical properties of substances, lie at the very basis of man's existence +and activity and it would therefore be incorrect to say that the physical +system of the Universe is unimportant in comparison with the moral +phenomena of mankind. + +That science conduces to humanity by preventing {150} and alleviating +animal suffering has been already alluded to (p. 80-81). True humanity +consists not in the abolition of experiments upon living creatures, but in +the judicious employment of them. Instead of barbarously treating our +suffering fellow creatures by indolently and ignorantly allowing causes of +disease and pain to continually occur and take their course, it urgently +enforces upon us the duty of extending our knowledge of physiology by means +of new experiments, observations and study. It would be untruthful to say +that experiments purposely made upon men and other animals do not yield new +and valuable information;--Pharmacopoeias and Materia-Medicæs are full of +descriptions of the properties of curative agents discovered by these and +other scientific methods. + +Amongst the lesser virtues which have been greatly promoted by means of +scientific research is that of cleanliness. The origin of soap was the +discovery of the detergent properties of a boiled mixture of fat and +alkali. The numerous inventions which have cheapened the most important +soap-producing material, viz., washing soda, and those which have cheapened +oil of vitriol, the chief substance consumed in making washing-soda, have +all contributed to the cleanliness of mankind; and it has been stated that +the degree of civilization of a nation might be ascertained by the amounts +consumed of those substances. + +Even the minor virtue of economy has been greatly promoted by the results +of scientific research. New {151} scientific truth has through inventions +taught us how to obtain greater effects with less expenditure of space, of +time, of materials, and forces. It has enabled us to effect our objects +quicker and with a diminution of waste. In the sugar manufacture for +example, by means of the centrifugal machine, the sugar is deprived as +perfectly of molasses in three minutes, as it was previously in three days, +and the necessary manufacturing apparatus has been so much reduced in +magnitude as not to require more than one half the space. The process of +bleaching linen, which formerly required weeks, has by the discovery of +chlorine been reduced to hours. Journeys which at one time occupied weeks +now only require days. Messages are now transmitted in hours which formerly +required months. Multitudes of instances might be adduced of the diminished +cost of the comforts and conveniences of life, resulting in consequence of +discovery of new scientific knowledge. Ultramarine for example, which at +one time cost from ten to twenty pounds an ounce, has by means of chemical +research been reduced in price to a few pence per pound; phosphorus, which +formerly cost several guineas an ounce, now costs only as many pence. + +Numerous substances which were formerly thrown away, destroyed, or +neglected, are now utilized. Coal tar and gas-water, which were at one time +waste products in the making of gas, and which when thrown away were the +causes of costly litigation to gas-companies, by polluting streams and +wells, &c., {152} are now sources of very large income to those companies. +Those substances yield great quantities of salts of ammonia, the beautiful +aniline dyes, paraffin, benzene, napthaline, alizarine, and other valuable +products. Glycerine also, which formerly was a most offensive waste product +in soap-making, is now purified and used, to an extent of twenty millions +of pounds annually, for a great number of purposes; as an emollient for the +skin; as a source of nitro-glycerine and dynamite, used in blasting rocks, +in warfare, &c. The immense beds of native sulphide of iron also, notably +those of Tharsis and Rio Tinto in Spain, and of many other places, are now +utilized, literally in millions of tons, for the production of sulphur, +copper, oxide of iron, &c. A long list of instances of this class might be +adduced if it were necessary, some of them of very great importance.[19] + +The promotion of morality by enabling us to detect crime, is one of the +smaller influences of scientific research, and may be referred to as a +set-off against the bad uses sometimes made of scientific knowledge. The +telegraph is very commonly employed to assist in tracking and capturing +criminals. Photography is also largely used in our gaols as a means of +recognising offenders. + +Knowledge of science conduces also to self-discipline and self-mastery, it +tends to bridle our vicious passions by making known to us the penalties +which must be paid for their indulgence; it limits our self-will by shewing +us that we must respect and obey the {153} laws of nature whether we are +willing or not, no man can improperly manipulate dangerous substances or +forces with impunity; it moderates our bigotry by exhibiting to us the +great uncertainty of unproved opinions; it restrains undue credulity in +men's assertions, by shewing us their frequent fallacy; it gives us +confidence in the laws of nature, by proving to us their uniformity; it +withdraws us from self-deception by compelling us to accept the truths of +nature as they exist ready made for us, whether they harmonise with our +preconceived ideas or not; men cannot argue with nature, as they can with +their fellow-men, but must submit to the influence of verified truth. It +supplies us with principles instead of empirical "rule of thumb" methods as +guides of morality. Whilst it liberates us from the terror of irrational +fears, it cautions us against entertaining unreasonable hopes. It +substitutes for ignorant wonder and awe, an intelligent appreciation of +created things; and when fully developed it will probably satisfy all the +reasonable instincts and desires of men. + +Whilst law, medicine and divinity, direct man's attention almost +exclusively to matters concerning himself, and thus tend to limit his +sphere of perception and knowledge, and unconsciously impress him with the +idea that all other existences are less important than himself, science not +only enlightens him respecting all the departments of his own nature, but +extends his mental vision in all directions by exciting his mind to observe +and reflect upon all other bodies {154} and actions throughout the +Universe. Whilst also music, painting, sculpture, poetry and the drama, +afford excitement and pleasure to his senses, feelings and sentiments, and +are largely personal; science not only constitutes the basis of those arts, +but shews the relations of them to Man and to the external Universe, and +thus more largely cultivates the intellect and corrects and refines the +senses, feelings and sentiments. + +New scientific knowledge affords advantages to all classes of men; to the +minister of religion, by supplying him with new illustrations of Creative +power, in the greatness, smallness, and vast variety of nature; to the +physician, by explaining to him more perfectly the structure and phenomena +of the human body, and by providing him with new remedies; to the statesman +and politician, by making known to him the great and increasing relations +of science to national progress, by its influence upon wages, capital, the +employment of workmen, the art of war, the means of communication with +foreign countries, &c.; to the philanthropist, as an endless source of +employment for poor persons, by the development of new discoveries, +inventions, and improvements in arts and manufactories; to the military +man, by affording him new engines and materials for warfare and defence; to +the inventor, by supplying him with new discoveries upon which to found +inventions; to the merchant and man of trade, by the influence of new +products and processes upon the prices of his commodities; to the +manufacturer, as a means of improving his materials, {155} apparatus, and +processes; and to the investor of money, by assisting him to judge what new +technical schemes are likely to succeed. + +As the domain of rational enjoyment afforded by means of science gradually +enlarges, that derivable from less intellectual sources will probably be +modified; indeed this change is already progressing, and is manifested in +the alterations occurring in theological views, and in the extensive +adoption of scientific entertainments by religious bodies. The recognition +of science by professors of religion is also shewn by the already extensive +use of railways on Sundays as a means of conveyance to churches and +chapels; also by the publication by the Society for Promoting Christian +Knowledge, of Manuals of Electricity, Astronomy, Botany, Chemistry, +Crystallography, Geology, Physiology, Zoology, Matter and Motion, the +Spectroscope, &c. + +Having shewn some of the chief modes in which new scientific truth is a +basis of mental and moral progress, it is not necessary to say much +respecting the evil uses sometimes made of science, because every good +thing is liable to be abused by ignorant or ill-intentioned persons. The +abuses of scientific knowledge do not arise from the true spirit of +research, viz., a desire for new knowledge on account of its intrinsic +goodness and value to man, but from an absence of that sentiment. The +Bremerhaven explosion, the assassination of the Czar, the uses of +photography to forge letters of credit, and of the {156} telegraph in +swindling operations, the employment of electro-gilding and silvering in +coining base money, &c., &c., are all attributable to motives other than a +love of science. + +All the facts mentioned in this chapter, and the various points of +essential similarity between physical, physiological, and mental phenomena, +justify the conclusion that both moral and other mental actions, like +physical and chemical ones, are obedient to the great principles of +science. And from the evidence here adduced and alluded to, it is certain +that those principles influence human progress, not only in a few +conspicuous direct ways, but in a multitude of varied, deep-seated, and +indirect ones. + +If the statements made in this Chapter are true, that the innate properties +of matter really are motive powers of the human organism, and the +principles of science are regulators of mental and moral action; that Man +is a feeble epitome of the principles and powers of inorganic matter; that +the laws of Nature operate in utter disregard of his erroneous beliefs; +that nearly all man's sins and sufferings are traceable to his ignorance +and limited powers; that in proportion to his ignorance of science so is he +unable to foresee the more remote consequences of his thoughts and acts; +and if new knowledge does correct erroneous beliefs and purify human +thought and action, it behoves teachers of morality to make themselves +adequately acquainted with the principles and newest developments of +science. + + * * * * * + + +{157} + +CHAPTER III. + +------ + +NEW TRUTH, AND ITS GENERAL RELATION TO HUMAN PROGRESS. + +The great source of the success of applying science to trade, and of the +beneficent effect of science upon human welfare in general, is simply the +influence of demonstrable truth. We know that if we have once discovered +all the principles, laws, and conditions of some scientific phenomenon, or +of some improved process or result in a manufacture, the reproduction of +exactly the same conditions will hereafter enable us to invariably produce +the same result. In this respect science differs from dogma, the truth or +falsity of which cannot be demonstrated; it also differs from empiricism, +because when empirically working a process we are ignorant of the +principles or laws which are operating, whilst with a scientific knowledge +we understand those laws, and can direct them to our particular purposes. +In the process of electro-plating for example, we understand the laws of +the phenomena, and can direct them so as to obtain silver of a hard or soft +quality, brittle or tough, crystalline silver, &c., according to our wish; +but if we had only an empirical knowledge of the subject we could not thus +vary the process. {158} + +The highest test of truth is verified prediction; if we calculate +beforehand that an eclipse of the Sun will occur at a certain hour and +minute, and that eclipse occurs accurately at the predicted moment, we may +rest assured that our knowledge upon that point is true and complete. If we +say that a piece of clean iron, immersed in a solution of blue vitriol, +will become covered with a layer of metallic copper, and we find upon trial +that this result invariably occurs when we fulfil those conditions, we may +be certain that our knowledge of this phenomenon and its conditions is also +of a definite and certain character. Similarly, when we become able to +predict with certainty the conditions of the Sun's surface, we shall +probably also be able to predict severe winters, famines, &c., and +therefore be prepared to suggest precautions to be taken against them. Even +now the new truth necessary for this purpose is beginning to be evolved by +means of scientific research.[20] + +Amongst the great axioms and principles of science, possessing great +certainty, and which enable us to predict, are, _1st._ the general truth +known as the Principle of Causation, that every effect has a cause; that +the same cause, acting under the same conditions, always produces the same +effect; and that causation acts through all time and all space:--_2nd._ the +great truth, that every phenomenon requires time; and every substance +occupies space:--_3rd._ the Principles of Conservation and Persistency of +Matter {159} and Energy; that out of nothing, nothing comes; and out of +everything, everything proceeds; that all the future states of the Universe +are implicitly contained in and will be evolved out of the present state of +the Universe; that we have no experience and possess no verified knowledge +either of creation or annihilation of Matter or Energy; that we cannot +absolutely create or destroy even an idea;[21] and that Matter and Energy +appear to be eternal:--_4th._ the Principle of Convertibility and +Equivalency of the different forms of Energy, according to which the +various forces known as mechanical power, heat, light, electricity, +magnetism, chemical action, &c., being modes of motion, are convertible +into each other in equivalent quantities and without addition or loss. +These and other great principles constitute the basis of physical and +chemical science, by obeying which, we have been enabled to evolve all the +wonderful practical realities of science of the present day.[22] To these +great principles may be added the more concrete truth called the "Law of +Progress," the essential idea of which is time, a time-rate; which +regulates the speed of increase of civilization, and is evidently connected +with the great truth that every phenomenon occupies time. + +The Principle of Gravitation, demonstrated by Newton, explains a vast +number of facts relating to the motions of the Heavenly bodies:--the {160} +Undulatory Theory of Light, largely developed by the labours of Fresnel, +renders equally clear and systematic an almost endless number and variety +of optical phenomena; Oersted's law of Electro-magnetism similarly explains +and renders consistent a multitude of facts respecting the movements of +magnets and electric conductors, which would otherwise be confusing to +remember and impossible to satisfactorily explain. And the great mental +value of these comprehensive ideas to mankind, consists largely in +relieving the memory and diminishing mental confusion, by co-ordinating a +large number of different facts and apparently inconsistent phenomena by +means of a general conception which embraces the whole of them. Thus a +knowledge of the Principle of Gravitation informs us that both the ascent +of a balloon in the air, and the descent of a stone in water, are alike due +to the same force of gravity; and that of Chemical Affinity proves to us +that the apparently unlike phenomena of slow rusting of iron and vivid +combustion of phosphorus are essentially alike and due to the same cause. + +All bodies, whether living or dead, and all forms of energy, appear to be +absolutely subject to the great laws of Causation, Progress, Conservation, +&c., no one can escape them; the man who transgresses the Law of Progress +by being too much in advance of his epoch, is punished as certainly as he +who lags behind it; all must advance together, and at approximately the +prescribed rates. {161} + +The real source of all that is good in new scientific knowledge arises from +its verified and verifiable character, its high degree of certainty, and +its capacity of withstanding all the tests which can be applied to it. By +the term "scientific knowledge" in this case I mean that only that which +has been verified, and I purposely exclude all matters of hypothesis, mere +opinion or belief. Scientific research is the chief basis of national +progress, not only because it is continually disclosing new truths to us, +but also because the truths it reveals are frequently of the most definite +kind. + +As the term "verified truth" may appear vague, the questions may well be +asked, what is truth? And how may we best detect it? And especially what is +new truth? and how may it best be recognised? Truth may be conveniently +defined as universal consistency; or that which perfectly conforms to +facts, and agrees with the widest experience, when tested by means of all +our intellectual powers, the reasoning faculty in particular. The usual +modern criterion of it, is consistency with the fundamental axioms of +logic, and with all the great principles of nature as established by means +of scientific research, such as the universality of causation, the +continuity of phenomena, the indestructibility of matter and energy, the +convertibility and equivalency of forces, &c. All truth whatever is one in +character by possessing the inseparable attribute of complete consistency. +The truthfulness of scientific knowledge is proved by its agreement with +universal experience and with the {162} fundamental logical axioms:--a +thing either is or is not:--a thing cannot both be and not be:--a thing +must either be or not be:--things equal to the same are equal to each +other; &c. It is chiefly by means of knowledge of these axioms and of the +above principles of science, and of their varied and numerous modes of +operation and application, that the man of science "explains" the +multitudinous phenomena of nature, predicts future events, and is enabled +to discover new truths and develope new inventions in the arts. Unlike +other persons; when he sees a new effect, or hears of a new phenomenon, he +at once refers it to these principles, in order to test its correctness or +to explain it. + +With regard to the detection of truth, that is often a difficult and +complex process. There exists no royal or easy method; usually it can only +be recognised by means of laborious and critical examination of the whole +of the evidence obtainable in the case; and even then we are often obliged +to be satisfied with only an approximation, or it may be with even a mere +probability. Frequently also the truthfulness or otherwise of a statement +cannot be decided in any degree in consequence of the absence of suitable +or sufficient evidence, and for that we may have to wait for ages. We are +now waiting for evidence necessary to decide many questions respecting the +human mind. + +With regard to the question, what is new truth?; that also is a difficult +one to solve. The forms in which different truths appear are so various, +and those {163} also in which even the same truth may shew itself are so +diverse, that it is often impossible to discriminate new truth from old +ideas clothed in a new form of words. The newness of an idea is entirely a +question of evidence, and to determine it, usually requires a complete +knowledge of all the circumstances affecting the particular case. + +New truth appears to be usually derived from new physical or mental +experiences of phenomena external to our perceiving faculty; either by +observing matter or its forces under new conditions or from a new aspect; +and the knowledge comes to us either through the avenues of our feelings +and senses, or by means of direct observations, by comparison of such +impressions, or by inferences drawn from them. From the results of such +mental operations, additional new truths are evolved by the more complex +process of analysis, combination and permutation of ideas. New truths are +also evolved from old ones by each of these latter methods; but sooner or +later the implicit contents of our stock of old knowledge becomes exhausted +when used for such a purpose, and we are then obliged to seek new +experience. + +As new truths may be acquired in the more direct manner, by acquisition of +new experience; and less directly, by mental operations upon old ideas, +other subjects of less fundamental and more concrete nature than the simple +sciences, such as sociology, &c., are also sources of progress, when +treated in these ways. {164} + +Of all subjects, the simple sciences of physics and chemistry, are at the +present time, apparently making the most rapid advance, and the chief +reasons for this probably are, _1st._ they treat of facts and principles +which can be verified, and _2nd._ because the more complex sciences, +together with the arts and manufactures based upon them, can only improve +in proportion as they are developed. All the essentially human subjects, +such as sociology, politics, morality, religious worship, &c., are in this +position, and are probably results partly of the operation of the great +principles of nature acting through the body and mind of man. + +The chief method of discovering new truth is that of observation, +experiment, and study, and further mental treatment of the results. The +most systematic methods also of evolving new truths are those employed by +scientific men in making discoveries, and when any person arrives at a new +idea, he usually (either consciously or unconsciously) employs them. + +The acquisition of new knowledge must of necessity precede its diffusion. +Immediately a new truth, especially an important one, is discovered, its +influence begins to permeate the existing mass of knowledge in various +directions, causing us to view many of our old ideas in a new aspect; +giving rise also by comparison and inference, and by processes of +combination, permutation and analysis of ideas, to a multitude of other new +truths, usually less important ones, which themselves also affect previous +knowledge in similar ways, {165} and by analogous treatment give rise to +additional new conceptions. + +But although we evolve truthful new conceptions from previous ones by these +purely mental methods, there is a limit to the number capable of being +evolved from a limited stock of ideas, because the number of combinations +and permutations of such a stock, though usually large, are themselves +limited. The number however is large in proportion to the degree of +essential importance of the ideas, and is greatest when we employ those of +the fundamental principles of nature, already referred to; for instance a +greater number of new ideas have been evolved by means of appropriate +mental processes from the law of gravitation and from that of +electro-magnetism than from any minor truth in science. Persons therefore +who are the least familiar with great demonstrable principles are usually +the least able to conceive new truthful ideas of intrinsic importance, or +to draw new verifiable inferences of much theoretical value. + +Every inventor and student knows that he continually requires new materials +of thought, and if he does not obtain them, an obstacle, like a wall of +adamant, rises before his mind in all directions, and prevents his forming +new ideas. That also which is true of each individual is true of the +collection of individuals, mankind; if new truths are not obtained, the +thoughts of men flow in circles, and mental progress ceases. The mental +characteristics of sequestered communities in remote isolated districts, +are examples of this {166} fact. The influence of printing, railways, +telegraphs, postal communication and other scientific developments, in +aiding mental progress, afford other illustrations. A multitude of facts of +this kind, and many others, leads us to the conclusion that each new idea +requires a cause to produce it, and that human knowledge is subject to the +great law of causation; also that the creation of an idea out of nothing +would be a miracle, a phenomenon without a cause. Our present knowledge was +not created by us, but was originated by previous knowledge and experience, +including of course inherited impressions. Even in what is termed the +"noblest effort of the mind," an act of reasoning or inference, we do not +create an idea, but only render explicit in a new form of words, ideas +already implicitly contained in the words of the propositions employed, as +may easily be rendered manifest by mechanical means in Jevons's "Logical +Machine;" a proper inference never contains more than its data. In the +so-called "creation" of ideas by the imagination also, the new ideas are +evolved from old ones, and rendered explicit by mental processes of +analysis, combination, permutation, &c. Our scientific inventions also, +being mental conceptions, an unlimited number of them cannot be made by +means of a limited stock of old knowledge. It was in consequence of this +limit, viz., the impossibility of actually creating ideas out of nothing, +that human knowledge was not more advanced by metaphysical speculations +until science with its experiments and {167} observations came to its +assistance. These various facts prove the statement made in the Preface of +this book, that present knowledge only enables mankind to maintain its +present state. + +Not only the mental, but also the physical advance of mankind is +essentially dependent upon the discovery of new truths. Men's physical +actions are determined not alone by their inherited and acquired tendencies +and the influence of external nature upon them, but also by their ideas; as +a man thinks, so also to a large extent does he act. Nations who do not +adopt new ideas do not either mentally or physically advance, but change +only so far as their immediate surroundings change; the Chinese are a +remarkable example of this; even the tendencies which men inherit, were +largely produced in their ancestors by the influence of ideas. The great +fact of the essential dependence of human progress upon new knowledge, is a +truth, the importance of which to man cannot be over-estimated, and is one +which statesmen, ministers of religion, and philanthropists should +seriously study. + +Much of the apparent advance of this nation however is not real. The great +bulk of our newly published knowledge, even that which is scientific, and +considered by the public to be new, consists, not of new truths, but of old +ones dressed in new forms of expression:-- + + "The tale repeated o'er and o'er, + With change of place and change of name. + Disguised, transformed, and yet the same + We've heard a hundred times before."--_Longfellow._ + +{168} + +It falls to the lot of but comparatively few men to discover or evolve +important new truths. The great majority of learned men also, have through +all historic time been occupied, and are still, not in evolving new ideas, +but in re-expressing old ones in different forms of words; the literary +spirit, is in civilised nations, almost universal. In ordinary writings it +is a rare circumstance to meet with an important and really new idea; it is +usually in books written by men who are acquainted or imbued with the great +principles and truths of science, that the newest demonstrable ideas are +most frequently found. The difference between evolving new ideas, and +re-expressing and permutating old ones; largely characterises the +dissimilarity of the scientific and the literary and theological minds. All +however are necessary to the welfare of mankind, the former to advance and +the other to maintain the condition of man. If all were not necessary they +would probably not exist. + +There are two great artificial divisions of scientific knowledge also, upon +the development of which national progress largely depends, viz., knowledge +of inanimate matter and knowledge of man; the latter we have largely +cultivated but the former we have greatly neglected:--and even our study of +man has been largely one-sided and literary. It is far less important to +know what is man, than to know what are the great principles which underlie +the actions of all living creatures, and in obedience to which man is +compelled to work out his destiny in the Universe and the infinite future. +{169} + +It is evident from this, that much of the mental activity around us is not +progress, but rather a process of maintaining present state, a prevention +of decline, a continually going round and round in conventional varied +step, a kind of intellectual mill. Under these circumstances it is not the +original discoverer, but he who in this occupation, can best express old +ideas, in the most varied forms and choicest language, who is most +generally considered to be the greatest intellectual chief. + +Although originality even in literature and art is very imperfectly +encouraged in this country, both art and literature are much more readily +understood and appreciated than scientific research, and treated as if they +were more important. Whilst most persons can understand and appreciate the +gift of a work of art to a public art collection, few can understand or +properly value the discovery and gift of a new scientific truth of far +greater intrinsic value to the public stock of knowledge; the treatment +received by Priestley and other discoverers in comparison with that of +local donors, sufficiently illustrates this. Even publishers of lucrative +newspapers prefer to give prizes and pay liberally for sensational tales, +than to pay for articles on the public advantages of new scientific +knowledge. + + * * * * * + + +{170} + +CHAPTER IV. + +------ + +THE PROMOTION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. + +Nearly the whole of the most distinguished mathematicians, physicists, +chemists, biologists, and physiologists of Great Britain, also the Earl of +Derby, the Marquis of Salisbury, Sir Stafford Northcote and many other +eminent men, have given evidence before the Royal Commissioners on +"Scientific Instruction and the Advancement of Science"[23] to the +following effect:--_1st._ That the promotion of original scientific +research is neglected in this country. _2nd._ That such research is +encouraged more by the State in Germany than here. And _3rd_. That much +greater encouragement of it by our Government, by the Universities and the +Public, is highly necessary to our commercial prosperity. They have also +stated in evidence their opinions as to the best ways in which they +consider it may be assisted. The additional fact that all the greatest +scientific men who have ever existed have pursued research, and sacrificed +much for it, is a practical proof that they also approved of its +encouragement. + +That research should be promoted is further the opinion of many men learned +in politics, literature, art, and science. The views expressed in numerous +letters on the subject, received by me from Members {171} of the Privy +Council, and of both Houses of Parliament, and from other eminent persons, +confirm this. It has also been adopted as a chief part of the programme of +the "Association for the Organization of Academical Study."[24] + +"M. de Candolle, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Science, Paris, is +a strong advocate for the encouragement of a class of sinecurists like the +non-working Fellows of our Colleges, who should have leisure to investigate +and not be pestered by the petty mechanical work of continued teaching and +examining." "The modern ideas of democracy are adverse to places to which +definite work is not attached, and from which definite results do not flow. +This principle is a wise one for the mass of mankind; but is utterly +misplaced when applied to those who have the zeal for investigation, and +who work best when left quite alone." + +The correctness of the principle of promoting research is also recognised +by our Governments in their yearly grants of money to the Royal Society, +and to the Royal Irish Academy[25] to aid research, also by the Council of +the Chemical Society, which has established a fund for the same purpose; +and by the British Association in their annual grants for the promotion of +scientific enquiry. The Fishmonger's Company also presented to Mr. W. R. +Parker, F.R.S., the sum of £50, followed by an annual gift of £20 for {172} +the three years, to assist him in bearing the expenses of his researches on +the skulls of vertebrate animals. And the British Pharmaceutical Conference +voted the sum of £80 from the Bell and Hills fund, during the period of +three years, in aid of research in connection with pharmaceutical science. +A small fund for the purpose of research exists also at the Royal +Institution. Fellowships also with a similar object have been founded at +the Victoria University. Dr. Priestley also was aided in his researches by +contributions from a small circle of friends. In recognition of the same +principle, nearly all of the most eminent scientific men on the Continent +have been assisted by their respective Governments. The total amount of aid +to research in this country is however very small, and to one acquainted +with the great commercial and other any valuable results of such labour, it +is simply astounding that we have not systematically organized a powerful +means of promoting discovery. + +A few scientific persons however still continue to oppose aid to research; +quite recently, scientific investigators have been spoken of as a class of +"men amusing themselves without any result whatever."[26] That idea however +abundantly refuted in the foregoing pages. It has also been remarked[27] +that "practically, endowment of research comes to the creation of positions +where there is payment without corresponding labour." "In England above all +countries in the world, there will always be plenty of {173} amateurs ready +and willing to assist in research, and it is notorious that in England, +almost without exception, all the great advances in science have been made +by such amateurs. Therefore I do not think it at all desirable that the +British tax-payer should be required to put his hand in his pocket to +provide salaries for gentlemen who might be working rightly or wrongly. He +could not control them, and while there are such a body of amateurs in the +country, I think the researches may be very well left to them." + +The first of these statements is not correct; the endowment of research +does not amount to "payment without corresponding labour." Scientific +discoverers have always been distinguished as a body of men intensely +devoted to their labours, and willing to perform much work for small +payment. Most of the great advances in science also in England, have been +made not by "amateurs," but by men of great experience, such as Newton, +Herschel, Priestley, Davy, Faraday, Graham, and many others. Endowment of +research is not desired for wealthy amateurs, but for investigators of +proved ability and small pecuniary means and who require assistance. Such +men, although not infallible, are the least likely to "work wrongly," and +much less likely to do so than amateurs. Many scientific investigators also +of repute, object to give their services wholly to a wealthy nation, +because they cannot afford to do so, and because it is only just that the +nation should make them some pecuniary return for their skill and labour. +The great evils {174} in this country requiring new knowledge to remedy +them[28] also prove that there are not "plenty of amateurs ready and +willing to assist in research here," or that "the researches may be very +well left to them." + +Whilst some investigators have had abundant means to carry on research, and +have excelled in that occupation, many of the most eminent have been +persons of limited circumstances; and their insufficient pecuniary means +has often restricted their degree of success. The argument also that +insufficiency of means stimulates research, is only employed by persons who +are not making investigations under such a condition. + +The President of the Royal Society, Dr. Spottiswoode, in his recent +address[29] also remarked:--"The question has been raised whether it be +wise, even in the interests of science, to encourage any one not yet of +independent income, to interrupt the main business of his life. It is too +often assumed that a profession or a business may be worked at half speed, +or may be laid down and taken up again, whenever we like. But this is not +so, and a profession temporarily, or even partially laid aside, may prove +irrecoverable, and the temptation to diverge from the dull and laborious +path of business may prove to have been a snare." Each of these remarks +appears to be made upon the assumption that it is still a doubtful question +whether persons qualified for research should be encouraged or not to +abandon occupations they reluctantly follow, and for which they are less +fitted, in order to become scientific {175} discoverers. As it is a fact +that the welfare of this country is suffering through deficiency of +encouragement of research, it is certainly desirable to encourage, by every +proper means, qualified persons to occupy themselves in such labour. Some +of the greatest discoveries have been made by men "not yet of independent +income," for instance, those made by Scheele, Priestley, Dalton, Faraday, +W. Herschel, and many others. + +The late Astronomer Royal, also,[30] who has made many researches, and was +a scientific official paid by the State, says:--"I think that successful +researches have in nearly every instance originated with private persons, +or with persons whose positions were so nearly private that the +investigators acted under private influence, without incurring the danger +attending connection with the State. Certainly I do not consider a +Government is justified in endeavouring to force, at public expense, +investigations of undefined character, and, at best, of doubtful utility; +and I think it probable that any such attempt will lead to consequences +disreputable to science. The very utmost, in my opinion, to which the State +should be expected to contribute, is exhibited in the large grants +intrusted to the Royal Society. The world, I think, is not unanimous in +believing that they have been useful." He then enumerates what he considers +"the proper foundations of claims upon the State," which he illustrates, +and substantially includes in and {176} limits by, the kinds of scientific +research done under his direction at the Royal Observatory. He further +adds--"The Royal Observatory was founded expressly for a definite +utilitarian purpose (the promotion of navigation) necessarily connected +with the highest science. And this utilitarian purpose has been steadily +kept in view for two centuries, and is now followed with greater vigour +than ever before. To its original plan have also been added--but still in +the utilitarian sense--the publication of time, the broader observation of +terrestrial magnetism, and local meteorology." His views therefore appear +to be, that State aid to research should be limited to utilitarian objects; +and that it is with propriety given to his own department, which is +connected with the State. It has however been abundantly proved that nearly +all the great scientific utilities of every-day life, had their origin in +the pursuit, not of utilities, but of pure truth, and that immediate +usefulness is neither the most successful nor the highest motive in +scientific research, nor should research be limited by so narrow a +condition. The investigations also made by the aid of Government Grants +possess the usual degree of definiteness and of utility of such labours, +and it cannot be reasonably expected that the world would be unanimous +respecting any measure, especially respecting a subject so little +understood by the public as the Endowment of Research. + +If investigators were to limit their researches to utilities, or what +appeared to be such, scarcely any {177} essentially new experiments or new +discoveries of importance would be made. No attempts would be made to +discover essentially novel facts, nor would many trials be made to test +fundamental abstract questions which affect the very basis of scientific +knowledge. The principles of electro-magnetism, of magneto-electric action, +and of the magnetic rotation of polarized light, were each discovered by +means of perfectly novel experiments, in which immediate utility was not +the motive. + +It is worthy of notice that of the very small proportion of scientific +investigators who disapprove of State aid to Research, nearly every one +already possesses sufficient pecuniary means to carry on investigations, +and therefore cannot adequately appreciate the position and necessities of +investigators having only small incomes. In some cases also the objections +to aid investigators come from scientific men who have attempted to make +discoveries but have not succeeded. + +Dr. Robinson of Armagh, a well-known investigator, has very properly +pointed out[31] what has been done in this country towards giving +assistance to those engaged in the pursuit of science, and mentions the +Observatories maintained by the Universities and by the Nation. He says +also that if anything more were to be done in increasing the amount of +grants of money to assist scientific work, he thinks "it might be best +applied in establishing in the great commercial {178} centres of the realm, +physical and chemical laboratories such as that which the Duke of +Devonshire has established at Cambridge, provided with the most refined +apparatus, and accessible to all who are considered privileged by a +competent tribunal." He also says "when there is found a man so far +surpassing his fellows in any department of science that he may be expected +to do work beyond their power, he ought to be made independent of any other +pursuit, so that none of his time and energy may be lost, such a case is +exceptional, and when it occurs it should be exceptionally provided for." + +Original research will for a long time to come, be opposed by a large +section of the non-scientific public:--by the numerous persons whose source +of income depends upon the ignorance of their fellow-men:--by those who are +deficient of faith in demonstrable truth, and fear that their most +cherished beliefs are endangered by it:--and by many of those who are +insufficiently acquainted with it to perceive its great value to mankind. + +With regard to the fears of many objectors that the Endowment of Research +would lead to jobbery and abuses, and thus retard the progress of discovery +instead of promoting it; it is evident that such a risk is an inseparable +concomitant of every remunerated office and is not peculiar to that of +research, and must therefore be accepted as unavoidable and be provided +against in the usual ways. It does not however appear probable that the +risk in this respect is at all greater {179} than that already existing and +provided against in many other appointments. + +Many persons, not clearly perceiving the difference between pure research +and other scientific occupations, suppose that because science is +encouraged in various ways in this country; and because sums of money are +occasionally given to scientific institutions, and some scientific men are +evidently receiving good incomes, that discoverers are remunerated, but +this is a great mistake; there is probably not a scientific man in the +kingdom who is wholly employed in such work in abstract physics or +chemistry, and paid for his entire skill, time, and labour. Wherever +payment is made for scientific labour, it is nearly always for that +performed with a view to some immediate practical application. Inventors +and expositors are remunerated, but discoverers are not. + +At the present time in this country scientific men are paid for teaching, +lecturing, writing popular scientific articles, compiling scientific books, +editing scientific journals, making chemical analyses and experiments for +manufacturers, companies, and others, for practical purposes, or to obtain +evidence for legal cases, giving evidence on scientific subjects in courts +of law, with consultations and advice to manufacturers and others, +superintending scientific commercial undertakings, &c. Some also +unfortunately obtain an income and cheap publicity by the empirical +contrivance of selling to tradesmen, their scientific opinions in the form +of testimonials which are extensively {180} advertised at the cost of the +purchasers. But not one of these occupations constitutes pure research, or +is an immediate source of new discoveries. Payment is made for all kinds of +scientific labour which will immediately benefit individuals or +corporations, but very little for pure investigation, and nearly every +inducement exists to attract men of science from pursuing such labour. + +It might be supposed that investigators would patent or sell their +discoveries; but discoveries in pure science cannot usually be patented or +sold, because they have not been converted by invention into commercial +commodities. New scientific truth is utterly unsaleable; no one will +purchase it. Whilst the real or intrinsic value of it is great, its +extrinsic value is small and is the sum of money it will sell for in the +market. No one would have purchased Oersted's great discovery of +electro-magnetism. It would also be less to public advantage if +investigators were to neglect discovering new knowledge in order to apply +that knowledge to practical uses. It requires a different training of +mental power to discover new truths, than to utilize them by means of +invention, teaching or lecturing; and men who can invent and instruct are +far more numerous than those who are able to discover. Discoveries are also +generally much more valuable than inventions, because a single discovery +(that of gutta percha for example) not unfrequently forms the basis of many +inventions. Discoverers not unfrequently meet with new facts {181} which +they perceive might be applied to valuable technical uses, but they +hesitate to patent them because the process of invention, taking out a +patent, seeking a manufacturer to work it, and protecting their patent from +piracy, would occupy a large portion of their time, and take them away from +research. Sir D. Brewster got no money by patenting his kaleidoscope +because the patent was instantly pirated in all directions. + +Some persons have suggested that scientific men should keep their +discoveries secret, but this would usually be a greater disadvantage to the +investigator even than publishing them, and no one would then derive any +benefit; discoveries also, being often capable of numerous applications, +and not being in a saleable shape, cannot usually be monopolised by any +one. New scientific knowledge is like a powerful light, it cannot be +hidden. Discoveries are eminently national knowledge, and research should +therefore be national employment. + +Other persons suppose that investigators should be satisfied with the fame +of their discoveries, and not require any payment; but this is a most +unfair supposition, because no man can live without means, and every useful +person deserves to be paid for his labour. Ought the late Duke of +Wellington to have been satisfied with the fame alone of his exploits, +without being paid any salary? Ought a Bishop to be content with the renown +of his eloquence, without receiving any payment for his services? Genius +alone is {182} appropriately rewarded by fame, but time, unusual skill, +labour and expenditure, should be repaid by money. + +It has been suggested that an investigator, if he is a man of practical +ability, is very often put into an office, the duties of which he can +efficiently discharge, and yet have leisure for original research, as in +the case of the late Dr. Graham, the eminent Master of the Mint,[32] our +Astronomers Royal, &c., and thus obtain his reward. But this is a very +imperfect plan, because research is very difficult, and to be carried out +effectually, requires the whole of a man's time and attention; the +investigator would also be taken from more important work to do that which +is of less value to the nation, and which might be performed by a more +suitable person; appointments also of the kind referred to are much too few +in number. Such a plan as this, of relegating important national work to +odd hours spared from official duties, is a makeshift, and quite unworthy +of this nation. Entire occupation in research, combined with efficient +publication of the results, is the only satisfactory plan of procedure. + +Probably one of the most satisfactory ways of rewarding scientific +discoverers and serving national interests at the same time, would be to +create salaried professorships of original research, and appoint +discoverers of repute to fill them. + +The time is near at hand when this nation will be compelled by the +injurious consequences arising from its neglect of scientific research, to +acquire a {183} knowledge of the relations of science to national existence +and welfare, and to adopt some means of encouraging discovery. The greatest +difficulty, probably, which has to be overcome, is not so much how to +obtain funds for the purpose, as how to employ them successfully, and +especially how to prevent their getting into the hands of unsuitable +persons. But, as methods have been found of remunerating all other classes +of persons, ways may be devised of remunerating scientific investigators. +It is only because the case is novel that it seems difficult; it is +probably no more intrinsically difficult to establish a professorship of +research than to found an ecclesiastical benefice. + +The great difficulty of determining from what source discoverers should be +paid for their labours, arises from the fact that all classes of the +community share in the benefit. It is evident they should in some measure +be paid from a source towards which all classes either directly or +indirectly contribute, and therefore from some public fund. The persons who +first use scientific knowledge are the compilers of scientific books, and +teachers of science; but these only disseminate the knowledge, and do not +derive from it any great pecuniary advantage, they are only the agents for +supplying the knowledge to others. The persons who first convert such +knowledge into valuable commercial commodities are inventors and +manufacturers who have received scientific education or advice; but those +who derive the greatest pecuniary benefit from it, and who should therefore +either {184} directly or indirectly pay in the largest degree for it, are +the great manufacturers, capitalists, and landowners. Whilst the question +is being settled as to what class of persons shall primarily bear the +expense of research, discoverers themselves are suffering great injustice, +and our manufactures and commerce are passing into the hands of foreign +nations. What the amount of loss and disadvantage suffered by this nation, +through want of encouragement of scientific enquiry is, cannot be +estimated, but it is certainly enormous. Had even a very moderate amount of +payment been made for such labour, and the expenses out of pocket paid in +full, the amount of research performed would have been greatly increased. + +Under present circumstances, many promising young men, fitted to become +good investigators, have been driven out of science altogether. I have +found by long experience and persistent enquiry, that there are many young +men distributed over this country, who are very desirous of engaging in +scientific research, and likely to make good investigators, but are +entirely prevented by the non-remunerative character of the labour, every +one wishes to know "what will it lead to"? Even amongst our most able +discoverers, scarcely one who has not possessed private means has continued +research beyond the middle age of life, because such labour enables no +provision to be made for old age; and all those who have left have devoted +themselves to less important but more lucrative occupations. Most of these +gentlemen have been {185} obliged to abandon research at a period of life +when their faculties were in the most perfect state for continuing it. + +Where one young beginner in science meets with the fortunate circumstance +of a helping hand, as Scheele did in Bergmann, and Faraday in Davy, many +are crushed out. The want of encouragement to scientific discovery in this +country is so very great that extremely few men are able to struggle +through it, and this is one reason why we have had so few discoveries. Some +persons have argued that the very difficulties and discouragements offered +are an advantage to science by producing only men of the very highest +eminence in discovery; but it is manifest that however great the amount of +ability may be that is developed by discouragement, that amount would +probably be still greater by judicious assistance. Moreover, progress in +the developement of the national scientific intellect is not so much to be +reckoned by the few great successes which have occurred in spite of all +obstacles, but rather by the much more numerous ones which would have +resulted from proper encouragement. The advocates of such an argument can +have no idea of the heart-sickening feeling of long deferred hope +experienced by the young beginner in science; or the disgust gradually +engendered in his mind at the injustice of other men taking all the profits +of his labours and leaving him without means of support; or they would +never adduce it. In this country the success of the few {186} eminent men +of science has resulted from the accidental combination of a few more or +less fortuitous circumstances, and their own great natural determination, +and not from legitimate and just support. How many investigators we have +lost from the above causes it is impossible to tell. The encouragement also +of unusual ability should not be left to accident. + +As scientific research has proved itself to be of such great value to this +nation, the question naturally arises, how can it best be promoted? A +number of plans have been proposed. Amongst these may be mentioned. _1st._ +By founding State Laboratories, in which discoverers of established repute, +supplied with every aid and appliance, should be wholly engaged in research +in their respective subjects, and be paid by the State. _2nd._ By founding +colleges or Professorships of original research in each of the +Universities, and appointing professors similarly. _3rd._ By founding +provincial colleges or Professorships of research, the funds being raised +locally by means of subscriptions, donations, and endowments, with or +without State assistance. _4th._ By State or Local aid, in the form of +additional salary, to Professors in colleges, to enable them to pursue +research. _5th._ By an extension of the present Government grants +distributed by the Royal Society. _6th._ By making it a condition at each +of our Universities that every student entering for a degree in science, +should previously make an original research. _7th._ By the formation by +learned societies, of Endowment of {187} Research Funds, and making grants +of money therefrom to recognised investigators. _8th._ By aid to local +scientific investigators by Municipal bodies out of the rates. And _9th._ +The support of Institutes of Scientific Research by private munificence. +Aid to research, in Germany, has been chiefly been made by the State, by +affording means to the Professors in the Universities; in America, more by +munificence of wealthy individuals; and in this country, chiefly in the +form of Government grants of money to investigators. The greatest +difficulty to be surmounted in carrying out any of these schemes, is the +very general ignorance in this country of the value and necessity of +research; and this can only be overcome by scientific men themselves +performing their duty of enlightening the public on the subject. + +_1st._ _By founding State Laboratories._ One of the first duties of a +Government is to protect its subjects in the enjoyment of their property; +but as no law reserves to discoverers the fruits of their ability, it is +clearly a duty of the State to protect them in other ways. It is believed +to be a duty of the State to provide and pay for pure scientific research, +for the following reasons:--because research is eminently national work; +because the results of such labour are indispensable to national welfare +and progress, and are of immense value to the nation, and especially to the +Government; because nearly the whole pecuniary benefit of it goes to the +nation, and scarcely any to the discoverer; because research is not +sufficiently {188} provided for by means of voluntary effort, nor can its +benefits be restricted to a locality; and because there appears to be +scarcely any other way (except by application of University revenues) in +which discoverers can be satisfactorily recompenced for their labour. Also +"Government should for its own sake honour the men who do honour and +service to the country." (Faraday.) + +The founding of State laboratories for original research was proposed and +advocated by the late Lieutenant-Colonel Strange, F.R.S., in communications +read before the British Association, and in evidence given before the Royal +Commissioners.[33] As the erection and maintenance of State laboratories +would require a large sum of money, and as all classes of the community +would share in the benefit, it is reasonable to suggest that the money +should come from some source towards which all classes of the community, +either directly or indirectly contribute, and therefore from some national +fund. + +In national improvements, expense is quite a secondary consideration; the +funds however for providing State laboratories already exist; the sum of +nearly £600,000 has accumulated in the form of fees received by Government +for the granting of patents for inventions; and as the discoveries made by +scientific men form the materials by means of which those inventions were +made, the money thus accumulated may be justly claimed by scientific +discoverers as a suitable {189} source from which their labours should be +remunerated by the State. + +Strong arguments might be adduced both against and in favour of the +application of this money for the purpose. Inventors are a great +wealth-producing class of the community; they are at present very highly +taxed, and receive but little advantage in return; to tax them without +giving them equivalent advantages, strikes very near to the root of +commercial prosperity, by diminishing improvements in arts and +manufactures. If an inventor is poor and his patent is valuable, he is also +frequently harassed out of it by litigation. Inventors are usually poor, +and but little able to pay taxes on patents at all; their pecuniary +position in this country is not greatly better than that of discoverers; +they are largely at the mercy of manufacturers and capitalists; and the +injustice to which they are sometimes subjected is notorious and +disgraceful. On the other hand, the fund already exists; inventors also +receive an equivalent from investigators, discovery is the indispensable +basis of nearly all invention; patented inventions are formed by means of +the knowledge obtained by pure scientific research. The poverty of a man +does not justify his taking the fruits of the labours of another man +without paying for them. If also the patent fees were thus applied, the +cost of research would then be paid for by all classes of the community, +somewhat in proportion to the benefit derived, because the cost of patents +in general ultimately falls upon the public at {190} large, in the shape of +an increased price put upon the commodity, in order to pay the cost of the +patent, like the grower of wheat is paid by the consumers of bread, through +the medium of the baker, the miller, and corn merchant. + +Whilst the benefits derived from the labours of discoverers, flows chiefly +in the form of money into the hands of wealthy manufacturers, and finally +gets locked up in the possession of capitalists and landowners, it is +hardly to be expected that the Government will be in possession of funds +necessary to promote research unless some such plan as this is adopted. +Should the wealthy and governing classes however become sufficiently +acquainted with the value of research, and of the essential and permanent +dependence of their material prosperity upon it, there will then be some +hope that they will be willing to contribute in a more direct manner their +just share towards paying the expenses. There is, however, but little +prospect of this whilst the influence of wealth so depresses the scientific +education of those classes at the Universities. + +The fundamental object in founding State laboratories should be to keep a +staff of the most competent men wholly engaged in original research in pure +science, and a secondary object might be to train assistants to become +investigators. Such laboratories would doubtless be located in London, and +be on a scale of magnitude creditable to science and the nation. They might +very suitably include {191} departments for the simpler pure sciences and +even for biology. + +It is manifest that the arguments which support the proposition for +professorships of original research in those sciences apply in a greater or +less degree to other sciences; and it has been stated that "there is no +ground upon which the scheme can be limited to the subject of natural +philosophy." In reference to this remark, (which, like most objections, +contains some truth), it must be remembered that there is a natural order +of dependence of the sciences upon each other, in which order also they are +being evolved. It is a general truth that the physical sciences of light +and heat are based upon mechanical conditions of the particles of matter; +that the science of chemistry is founded upon physics; that biological +phenomena are dependent upon physical and chemical conditions; that +psychological subjects are based upon biology; and that biological science +cannot progress excepting in proportion to the advance of the sciences on +which it is based. In addition to this general order of precedence of +evolution in point of time, the various sciences are so mutually related +that all must advance together, the simple ones taking the lead, and the +concrete and more complex sciences, with their attendant arts, following +behind. + +As this natural order of dependence and development of the sciences is a +great fact of nature, over which we have little or no control, and as a +scheme for the simultaneous establishment of professorships of research in +all the sciences, simple, complex, and {192} concrete, would probably be +too great an undertaking, the most proper course would be to commence with +the simpler ones, such as those of mathematics, mechanics, physics, and +chemistry, and perhaps biology. If it be argued that it would be +unadvisable to commence with the simple and purely experimental sciences, +it would be still more unadvisable to commence with the concrete subjects +of "natural history, medicine, civil history, law, and theology," or with +the arts which also depend upon science. + +The number of investigators in such an institution would not be large, +because few of high repute could be obtained, many of our ablest ones +abandon research for remunerative pursuits. In order to make the plan +succeed, the conditions of the appointments should be such as to limit the +election to the most competent persons. In the selection of such gentlemen, +the verdict of opinion of scientific men generally, upon the published +researches of the candidates, would have previously determined who were +qualified for the office. Any man who had published reliable papers in the +Transactions of the Royal Society, might very properly be considered a fit +candidate, and the selection and appointment might be made by the +Government, with the advice of the Council of the Royal Society. + +Probably there exists no class of persons upon whom the country might more +rely for industry in office than eminent investigators, because they have +pursued truth for its good effects alone. Men who had {193} previously +exercised the degree of self-sacrifice necessary to make a number of long +and difficult experimental researches, with only very limited pecuniary +means, must necessarily be possessed of great enthusiasm in their calling, +and would therefore be extremely unlikely persons to become idle by being +supplied with a sufficiency only of means to carry on their labours. +Further, such men might at present obtain a much larger income than they +would receive in such a post, by abandoning research and devoting +themselves to the various profitable engagements which are open to every +man of scientific ability who is willing to devote himself to applied +science. The actual work of research is much too arduous and difficult to +permit such an office to become an object of desire to a place-seeking or +idle person. But in order to exclude with certainty those who might devote +themselves to research solely or primarily for the purpose of subsequently +obtaining a well paid appointment, (as persons sometimes devote themselves +to learning, with the object of getting an "idle Fellowship,") and to +ensure in all cases a reasonable continuance of industry, it would be +necessary, that whilst the salaries paid should be sufficient to render the +professors free from care, if expended with a reasonable degree of economy, +they should not be so large as to conduce to idleness. The professors +should undertake not to engage in any other remunerative employment, and +provision should be made, that in case a professor persistently failed to +make, complete, or publish his {194} researches, or devoted less than the +stipulated amount of time to such labour in the Institution, without +reasonable cause, he should be removed. + +Many persons fancy that "it must be very nice to be always making +experiments," and that they "should be delighted with such an occupation" +if they "could only spare the time." But such an idea is only another +illustration of the general ignorance of the subject, and it is only +expressed by those who have never made a laborious and difficult research. +Pure research is by far the most difficult of all scientific occupations, +and this is another chief reason why discoverers are few, and why they will +probably remain so. + +To succeed in research, a man must set aside all human pride, and approach +the subject with perfect humility; and this is not an easy task, men cannot +so readily abandon preconceived and cherished notions. Many researches are +moreover extremely dangerous. Thilorier was killed by the explosion of a +vessel of liquefied carbonic anhydride; Dulong lost an eye and finger, and +Sir Humphrey Davy was wounded by an explosion of chloride of nitrogen. +Faraday was near being blinded by an experiment with oxygen. Nicklès of +Nancy, and Louyet of Brussels, lost their lives, and two other chemists +were seriously injured in health by exposure to the excessively dangerous +fumes of hydrofluoric acid. Bunsen lost the sight of an eye and was nearly +poisoned by an explosion whilst analysing cyanide of cacodyl.[34] Hennel +was killed by an {195} explosion of fulminate of silver, and Chapman by one +of nitrate of methyl; and nearly every chemical investigator could tell of +some narrow escape of life in his own experience. Any one who wishes to +know whether it is "very nice to be always making experiments" should +attempt the isolation of fluorine, the chemical examination of some +offensive substance, or the determination of some difficult physical, or +chemical problem. + +That a professorship of original research would "involve substantial work" +does not admit of doubt, and therefore "there would be some security that +it would be worthily bestowed." It would not become an "ornamental +sinecure," in which "there is pay but no work," unless, by assigning to it +too large a stipend, inducement was held out to that numerous class of +persons whose love of money is stronger than their love of truth, to seek +the office; to say the utmost, it could hardly become so largely a sinecure +as many offices now held by ecclesiastics. Jobbery and abuse of patronage +would be still further prevented by making the duties sufficiently heavy. + +The appointment, and remuneration by salary, of professor of research, +would not lessen the independence of scientific men if the office was not +placed under the superintendence of active and interfering officials +ignorant of science. Although the professors might not be highly paid, the +appointment would increase their independence because it would be one of +the most honourable to which scientific men could {196} attain, and because +they would thereby be put into a sphere in which they could exercise their +talents to the fullest extent, and render the greatest service and honour +to the nation. If also the salaries offered were not too great, those +persons only would become candidates who at present have insufficient means +to defray the considerable cost of experiments. + +It would be necessary to appoint only persons who would undertake to devote +their time solely to the discovery of new facts and principles in science, +and the determination of purely scientific questions, and not to the making +of inventions; because discovery is of far greater national value than +invention; and because inventions would immediately on their publication be +seized, modified, and patented by individuals for their own personal +benefit. Discoveries, on the other hand, would require a large additional +amount of labour expended upon them by inventors before they could be +converted into saleable commodities. + +Each professor should be allowed perfect freedom to choose his own special +subjects of research in the sciences he had been accustomed to study, +because each investigator is usually the best judge of what researches are +the most likely to yield him important results. No discoverer of repute +would be very likely to trespass on another man's sphere of research, +because he would usually have an abundance of good subjects of his own; and +every honourable man would purposely avoid doing so; and we find this +practically to be the case at the present time. Separate sets of {197} +rooms would be necessary for each investigator in order to keep the +researches private and distinct. + +The whole of the new knowledge obtained by research should be treated as +national property, and all of it worthy of publication should be made known +without the least reserve, it would also be desirable to publish the +results at reasonable intervals of time. The publication might take place, +as at present, in the journals of the learned Societies, or in the leading +scientific magazines, and the value of the work would be largely guaranteed +by such a mode of publication. The professors should also engage not to +sell, patent, or prematurely disclose any of the knowledge obtained. By +electing to such offices only discoverers of repute, the nation might +reasonably depend for the results upon the known ability and industry of +the men. That the results obtained would, many of them, be highly valuable, +does not admit of doubt, because long experience has uniformly proved it; +but no discoverer can tell beforehand what results he will obtain, +otherwise research would hardly be needed. + +An objection has been made that no one can tell how long it will be after a +discovery is made before the nation will derive the chief benefit. The +length of time which elapses between the publication of discoveries and +their practical fruits is very variable. Usually benefit commences at once +and gradually widens; directly discoveries are published they begin to be +used by compilers of scientific books, and by teachers and lecturers in +science, and are thus diffused {198} amongst the public in general, and +begin to produce beneficial effects. Inventors, manufacturers, medical men, +and others, also begin to apply them to their respective purposes. In some +cases striking applications are immediately made of them, and public +attention is thus directed to the useful result; but in many cases the +beneficial effects are small, numerous, and indirect, and it is difficult +to trace and describe them. The objection also is deficient in force, +because expenditure in any other occupation, and receipt of the profit upon +it, are rarely simultaneous. Many of the wisest reforms in this country +have been a long time in producing their results. We must therefore be +content, as in all ordinary cases of investment, with the conviction that +the expenditure will be profitable, and we must wait patiently for the +certain harvest. In research, as in many other human enterprises, a man who +will not move until he is absolutely certain that what he intends to do +will at at once succeed, must sit still and perish. + +Suggestions have also been made to appoint a Government Committee, or +Council, whose function should be to value scientific discoveries, and make +corresponding amounts of reward to the discoverers. But this appears to be +a less feasible plan, because no man can, at the period of discovery, +determine what amount of practical result a discovery will ultimately +produce. Who could have foretold with certainty at the date of Oersted's +discovery of electro-magnetism, that this discovery would result in {199} +the expenditure of hundreds of millions of pounds upon telegraphs +alone?[35] + +Objections have been made to definite payment for labour in research, on +the ground of indefiniteness of the results, and the impossibility of +measuring their value. Can we expect to buy new scientific knowledge at so +much a pound, or to retail discovery by the pint? The work of discoverers +is as definite as that of many other persons who are paid. Who can measure +the value of the cure of souls, of the duties of a judge, or of those of a +field-marshal? Instead of paying for the labour of research in a definite +way, we have adopted unsatisfactory makeshifts. Exceptional gifts, and +semi-charitable pensions, have been with difficulty obtained in a few cases +for scientific men; most often for those who applied scientific knowledge +to practical uses than for those who discovered that knowledge. In this +country, neither lawyers, medical men, military persons, nor clergymen are +paid definitely by results, but by time and labour, in accordance with the +reputation of the man, and there is no sufficient reason why investigators +should not be similarly remunerated. The differences in the cases are only +ones of degree. + +The time has arrived when this great evil should be made known and +remedied, and men of science should press upon our Government, as a matter +of justice to themselves, and necessary for the nation's welfare, that the +accumulated fees from patents should be applied to the establishment of a +Scientific {200} department of the State, the erection of State +laboratories, and the payment of discoverers for the national work of +research. + +_2nd._ _Professorships of Research at the Universities._ Most of the +remarks already made respecting the appointment and maintenance of +professors of research in State laboratories, would apply equally to those +proposed in connection with the Universities. Amongst the reasons which may +be adduced in favour of the establishment of such professorships the +following may be selected. Because the advancement of learning is +peculiarly the function of a University, and one of the chief objects for +which such institutions were founded. The word University implies a seat of +universal knowledge, and it is reasonable to assume that Universities +should act as fountains of new theoretical knowledge, as well as perform +the function of diffusing it; such an addition would also raise their +intellectual position, and make them much more respected, both at home and +abroad. + +With regard to such professorships, the "Association for the Organization +of Academical Study," consisting of a number of learned men belonging to +the Universities, the Royal Society, and other learned bodies, adopted the +following resolutions:-- + +"That the chief end to be kept in view in any redistribution of the +revenues of Oxford and Cambridge is the adequate maintenance of Mature +Study and Scientific Research, as well for their own sake as with the view +of bringing the higher education within the {201} reach of all who are +desirous of profiting by it." "That to have a class of men whose lives are +devoted to research is a national object." "That it is desirable, in the +interest of national progress and education, that Professorships and +special institutions shall be founded in the Universities for the promotion +of Scientific Research." "That the present mode of awarding Fellowships as +prizes, has been unsuccessful as a means of promoting Mature Study and +Original Research, and that it is therefore desirable that it should be +discontinued." + +With regard to the funds necessary:--It has been estimated that the money +paid in the form of sinecure fellowships or retiring pensions, to young men +in Oxford alone now amounts to about £80,000 or £90,000 a year; and it has +been suggested that this money be applied to the purpose. These funds were +originally intended for promoting knowledge, but vested interests prevent +their being used for discovering new truths. + +The chief object of such professorships would be the same as that in the +proposed State laboratories, viz.--to keep a staff of the most competent +men wholly engaged upon research in pure science. The professors of +physical and chemical research might be selected in accordance with the +suggestions already made, and be appointed by the Senate or other governing +body, with the advice of the Council of the Royal Society. All the +precautions which have been already suggested under the head of "State +laboratories," would {202} have to be taken in order to exclude unsuitable +persons, and to secure industry in the professors. The remarks also, +already made respecting the limitation of the duties of the professors to +research in pure science, the exclusion of invention, the publication of +results, the class of sciences with which a commencement might best be +made, etc., apply equally in this case. I do not however mean by these +remarks to suggest the disendowment of research in the more complex or +concrete subjects, in order to make a commencement with the simpler +sciences. + +The existence within the Universities of offices in which the faculties of +scientific men might be developed to their fullest extent, would induce +those engaged in the work of scientific instruction in those institutions +to devote more time to research, in order that they might improve their +scientific talents, and in their turn become fitted to occupy such posts. + +It has been suggested that discoverers should teach as well as investigate; +but this would be an imperfect plan, and would largely convert the position +of a professor into that of one at an ordinary college. Every person who +has had much experience in experimental investigation also knows, that to +carry it out effectually, requires the whole of his time and attention. If, +therefore, teaching or lecturing constitutes a part of the duties, a +portion of the professor's time must be taken from the more important +occupation of research, and the fundamental object of the institution will +be frustrated. Research evolves new knowledge; {203} teaching simply +distributes it. The labours of a scientific teacher or lecturer consist +essentially of a continued series of repetitions of other men's +discoveries. For each single man who can discover, there exist many who can +teach. With teaching in addition to research, all the usual educational +machinery, lecture theatres and apparatus, diagrams, audiences, pupils, +registration of students, receipt of fees, examinations, marking of papers, +valuing of answers, attending annual meetings, etc., would be brought into +requisition, and the result would probably be, as it is at present, the +duties of teaching would, in nearly all cases, swallow up the time, and +prevent the freedom from interruption necessary for successful research +Under present circumstances, it is the testimony of nearly every teacher +and lecturer in science, that he "has no time for research." If teaching is +also carried on, the Research laboratories will compete with educational +institutions, established and carried on by private enterprize, and place +them at a disadvantage, and thus discourage voluntary effort in the +diffusion of science; but by limiting the functions of the professors +entirely to pure research, there will be no competition with any private +interests, because no persons gain a livelihood entirely by means of such +occupation. + +That the practice of teaching is however of very great use in preparing the +mind of a scientific man for research is quite certain, because it compels +him to study all parts of his subject, and whilst doing so, many questions +for investigation occur to his mind. {204} Many of our most eminent +discoverers have also been teachers. But teaching is not a necessary +condition of success in research, nor even a necessary preparation for it; +the examples of various able discoverers prove this. In some cases +discoverers have devoted themselves to teaching, only after having attained +high repute in research; in others they have not been teachers at all. +Original research itself usually suggests plenty of new subjects of +investigation, without the additional ones suggested by teaching. + +In order that self improvement in a man of science might never stagnate, +there should exist a continuous and complete series of steps of preferment, +by which the merest beginners in scientific knowledge, might be enabled to +attain to the highest scientific position; and finally become wholly +occupied in that kind of labour by which their scientific faculties would +be developed to their fullest extent, but this last step is wanting. By the +proposed plan however a student would become a teacher; the teacher +develope into a professor; and a professor might employ for a period a +portion of his time in research, and thus become qualified for entire +devotion to original investigation and discovery. + +After a scientific teacher has acquired a thorough knowledge of his +subjects, and a high position in his profession, his occupation becomes to +him a species of intellectual routine, in which he is continually going +through the same courses of lectures and examinations over and over again, +and his personal improvement stagnates. But if there was remuneration for +research, {205} or there existed some post or employment, to which those +who had acquired the ability to investigate might be appointed, there would +be an inducement to continued intellectual improvement, and a sphere in +which the most valuable faculties of scientific men might be developed for +national benefit to their fullest extent. + +_3rd._ _Provincial Colleges of Research._--The success of this plan would +depend essentially upon the diffusion of a knowledge of the importance of +scientific research amongst the richer classes. There are at present a very +few wealthy persons in this country who perceive to some extent the value +of such research, and the dependence of their wealth upon it, who would be +willing to contribute to a fund for the purpose; and there are many more +who would assist if the importance of the subject was properly explained to +them. The chief argument in favour of provincial colleges of research is, +that it is a duty of wealthy persons to aid research, because they have +derived, and are continually deriving great benefits from it, for which +they make no payment. The ways in which some of those benefits have been +derived have been already briefly stated. As the large manufacturers and +capitalists are generally the persons who derive great pecuniary benefit +from the progress of science, it might be reasonably urged that they should +contribute freely towards its advancement. + +Such an institution might be located in each of the {206} largest centres +of industry. The objects of the institution; the branches of science to be +investigated in it; the number of professors, the mode of selecting them, +and of excluding unsuitable candidates for the office; the means by which +industry might be secured and jobbery prevented; the exclusion of +invention, and of teaching and lecturing; the publication of results, +removal of professors, etc., have already been treated of under the head of +"State laboratories." The chief difficulties to be overcome in this, as in +all other plans of aiding research, are to find a sufficient number of +influential persons acquainted with the subject to practically carry out +the plan; to secure investigators of high ability; and to prevent the +offices being filled by incompetent persons. + +_4th._ _Aid to Professors of Science in Colleges._--Another way by which +research might be promoted, would be by giving assistance in the form of a +definite amount of additional salary, for the purpose of pure research, to +professors and teachers in colleges and institutions; the money being +supplied by the State or from the funds of the Institution. In carrying out +this plan, it would be necessary to assist only those persons who had +already published a good research, and thus proved their ability; and who +would engage to devote a definite portion of their time to the labour as a +part of their duty. The selection of suitable men might be made with the +advice of the Council of the Royal Society. {207} The additional salary +should be entirely in the form of remuneration for labour, time, and +materials, etc., expended upon research in pure science, and not in +effecting inventions. The knowledge obtained should be treated as public +property, and be published in the usual manner, and the investigator should +not be permitted to sell or patent it. It would be necessary to provide +that in case the investigator failed to make or publish a reasonable amount +of good research, the additional salary should cease. Publication in the +journals of the Royal Society, or in a leading scientific magazine, might +be considered a sufficient proof of the satisfactory quality of the labour. + +It is very desirable that all the higher teachers and professors of science +in our educational institution should devote a portion of their time to +original research. It would make their lectures more reliable, because +research yields experience in the detection of error; whilst there is +usually only one way of succeeding in making an experiment, there are +always many ways of failing, and in the directions given in books, the +latter are usually omitted. It would also induce the students to take a +greater interest in the subject, and feel more respect for the teacher. The +special excellence of the German system of teaching consists in the union +of teaching and original research. This plan of aiding research would +induce some of our teachers of science who have not yet made researches, to +attempt such labour, it would also develope a superior class of scientific +teachers generally; and produce a supply of candidates for professorships +of research. {208} + +A great obstacle to the carrying out of this plan lies in the fact that in +consequence of the ignorance of the value of original research by the +founders of such Institutions, no definite provision usually exists in the +Trust deeds to authorise the Trustees to devote any of the funds to such a +purpose. + +_5th._ _Extension of the Government Grant System._--During a number of +years the British Government has entrusted to the Royal Society the annual +sum of £1,000 for the purpose of aiding science; and that sum has been +given in varying portions to different investigators who have applied for +grants in aid of their expenses in making investigations. + +Although the total amount to be disbursed annually was not large, very few +persons, qualified to make good researches, usually applied for its +assistance, and it was difficult to dispose of the whole. The chief causes +of this difficulty were:--a grant from the fund was an unprofitable gift to +accept, because it was only sufficient to partly pay the expenses out of +pocket for chemicals and apparatus, and allowed nothing for the skill, +time, or labour, nor for payments made to assistants. Further, "By order of +the Council, all instruments, apparatus, and drawings, made or obtained by +aid of the Government Grants, shall, after serving the purpose for which +they were procured, and in the absence of any specific understanding to the +contrary, be delivered into the custody of the Royal Society." + +By far the greater part of the expense of an investigation in physics or +chemistry is the exceedingly large {209} amount of time it occupies. Many +necessary preliminary experiments have to be made, which yield either +negative, unsuccessful, or incomplete results, and make the undertaking +expensive. A good investigation in chemistry also not unfrequently costs +the investigator a sovereign a day if he is wholly employed upon it. In +some cases, for each £100 received as a grant, at least a £1,000, was +directly and indirectly expended. Any person therefore who undertook a +research became a loser, and aid from the Government Grant fund did not +entirely cover his loss. Only scientific men who had other sources of +income were able to avail themselves of the grants. The existence of the +grants also was not widely known. The advantages of the plan were, it +diminished the loss to the investigator, and the fact of being allotted a +sum from the fund was considered highly creditable to the recipient. + +In consequence largely of the evidence collected from eminent men of +science from all parts of Great Britain, and the recommendations based upon +it, by the Royal Commission for the Advancement of Science, the Grant +system has been extended; our Government recently placed an additional +amount of £4,000 a year, for five years, to be distributed in sums at the +recommendation of the Royal Society to suitable applicants, and the five +years have now elapsed. + +This extension of the Grant system has been an {210} improvement. It has +resulted both in a large increase in the number of applicants and of +researches; and has shown that there exists in this country a large amount +of scientific ability in need of encouragement. The amounts granted were +increased in magnitude so as to cover in some cases payments made to +assistants and the entire outlay made for experiments, also a small payment +for a portion of the time occupied in actual research. The plan of awarding +the grants has been for work proposed by the applicants to be done, and not +for that already performed. How far a retrospective method might be worthy +of trial, is difficult to decide. It has been objected to it that the +claims of scientific investigators for researches already made, would be so +great and so convincing that it would be impossible to resist them, and the +funds required to satisfy those claims would be so large as to render the +plan quite impracticable; if however the retrospective period was limited +to a short time, a year for example, the difficulty would be lessened. +There would still however remain the great difficulty of valuing the +results. This might probably be overcome by regulating the money payment +according to the time, labour, pecuniary expenditure, and scientific status +of the particular investigator, and leaving genius to be rewarded by the +fame and honour of the results. + +No system of aid however can place scientific investigation in a +satisfactory position in this country, which does not include certain +remuneration for time, {211} money and labour expended; and no sound +argument can be adduced why investigators should not be adequately +recompenced. The genius alone of a discoverer should be rewarded by fame, +and his time, labour, and expenditure, in accordance with his professional +reputation, be repaid by money, as in all other intellectual occupations. +The same amount of time and labour expended in any ordinary profession, +requiring an equal, or even less amount of preparatory education and +experience, and less rare ability, would yield an income of several +thousand pounds a year. Although the lives of a few eminent discoverers +have proved that it has been possible for them to do a considerable amount +of research under the conditions which have existed, that is no reason why +they should not be remunerated. Previous success in research has been due +to the unusually great perseverance, industry, and self-denial of the men, +and but little to any pecuniary encouragement received. The fewness of such +men, supports this view of the case. The plan of aiding research by grants +which include no certain payment for time or labour, is quite +incommensurate with the importance of the subject and entirely unworthy of +the reputation of a great nation. + +_6th._ _Students pursuing Research at the Universities._ In the German +Universities each student is required to make an original research before +he can obtain a degree in Science, and the plan has worked successfully; +also in the Victoria University, Manchester, {212} several Fellowships have +recently been established for the encouragement of students in original +investigation. + +If this plan could be carried out in our old Universities it would produce +most valuable results, because the governing, wealthy, and influential +classes of this nation are chiefly educated at those institutions, and they +would then acquire habits of more accurate scientific thought, and some +knowledge of the nature and importance of scientific research, and of the +essential dependence of national welfare upon it. + +But a great and probably insuperable obstacle exists to the carrying out of +such a plan, viz., the wealth possessed by the parents of students. An +original research cannot be made without considerable industry, and the +greatest opponent of industry, especially with young men, is the possession +or expectation of wealth. According to college tutors at our old +Universities, there is no large class of industrious students at those +institutions. The greatest cause of the idleness of the students is +parental neglect and the habits of wealthy society. Many parents allow +their sons too much money, and over-look too readily their idleness and +frivolity; the young men also know their parents are rich, and act +accordingly. Many persons send their sons to those places chiefly to form +aristocratic acquaintances, and for other purposes than those of +educational discipline and learning. The college authorities have also +largely acquiesced in the wishes of the parents and students. And in this +way {213} scientific research has been almost entirely excluded from our +old Universities. If the present tutors and governing bodies of those +Institutions cannot induce students generally to be industrious, by what +means can it be expected that these young men can be persuaded to exercise +the still greater degree of industry and intelligence requisite to +prosecute research, whilst they are decoyed from it by the attractions of +wealth? In Germany the conditions are very different, the students in the +Universities of that country have much less money at their disposal. Nearly +the whole of the educational courses also at the Grammar schools and other +educational institutions in this country, are formed upon the plan of +sending all the superior scholars to our Universities, and thus the +defective state of scientific training at the Universities operates through +our whole scholastic system, and depresses the entire scientific +instruction of the nation. It is evident that in this way the undue wealth +of this country largely retards national progress. + +_7th._ _Local Endowment of Research Funds._ In addition to the foregoing +means, local efforts might be made to encourage research in each great +centre of industry; through the medium of the local scientific societies. +Nearly as early as the year 1660, Cowley in a treatise, proposed a +Philosophical Society to be established near London, with liberal salaries +to learned men to make experiments; but he could not get the money raised. +A plan of this kind is in operation in Birmingham and carried out by the +{214} Council of the Birmingham Philosophical Society in accordance with +the following:-- + + "SCHEME FOR ESTABLISHING AND ADMINISTERING A FUND FOR THE ENDOWMENT OF + RESEARCH IN BIRMINGHAM." + +"The Council are of opinion that this Society would be omitting a principal +means of the advancement of Science--the end for which all such +associations exist--if it neglected the question of the Endowment of +Research. To maintain a successful investigator in his labours, even though +no results of immediate or obvious utility can be shown to spring out of +them, is of interest to the community at large. Indeed, it is just because +the practical usefulness of such work is not immediate or obvious that it +becomes necessary to give it special support, for otherwise it would have +its own market value, and endowment would be superfluous. But the proper +and effectual administration of an Endowment Fund is perceived to be so +beset with difficulty, as often to deter even those who recognise the +principle from advocating it in practice. Most of the dangers usually +foreseen would, however, as a rule be avoided, simply by the distribution +of such funds from local centres, under such a scheme as is now proposed. +The Council, are therefore, anxious to establish a Fund, in connection at +once with the Society and the Town, for the direct Endowment of Scientific +Research."[36] + +{215} + +_8th._ _Local Laboratories of Research._ Another plan would be for local +scientific societies to raise money by soliciting subscriptions and +donations for the support of local laboratories; a prospectus of the +following kind being issued:-- + + PROPOSAL TO FOUND A LABORATORY OF PURE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN ----. + +"As the manufacturers, merchants, capitalists, land-owners, and the public +generally, of this town and district, have derived and are still deriving +great pecuniary and other benefits from the discovery of new knowledge by +means of pure research in the sciences of Physics and Chemistry; and as in +consequence of the great neglect of such research in this country, and the +increased cultivation of it in other lands, our commerce is suffering, and +a great many evils in manufacturing and other operations, in sanitary and +many other matters dependant upon physical and chemical conditions, remain +unremedied; it is proposed to found a Local Laboratory of original research +in those sciences, with every suitable appliance in it; and to employ one +or more investigators of repute, with assistants, who shall be wholly +engaged in such labour in their respective sciences." + +As it is largely the custom in this country to effect great objects by +means of individual liberality and corporate enterprise, instead of +trusting to State assistance, it is not improbable that when the great +importance of scientific research and its claims {216} to encouragement +have become more generally known, that aid which has hitherto been +with-held from it will be rendered by private generosity; and local +institutions, wholly for the purpose of original scientific research will +be established and supported by public-spirited wealthy persons. An +institution of this kind upon a small scale, and called "The Institute of +Scientific Research" has already been established in Birmingham, (see Note +p. 40). By founding local institutions of this kind there exist +opportunities for wealthy persons to do great good to mankind, and acquire +renown as philanthropists by the action. + +And _9th_. In consequence of the great benefit derived from scientific +research by the inhabitants of each locality, it has become a duty of each +large community to promote it, and local Town Councils might with advantage +and perfect justice to the public, devote a portion of municipal funds to +the purpose of aiding local scientific research. To this plan it may be +objected, that as the results of research are cosmopolitan, diffusing +themselves everywhere, and this diffusion cannot be prevented; the benefits +arising from research cannot be restricted even to a large community. In +reply to this:--As knowledge and its advantages are cosmopolitan, the duty +of promoting research must be equally extensive. There is also a real +return received by the public for expenditure of money in research, in the +free liberty to use all new knowledge developed everywhere by such labour, +and although the money expended by a {217} community upon particular +researches or upon an individual investigator, does not directly produce an +immediate return; practically an immediate and direct benefit is received +by that community, because new scientific knowledge for the use of teachers +and popular lecturers, and new inventions based upon it, of local value to +that society, continually become public. Every civilized community has also +received beforehand such benefits to an enormous extent; and each +investigator may reasonably claim public support on the ground that he +contributes to the general stock of new knowledge. Some persons however, +who have not fully considered the subject, wish to receive not only the +advantages accruing from the common stock of knowledge, but also to reserve +to themselves the entire benefit arising from their own special +contributions. + +Experience alone will prove which of the foregoing schemes is the most +suitable in this country, or in particular cases. At present the plan +largest in operation is the system of Government Grants, next in magnitude +are the other funds distributed by the Royal Society, the British +Association, the Chemical Society, the Royal Institution, the Birmingham +Philosophical Society, and those provided by the munificence of private +individuals. It is greatly to be hoped that the liberal spirit of private +individuals will yet further remove the great blot which lies upon the +reputation of the wealthy manufacturers, capitalists, and land-owners, who +have derived such great profits from {218} scientific research and have +scarcely aided it at all in return. It is also to be desired that the +Corporations of manufacturing towns will recognise the value of original +scientific enquiry to their fellow townsmen, and will undertake the +responsibility of voting money from municipal funds to promote it. + + * * * * * + + +Notes + +[1] See p.p. 165 to 167. + +[2] Essays and Addresses, Owen's College, 1874, pp. 172-182. + +[3] See Chapter 2, Section B. + +[4] In the year 1870, a gentleman of the name of Davis bequeathed £2,000 to +the Royal Institution, London, to aid original scientific research. + +[5] As a notable exception to the above statement:--"Scientific research +has now an Institute of its own in Birmingham, without being indebted to +the public funds. A fund has already been collected for carrying on the +work. The building is called 'The Institute of Scientific Research.'" See +_Nature_, January 7th, 1881, p. 366; the _Athenæum_, February 5th, 1881, p. +204; the _English Mechanic_, p. 537, February 11th, 1881. + +[6] Professor Bache left 50,000 dollars, and Smithson bequeathed 541,000 +dollars to this Institution. + +[7] Respecting the Members of our Houses of Legislature, a former +Postmaster-General remarked to me, that a dose of scientific research would +be too much for them. + +[8] The Victoria University has recently become a partial exception to this +statement. + +[9] See "Royal Society Catalogue of Scientific Papers," vol. 5, pp. 719 and +890; and vol. 8, p. 1,010. + +[10] See _Nature_, April 24th and May 1st, 1873, pp. 485 and 13; also _Work +and Wages_, by Brassey, pp. 170 and 178. + +[11] NOTE.--See "Work and Wages," by Brassey, p.p. 15-131 and 132; also the +"Laboratory," vol. 1, p.p. 313-316, 378 and 380. + +[12] NOTE.--The whole of this chapter, especially the Moral Section, is +capable of great amplification and much more copious illustration. + +[13] NOTE.--See also p. 95. + +[14] NOTE.--Athenæum, Aug. 3, 1877. p. 242. + +[15] "Wish and Will," by L. Turner, M.A. + +[16] "The Mutual Relations of Physical Science and Religious Faith." + +[17] Port Royal Logic, Discourse 1. + +[18] See p. 91-92. + +[19] See "Waste Products and Undeveloped Substances," by P. W. Simmonds. + +[20] See "Barometer Cycles," by Balfour Stewart, F.R.S.--_Nature_, Jan. 13, +1881, p. 237. + +[21] See p. 165, et seq. + +[22] It would I consider be an improvement in our educational arrangements, +if a Professorial chair, solely devoted to teaching those laws and +principles, existed in each Scientific College. + +[23] See vols. 1 (1872) 2 (1874) of the Reports of that Commission. + +[24] See pages 100 and 101. + +[25] "_Nature_," April 3rd, 1873. p. 431. + +[26] Sir Edmund Beckett, "_English Mechanic_", 1881, No. 830, p. 560. + +[27] The Earl of Craufurd, "_English Mechanic_," 1881, No. 830, p. 560. + +[28] See page 68, et seq. p. 134. + +[29] See "_Nature_," Dec. 2nd, 1880, p. 112. + +[30] "_English Mechanic_," 1881, No. 831, pp. 586, 587. + +[31] "_English Mechanic_," August 17th, 1881, p. 83. + +[32] The Mastership of the Mint is no longer given to scientific men. + +[33] See Reports of Royal Commission on Scientific Instruction and +Advancement of Science, Vol 2, pp. 75-92. + +[34] See "_Nature_" No. 600, p. 597, April 28th, 1881. + +[35] A fleet of thirty ships, varying in size from 500 to 5000 tons each, +is employed in laying and repairing telegraph cables, and 25 millions of +pounds have already been invested in submarine cable enterprises. + +[36] See "_Nature_," vol. XXII, page 203. + + * * * * * + + +Changes made against printed original. + +Page 11. "our knowledge of the substance": 'knowwledge' in original. + +Page 24. "Nearly every manufacturer": 'ever' in original. + +Page 32. "Persons in general can easily understand": 'ean easily' in +original. + +Page 39. "wealthy persons who have devoted themselves": 'themselver' in +original. + +Page 62. "also all terrestrial forces": 'terrestial' in original. + +Page 81. "better systems of hygiene": 'hygeine' in original. + +Page 114. "course in which the throng is densest": 'the' repeated across +line break in original. + +Ibid. "thousands of different chemical compounds": 'compouuds' in original. + +Page 116. "emits and absorbs": 'aborbs' in original. + +Page 119. "In every genuine volition": 'volitition' in original. + +Page 126. "purely physical and chemical conditions.": 'physicial' in +original. + +Page 127. "the judicial detection of truth": 'judical' in original. + +Ibid. "completely converted into acquired tendencies": 'completly ... +tendences' in original. + +Page 134. "the present state of civilization": 'civilzation' in original. + +Ibid. "to withhold truth from ignorant patients": 'withold' in original. + +Ibid. "lists of our moral deficiencies": 'deficiences' in original. + +Page 135. "there exist no royal roads to happiness": 'their exist' in +original. + +Page 151. "a diminution of waste": 'dimunition' in original. + +Page 152. "twenty millions of pounds annually": 'anually' in original. + +Ibid. "Photography is also largely used in our gaols": 'in our goals' in +original. + +Page 158. "acting under the same conditions": 'conitions' in original. + +Ibid. "every phenomenon requires time": 'requiries' in original. + +Page 182. "to be carried out effectually": 'effectualy' in original. + +Page 184. "been driven out of science altogether": 'althogether' in +original. + +Page 186. "more or less fortuitous circumstances": 'fortuitious' in +original. + +Page 189. "their labours should be remunerated by the State.": 'remuerated' +in original. + +Page 199. "should not be similarly remunerated": 'similarily' in original. + +Page 203. "consist essentially of a continued series of repetitions": +'esssentially' in original. + +Page 217. "of local value to that society": 'of' repeated across line break +in original. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Scientific Basis of National +Progress, by George Gore + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS *** + +***** This file should be named 34771-8.txt or 34771-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/7/7/34771/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Keith Edkins and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Scientific Basis of National Progress + Including that of Morality + +Author: George Gore + +Release Date: December 28, 2010 [EBook #34771] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Keith Edkins and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h2>THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS</h2> + +<p class="cenhead">OF</p> + +<h1>NATIONAL PROGRESS,</h1> + +<h2>INCLUDING THAT OF MORALITY.</h2> + + <p> </p> + +<h3>G. GORE, L.L.D., F.R.S.,</h3> + +<p class="cenhead"><i>Author of "The Art of Scientific Discovery;"<br /> +"The Principles and Practice of Electro-deposition;"<br /> +"The Art of Electro-metallurgy;" &c.</i></p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width:10%;"> + <a href="images/sbnp_001.png"><img style="width:100%" src="images/sbnp_001.png" + alt="Birmingham Arms with motto FORWARD" title="Birmingham Arms with motto FORWARD" /></a> + </div> +<p class="cenhead">NATIONS ADVANCE BY NEW KNOWLEDGE.</p> + + <p> </p> + +<h3>WILLIAMS AND NORGATE,</h3> + +<p class="cenhead">14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON;<br /> +<span class="sc">And</span> 20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH.<br /> +1882.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + + <p>To the President (the Rev. N. Watson, F.R.S.), the Vice Presidents, + the Council and Members of the Birmingham Philosophical Society, I + dedicate the following small treatise, in appreciation of the fact, that + although only a young Society, they have certified in a substantial + manner the views persistently advocated by me respecting the National + importance of Scientific Investigation, and have shown so intelligent an + example of devotion to public welfare by establishing a Fund for the + Endowment of original Scientific Research.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>GEORGE GORE.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>The Institute of Scientific Research,</i></p> + <p><i>Birmingham.</i></p> + </div> + </div> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<h3><span class="sc">The Scientific Basis of National Progress.</span></h3> + +<h3>———</h3> + +<h3>CONTENTS.</h3> + +<h3>———</h3> + +<table class="nobctr" summary="Contents" title="Contents"> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Preface.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; padding-top:1em;" colspan="2"> CHAPTER I.</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right"> PAGE</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">The Scientific Basis of Material Progress</span> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right"> <a href="#page1">1</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; padding-top:1em;" colspan="2"> CHAPTER II.</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">The Scientific Basis of Mental and Moral Progress</span> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right"> <a href="#page83">83</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; padding-top:1em;" colspan="2"> CHAPTER III.</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">New Truth, and its general relation to Human Progress</span> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right"> <a href="#page157">157</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; padding-top:1em;" colspan="2"> CHAPTER IV.</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">The Promotion of Original Scientific Research</span> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right"> <a href="#page170">170</a></td></tr> +</table> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<h3><span class="sc">The Scientific Basis of National Progress.</span></h3> + +<h3>———</h3> + +<p class="cenhead">NEW KNOWLEDGE IMPARTS NEW POWER.</p> + +<h3>———</h3> + +<h3>PREFACE.</h3> + + <p>As there exists at the present time in this country a considerable + degree of uneasiness in the public mind respecting our ability to + maintain our position in the race of progress, and as our future success + as a nation depends largely upon science, it is desirable to call + attention to the great public importance of <i>new</i> scientific + knowledge, and to the means of promoting its development.</p> + + <p>Although the illustrations given in this book of the importance of + such knowledge to mankind, constitute but a small fraction of the number + which might be adduced, they are sufficient to show that by the neglect + of scientific investigation, we are sacrificing our welfare as a nation + to an enormous extent.</p> + + <p>The greatest obstacle to the discovery of new knowledge in this + country, lies in a wide spread ignorance of the dependence of human + welfare upon scientific research. I propose therefore to show in a brief + manner, that the essential starting-point of human progress, lies in + scientific discovery; also that new truths are evolved by original + research made in accordance with scientific methods; and to illustrate + these statements by examples; also to point out how such research can be + encouraged.</p> + + <p>The book is divided into four chapters, viz.: <i>1st.</i> The + Scientific basis of Material progress: <i>2nd.</i> The Scientific basis + of Mental and Moral progress: <i>3rd.</i> New truth and its relation to + Human progress: and <i>4th.</i> The Promotion of original Scientific + Research. As the object of the book is only to call attention to the vast + importance of <i>new</i> truth, as as a fundamental source of advance, + and how to promote the discovery of it, the essay is written as briefly + as possible, and is not offered in any sense as a complete exposition of + the subject, especially the section relating to the Scientific basis of + Morality.</p> + + <p>The leading idea of the Book is that present knowledge only enables us + to maintain our present state, that national <i>progress</i> is the + result of <i>new</i> ideas, and that the chief source of new ideas is + original research.<a name="NtA1" href="#Nt1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> That as + <i>advance</i> has its origin in <i>new</i> knowledge; unless new + discoveries are made, new inventions and improvements must sooner or + later cease. Another prominent idea is, that truth is essentially the + same in all divisions of knowledge, and that the mental powers and + processes employed in detecting it are the same in all subjects.</p> + + <p>For reasons stated in the text, the influence of scientific discovery + upon mental and moral progress are treated together. Notwithstanding the + far greater importance of the mental and moral advantages of new truths, + the book treats chiefly of the pecuniary and material gains to mankind; + mainly because the latter are more easily understood and appreciated, the + chapter however on "The Scientific Basis of Mental and Moral progress," + indicates in a very brief and imperfect manner, the vast importance of + new scientific knowledge to mankind, as a source of mental and moral + advancement.</p> + + <p>The chief object of this book is to disseminate more correct ideas + respecting the importance of <i>new</i> positive knowledge, and the + duties of society in relation to it; and a further object is to assist in + maintaining Birmingham in the front rank of intellectual, social and + moral advance, in accordance with its motto "Forward."</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p><!-- Page 1 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page1"></a>{1}</span></p> + +<h3>CHAPTER I.</h3> + +<h3>———</h3> + +<h3><span class="sc">The Scientific Basis of Material Progress.</span></h3> + + <p>During the last one hundred years this nation has advanced with + unexampled speed. More wealth has been accumulated by Englishmen since + the commencement of the present century, than in all preceding time since + the period of Julius Cæsar; one of the causes of this has been the + discovery of new truths of science, and their subservience to useful + purposes by means of invention. The great manufacturing success of this + country has been largely due to those applications of science, which have + enabled us to utilise our abundant stores of coal and iron-ore, in steam + engines, machinery, and a multitude of mechanical, physical, and chemical + processes; also to the discovery of electro-magnetism and its application + in the electric-telegraph, etc. And had it not been for these and other + adaptations of scientific knowledge, we should have competed in vain with + the cheaper labour and longer days of toil of continental nations. Other + great causes, such as our insular position, suitable climate, freedom, + <!-- Page 2 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page2"></a>{2}</span>geographical position, etc., etc. have, + however, also contributed to the result. Commerce also in its turn has + done vast things for mankind.</p> + + <p>The purely scientific knowledge we possess was discovered almost + entirely by means of original research, and to only a small extent by + persons engaged in industrial occupations. Probably not two per cent. of + all the important discoveries in pure science were made in manufactories; + the scientific experiments which are made in such establishments are + usually of the nature of invention, not of discovery, and are not often + published, because it is a usual object with men of business to retain as + much as possible of the pecuniary benefit of their labours to themselves. + Whilst it is the object of a business man to monopolise special + knowledge; that of the scientific man is to diffuse it, in order that all + mankind may be benefited and helped to improve.</p> + + <p>Discoveries in science are, however, occasionally made by practical + men engaged in technical employments. The hydro-electric machine + originated in this way, a man at Newcastle was attending to a steam + boiler, and found that he received electric shocks when he touched the + boiler. This circumstance was investigated by his employer, Mr. + Armstrong, a scientific man, and led him to construct the hydro-electric + machine. The accumulation of electricity in submarine telegraph cables + was first observed at the Gutta-Percha Company's works <!-- Page 3 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page3"></a>{3}</span>London. It was + noticed on testing a cable by means of a voltaic battery (the cable being + submerged in water) that discharges of electricity flowed from the cable + after the battery was removed; this circumstance was investigated by + Faraday, and led to improvements in submarine telegraphy. In each of + these instances the same general method as that used by scientific + discoverers was however employed, viz., new experiments were made (though + not intentionally) by putting matter and its forces under new conditions, + and new results were observed.</p> + + <p>Nearly all great modern scientific discoveries have been made by + teachers of science and others, who spend a large portion of their lives + in experimental investigation, searching for new truths, and not by + persons who have hit upon them by accident. The greatest discoveries in + physics and chemistry in modern times, were made chiefly by such men as + Newton, Cavendish, Scheele, Priestley, Oersted, Volta, Davy and Faraday: + all great workers in science.</p> + + <p>It is either by observing matter and its forces under new conditions + or from a new aspect, that nearly all discoveries are made; thus + Priestley placed some oxide of mercury in an inverted glass vessel, and + heated it by means of the Sun's rays and a lens, and discovered Oxygen. + This substance was nearly discovered by Eck de Sulsbach three hundred + years before; he heated six pounds of an amalgam <!-- Page 4 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page4"></a>{4}</span>of silver and mercury, and + converted the latter metal into a red oxide like cinnabar, and he + remarked, "a spirit is united with the metal, and what proves it is this, + that this artificial cinnabar submitted to distillation, disengages that + spirit." The "spirit" was evidently oxygen.</p> + + <p>Some discoveries are made by observing the phenomena of bodies placed + under special conditions by those operations of nature over which we have + little or no control. All our knowledge of Astronomy, and much of that of + geology and physiology, was acquired in this way.</p> + + <p>Nearly all modern discoveries of importance in physics or chemistry + require long and difficult investigations to be made in order to + completely establish their truth. When Crookes discovered Thallium, he + saw the first sign of its existence in a momentary flash of green light + in a spectroscope, but he had to expend upon the subject several years of + most difficult labour, and a considerable sum of money, in order to prove + the correctness of his suspicion that he had discovered a new metal. M. + Lecocq de Boisbaudran discovered the metal Gallium and Bunsen discovered + Rubidium and Caesium in a similar manner.</p> + + <p>Discoveries in science, are usually made, not by trying to obtain some + valuable commercial or technical result, but by making new, reliable, and + systematic investigations. By investigating the chemical action of + electricity upon saline bodies, <!-- Page 5 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page5"></a>{5}</span>Sir Humphrey Davy isolated sodium and + magnesium, which has led to the establishment at Patricroft near + Manchester, of the manufactures of those metals. By the abstract + researches of Hofmann and others upon Coal-tar, many new compounds were + discovered, and the extremely profitable manufacture of the splendid + coal-tar dyes was originated.</p> + + <p>Scientific discovery is the most valuable in its ultimate practical + results when it is pursued from a love of truth as the ruling motive, and + any attempt to make it more directly and quickly remunerative by trying + to direct it to immediately practical objects, decreases the importance + of its results, diminishes the spirit of inquiry, and sooner or later + reduces it to the character of invention. The greatest practical + realities of this age had their origin in a search after important truths + entirely irrespective of what utilities they might lead to.</p> + + <p>I do not intend by these remarks to imply that any new trades or + improvements in manufactures have been or can be effected without the + labours of inventors and practical men, but that there should be a more + judicious division of labour: one man to discover new truths, another to + put them into the form of practical inventions, and the business man to + work them; because it is proved by experience, that in nearly all cases + these different kinds of labour require men of widely different habits of + mind, and <!-- Page 6 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page6"></a>{6}</span>that the faculties of discovery, invention, + and practical working are very rarely united in one man.</p> + + <p>Scientific investigations however, made in a manufactory, for the + purpose of ascertaining the various sources of loss of materials, the + circumstances which affect the amount or quality of the product; or made + with the object of substituting cheaper or more suitable materials, or + for varying their proportions, or for many other kindred objects, have in + many cases resulted in great benefit to the manufacturer, and have formed + the basis of successful patents. Some of the large brewers, chemical + manufacturers, candle companies, and many others, constantly employ + scientific men in this way to examine their materials, processes and + products, and keep them acquainted with the progress of discovery and + invention in relation to their own particular trades.</p> + + <p>No art or manufacture is so perfect as to be exempt from the influence + of discovery and invention, and no man can produce so perfect an article + but that, by the aid of science, a better may be produced. Science and + trade are mutually dependent, without the assistance of science, trade + would be unable to supply our daily increasing wants, and without the + pecuniary support of trade, science would languish and decay.</p> + + <p>"As long as arts and manufactures are left to be directed and improved + by simple experience, their progress is extremely slow, but directly + scientific knowledge is successfully applied to them, they <!-- Page 7 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page7"></a>{7}</span>bound forward with + astonishing speed." Look at the art of taking portraits; for hundreds of + years it remained entirely in the hands of oil and water-colour painters + with but little progress in rapidity of production, but directly science + was applied to it in the form of photography, its advance in this respect + became amazing. Fifty years ago photography was almost unknown, but + immediately Messrs. Daguerre and Talbot, in 1844, made known their + processes, the new art began to advance, and so rapid has been its + progress, that at the present time many thousand persons are employed in + its exercise, and millions of portraits have been taken with an accuracy + and at a cost quite beyond the reach of the old method.</p> + + <p>Many persons hardly know the difference between science and art; a + still greater number cannot readily distinguish between a concrete + science and a pure one; and nearly all persons confound discovery with + invention. A science may be conveniently defined as a collection of facts + and general principles which are to be learned; an art as a collection of + rules which are to be followed:—Art therefore is applied science; + and every art also has a basis in science, whether that basis has been + discovered or not. Scientific principles underlie not only manufacturing + processes, but also sculpture, music, poetry and painting.</p> + + <p>Discoveries differ also from inventions: a scientific discovery is a + newly found truth in science, which in the great majority of cases is not + in the form of <!-- Page 8 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page8"></a>{8}</span>applied knowledge. An invention is usually a + combination and application to some desired purpose, of scientific truths + which have been previously discovered. When Oersted first observed a + magnetic needle move by means of a current of electricity, he made a + scientific discovery; but when Wheatstone and Cooke applied Oersted's + discovery in their telegraph from Paddington to Slough, they made an + invention. The success of the electro-plating process was dependent upon + knowledge previously discovered. Mr. Wright, a surgeon in Birmingham, was + led to the invention of the use of cyanide of potassium in + electro-plating and gilding, by reading in Scheele's "Chemical Essay" + (p.p. 405 and 406), that "if after these calces" (<i>i.e.</i>, the + cyanides of gold and silver) "have been precipitated, a sufficient + quantity of precipitating liquor be added, in order to redissolve them, + the solution remains clear in the open air, and in this state the ærial + acid" (<i>i.e.</i>, carbonic acid of the air) "does not reprecipitate the + metallic calx."</p> + + <p>Immediately a discovery is effected it is made public, and is + afterwards incorporated in the ordinary text books of science, ready for + the use of inventors; and in this way such books have become filled with + valuable knowledge acquired by researches in past times. All this + knowledge (which has cost millions of pounds and a vast amount of + intellect and labour) has been given by its discoverers freely to the + nation. Some idea of the number of scientific <!-- Page 9 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page9"></a>{9}</span>researches which have been + made since the year 1800, may be obtained from the fact, that a mere list + of their titles, with the names of the authors, occupies eight large + quarto volumes, of about one thousand pages each, compiled and published + at a cost of about ten thousand pounds, by the British Government and the + Royal Society.</p> + + <p>In discovery we search for new phenomena, their causes and relations; + in invention we seek to produce new effects, or to produce known effects + in an improved manner. The objects of the scientific discoverer are, new + truth and greater accuracy; whereas those of the inventor, are increased + usefulness and economy of results. The ancients classed inventors with + the gods, because they considered them great benefactors to the human + race. Discoverers may properly be viewed as priests and prophets of + truth, because they both reveal new knowledge to mankind, and predict + with certainty coming events.</p> + + <p>A man cannot usually invent an improvement unless he possesses + scientific knowledge, and, for that knowledge he must in nearly all cases + resort to a scientific book or teacher. The great practical value of new + scientific knowledge is proved by the fact, that when scientific + discoveries are published, there are numerous inventors and practical + men, who immediately endeavour to apply them to useful purposes. Since + the first application of coal-tar to the production of dyes, every + discovery in that <!-- Page 10 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page10"></a>{10}</span>branch of chemistry has been closely watched + for a similar purpose.</p> + + <p>A complete account of the growth and development of scientific + discoveries and inventions would form an extensive history, and would + include numerous instances of experiments attended by results which, + sooner or later, affected all mankind. Take that of phosphorus, for + example. The first evidence of the existence of that substance was + obtained by the Saracens in the eighth century. Achild Bechil distilled a + powdered mixture of charcoal, clay, lime, and dried extract of urine, and + obtained a substance which shone in the dark "like a good moon;" that + substance was phosphorus. The discovery contained in the results of that + little dirty and stinking experiment was the germ or seed of all the + subsequent developments and applications of phosphorus. About the year + 1669 Bechil's experiment was further developed by Brandt, a merchant of + Hamburg, and the publication of the wonderful properties of the substance + produced a great sensation in his fellow-citizens. "There was then cried + nothing but triumph and victory among the chymists. Those good people + erected already in their thoughts so many hospitals and poor-houses that + no beggar should more molest any man in the streets, made great legacies, + and pious causes, and what not else." "Besides, the other alchymists did + encourage him yet more, and desisted not to make him believe how this was + the same fiery ghost of <!-- Page 11 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page11"></a>{11}</span>Moses that in the beginning moved upon the + water, yea, his splendid shining face: the fiery pillar in the desert, + that secret fire of the altar wherewith Moses burned the golden calf + before he strewed it upon the fire and made it potable."</p> + + <p>The experiment of Brandt was repeated by Kunckel before the courts of + Saxony and Brandenburg, although it was not a very delicate or agreeable + exhibition, "because the anctuous and daubing oyliness was not yet + accurately separated from it, and without doubt it was very stinking." + Brandt's process was further developed by Boyle, and published in the + Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, in the year 1692-3; and + phosphorus was afterwards obtained in larger quantity and in a purer + state by Hanckwitz, a chemist in Southampton Street, Strand, and sold by + him at three pounds sterling per ounce. Its price at present is less than + three shillings per pound.</p> + + <p>Margraaf, Fourcroy, Vauquelin, and Dr. Slare also extended our <span + class="correction" title="Original reads 'knowwledge'.">knowledge</span> + of the substance; Gahn, in 1769, made the important discovery of + phosphorus in bones, and Scheele immediately devised the process now in + use by our manufacturers for extracting it from that substance. The + commencement of the use of phosphorus for the purpose of getting a light + occurred about the year 1803, but it was not until the year 1833 that the + invention of phosphorus matches became commercially successful. The use + of such matches is now universal, and it has <!-- Page 12 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page12"></a>{12}</span>been estimated that the + daily consumption of them in Great Britain alone amounts to two hundred + and fifty millions, or more than eight matches per day for each + individual in the kingdom.</p> + + <p>"There is nothing on the Earth so small that it may not produce great + things." The most abstract and apparently trivial experiments in original + research have in some cases led to inventions and results of national and + even world-wide importance. The contractions of a frog's leg in the + experiments of Galvani, and the movements of a magnetic needle in those + of Oersted, have already led to the expenditure of hundreds of millions + of pounds in laying telegraph wires all over the earth, and to an immense + extension of international intercourse. But the original experiment of + Oersted was not discovered without labour, it was only arrived at after + many years of research.</p> + + <p>The saying that "all great things have had small beginnings," is true, + not only of electric telegraphs, but also of the great trade of + electro-plating, and of the magneto-electric machine which is now largely + used instead of the voltaic battery. After Volta had made his small and + apparently unimportant experiments on the electricity produced by metals + and liquids, various persons tried the effect of that electricity upon + metallic solutions. Brugnatelli, in 1805, found that two silver medals + became gilded in a solution of gold by passing the electricity through + them. Mr. Henry Bessemer, in 1834, coated various <!-- Page 13 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page13"></a>{13}</span>lead ornaments with + copper by using a solution of copper in a similar manner. And in 1836 Mr. + De la Rue found that copies might be taken in copper of engraved + copper-plates by the electro-depositing process. Faraday discovered + magneto-electricity in the year 1831, by rotating a disc of copper + between the poles of a magnet, and he has stated that the first + successful result he obtained was so small that he could hardly detect + it. This simple experiment was the origin of the magneto-electric + machine, and many of these machines are now used for producing the + electric light, and for depositing nickel, copper, silver, and gold, + instead of by the voltaic battery. These, and other engines, thermic, + magnetic, electric, &c, will probably, ere long, be constructed on as + large a scale, and as many in number, as the present steam engine.</p> + + <p>The discovery in olden times of the attractive properties of a + fragment of iron ore, was the basis of the invention of the mariner's + compass, which greatly improved navigation, and led to nearly all the + chief maritime discoveries which have since been made. The sciences of + magnetism and geometry form the basis of the art of navigation, and have + thus made our great foreign commerce possible. The discovery of magnetism + enabled sailing vessels to venture freely out of sight of land, and to + traverse the wide ocean with even greater safety than to sail near the + shore. By its means Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean and discovered + America. By its <!-- Page 14 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page14"></a>{14}</span>means also, Vasco de Gama sailed round the + Cape of Good Hope and discovered a new route to India; and in the year + 1500, another Portuguese Captain, Cabral, was driven across the Atlantic, + discovered Brazil, and was enabled by the aid of the magnet, to send back + a ship to Lisbon with news of the discovery. By its assistance also + Magellan discovered Patagonia and the South Pacific Ocean; and by the + completion of that voyage the Earth was first circumnavigated and proved + to be a globe.</p> + + <p>The geographical discoveries of the Portuguese, made by means of the + magnet, produced great national results; they profoundly changed the + balance of power and wealth among European nations, by changing the + direction of navigation and of the great streams of commerce between + Europe and the East. They gave a mortal blow to Italy and the cities of + the Mediterranean, by transferring Eastern commerce to Spain and + Portugal: and Egypt ceased to be the greatest route of commerce from + Europe to India.</p> + + <p>A singular contract relating to geographical research was made in the + fifteenth century, between King Alphonso, of Portugal, and Ferdinand + Gomez, of Lisbon, by which the latter engaged to navigate a ship and + explore the coast of Africa, and to discover not less than three hundred + miles of coast every year, the measurement to be made from Sierra Leone. + <!-- Page 15 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page15"></a>{15}</span></p> + + <p>Scientific discovery has in all ages been a most powerful agent of + civilization and human progress. The discovery of the black liquid which + a solution of nutgalls produces when mixed with green vitriol, led to the + invention of writing ink; and a knowledge of the properties of ink and + paper prepared the way for the invention of printing, by means of which + truth and learning have spread all over the earth.</p> + + <p>The apparently insignificant property possessed by amber, of + attracting feathers immediately after it has been rubbed, was known + twenty-four hundred years ago, and afterwards led to the discovery of + electricity. In later times, Dr. Franklin, by means of a kite, charged a + bottle with lightning, examined it, and proved lightning and electricity + to be identical. This knowledge, joined to the further discovery, that + electricity would pass freely through metals, led to the modern invention + of the lightning conductor, by means of which all our great buildings, + ships, lighthouses, arsenals, and powder magazines are protected from + lightning.</p> + + <p>"Coming events cast their shadows before them:" the discovery of the + instant transmission of electricity along wires by Stephen Gray and + Wheeler, about the year 1729, fore-shadowed the invention of the electric + telegraph. About the year 1819, Oersted, a Danish philosopher, after + fifteen years of study and experiment, to ascertain the relation of + electricity to magnetism, discovered that if a freely suspended magnetic + needle was supported parallel and near to <!-- Page 16 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page16"></a>{16}</span>a wire, and an electric + current then passed through the wire, the needle moved and placed itself + at right angles to the current. This discovery, coupled with the previous + one of the electric conductivity of metals, formed the indispensable + basis of all our electric telegraphs.</p> + + <p>Original research is very productive of new industries and inventions. + The discoveries made by Volta, Faraday, and many other investigators, + have led to the process of electro-plating, the use of electric lights + for lighthouses, and for ocean steamships, and the great system of + telegraphs. Those of Davy, Wedgwood, and others, respecting the action of + light upon salts of silver, have resulted in the modern processes of + photography, which are now in use almost everywhere. The discovery of + zinc, by Paracelsus, has been followed by the use of that metal in + galvanic batteries, and the great use of "galvanized" iron for telegraph + wires, for roofing, and many other purposes. The discovery of nickel, by + Cronstedt, has led to the great modern use of that metal in + electro-plating, and to that of German silver in the construction of + electro-plated and other articles. The discovery of chlorine, by Scheele, + formed the basis of nearly all our modern processes of bleaching cotton + and other fabrics. The discovery of gun-cotton and nitro-glycerine has + led to the use of those substances in blasting rocks and in warfare. The + discovery of oxygen, by Priestley, has enabled us to understand and + improve in a great number of <!-- Page 17 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page17"></a>{17}</span>ways the numerous manufacturing, + agricultural, and other processes in which that substance operates. + Priestley made many experiments also on the absorption of gases by water, + and proposed the resulting liquids as beverages; and those apparently + trifling experiments have since expanded into the large manufactures of + aërated waters. The discoveries of gutta-percha and india-rubber were + indispensible to the great applications of those substances in telegraph + cables, and in a multitude of useful articles. The discovery of + chloroform and anæsthetics has led to their use for the purpose of + alleviating human suffering. The discovery, by Sir Isaac Newton, of the + decomposition of light by means of a prism, has led in recent times to + the invention of the spectroscope; to the use of that instrument in the + Bessemer steel process; to the discovery of a number of new metals, + thallium, rubidium, cæsium, indium, and several others, and to the most + wonderful discovery of the composition of the Sun and distant heavenly + bodies.</p> + + <p>Even the invention of the steam-engine was partly a consequence of + previous researches made by scientific discoverers. Watt, himself, stated + in his pamphlet, entitled "A plain Story," that he could not have + perfected his engine had not Dr. Black and others previously discovered + what amount of heat was rendered latent by the conversion of water into + steam. "Each mechanical advance in the steam-engine has been preceded by + and the result of the <!-- Page 18 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page18"></a>{18}</span>discovery of some physical law or property + of steam." "The first step in the invention of the steam-engine was the + experimental research and the discoveries of the properties of steam by + Hooke, Boyle, and Papin."<a name="NtA2" href="#Nt2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> + Had not the steam-engine been developed, it is clear that railways, + steamships, machinery, and all the other numerous uses to which that + instrument is now applied, would have been almost unknown. The + introduction of the steam-engine enabled abandoned Cornish mines to be + relieved of water, and to be worked to much greater depths. The + discoveries of nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, oil of vitriol, and + washing soda, by the alchemists and early chemists in their researches, + led to the erection of the numerous great manufactories of those + substances which now exist in England and in other civilized countries. + There is probably not an art, manufacture, or process, which is not + largely due to scientific discovery, and if we trace them back to their + source we nearly always find them originate in scientific research.</p> + + <p>So far has scientific discovery, and its practical applications to + human benefit by invention, now progressed, that every one considers this + to be, <i>par excellence</i>, the scientific age. And as discovery and + invention continue to progress with accelerated speed, we are encouraged + to hope, not only that scientific principles will ultimately be + universally recognised as <!-- Page 19 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page19"></a>{19}</span>the regulators of all technical industry, + but also as a fundamental basis of morality.<a name="NtA3" + href="#Nt3"><sup>[3]</sup></a></p> + + <p>"It is true that some processes of manufacture have not been + consequences of abstract scientific discovery—that they originally + resulted from alterations made in the rudest appliances, and that they + have been directed and improved by the results of simple experience. For + ages past we derived the benefit of scientific principles without a + knowledge of their existence. We trod in the beaten paths of experience + ignorant of the truth that we were acting in unison with fixed and + certain laws. Numerous arts and processes were in extensive operation + long before the principles involved in them were at all understood. The + arts of enamelling and of iron smelting were known hundreds of years + before we were acquainted with the principles of chemistry. In some rare + instances also the recorded results of daily experience in practical + matters, tabulated and studied, have ultimately led to the discovery of + scientific laws; but all this is merely the making use of our ordinary + experience for the advancement of knowledge, instead of making <i>special + experiments</i> for the purpose."</p> + + <p>Many of our processes and manufactures, those of glass and copper for + example, are of such great antiquity, it is impossible to ascertain with + certainty the special circumstances under which they originated; but + after we have fully considered the ways in which <!-- Page 20 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page20"></a>{20}</span>various modern trades and + manufactures have first arisen, we shall come to the conclusion that all + manufactures and improvements in manufacturing processes, must have been + first produced by the same general means, viz., new observations, + although the special circumstances connected with the origin of each were + different.</p> + + <p>Let us consider German-silver and its manufacture. That substance is + an alloy of copper, zinc, and nickel; it owes its peculiar whiteness or + "silver-like" appearance to the latter metal, and cannot be made without + it; it is certain, therefore, that by whatever means that metal or the + alloy was discovered, the discovery was the origin of the German-silver + manufacture, and was essential to all manufactures, processes, or + appliances in which German-silver, nickel, or any of its compounds are + used. Nickel was discovered by Cronstedt during the year 1751, and its + compounds were chiefly investigated by English and foreign chemists. + Cronstedt found it as a peculiar metal in the mineral called + kupfernickel, whilst chemically examining the properties of that + substance. The general method by which he discovered it was careful + experiment, observation, and study of the properties of matter.</p> + + <p>It is stated that the Chinese and other nations made alloys of nickel + long before nickel itself was known to be a distinct metal; they had + found, by experiment, that when ores of copper and zinc were mixed with a + particular kind of mineral and smelted, <!-- Page 21 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page21"></a>{21}</span>a white alloy was + obtained; but this also proves the general statement already made, that + the German-silver manufacture was originated by means of new + observations. It was by a more skilful, but similar mode of procedure + that Cronstedt isolated the metal itself, and thus laid a definite basis + of improvements in the manufacture of its alloys.</p> + + <p>No art is probably more antique, or remained longer exempt from the + influence of science, than that of match making and obtaining a light. + Many adult persons can remember the primitive and old-fashioned + tinder-box, which had passed, with its flint and steel, from one + generation to another without any material improvement. Phosphorus, it is + true, was definitely discovered at least as early as the year 1669, but + it was not applied to match making till about 1833. Since then the + progress of invention has been so rapid that there are now numerous + manufactories which produce many millions per day of phosphorus matches; + for instance, those of M. Pollak, at Vienna, and of M. Fürth, in Bohemia, + consume together more than 20 tons of phosphorus annually, and give + employment to about 6,000 persons, and as one pound of phosphorus + suffices for about one million German matches (or 600,000 English ones), + those two makers alone produce the astonishing number of 44,800 millions + of matches yearly.</p> + + <p>Judging by means of the experience already acquired, we cannot + reasonably expect that <!-- Page 22 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page22"></a>{22}</span>discoveries fraught with such momentous + consequences as those of magnetism or of galvanism and electro-magnetism, + will be made very often. The progress of scientific discovery is gradual; + we have at present but mere glimpses of the new world of truth which is + being revealed to us by means of research; we are only at the very + commencement of a knowledge of the inherent properties of matter and its + forces, and consequently the methods we employ to utilize them are + extremely imperfect. Matter has a general property of subdividing and + transmuting forces; if we apply one force to a substance or machine, it + produces many effects, not only those we want, but those also we do not + want; when we heat a piece of iron, the heat produces a number of + changes, mechanical, electric, magnetic, and chemical, and it is partly + by means of what is termed the "internal resistance" of bodies that these + effects are produced, and we know but little of that property. The + explosive action in a gas engine produces not only the mechanical force + we desire, but also a quantity of heat we do not want, and at a cost of a + portion of the gas. In a similar manner, in the steam-engine the largest + portion of the heat of the coal is converted into forces which are lost; + a large amount of it is uselessly expended in warming the machine itself + and the surrounding atmosphere; much also is lost by friction.</p> + + <p>That "knowledge is power" is an old maxim, but that <i>new knowledge + is new power</i> is a new maxim <!-- Page 23 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page23"></a>{23}</span>which scientific discovery has impressed + upon us. By means of discoveries we have acquired new powers; by those of + electricity we have acquired the ability of conversing with each other at + unlimited distances, and by means of those in optics we are enabled to + analyse the composition, and perceive some of the physical changes of the + most distant heavenly bodies. As our ignorance is probably much greater + than our knowledge, more inventions also, and extensions of human power, + must ultimately result from discovering new qualities of bodies, than by + applying to useful purposes their already known properties.</p> + + <p>Experience in science has already shown that it is by means of + invention based upon <i>new</i> discoveries that the greatest utilities + are obtained, rather than by the exercise of invention upon knowledge + acquired long ago. The information obtained by research in former times + has been largely exhausted for the purposes of invention by modern + inventors, and what we very greatly require now is <i>new</i> knowledge. + Experience in science also leads us to believe that the extent of + possible discovery is as boundless as Nature, and that an immense amount + of new knowledge may yet be discovered. Every discoverer of repute could + supply a copious list of investigations yet to be made.</p> + + <p>An infinite number of questions in pure science remain to be decided + by means of research. Is Electricity decomposible like radiant heat or + light? <!-- Page 24 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page24"></a>{24}</span>Are the "elementary substances" really + compound bodies? Are they all compounds of Hydrogen? Are they all + decomposed by very high temperatures, as compound substances are + "disassociated" by less elevated temperatures? Under what conditions is + Fluorine isolated? Do gases transmit heat by conduction? Under what + circumstances is Light converted into Electricity? and into Magnetism? + What is the actual size of an atom of Hydrogen? Does Light (without heat) + expand bodies? What is the actual molecular arrangement of the atoms of + Hydrogen at 60 Fahrenheit? What is the cause of the absence of metalloids + in the Sun? What are the properties of Fluorine? What is the vapour + density of Cæsium? Under what circumstances is heat wholly converted into + mechanical power? &c., &c. All these discoveries when made, will + probably, sooner or later, be productive of practical benefits to + mankind.</p> + + <p>Nearly <span class="correction" title="Original reads 'ever'." + >every</span> manufacturer in this country is deriving, from scientific + discoveries, advantages for which there has been little or no payment + made to the discoverers. The makers of coal-tar-dyes, and dyers of wool + and silk, are using Mitscherlich's discovery of nitro-benzine. + Manufacturers of picric acid and "French purple" have enjoyed the fruits + of the labours of Dr. Stenhouse. Makers of chlorate of potash and cyanide + of potassium are profiting largely by the discoveries of Scheele, + Gay-Lussac, and others. All the percussion cap makers <!-- Page 25 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page25"></a>{25}</span>are indebted to + Howard and Brugnatelli for fulminating silver. Railway-contractors, + quarry-proprietors, and others, use nitro-glycerine discovered by + Sobrero. Iron smelters are benefiting by the discovery of Bunsen, that 42 + per cent. of the heat of the fuel was lost as combustible + gases—these gases are now utilized. Telegraphists and + electro-platers are also indebted to him for his voltaic battery. The + producers of metallic magnesium owe the origin of their process to him as + being the first to convert it into wire and make known its great light + giving power. Multitudes of persons now use his well-known "Bunsen's + burner" for heating, cooking, and other operations. The various telegraph + companies, copper smelters, and makers of copper telegraph wire, are + using Dr. Matthiessen's discovery of the influence of impurities on the + electric conducting power of copper. Phosphorus-makers are reaping the + reward of the labours of Gahn and Scheele. The makers of electro-plate + and German silver are deriving profits from the labours of Faraday, who + investigated electrolysis; of Gay Lussac, who discovered cyanogen; and of + Cronstedt, who discovered nickel. Makers of Bessemer steel enjoy + advantages derived from the spectrum discoveries of Kirchoff. Iron and + copper smelters, metallurgists in general, dyers, calico printers, + bleachers, brewers, makers of vinegar, red lead, varnishes, colours, + soaps, green vitriol, phosphorus, oil-of-vitriol, and many others, are + deriving benefit from the discoveries of Priestley and <!-- Page 26 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page26"></a>{26}</span>Scheele. + Physicians and their patients are receiving the reward of the labours of + Soubeiran, Liebig, and Dumas, in the discovery of chloroform; of the + researches of Fourcroy, Vauquelin, Pelletier, and others, in the + discovery of quinine; and of many other chemists who discovered numerous + remedial substances. By means of the discoveries of Oersted and others, + embodied in the telegraph, manufacturers are enabled to anticipate the + state of the markets and of the weather, and editors are enabled to + obtain the earliest news.</p> + + <p>Suppose that Gay Lussac, in 1815, had not discovered cyanide of + potassium, and that it had never been discovered, it is highly probable + that the manufacturing returns of Birmingham and Sheffield would be much + less in amount at the present time than they are, simply because there is + no other known substance with which the electro-plating of base metals + with gold and silver can be satisfactorily effected. Or suppose that + sal-ammoniac, chloride of zinc, or other soldering agents had not been + discovered, the extensive and so-called "galvanizing" process could not + have been effected, because without those substances the iron articles + immersed in the melted zinc would not have received an adhesive metallic + coating.</p> + + <p>On the other hand, science has in various cases rendered obsolete some + manufactures and superseded old customs, comforts and conveniences. We + have ceased, or almost so, to use tinder-boxes, snuffers, <!-- Page 27 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page27"></a>{27}</span>sulphur matches, + rush-lights, tallow candles, sedan chairs, stage coaches, the ancient + water-bucket and well, and even the comparatively modern pump; coal fires + also are gradually being superseded by fires of gas, and articles formed + of solid silver are now being replaced by those of electro-plate; canals + have also to some extent been supplanted by railways. But in all these + cases science has supplied us either with something better or more suited + to our present wants.</p> + + <p>The great pecuniary benefits arising from the applications of science + are generally reaped in the first instance by the great manufacturers, + agriculturists, merchants, and capitalists. Countless fortunes have been + made by means of processes and manufactures based upon scientific + discovery. The pecuniary benefits of calico printing, bleaching, dyeing; + of the great manufactures of cotton, iron, pottery, beer, sugar, glass, + spirits, vinegar, gutta-percha, india-rubber, gun cotton, the numerous + metals, machinery, electro-plate, washing soda, German silver, brass, + phosphorus, manures, the common acids, numerous chemicals, and a + multitude of other substances and articles, have been extremely great. + More than eighteen hundred million pounds of sulphuric acid alone are + manufactured in Europe yearly. The pecuniary advantages of the use of the + electric telegraph and railways to merchants, the gains of capitalists by + monies invested in railways, telegraphs, steam-ships, cotton-mills, + gas-works, <!-- Page 28 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page28"></a>{28}</span>iron shipbuilding, engineering, and other + great applications of science, have been enormous. The annual gas rental + of London alone amounts to more than two millions sterling; and even in + Birmingham the produce of gas is more than twenty-five hundred millions + of cubic feet yearly. The amount of capital expended in the construction + of railways only in this country, has been estimated at more than seven + hundred millions of pounds, and the total receipts upon British railways + has reached forty-three millions per annum. In the year 1875 our railways + carried 200 million tons of goods, and consumed ten million tons of coal; + the Great Northern Railway alone consumes 5,000 tons of coal each week. + In the year 1877 there existed in the entire world about 198,000 miles of + railway, the whole having been constructed since the year 1825. In the + year 1880 six hundred millions of journeys were made by passengers on + British railways; and the stock of those railways included 13,174 + locomotives; 369,694 waggons, 28,717 passenger carriages, and 22,712 + other vehicles. The London and North-Western Railway Company alone + possessed, in the year 1873, no less than 1,900 locomotive engines, each + of a value of nearly two thousand pounds; 4,000 carriages and 36,000 + waggons; and it has been estimated by competent authorities, that there + are in the world 200,000 steam-engines, having a total power of twelve + million horses, or 100 million men. The number of cotton spindles on the + whole Earth is <!-- Page 29 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page29"></a>{29}</span>estimated at about 71Œ millions. In the + United States of America there are about five thousand telegraph + stations, and 75,000 miles of line, which transmit yearly about + 11,500,000 messages.—The telegrams of Great Britain number about + one-fourth of a million per week. The world's telegrams during the year + 1877 numbered nearly 130 millions; and the world's letters about 3,300 + millions, or 9Œ millions each day. Even the little phosphorus match is + being manufactured and consumed at a rate estimated at more than ten + thousand millions daily.</p> + + <p>Much of the wealth of this country, resulting from science, has been + very easily obtained by its possessors. That acquired by means of our + coal has especially been obtained without commensurate effort. The amount + of that substance raised in Great Britain during the year 1876 was 734 + millions of tons. To draw upon a great stock of that mineral is like + drawing money from a bank, because coal, unlike any other abundant + substance (except wood and petroline), contains in itself an immense + store of energy, which is evolved as heat during combustion, and may be + utilized. Each piece of coal contains sufficient energy to lift its own + weight twenty-three hundred miles, but it costs only a small proportion + of that power to extract and raise it from the mine. I do not mean by + these remarks to imply that the wealth accruing from this great store of + power in coal is derived chiefly by the owners of coal mines. <!-- Page + 30 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page30"></a>{30}</span></p> + + <p>This acquisition of wealth without commensurate sacrifice is not an + unqualified advantage; it constitutes a debt to nature, which upon the + great principle of causation, and of equivalency of action and reaction, + must sooner or later be repaid. Judging from the infallibility of the + action of those laws, and the signs of the times, this nation is now + beginning to repay in the form of emigration of trade to other lands, and + of relatively less rapid national advance, the debt incurred by undue + pecuniary success. An excess of money or power obtained without + equivalent effort, fails to properly develop the intelligence of its + possessors, and nations have been hastened to ruin in this way. Our great + success in getting money has attracted many from the pursuit of + knowledge, and our love of knowledge has not increased as fast as our + wealth. The wealth of the upper classes has, by decoying from study + undisciplined young men at our old Universities, kept down the general + standard of scientific instruction throughout the country, and, by + leading to neglect of scientific research, is now retarding our progress + in arts, manufactures, commerce, and civilization. The consequent + relative poverty of the working classes is also producing similar effects + by retarding education, and contributing towards the great deficiency of + skilled labour, of which our inventors, manufacturers, and others so + strongly complain in the working of their scientific processes. Had a + just share of the great amount of money, gained by the application of + science to useful <!-- Page 31 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page31"></a>{31}</span>purposes, been applied to the payment and + maintenance of scientific discoverers and inventors, as it should have + been, the general standard of scientific education would have been + higher, the poor would have had more employment and money, and the + happiness and civilization of all would have been greater.</p> + + <p>In a usual way the greatest pecuniary benefits, arising from science, + sooner or later go to enrich the possessors of land. The demand created + for coal, iron, lime, building-stone, and all the metals, by the + industrial applications of science, has greatly increased the value of + land under which those substances lie. The value of cultivated land has + been everywhere increased by the discoveries of agricultural chemistry. + Land has also been required for railways in nearly all parts of the + kingdom, and has thereby been considerably raised in value. Discoveries + produce inventions, inventions give rise to processes and manufactures, + the employment of workmen and others, and the erection of workshops and + dwellings, and these have rapidly increased the value of building ground. + In Lancashire the value of such ground has been greatly increased by the + inventions of the steam-engine and machinery, the discovery of chlorine, + and their application to cotton manufacture. In all the great + manufacturing districts, and in all the chief centres of industry, a + similar result has occurred. Wherever a railway has been constructed, the + value of land has also increased in <!-- Page 32 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page32"></a>{32}</span>consequence of the + increased facilities of communication. All these great additions to the + value of land are largely due to the unpaid labours of scientific + discoverers, and it may be said that this nation has largely gained its + wealth, and is still living in a great degree on the products of those + labours. Those great additions to the value of land are also permanent, + are continually increasing, and are largely independent of any exertions + on the part of the owners. That many other influences, besides that of + science, have contributed to the development of our manufacturing and + commercial prosperity is also true, but it would be foreign to the + subject of the present chapter to point them out.</p> + + <p>It is a fallacious argument to say that scientific discovery and + increased value of land are only remotely connected together, a cause as + certainly produces its effect, however many connections lie between them, + provided the connections are certain—the number of links in a chain + makes no difference in the transmission of motion from one end of it to + the other. Great causes are frequently distant and wide-spread in their + effects. Persons in general <span class="correction" title="Original reads 'ean'." + >can</span> easily understand that an acorn planted in the ground will in + the course of time become an oak, because it is a palpable and visible + effect; but they cannot so readily perceive that the benefits resulting + from a knowledge of science ramify through all our manufacturing, + artistic, and commercial occupations, our social and moral <!-- Page 33 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page33"></a>{33}</span>relations, and + our every-day life, not because the dependence of our welfare upon + science is less real, but partly because the connection between the two + is less understood.</p> + + <p>Not only has science benefited manufacturers, but also operatives, + because the extension of science to manufacturing purposes has compelled + them to make themselves acquainted with intellectual subjects. "Instead + of remaining mere machines, mechanically performing the work set before + them, they are obliged to exercise the faculties of observation and + judgment in watching the results and directing the action of mechanical, + physical, and chemical powers. Instead of following the blind path of + experience, using unknown forces to accomplish some definite result, they + pursue their labours with the aid of known and certain laws." It is true + that in many cases artisans who have acquired a little knowledge of + science have thereby been rendered conceited and unfit for their special + employment, and this has made many manufacturers object to technical + scientific education for their servants; but this would not be so much + the case if scientific knowledge were more generally and equally + diffused. Arguments are not unfrequently adduced to support the opinion + that ignorance has its advantages; but, however great the advantages of + ignorance may be, those of knowledge are greater.</p> + + <p>In consequence of the labours of scientific discoverers and inventors, + the progress of science is <!-- Page 34 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page34"></a>{34}</span>such that in a very few years a knowledge of + it will be indispensible to all persons engaged in superintending or + carrying out manufacturing operations, and in all arts, occupations and + appointments in which man is dealing with matter. Science is fast + penetrating into all our manufactures and occupations, and "those who are + unscientific will have much less employment and will be left behind in + the race of life." England also will be compelled, by the necessities of + human progress and the advance of foreign intellect, to determine and + recognize the proper value of scientific research as a basis of progress. + National superiority can only be maintained by being first in the race, + and not by buying inventions of other nations.</p> + + <p>The philosophy of matter is the foundation of all manufacturing arts + and artistic processes; technical education, or the relation of science + to manufactures, &c., can only be properly imparted upon the basis of + a sufficient knowledge of theoretical science. Science tends to + abbreviate mental and bodily labour. The use of our reason saves us the + labour of using our senses, because it enables us to know that under + certain conditions a certain effect must occur. The use of our reason and + senses also saves us using our hands.</p> + + <p>The properties of a single substance are so numerous that if a workman + was to thoroughly study the whole of them, he would become a scientific + authority in the subjects of heat, light, electricity, <!-- Page 35 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page35"></a>{35}</span>magnetism, and + chemistry. A blacksmith who knew all the physical and chemical properties + and relations of iron and steel would be quite a scientific + philosopher.</p> + + <p>No man has more occasion to bless the introduction of the + steam-engine, machinery, the galvanic battery, and science in general, + than the working mechanic, because it has mitigated his physical toil by + giving him the duty of simply directing the labour instead of actually + performing it; whilst it has deprived him of one kind of employment it + has provided him with something better. But a few years ago the + operatives in the silver-plating trade had to lay the silver on the + articles with their hands, with the aid of a soldering iron; now they + have simply to set their batteries in action and watch the electricity + doing it for them. In a similar manner the working engineer at his + metal-turning lathe has merely to direct the action of his tools whilst + the steam-engine performs the heavy labour of turning.</p> + + <p>There is not a man in this kingdom who has not derived some advantage, + in one way or another, from scientific research. The advantages of gas + light, electric light, rapid postal service and transmission of goods, + railway travelling, steam-ships for navigation, cotton apparel, + photography, cheap pottery, improved medicine and surgery, telegraphic + forecasts of weather, Australian preserved meats, &c., &c., have + been reaped more or less by everyone, even the very paupers. Not only has + travelling been <!-- Page 36 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page36"></a>{36}</span>considerably cheapened and immensely + increased, but also rendered more safe:—in travelling by diligence + in France the average number of persons injured was 1 to every 30,000 + carried; and killed, 1 in every 335,000; but by railway, notwithstanding + the average length of the journey has greatly increased, the former has + been diminished to 1 in 580,000, and the latter to one in five millions; + safety in travelling by sea has also been greatly increased by means of + improved lighthouses. By the rapid transmission of messages by telegraphs + and of commodities by steam-ships and railways, the horrors of famine + have been largely diminished; the health of this nation has also been + improved by greater variety of foods, and the increasing cost of meat has + been restrained. It is well known that in periods of famine, the great + loss of life has arisen, not from universal scarcity of food, but from + the loss of time in ordering and conveying it. Whilst also the + steam-engine has been the means of relieving hundreds of thousands of men + from mere animal toil; it has, with the aid of the printing-press, + supplied them with cheap daily intelligence.</p> + + <p>Science has also proved itself to be a great source of employment, as + well as wealth. By developing new processes it has given employment to + whole armies of workmen in numerous arts, manufactures, and occupations. + Some of those employments necessitating scientific training. About + 300,000 persons are employed on railways alone in Great <!-- Page 37 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page37"></a>{37}</span>Britain, besides + those who were engaged in their construction; and in the postal + department alone of the telegraph service of this country more than + fifteen thousand operatives are employed. Chemical works also find + employment for twenty-six thousand, and gasworks for ten thousand work + people. The telegraphs of the United States of America alone, provide + employment for about 7,000 persons; and the railways of the world employ + about 1,900,000 men.</p> + + <p>It may be objected that the extension of science in this country, + instead of increasing employment for workmen has produced an opposite + effect, by so increasing the production of goods by machinery, and by + physical and chemical processes, that we have glutted the markets of the + world in years gone by, and are now suffering the results of + over-production. This is a very limited view of the case; over-production + is only true of particular manufactures, and is a result of ill-directed + commercial energy, to which manufacturing skill is only a servant. The + objection also contains its own reply;—that it is certainly much + greater to our advantage to have supplied other nations with manufactured + commodities, than that other nations should have supplied us, as they + would have done had they the manufacturing skill. At present, however, + continental nations are gradually supplanting us in manufactures; and + gradually supplying us with the goods which we <!-- Page 38 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page38"></a>{38}</span>formerly supplied them, + and our fear is that this is largely a result of our neglect of + science.</p> + + <p>In many cases instead of superseding labour, science has changed its + kind, or its mode of distribution;—in the case of steam-ships, + instead of navigation being conducted entirely by nautical ability, it is + partly effected by the skill of the engineer; conveyance of goods by road + and canal has not been entirely supplanted, but partly supplemented by + conveyance by railways. The diminution of labour which sometimes occurs + in consequence of the progress of science is extremely small compared + with its increase. The number of waggoners and horses now employed, + merely to collect and deliver all the goods for railways, is actually + much greater than the whole of those employed for conveying all the goods + of the country before railways were constructed.</p> + + <p>It would be altogether a false argument to say that the practical + benefits derived from the labour of scientific discoverers by the + different classes of the community are uncertain or imaginary, because + the discoveries and the practical benefits are not in all cases + immediately connected. We know that the consumers of tea in this country + derive benefit from the grower of that herb in China through the hands of + a series of intervening agents, as certainly as if they received the tea + direct from his hands. Cause and effect are inseparable, and the remote + effect of a <!-- Page 39 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page39"></a>{39}</span>series of connected causes is not less + certain than the immediate ones.</p> + + <p>It is a remarkable fact, that of the multitude of rich manufacturers, + merchants, capitalists, and land-owners in this country, who have derived + such great pecuniary benefits from original scientific research, there is + scarcely one who has ever given to a scientific society, institution, or + investigator, a single thousand pounds for the aid of pure research in + experimental physics or chemistry;<a name="NtA4" + href="#Nt4"><sup>[4]</sup></a> the nearest approach to exceptions are a + very few wealthy persons who have devoted <span class="correction" + title="Original reads 'themselver'.">themselves</span> personally to + scientific discovery. Manufacturers have willingly reaped the advantages + of the labours of unpaid discoverers, but have not adequately sowed the + means of future progress. Many of those manufacturers and others would, + however, willingly give money towards such an object if they understood + the value and the necessity of scientific research.</p> + + <p>Whilst also many millions of pounds are annually expended in this + country upon religious, philanthropic and other good objects, there is + scarcely a scientific society or institution (with the exception of the + Royal Society and the British Association) which expends even the small + sum of five hundred pounds a year on pure experimental research in + physics or <!-- Page 40 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page40"></a>{40}</span>chemistry. In the Royal Institution of Great + Britain, the average annual expenses relating to experimental research, + including salaries to assistants for research in the laboratory, from the + year 1867 to 1871, did not amount to two hundred and fifty pounds. On the + other hand, the "total net receipts" of the British and Foreign Bible + Society alone, amount to about £213,000 a year. These circumstances + strongly indicate extreme ignorance of the value and necessity of new + scientific knowledge, and an equally strong desire to aid any good object + which is understood. The money given to charitable and religious objects + is largely a result of the unpaid labours of scientific investigators in + the manner already described. The fact that verifiable truth is seriously + neglected, whilst millions of pounds are annually devoted in this country + to the support of dogmas and doctrines, proves that the English nation is + even now in a very imperfectly civilized state.</p> + + <p>Considering the multiplicity and variety of philanthropic institutions + and bequests in this country, and the great effect original scientific + research has in ameliorating the condition of mankind, and reducing the + amount of human misery, it is surprising that no wealthy philanthropic + individual has bequeathed funds for the endowment of an institution for + pure research in physics or chemistry.<a name="NtA5" + href="#Nt5"><sup>[5]</sup></a> In <!-- Page 41 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page41"></a>{41}</span>America, the Smithsonian + Institution was founded at Washington by benevolent and patriotic + persons,<a name="NtA6" href="#Nt6"><sup>[6]</sup></a> "for the increase + and diffusion of knowledge among men," and one of the objects of that + institution is "to enlarge the existing stock of knowledge by the + addition of new truths," and a portion of its plan is "to stimulate men + of talent to make original researches by offering suitable rewards for + memoirs containing new truths," and "to appropriate annually a portion of + the income for particular researches."</p> + + <p>What is the reason that scientific research is not sufficiently + encouraged in England? It is chiefly ignorance. There are very few good + and important subjects, understood by the public, which are not in this + country greatly assisted, nor many valuable public servants, whose + labours are understood, who do not receive liberal payment and reward; + and scientific research and discoverers therefore are neglected, not + wilfully, nor because persons are unwilling to encourage good objects, + but because scientific discovery and its great value to the nation are so + little known. Scarcely a member of our legislature, or of our + Universities, is fully acquainted with the national importance of + scientific discovery,<a name="NtA7" href="#Nt7"><sup>[7]</sup></a> and it + <!-- Page 42 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page42"></a>{42}</span>would probably be impossible to find a + subject of such great magnitude so little understood. Comparatively few + persons have clear ideas of the essential differences between scientific + instruction and research.</p> + + <p>Scientific research can only be successfully pursued by employing the + highest motive—viz., a love of truth in preference to all things; + and this is a condition which very few persons really understand, and a + principle which a still smaller number practise. Men in this country are + so accustomed to be actuated by the less noble motive of immediate + self-interest or of some apparent practical result, that they cannot + perceive that in scientific investigation the most valuable results can + only be obtained by employing the highest motive. However necessary and + effective the motive of immediate self-interest or of apparent practical + result may be in ordinary affairs of life, it will not enable a man to + make many discoveries, because it leads him away from those which are + possible to search for others which may or may not be possible. The + beginning of discoveries are often so very small, that it requires acute + senses and observation in order to perceive them; and if the mind is + preoccupied with a desire to discover some particular practical object, + new phenomena are overlooked. In discovery, man must follow where Nature + leads.</p> + + <p>Another cause of want of encouragement of research, is the natural + selfishness which exists, <!-- Page 43 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page43"></a>{43}</span>though in very different degrees, in all + men. Many wealthy persons wish things to remain as they are. Some + manufacturers would not aid research unless they could monopolize its + advantages. Students also generally prefer those subjects which are best + rewarded, and do not sufficiently consider their intrinsic value. The + love of truth for truth's sake alone is very weak in most men, and but + few men make the greatest good their chief object in life.</p> + + <p>The extreme ignorance in this country of the value of scientific + research, is also largely due to the narrowness of the "practical" + character of the English mind; men cannot perceive the deep-seated and + universal sources of their wealth, and they prefer those occupations + which yield the most obviously remunerative results. It is also partly + due to scientific investigators themselves not having pleaded their own + cause; such men have been so absorbed in the more important occupation of + discovery, that they have, probably more than any other class of persons, + neglected to enforce the just claims of their own subject. It is, + however, chiefly caused by the influence of misapplied wealth, operating + through the old Universities and large public schools. The sons of the + wealthy are most of them educated at those institutions, and according to + evidence supplied by University authorities to Royal Commissioners, many + persons send their sons to those places for other purposes than to + acquire learning, and allow them too much money. The considerable wealth + of <!-- Page 44 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page44"></a>{44}</span>these young men supplies them with + attractions which decoy them from industrious study, and the wishes of + the parents and students have been largely acquiesced in by the tutors + and college authorities. At our old Universities also, physical and + chemical knowledge is very much less rewarded than some other subjects, + though latterly a considerable improvement has been made in this respect, + but even now there is not a University in the kingdom in which a + knowledge in scientific research is necessary in order to obtain the + highest scientific honour.<a name="NtA8" href="#Nt8"><sup>[8]</sup></a> + In these various ways physical and chemical science has been kept very + low in our chief seats of learning; and scientific research is greatly + neglected by the governing authorities.</p> + + <p>It is reasonable to suppose that Universities should be fountains of + new theoretical scientific knowledge, as well as be the disseminators of + it, and that they (especially the old ones with their rich endowments) + would be certain to promote scientific research, as being especially a + part of their functions; but such is not the case. Our old Universities + have not established any professorships of original research; they make + no payment for such labour, nor reimburse any expenditure incurred in + such occupation, and afford but little facility for the prosecution of + pure scientific inquiry. Further, they discourage scientific discovery by + giving the greatest emoluments, and the <!-- Page 45 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page45"></a>{45}</span>highest honours in + science they have to bestow, to young men who have never made a single + original research, or discovered a new fact in science. The money paid in + the form of comparatively sinecure fellowships, or retiring pensions to + young men in Oxford alone, "now amounts to about eighty or ninety + thousand pounds a year." It may be objected that young men are not + capable of doing original research, but as they do it in German + Universities, they can also do it in England, if they are properly + disciplined, and are not decoyed from industry by the possession or + expectation of wealth. A man who has never made a scientific research is + not the most worthy recipient of the highest scientific honours, and in + Germany it would not be given to him; he is not properly disciplined in + the detection of error or the discernment of truth in matters of science; + he is deficient in accuracy of scientific judgment, and in the true + spirit of scientific inquiry.</p> + + <p>It is unnecessary to speak of what has been done during the last few + years at our old Universities and great public schools, in the erection + of laboratories, and in other ways for the promotion of science, because + it has been for the purposes of instruction, and not of original + research. No amount of ordinary instruction in science will remedy the + evils caused by want of original inquiry, because such instruction does + not produce new knowledge, but only disseminates that already possessed. + <!-- Page 46 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page46"></a>{46}</span></p> + + <p>Many persons in this country think that all scientific men are + investigators, and that a portion of the funds of scientific institutions + generally are expended upon investigation, but such is rarely the case. + Many also consider that those scientific men who are applying new + knowledge are discovering new truths. And nearly all persons look upon + inventors as the only really practical scientific men, and upon + discoverers as unpractical enthusiasts who spend their lives in pursuit + of vague theories. But whilst the inventor is a great and useful agent of + civilization, there is one behind him who is greater than he, viz., the + man who provides him with the new knowledge upon which all his inventions + must be based.</p> + + <p>The general aspect in which scientific research is viewed by many + persons in this country, is that of a refined intellectual pursuit, which + may be encouraged and honoured for the purpose of maintaining the tone of + society. The question, however, is not whether this nation shall + encourage research as a refined intellectual occupation, but whether it + will contribute towards its own welfare by aiding scientific + discovery.</p> + + <p>Many persons also look upon scientific research as a hobby or as + unpractical, and upon discoverers as mere accumulators of knowledge, but + this is simply in consequence of their ignorance of the subject; if + discoveries were commercial commodities, the practical character of + research would be within their <!-- Page 47 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page47"></a>{47}</span>comprehension. A man who discovers knowledge + for the use of invention is quite as practical a person as he who + converts that knowledge into inventions fit for practical uses. The men + who thus lead practical men must be practical themselves. Scientific + discoverers may be considered the most practical men in existence, + because their labours give rise to greater and more numerous practical + results than those of any other persons. The discovery of a single + substance, such as oil-of-vitriol, or washing-soda, has led to the + formation of many valuable inventions, patented or otherwise, and to the + establishment of thousands of manufactories. It is well known also that + scientific discoverers are ardent lovers of truth, and are therefore very + willing to communicate their knowledge for the good of mankind, and that + manufacturers, men of business, and others, not unfrequently obtain from + them and from their published researches, information of great value to + themselves without even expecting to pay for it; forgetting that a + scientific man may communicate in a passing remark, information which + cost him years of labour to obtain.</p> + + <p>Some persons also think that science is changeable and + uncertain—that the discoveries of one generation are disproved by + those of another, because they occasionally see scientific theories + altered and superseded. But the real truth of the case is that the + changes in the aspect of science which we continually witness do not + often result from <i>alterations</i> in our <!-- Page 48 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page48"></a>{48}</span>stock of positive + knowledge, but from <i>additions</i> made to it. Demonstrable truth is + imperishable. It is true that many theories have been invented and + entertained for a while in the minds of scientific men, and have then + passed away, but we must remember that these are only the scaffolding of + science, and no part of its real fabric. They consist of ideas which, + whilst they assist us in understanding science, and in making + discoveries, form no real part of our positive knowledge.</p> + + <p>Other persons seem to think that the laws of matter are different in + the laboratory from what they are in the workshop; that the principles + which regulate a scientific experiment are different from those which + govern a large manufacturing process; but this is a wrong idea. The laws + of matter are universal, substances have nearly the same properties in + all places and in the hands of all men; water boils at the same + temperature whether in the retort of a chemist, the saucepan of a + kitchenmaid, or the pan of a soap-boiler; iron wire is as readily + deprived of its rust in a chemist's acid bottle as in a wire-drawer's + pickling tub; a piece of phosphorus will as readily ignite in the hands + of a chemist as in those of a match maker; a galvanic battery yields the + same quantity of electricity whether it be in the hands of an + experimentalist or in those of a working electro-plater.</p> + + <p>It is true that many things which have appeared very promising in + theory or in experiment, have <!-- Page 49 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page49"></a>{49}</span>failed altogether in practice, but why is + this? it is not that the principles of nature operated in the one case + and did not operate in the other, but that we have imperfectly understood + them, that from some unforeseen circumstances we have been unable to + apply them; or that we have indolently abandoned them without sufficient + or proper trial. In many cases we are unable to obtain the same + conditions of success upon the large scale that we have upon the small + one. In other cases a process fails because of its too great expense; + many attempts have been made to supersede steam as a motive power by + means of electro-magnetism, and engines driven by that force have been + constructed of five or ten horse-power, but the cost of driving them has + been found to be at least ten times the amount of that of the + steam-engine of equal strength. And in other cases we fail because we + attempt <i>at once</i> to carry out upon a large scale that which has + only been the subject of limited experiment, instead of enlarging the + process by small degrees, and adapting the apparatus, the materials and + the treatment, to the size of the operation.</p> + + <p>That also which appears very simple in the hands of an + experimentalist, almost invariably becomes much more complex when carried + into practice in a manufactory, simply because there is then a greater + number of conditions to be fulfilled. Electro-plating a piece of steel + with silver is to a chemist a very simple matter, because it is of no + importance to him <!-- Page 50 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page50"></a>{50}</span>whether the silver adheres firmly, is of + good colour, or is deposited at a certain cost; but with a + <i>manufacturer</i> unless <i>all</i> these conditions are fulfilled, the + process is a failure. These matters, however, belong to invention and not + to original discovery.</p> + + <p>We should not condemn theoretical science because we are not able, + even with fair and persevering trial, to apply it to any useful purpose, + but wait patiently until circumstances ripen for its application. Many + inventions which are inapplicable in one state of knowledge become + applicable by the progress of scientific research. The idea of an + electric telegraph, attempted by Mr. Ronalds, in the year 1816, with the + aid of frictional electricity, had to wait the development of the + galvanic battery and the discovery of electro-magnetism before it could + be successfully applied.</p> + + <p>Many manufacturers seem to think that because some of their operations + are completely routine, and have been handed down to them by their + predecessors in nearly their present state, they are not at all indebted + to science; but there is no manufacture, especially among metals, which + has not in some degree been aided by scientific discovery.</p> + + <p>In addition to the great benefits accruing from original research to + all classes of society, our Governments have also derived immense + advantages from the same source. The revenues have been greatly increased + by the universal advantages conferred upon all kinds of industry and + commerce by <!-- Page 51 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page51"></a>{51}</span>scientific knowledge. The additional taxes + upon increased incomes from agriculture, arts, manufactures, mines; + increased value of land and rents; investments in railway, telegraph, + steam-ship and other companies, have been extremely great. From the sale + of patents alone, a surplus sum of nearly six hundred thousand pounds has + already accumulated. Our Governments are also indebted to original + research for the use of percussion-powder, gun-cotton, improvements in + cannon, projectiles, rifles, armour-plated ships, the ocean telegraph, + field telegraph, the telephone, rapid postal communication, the speedy + transport of troops and war-material, and a multitude of other + advantages. The value of science to Governments in the prevention of war + by means of more ready correspondence through telegraph is incalculable. + Mr. Sumner, of America, at the period when the Atlantic telegraph was + first employed, stated that the use of that telegraph averted a probable + rupture between Great Britain and America. There was a period when we did + not possess such evidence of the great value of science; but that time + has now passed away, and our governing men have had abundant proof of the + national importance of scientific discovery, and of the essential + dependence of the welfare of this country upon scientific research.</p> + + <p>Whilst vast sums of money are spent upon the applications of science + in military and naval affairs, research itself is neglected; the + superstructure is <!-- Page 52 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page52"></a>{52}</span>attended to, but the foundations are left to + decay. A very small proportion of the money which is expended upon + military affairs would, if devoted to research, save a great deal of + expense in warfare:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="hg3">"Were half the power, that fills the world with terror,—</p> + <p class="i2">Were half the wealth, bestowed on camps and courts,</p> + <p>Given to redeem the human mind from error,</p> + <p class="i2">There were no need of arsenals nor forts."—<span class="sc">Longfellow.</span></p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Our Government has as yet made but little payment for the labour of + pure research in experimental physics or chemistry; it has, however, + given four thousand pounds a year for five years to be distributed by the + Royal Society among scientific investigators, partly as personal payment. + Income tax is deducted from these grants.</p> + + <p>Want of recognition of the value of science has been so general in + this country, that it is quite pleasing to quote a somewhat different + case from the <i>Illustrated London News</i>, January 4th, 1873, viz., + that of the late Archibald Smith, L.L.D., F.R.S. That gentleman was an + investigator in pure mathematical science, and devoted the latter part of + his life to the <i>application</i> of mathematics in the computation, + reduction, and discussion of the deviation of the mariners' compass in + wooden and in iron ships, and made practical deductions therefrom in the + construction of those vessels. He published those practical applications + of his scientific knowledge in the form of an Admiralty Manual, which was + afterwards reprinted in various languages. Her Majesty's Government <!-- + Page 53 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page53"></a>{53}</span>subsequently "requested his acceptance of a + gift of two thousand pounds, not as a reward, but as a mark of + appreciation of the value of his researches, and of the influence they + were exercising on the maritime interests of England and the world at + large." The kind of labour rewarded in this case was not scientific + discovery, but the practical application of previously existing + scientific knowledge.</p> + + <p>The case of the late Dr. Stenhouse, F.R.S., is one of rather an + opposite kind. That gentleman devoted his life throughout to pure + investigations in organic chemistry, and published several of his + researches in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.<a + name="NtA9" href="#Nt9"><sup>[9]</sup></a> His discoveries are very + numerous, and although not much applied to practical uses by himself, the + result of his researches on Lichens, and the yellow gum of Botany Bay, + have been applied extensively by other persons in the manufacture of + "French purple" and picric acid, and will doubtless continue to be + applied to valuable uses. He held the Government appointment of Assayer + to the Royal Mint, London, an office for several years unprofitable to + him, but of increasing remunerative value, and which would have been + subsequently worth £1,200 a year; but after the decease of his colleague, + Dr. Miller, in 1870, that office, which was then worth to him about £600 + a year, was abolished by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and he lost the + <!-- Page 54 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page54"></a>{54}</span>appointment, receiving, however, £500 as + compensation. An application was therefore made to the Government, and a + partial recompense to him was obtained, by Her Majesty granting him one + hundred pounds a year "for eminence in chemical attainments, and on + account of loss by suppression of office in the Mint." The only + difference in these two instances, was, that in the second there was a + very much greater amount of pure research and discovery, and a much + smaller degree of applied knowledge.</p> + + <p>These instances illustrate the statement, that however great an amount + of valuable knowledge in pure science a man may discover and publish, or + however freely he may provide others with the materials of invention and + wealth, if he never invents anything, nor applies his knowledge to useful + purposes, he is usually less rewarded even than an inventor. "The more + intrinsically valuable the labour, and the greater the degree of profound + original thought required to direct it, the less is it usually + appreciated by the governing men of a nation." Absorbed in exciting + questions relating to political emergencies, and national matters + requiring immediate attention, even men of great administrative ability + fail to appreciate the less direct though more fundamental sources of a + nation's happiness and wealth. In harmony with these instances also, we + find that it is not the pure sciences, but the concrete and applied ones, + such as meteorology, geology, natural history, &c., in the + Meteorological Department, the <!-- Page 55 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page55"></a>{55}</span>Geological Survey, the British and South + Kensington Museums, the Geological Museum, &c., and the National + Gallery of Art, which have received the greatest degree of support from + our Governments.</p> + + <p>That discoverers are not treated by us as we treat other valuable + members of the community is quite clear; either a physician, a judge, + divine, lawyer, or railway superintendent of high ability, obtain from + one to many thousand pounds a year, but a discoverer in pure physics or + chemistry is, in scarcely any case, paid anything for his labour. That + most eminent discoverer, Faraday, received for his scientific lectures at + the Royal Institution of Great Britain, only £200 a year and apartments, + during many years, and absolutely nothing for his great discoveries; and + during the remainder of his life he only received a few hundred pounds + per annum, including a pension of £300 pounds a year from Government. In + contrast with this, the general manager of the Midland Railway has £4,000 + a year. A General of our army receives £2,000, and a Field Marshal £4,000 + a year (See "Whitaker's Almanack," 1873, pp. 121 and 138). A Head Master + of either of the great public schools obtains from £3,000 a year upwards. + An Archbishop of Canterbury receives £15,000 a year, besides a great + amount of influence and power in the form of patronage to 183 livings, a + palatial residence, and a seat in the House of Peers. A Bishop of London + has £10,000, the patronage of 98 livings, and a seat in the House of + Lords. I do not, <!-- Page 56 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page56"></a>{56}</span>however, mean to imply that these large + emoluments are not deserved. Whilst also there are nearly 13,000 church + benefices in England (See the "Clergy List," also "Whitaker's Almanack," + 1873, pp. 153 and 155, and "Walford's County Families," 1872, pp. 173 and + 610), there is scarcely a single appointment entirely devoted to + scientific discovery, nor a single professorship in original research in + science. I leave my readers to judge to what extent these instances + illustrate the statement that discoverers are not treated by us as we + treat other valuable members of the community. Partly in consequence of + the foregoing neglect, the proportion of persons wholly devoted to + scientific research in this country probably does not much exceed one in + one million of the population.</p> + + <p>It is scarcely credible that in a wealthy and civilized country, + whilst the non-productive classes are protected in the enjoyment of + titles and material wealth which in many cases they have not earned, the + greatest scientific benefactors of the nation are constrained to live in + straitened circumstances whilst working for the pecuniary and other + advantages of those classes, and of manufacturers, capitalists, + land-owners, and the nation in general. By these remarks it is not + intended to imply that discoverers are intentionally neglected; but that + the injustice they suffer is a disgrace to this country, and reflects + discredit upon the governing classes, and especially upon those who reap + the greatest advantage. <!-- Page 57 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page57"></a>{57}</span></p> + + <p>The men who are rewarded highly in this country are not always those + who yield the greatest service to the nation, but frequently those who + render the most immediate or most apparent benefit; to stop short at this + cannot produce the greatest degree of success. The national services of a + great discoverer are probably not equalled by those of any man. Who can + estimate the value of the commercial, social, moral, political, and other + great advantages to the world, of Oersted's discovery of the principle of + electro-magnetism, which enabled the invention of the electric telegraph + to be made? The men we reward the highest are not those who discover + knowledge, but those who use or apply it; physicians, judges, bishops, + lawyers, railway managers, military and naval officers, and head masters + of schools, all of them gentlemen who render great services to the + nation, by using, diffusing, and applying knowledge already + possessed.</p> + + <p>It requires less rare ability to apply knowledge to new purposes by + means of invention, than to discover it; it is still less difficult to + diffuse it by means of tuition and lectures, because the labours of a + teacher consist largely of a repitition of other men's discoveries and + inventions; and to use scientific knowledge in the ordinary business of + every-day life, requires a still more common degree of ability.</p> + + <p>A chief reason why ordinary business capacity is paid for whilst + original research is not, is the fact that research is not considered a + necessity; many <!-- Page 58 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page58"></a>{58}</span>persons do not perceive its immense future + value. Men perform those duties first which they feel they must: they are + also willing to pay for the performance of those duties which press most + urgently upon them, and defer all other kinds of labour that they + consider will bear postponement. Most men act upon this rule, until they + acquire a habit of sacrificing the future to the present, of neglecting + more important matters in order to attend to less, and of living too much + for money, without sufficient regard for the more valuable condition, + viz., individual and national improvement. These circumstances also + largely explain the fact that it requires more pressure to induce + individuals or governing bodies to aid original research than to assist + any other good object. Other chief reasons why persons in general cannot + perceive the great practical value of new scientific truth are, because + the perception of it requires a scientifically trained mind. The greatest + truths are frequently the least obvious, and are therefore valued the + least.</p> + + <p>It may be objected that research is not aided, because it sometimes + takes a long time to acquire a practical shape and make it pay. We do not + omit to plant an acorn because it requires many years to become an oak; + we do not neglect to rear a child because he may not live to become a + man; but we leave scientific discovery to take care of itself. The + intense desire which exists in this country for "quick returns" has shewn + itself in the much greater readiness to aid technical education than to + promote <!-- Page 59 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page59"></a>{59}</span>permanent progress by means of original + research. But the discoveries made in such a place as the Royal + Institution of Great Britain have had a vastly greater beneficial effect + upon civilization than that of any technical institution which has ever + existed.</p> + + <p>In a letter received by me from the Duke of Somerset, and which I have + permission to publish, the true state of things in this country in + relation to pure research is stated with remarkable accuracy and + brevity:—</p> + + <p>"The hindrances to scientific studies in this country are very many. + The gentry are almost invariably educated by the clergy, and the clergy + have seldom had time or opportunities for any scientific study. They + usually take pupils or become tutors as soon as they have taken their + degrees, and can only teach the Latin and Greek which they have + themselves learned. The commercial classes value what they call practical + science; this means some application of science for the purpose of making + money. Competitive examinations may promote a superficial acquaintance + with the elements of science, but are unfavourable to the development of + scientific culture. The scientific associations tend to degrade science + by exhibiting scientific men as candidates for applause from assemblies + which seek amusement and startling results from lectures and experiments. + The advancement of science, is therefore, left to comparatively few men, + who are unregarded and unrewarded." <!-- Page 60 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page60"></a>{60}</span></p> + + <p>To remedy this state of things we require a general encouragement of + pure scientific inquiry by the State and Universities. It is thought by + some persons who have given special attention to the subject, that the + State ought to encourage such research and science in general, by + appointing a Minister of Science possessing scientific knowledge and good + administrative ability; a Scientific Council to advise our Governments in + all important matters relating to science; and by establishing State + laboratories for pure scientific inquiry, with discoverers of repute in + them wholly engaged in research in their respective subjects.</p> + + <p>There are also many new experiments, investigations, and explorations, + which neither private individuals, nor even corporate bodies, such as the + Royal Society, the British Association, Geographical Society, can + effectually make, and which only a Government can carry out, such as + Arctic expeditions, trigonometrical surveys, deep sea dredging + operations, magnetic observations, determinations of longitude, + meteorological and astronomical observations, researches on tides, + observations of earthquakes, determinations of the height of mountains + and the density of the crust of the earth, experiments on the best form + of ships, geographical explorations, and many others.</p> + + <p>It is clear from the enormous advantages which this nation has already + derived from scientific discovery in physics and chemistry, pursued with + only <!-- Page 61 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page61"></a>{61}</span>the aid of the very limited means of private + persons, that had research in those subjects been sufficiently supported, + the manufactures, arts, commerce, wealth, and civilization of this + country would have been much greater than they are; emigration also of + the industrious classes, disease, pauperism, crime, the evil effects of + famine, etc., would have been much less. The amount of knowledge and + riches obtainable by means of research and invention is practically + unlimited, and it is astonishing that this immense source of industry and + wealth in a nation should have been so neglected by our Governments. The + practical value of new scientific knowledge is vastly greater than that + of all our goldfields or even of our coal supply, because it would not + only enable us to obtain from coal several times the amount of available + heat and mechanical power we now secure, but also to apply to our wants + the numerous other materials composing the crust of our globe and the + contents of our oceans; also all <span class="correction" title="Original reads 'terrestial'." + >terrestrial</span> forces, the internal heat, the tidal energy and + atmospheric currents, and the immense amount of power this Earth is + continually receiving from the Sun. Whilst at present vast amounts of + materials and energy remain unutilized, nearly all those terrestrial + substances and forces might probably be rendered of service to us if we + possessed sufficient knowledge.</p> + + <p>That scientific research is a far greater source of wealth and + wellbeing than our stores of coal is easily proved. At present we obtain + in our best <!-- Page 62 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page62"></a>{62}</span>steam-engines only about one-seventh (or + less) of the mechanical power producible by the combustion of the coal, + the remainder being lost in various ways. And this occurs simply because + we have not yet discovered a method of wholly converting heat into + mechanical power. In some other instances we are able to convert one + force wholly into another without loss, as for example: the chemical + action of a voltaic cell into electricity; and by means of research we + shall probably be enabled to effect a similar complete conversion of + other powers into each other. The effect of converting heat wholly into + mechanical power would be equal to increasing our stock of coals for that + purpose to seven times its present amount. This instance is only one of + the many thousand possible ways in which research may yet prove of value + to mankind.</p> + + <p>It is true that a very large amount of original research in physics + and chemistry has been done in this country; the contents of our + scientific journals and of the publications of our various Learned + Societies prove this. It is also true that the English nation has been + pre-eminently active in applying scientific knowledge to practical uses + by means of inventions, and has been generally the first in carrying out + inventions on a large scale. We have been either the first, or nearly so, + in developing steam-engines, railways, locomotives, rapid trains, gas + works, flour mills, blast-furnaces, cotton machinery, cheap postage, + light-houses, electro-plating, lucifer-matches, <!-- Page 63 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page63"></a>{63}</span>electric-telegraphs, + submarine electric cables, great engineering establishments, iron + ship-building, and many other important enterprises. Three out of four of + all the great ocean steamers, and three-fourths of all the locomotives of + the world were constructed in this country.<a name="NtA10" + href="#Nt10"><sup>[10]</sup></a> By means of our enterprise and capital + also, the first railways, telegraphs, gas works, cotton mills, modern + water works, suspension bridges, water wheels, harbours, lighthouses, + &c., &c., in nearly all parts of the world were constructed; and + foreign nations have been inducted into the practical methods of working + our great manufacturing and technical applications of science.</p> + + <p>By means of English enterprise and skill the cities of + Aix-la-Chapelle, Altona, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brussels, + Cologne, Frankfort-on-Maine, Ghent, Haarlem, Hanover, Lille, Rotterdam, + Stolberg, Toulouse, Vienna, and others were lighted with gas. We formed + Water Companies or Waterworks in Amsterdam, Berlin, and other cities, and + drained Naples. We utilized the falls of the Rhone at Bellegarde, and + thus obtained 10,000 horse-power for the use of the French manufacturers. + We also sent the first steam-boat to Coblentz in 1817, and the first to + America. We laid the first Atlantic cables. And as a general truth, we + have been foremost in invention, application and enterprise.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 64 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page64"></a>{64}</span></p> + + <p>Recent International Exhibitions however, and the migration of various + branches of our trade to the Continent and America, have shown that the + degree of our relative superiority in manufacturing skill is diminishing. + Other nations, especially the German and American, perceiving the + dependence of invention upon research, and the enormous pecuniary and + other advantages gained by us, by the application of scientific knowledge + to manufacturing and other purposes, have within the last few years + aroused themselves, and are now pursuing pure science much more + energetically than ourselves. A few years ago the relative number of + original researches made per annum in England, France, and Germany were + in the proportion 127, 245, and 777. Many of those made in Germany were + valuable ones, and were made by Students in order to obtain a degree. + Other nations are rapidly gaining upon us in the application of science + to industrial purposes, and have even surpassed us in the extent of some + of their manufacturing and technical operations. Many persons who have + visited Europe and America at intervals during the last twenty years have + testified to this.</p> + + <p>The Vielle Montagne Zinc Company in Belgium employ 6,500 workmen, and + produce annually 32,000 tons of zinc. The John Cockerill Company, + engine-builders, Seraing, near Liege, employ nearly 8,000 men. Krupp, the + great engineer at Essen, near Dusseldorf, employs about 10,000 workmen; + his works at Essen alone cover 450 acres, and 1,000 tons <!-- Page 65 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page65"></a>{65}</span>of coal are + consumed in them daily. The Anzin Company (Valenciennes) "is the largest + coal company in the world, producing no less than 1,200,000 tons per + annum, and employs 8,000 hands." The Chatillon and Commentry Iron and + Coal Company (France), produce annually from 300,000 to 350,000 tons of + coal and coke, nearly 70,000 tons of iron and steel, and employ nearly + 9,000 workmen. At the Creuzot Ironworks (France), "the mineral + concessions cover an area of nearly six square miles, the coal-fields + nearly twenty-five square miles, the building 296 acres. There are nearly + forty-five miles of railway between various parts of the works, upon + which are generally running sixteen locomotives. The galleries in the + mines are more than twenty miles long." 10,000 persons are employed in + the works and the annual amount of wages paid equals £400,000.<a + name="NtA11" href="#Nt11"><sup>[11]</sup></a></p> + + <p>Our practice with regard to original science has been very different + from the plan carried out in Germany. Within the last few years great + laboratories have been erected in Berlin, Leipzig, Aix la Chapelle, Bonn, + Carlsruhe, Stuttgardt, and other places, at the expense of the State, and + special provision has been made in them for original scientific research. + A glance at the frequently published list of scientific investigations + made in different countries will shew us that the Germans have been + making a far greater number of discoveries in science than ourselves.</p> + + <p>Sir R. B. C. Brodie, Professor of Chemistry at <!-- Page 66 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page66"></a>{66}</span>Oxford, speaking of his + experience when a student at Geissen, in Germany, states: "I say that the + enthusiasm and earnestness of the young men in the laboratory was quite + unparalleled in my experience at Oxford. The dilettante sort of way in + which things go on there is very inferior indeed to the way the German + students study. At Heidelberg, I have been told, there are about eighty + professors, and amongst those professors are some of the most eminent men + in Europe, so that they have a staff quite unsurpassed."</p> + + <p>The industry of the Germans in scientific research is quite + remarkable, they are availing themselves of the great fountain of + knowledge to a much greater extent than ourselves, and are already + beginning to reap the reward. Within the last few years they have + succeeded, by means of researches, in making alizarine, the colouring + principle of madder. "England produces immense quantities of benzene, the + greatest part of which goes to Germany, there to be converted into + aniline dyes, a considerable quantity of which goes back to England. No + other country is so far advanced in the manufacture of the coal-tar + colours as Germany. The quantity of alizarine manufactured by the German + makers far surpasses the English production." (See "Alizarine, Natural + and Artificial," by F. Versmann, New York, 1873). Statements of this kind + are frequently published, and made by our manufacturers and others, of + the departure of branch after branch of our manufactures to the + Continent, and of continually increasing importation of foreign-made + articles. <!-- Page 67 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page67"></a>{67}</span></p> + + <p>Some persons, having become aware of the cosmopolitan nature of + scientific research, have suggested that it is a matter of no importance + to us as a nation whether we make researches or not, as foreigners would + make them, and we could apply them. But no honourable man would, after + reflection, seriously maintain such a proposition, because it implies a + willingness to obtain from the labours of other persons, advantages + without paying for them. It is partly this absence of a desire to pay for + the labour of investigation, which is now damaging the manufacturing and + commercial prosperity of this country. It is also certain that however + much we may have hitherto succeeded commercially, without making payment + for research, we should have succeeded much better had we properly + assisted investigators in pure science. Our success has hitherto been + obtained, not in consequence, but in spite of the disadvantageous + circumstances under which discoverers have laboured.</p> + + <p>The commercial argument in favour of encouraging research, although + the most effective with the great mass of persons, and therefore much + dwelt upon in this chapter, is however quite a secondary one; the + encouragement of truth for the sake of its own intrinsic worth, in + preference to the material or extrinsic value of its results, should be + the foundation of all aid to discovery. Justice, also, ought to come + before all minor considerations, and no upright man would wish for a + moment that anyone, and much less the greatest scientific intellects in + the country, should work for his benefit without being remunerated. <!-- + Page 68 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page68"></a>{68}</span></p> + + <p>It has been objected that Continental nations, the Germans in + particular, have pirated our patents, infringed our designs, imitated our + labels, used our names, and taken our improvements wholesale, and this + may be true. But we still have had by far the largest portion of the + reward of our greater energy and inventive skill; we have had the great + advantage of being first in the markets of the world; and that advantage + can only be retained by our being the first in the pursuit of original + research, as we have so long been in the application of science to + industrial arts, and not by purchasing foreign inventions, nor by + accepting gifts of unrecompensed researches.</p> + + <p>Nations as well as individuals are apt to push to an extreme the means + by which they have succeeded in gaining either riches or power. We have + devoted ourselves relatively too much to the pursuit of money and too + little to the pursuit of knowledge. The desire for wealth is in this + country so great, that probably nothing but a loss of that wealth will + ever make us properly encourage the pursuit of new knowledge.</p> + + <p>Whilst research is being neglected, manufacturers and others in all + directions are asking for improvements in their machines and processes; + employers of steam engines want to obtain more power from the coals; + makers of washing soda wish to recover their lost sulphur; copper + smelters, want to utilize the copper smoke; glass makers wish to prevent + bad colour in their glass; iron puddlers want to economise heat; gas + companies are desirous of diminishing the <!-- Page 69 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page69"></a>{69}</span>leakage of gas; iron + smelters wish to avoid the evil effects of impurities in the iron; + manufacturers in general want to utilise their waste products and prevent + their polluting our streams and atmosphere; and so on without end. And + inventors are continually trying to supply these demands, by exercising + their skill in every possible way, with the aid of scientific information + contained in books; but after putting manufacturers and themselves to + great expense, they very frequently fail, not always through want of + inventive skill, but often through want of <i>new</i> knowledge + attainable only by means of pure research. Judging from the vast amount + of inventive skill already expended upon the steam engine, and the small + proportion of available mechanical power yet obtained from the coals + consumed in it, it is highly probable that a machine for completely + converting heat into mechanical force cannot be invented until more + scientific knowledge is discovered.</p> + + <p>It must not be supposed from these remarks, that discoveries which + will enable a man to make any particular invention, can be produced to + order; that is only true to a very limited extent. Men are beggars of + nature, and must not expect to be permitted to choose her gifts, or + dictate what secrets shall be disclosed. We may however be certain that + if we acquire a very much greater supply of new scientific knowledge, we + shall then be able to perfect many good inventions, though not always of + the kind we wish, or in the way we expect. The great sewage question <!-- + Page 70 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page70"></a>{70}</span>may + perhaps be solved in quite an unexpected way, possibly by the discovery + of some substance capable of precipitating ammonia and organic matter + from their solutions.</p> + + <p>Nearly all our manufacturing processes are full of imperfections; thus + the loss of gas by a single large provincial gas company, after that + substance has left the works, amounts to nearly one hundred and fifty + millions of cubic feet per annum, and to a value of about £18,000; and + the soil of all our large cities and towns is permeated and rendered + fœtid by coal gas. And it has been stated by an eminent authority + in such matters that we might save 500,000 tons of coal a year by + economizing the waste heat of furnaces, by purifying the coal, coking it, + etc. In a single chemical manufactory, out of about two thousand tons of + hydrochloric acid used per annum, about eight hundred tons have been + allowed to flow away as a polluting substance, because it was not + possible to utilise it. The loss of material from a single large glass + works equals fourteen hundred tons per annum, and a value of £8,000. + Similar grave defects might be pointed out in nearly all our large + manufactures, by those acquainted with the subject.</p> + + <p>Inventions are wanted for quickening the process of vinegar making, + and diminishing the percentage of loss of the acid. For bleaching + discoloured fats. For quickening the process of converting cast iron into + malleable iron. To easily separate nitrogen from the oxygen of the + atmosphere. To economically convert <!-- Page 71 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page71"></a>{71}</span>the nitrogen of the air + into valuable products, such as nitric acid and ammonia. To find uses for + the immense quantities of minerals which abound all over the earth; to + utilise wolfram and find applications for tungstic acid; to apply titanic + acid to great industrial purposes; to produce aluminium on the large + scale, as we now produce iron. To tan leather more quickly, and without + detriment to its quality. To prevent the rusting of iron. To more + perfectly prevent smoke. To collect and use the sulphuric acid of the + salt cake consumed in the glass manufacture. To make window glass by + means of common salt. To deodorise offensive substances. To find larger + uses for phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, and common salt. To remove + phosphorus and sulphur from iron ores, and sulphur from coal and coke. To + obtain a good white alloy as a cheaper substitute for German silver. To + convert white phosphorus into the red variety by a less dangerous process + than the present one. To prevent the putrefaction of "peltries" in glue + making. To obtain better and cheaper materials for colouring glass. To + more perfectly prevent animal food from change. To obviate or prevent + explosions in mines. To perfectly purify ordinary red lead for making + flint glass. A cheaper process for converting common salt into washing + soda; and so on without end.</p> + + <p>We also very badly require a method of recording our thoughts in + readable forms upon paper, without the slow and laborious process of + writing. An incalculable amount of brains and of intellect, especially of + <!-- Page 72 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page72"></a>{72}</span>the + greatest thinkers, would be saved by such a discovery. The curative arts + also are permeated with empiricism, and thousands of lives of persons of + all classes of society, are annually lost in this country through want of + a more perfect scientific basis of medicine, attainable only by means of + experiment and observation.</p> + + <p>In this country, such great practical results have been obtained by + means of invention, that many persons suppose a sufficiency of inventive + skill will enable us to effect every possible scientific object, and are + surprised that no one can invent a plan of utilising the entire heat of + coals, or a mode of overcoming the sewage difficulty, or prevent the + great leakage of coal gas, or arrest epidemics, or produce a steam engine + which shall work without waste of power. The progress of invention + however depends upon that of discovery, and these various inventions, + etc., wanted by manufacturers and others probably cannot be perfected + until suitable <i>new</i> knowledge is found. Every new invention has its + own appropriate discoveries, by means of which alone it can be perfected; + it was not possible to perfect the idea of an electric telegraph before + the discoveries of Volta and Oersted were made. According to scientific + laws, out of everything proceeds everything, and out of nothing, nothing + can come, even ideas are not created. An unlimited number of inventions + cannot be made by means of a limited amount of scientific knowledge; and + our present stock of such information applicable to <!-- Page 73 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page73"></a>{73}</span>invention, is very + insufficient. One great reason why only a small portion of patents are of + practical value; and so many useless ones are taken out is, that in + consequence of our so-called "practical" spirit, we overestimate the + power of invention and under-value the discovery of new abstract truths; + because also invention has done so much, we think it will continue to do + so, but the latter depends upon a continued supply of discoveries.</p> + + <p>Nearly every manufacturer is aware by painful experience of the great + and almost incessant variation that occurs in the quality and properties + of the materials used in his trade, and the frequent risk of failure of + his process. In the manufacture of iron, for example, the presence of + much phosphorus, sulphur, or silicon in the ore is liable to be very + detrimental to the quality of the iron produced from it; in the + manufacture of glass, the least quantity of iron in the materials will + seriously injure the colour of the product; in the selection of copper + for telegraph wire, if it contains the least trace of arsenic, the wire + will not conduct the electricity properly. The difficulties experienced + in procuring suitable materials for a manufacturing process are in some + cases very great; and when they are procured, additional difficulties + arise from the inability of the manufacturer or his manager to analyse + them.</p> + + <p>Every manufacturer is also aware that the difficulties encountered in + manufactures are not limited to the substances employed, but extend to + all the different <!-- Page 74 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page74"></a>{74}</span>processes and stages of processes through + which these substances have to pass, and to all the forces, tools, + machinery, and appliances employed in those processes; in the manufacture + of glass, for example, the greatest care has to be exercised in the + making and gradual heating of the pots in which the glass is melted, the + proportions of the materials, the construction of the furnaces, the + management of the heat, and a whole host of minor conditions too numerous + to mention, all of which must be attended to with the greatest care. In + the manufacture of iron and steel, the smelting of copper, the refining + of nickel, the preparation and baking of porcelain, and in many other + trades, innumerable difficulties, all having their origin in the + properties of matter and forces, continually beset the manufacturers. In + some cases difficulties occur which perplex both the workman and the + scientific man called in to his aid, and so far from an unscientific + workman being able to overcome them, even with the aid of the scientific + man, he is unable to do so.</p> + + <p>The hidden difficulties which beset a manufacturer are not + unfrequently so inscrutable that the present state of knowledge in + science fails to explain them. Who can tell why it is that wire-work of + brass or German silver becomes gradually brittle by lapse of time? Or why + varnish made in the open country has different properties from that made + in a town? Or why silk dyed in Lyons should possess a finer colour than + the same silk dyed by the same process in Coventry? <!-- Page 75 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page75"></a>{75}</span>With our present + extremely imperfect knowledge of Physical and Chemical science, we can + perhaps hardly form an idea of the amount of knowledge yet to be + discovered respecting the phenomena which manufactures present.</p> + + <p>One of the inevitable results of these difficulties in manufacturing + processes and of deficiency of knowledge, is the production of a large + amount of goods of an inferior quality; and useless goods, technically + called "wasters," the cost of which has to be laid upon the saleable + ones, and thus the price of the latter is enhanced to the consumer. For + instance, flint glass discoloured by iron has sometimes to be sold at a + loss for making common enamel; waste window glass has to be sold as + "rockery" for ornamenting gardens, and defective articles of glass or + metal have to be re-melted.</p> + + <p>In consequence of this want of new knowledge, manufacturers continue + to suffer losses which might be avoided; high prices of useful articles + are maintained; defects in their quality are not improved; preventable + accidents still continue to happen; the health of workmen continues to + suffer; many means of curing diseases remain unknown; medical practice + remains full of empiricism, &c., &c.</p> + + <p>The great sewage question is apparently in this predicament; we are + probably trying to solve it without first discovering the requisite + knowledge; inventors, engineers, and consulting chemists have racked + their brains, and have not been able to devise a satisfactory <!-- Page + 76 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page76"></a>{76}</span>remedy, and + meanwhile the health of the entire population of this country is + suffering. If we so neglect the fundamental means of ameliorating our + condition we deserve to suffer. One would suppose that cholera, + contagious diseases, colliery accidents, pollution of air and water, + enormous waste of heat from fires, and a multitude of other evils which + depend upon physical and chemical conditions, are of but little + importance, that we should so neglect one of the most effectual means of + preventing them; and it is perfectly clear that by neglecting to aid + research, those who gain so much money and advantage from original + science, and render no return, are unwittingly sacrificing national + interests upon a large scale to personal benefit.</p> + + <p>The practice of some manufacturers using and deriving great profit + from new knowledge evolved by research, without recompensing the + discoverers, sometimes causes injury to the public welfare by preventing + the publication of discoveries which have an immediate practical + application. Experience of this kind has constrained me to postpone the + publication of a method I have found of readily and quickly converting + lumps of white phosphorus into the red variety in a state of powder + without protracted heat or grinding.</p> + + <p>"What will be the next chapter of British enterprise and invention, + and who and where the men to perform the chief part in it? As to the work + to be done, there can be no doubt or mystery, for not a day passes <!-- + Page 77 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page77"></a>{77}</span>without + loud complaints, indignant remonstrances, fatal oversights, sad + mis-calculations, terrible shortcomings, social or material evils to be + remedied if possible, whole masses of people, indeed whole classes to be + succoured and lifted out of the slough, and enormous difficulties placed + by nature in our way evidently that we may exercise our wit and our + virtues in the attempt to overcome them. Here, from all these Isles, + there arises a despairing cry from agriculture, as if it had really + reached the end of its tether, and had found itself landed in utter + helplessness and insolvency—a bad speculation altogether. Here are + countless problems, and at the same time countless discoveries, which if + they lead to nothing else, prove the inexhaustible nature of our dominion + over the elements. Then, for the sea, with its terrible average of wreck + and total loss running on without intermission and with but rare + abatement, who shall say there is here no work for the discoverer and + inventor who will give his heart and soul and mind to it?"</p> + + <p>It is indeed high time, that by means of discoveries which will enable + us to predict with certainty the nature of coming seasons, we shall be + better enabled to cope with adversities in agriculture; also, that the + numerous wrecks, and the thousands of lives lost with them every year on + our coasts, should be diminished. But these desirable results cannot be + effected by invention based upon insufficient knowledge; invention must + be preceded by general as well as special research, because the former + often discloses important <!-- Page 78 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page78"></a>{78}</span>truths which we cannot predict. Our present + electric lights in light-houses and on large ocean steamers, had their + origin, not in direct inventions or special researches for the purpose, + but in abstract researches on apparently remote subjects.</p> + + <p>It is nothing less than a national crime that proper provision has not + yet been made for investigating scientifically the causes of famine and + pestilence, also physiology and pathology, and the discovery of the laws + which regulate diseases and epidemics. What can be more painful to behold + than a mother and father deprived of a whole family of five or six + children in rapid succession by scarlatina or other contagious disease, + and both the parents and medical men utterly unable to save them; and + this is a common occurrence. Persons who are ignorant of science look + with an abject feeling of helplessness upon great national calamities, + and even upon private afflictions, such as a local epidemic, as if there + was absolutely no remedy, whilst scientific men believe that by extension + of knowledge, such evils might be largely avoided or prevented.</p> + + <p>Many persons however, actuated by the very kindest of motives, but + insufficiently acquainted with the necessity, conditions, results, and + advantages of experiments, unwittingly obstruct the discovery of new + knowledge in physiology and pathology, by attempting to prevent + experiments being made upon animals.</p> + + <p>We should not strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. Nearly every step + in life involves a choice <!-- Page 79 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page79"></a>{79}</span>between two alternatives, and this is the + case with experiments upon living creatures, either such experiments must + be made, or the wholesale slaughter of men and other animals, by + pestilences, epidemics, small-pox, foot and mouth disease, &c., must + continue. Many of the properties of living bodies, like those of dead + ones, can only be ascertained by means of experiments, no other course is + possible; and the knowledge so obtained enables us not only to prolong + the lives but also to alleviate the sufferings of all kinds of living + creatures. Nearly all our medical and surgical knowledge has been + obtained by observation and study, either of the results of experiments + made by ourselves, or by the course of nature for us; and the former is + often attended by immeasurably less pain and expence than the latter. No + one who has ever made in a proper manner new experiments, would venture + to assert that valuable knowledge is not gained by them; and this + statement is as correct of experiments in physiology as in all the other + sciences.</p> + + <p>The total amount of pain inflicted upon animals by vivisection + experiments in this country is infinitesimally small—because, + firstly, the proportion of experimentalists in so-called "vivisection," + does not amount to one person in one million of our + inhabitants:—secondly, students cannot be induced to enter upon + scientific research in physiology, because such labour is unrewarded, + either by enabling them to obtain certificates, degrees, or money. + Whatever pain also, <!-- Page 80 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page80"></a>{80}</span>is inflicted in such experiments, is by men + of the highest eminence in physiology, and therefore by the most + competent persons.</p> + + <p>Experimental research is an occupation requiring an exceptional kind + of ability and experience; and persons who have never made experiments, + nor studied their relation to human welfare, are largely incompetent to + determine when and how they should be made, the real effects of them, or + the value of the knowledge they afford. To persons inexperienced in + scientific research, many experiments appear useless, which have great + practical value, either immediately or at a later period. Our greatest + curse is ignorance; and knowledge, by enabling us to avoid the fatal + effects of pestilences, and epidemics, is as necessary as food to + mankind. The "Anti-vivisection" movement however is but one of the phases + of the ever-existing conflict between the advancing and retarding + sections of mankind.</p> + + <p>Greater sympathy with suffering accompanies greater civilization. The + increased humanity of the present age over that of previous ones, is + largely due to the discovery and extension of new scientific knowledge. + Science, by showing more clearly to man his true position in nature and + in relation to his fellow-men and other animals, has rendered more + evident the concrete fact, that the happiness of each depends upon the + happiness of all, and the happiness and welfare of all upon that of each + individual. It has also operated in a more apparent, though less <!-- + Page 81 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page81"></a>{81}</span>important way, by inculcating better systems + of <span class="correction" title="Original reads 'hygeine'." + >hygiene</span>, improved sanitary arrangements, &c, &c. It is + not to the zeal of "anti-vivisectionists," but to the well-directed + labours of experimental medical men, that mankind are indebted for the + discovery and invention of nearly every known method of preventing and + alleviating animal suffering and of prolonging human life. This statement + is true of vaccination, the use of chloroform in general surgery, + dentistry, and midwifery, of carbolic acid spray in surgical operations; + the abolition of the practice of searing amputated limbs with a red-hot + iron; and many other improvements. Ferrier's comparatively recent + vivisection experiments have already enabled medical men to treat more + successfully those formidable diseases, epilepsy and abcess of the + brain.</p> + + <p>What this nation badly requires, is not less experimental research, + but more. When famines result from insufficiency of Solar heat, instead + of investigating the conditions of the Sun's surface to enable us to + predict their occurrence and provide accordingly, we allow them to come + upon us in our unprepared state and produce their fearful effects. When + contagious disease overtakes us, what do we do? Instead of previously + employing and paying scientific investigators to make experiments in + physiological and chemical science, to enable us to combat it + successfully, we vainly attempt to apply our present stock of chemical + and physiological knowledge to ward off the difficulty. When high price + of fuel intervenes, instead <!-- Page 82 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page82"></a>{82}</span>of previously giving discoverers the means + of finding new principles relating to heat, and to chemical, and + electrical action, we ineffectually endeavour by means of invention, to + economise fuel. These are the pottering, short-sighted, and ignorant ways + in which "the great English nation" temporises with great evils, and + permits national welfare to be sacrificed to private gain, instead of + employing for the discovery of new knowledge some of that superfluous + wealth which in many instances is a curse to its possessors.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p><!-- Page 83 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page83"></a>{83}</span></p> + +<h3>CHAPTER II.</h3> + +<h3>———</h3> + +<h3><span class="sc">The Scientific Basis of Mental and Moral Progress.</span><a name="NtA12" href="#Nt12"><sup>[12]</sup></a></h3> + + <p>It is not highly necessary after what has been already said in these + pages, to adduce much evidence to show that scientific discoveries, + either directly or through the medium of the inventions based upon them, + have been a great cause of mental and moral progress. As however there + are many persons who do not perceive the dependence of such progress, and + especially of moral advance, upon science, a few of the chief relations + of those subjects to each other may be pointed out.</p> + + <p>The dependence of mental progress upon science may be rendered + manifest in several ways:—1st. By showing that new scientific + knowledge is continually extending and modifying our views of existing + things. 2nd. That inventions based upon scientific discoveries have aided + and extended our mental powers:—3rd. That mental phenomena may be + made the subject of experiment, observation, analysis, and <!-- Page 84 + --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page84"></a>{84}</span>inference:—4th. That the criteria of + truth, and the mental powers and processes employed for discovering and + detecting truth, are the same in mental as in physical science, and, 5th. + That mental action is subject to the great principles and laws of + science. And moral progress may be proved to have a scientific + basis:—1st. By shewing that moral actions are a class of mental + actions, and therefore subject to the same fundamental laws and + influences:—2nd. That the discovery of new scientific knowledge, + and the use of inventions based upon it, often conduce to + morality:—3rd. That moral phenomena may be made the subject of + experiment, observation, analysis, and inference:—4th. That the + criteria of truth, and the mental faculties and processes employed, in + discovering truth, are the same in moral as in physical + science:—5th. That the fundamental rules of morality are subject to + the great principles of science:—6th. That moral improvement + follows in the wake of scientific advance:—and 7th. By showing the + moral influence of experimental research in imparting "the scientific + spirit;" promoting a love of truth; dispelling ignorance and + superstition; detecting error; imparting certainty and accuracy to our + knowledge; inculcating obedience to law; producing uniformity of belief; + aiding economy and cleanliness, promoting humanity, &c, &c. Each + of these will be treated with extreme brevity.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">MENTAL PROGRESS.</p> + + <p>The chief object of this chapter is only to shew <!-- Page 85 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page85"></a>{85}</span>that mental action is + largely consistent with the great principles of science; not that in our + present state of knowledge, mental phenomena can be entirely explained by + them, or that mental actions involve nothing more than physical and + chemical processes.</p> + + <p>That mental progress is advanced by scientific discovery is a common + circumstance. Our ideas of facts, our knowledge of general principles, + our views of man, of nature, and of the Universe; and even our modes of + thought, have been gradually and profoundly changed by the new knowledge + acquired by means of scientific research. This truth is capable of being + most extensively illustrated by a multitude of facts in the whole of the + sciences, and in the arts, manufactures, and other subjects dependent + upon science. For example, in astronomy, great changes, produced by the + results of scientific discovery have taken place in our ideas respecting + the magnitude of Space and of the Heavenly bodies, the constitution, + form, and motion of the Earth, the functions of the Sun and Moon, the + distances of the Sun and fixed Stars, the nature of eclipses and comets; + and a great many other matters. In terrestrial physics, the mental + advances have been equally great in our ideas respecting the causes of + tides and of winds, the pressure of the atmosphere, the existence and + course of the Gulf Stream, the physical conditions of the Equator and + Poles, the conditions upon which day and night, summer and winter depend, + the depth of the ocean, the height of the atmosphere, the cause of + rainbows, of <!-- Page 86 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page86"></a>{86}</span>rain, hail, snow, mist and dew, of thunder + and lightning, the composition of air, water, mineral, and organic + substances, and other most numerous and varied phenomena. In the subjects + of heat, light, electricity, magnetism, chemistry, vegetable and animal + physiology, psychology and morality, and the more concrete subjects + depending upon them, such as politics, trade, commerce, government, + &c., our ideas have equally advanced, in consequence of scientific + research; and to fully describe the mental progress resulting from + discovery in nearly all branches of human knowledge would require a + series of books to be written on the History of all the Sciences.</p> + + <p>Other causes also, which I need hardly mention, besides scientific + discovery, have of course contributed to the mental progress of mankind. + We arrive at true ideas, not only by the more certain and systematic + process employed in scientific research, but largely also by the + uncertain method of trusting to instinct and habit, by adopting dogmatic + opinions, and by the semi-scientific plan of following empirical + rules.</p> + + <p>Dogma and empiricism, in nearly all subjects, has rendered immense + service to mankind. Contemporaneously with the progress produced by new + knowledge, the mental condition of man has been maintained and prevented + from receding, by the combined influence of hereditary mental proclivity, + acquired habit, promulgation of dogmatic opinions and empirical rules, + and by previously known verified truth. Religious <!-- Page 87 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page87"></a>{87}</span>belief has thus been the + forerunner of Science. Dogma and empiricism are indispensable agents of + civilization; they cannot be dispensed with by the great mass of mankind, + who have not the time at command, nor possess the other means, necessary + for acquiring verified knowledge. They afford rough and ready guides and + useful "rule of thumb" methods, though less certain and less accurate + than those afforded by verified and definite science.</p> + + <p>That various inventions, based upon scientific discoveries, have + greatly aided and extended our mental powers is quite certain. The + discovery of the properties of a mixture of solution of nutgalls and + green vitriol, has, through the invention of ink, exercised an immense + influence in promoting the mental developement of mankind; and the + discovery of the properties of esparto grass and other materials for + making paper has contributed to this result. Every discovery also + resulting in inventions which facilitated the transmission of + intelligence has had a similar effect. Amongst these are magnetism, + which, in the mariner's compass greatly assisted navigation and the + conveyance of letters by sea; and the steam engine which facilitated the + transmission of letters by land and by water; the electric telegraph, the + telephone, and other contrivances for transmitting ideas, have also + greatly promoted mental advance. The steam engine, by largely abolishing + physical drudgery, gave time for study and mental and moral improvement. + It has been said that "it is impossible to lay down a <!-- Page 88 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page88"></a>{88}</span>railway without + creating an improved intellectual influence. It is probable that Watt and + Stephenson will eventually modify the opinions of mankind, almost as + profoundly as Luther and Voltaire." Photography has exercised an immense + intellectual influence of an improved kind, by making common to all + mankind views of the beautiful scenery of all parts of our globe, and + portraits of individuals of all nations and of all classes of society. + Processes of printing from electrotype plates, pictures and letter-press, + upon the paper wrappers used by grocers and other tradesmen, have also + carried into the homes of millions of poor persons truthful ideas and an + improved intellectual influence. The invention of steel pens, of which a + thousand millions are made yearly in Birmingham alone, must also have + considerably aided intellectual progress. The various calculating + machines used by merchants, the copying presses, papyrographs, and the + numerous inventions for copying and multiplying letters and circulars and + for domestic printing, have saved intellectual toil, and promoted the + diffusion of intelligence. These are only a few of the numerous ways in + which inventions based upon scientific discoveries, have resulted in + mental progress.</p> + + <p>Less perhaps has been done in the way of actual definite scientific + experiments upon mental actions and processes than in almost any other + department of science, and this is partly accounted for by the fact that + the other sciences require to be largely advanced before we can use them + to examine mental action, <!-- Page 89 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page89"></a>{89}</span>and partly also because (as occasionally + happens) the latter has been a neglected subject of research. During the + past few years however, various experimental investigations have been + made, especially by Donders in Holland, and Mosso in Turin, for the + purpose of elucidating the physical conditions of mental action; and it + has been found that instead of an act of thought being instantaneous, as + was formerly believed, it requires a variable time.<a name="NtA13" + href="#Nt13"><sup>[13]</sup></a> Numerous desultory experiments made upon + dreamers, and with drugs, alcohol, &c., upon persons in the waking + state, also prove that mental phenomena are amenable to scientific + research. F. Galton has even proposed experiments and methods for + measuring the mental faculties of different persons.<a name="NtA14" + href="#Nt14"><sup>[14]</sup></a> The effects of exciting different parts + of the brain of animals by means of electric currents, and the + localization of the functions of the brain effected by the experiments of + Ferrier, Hirtzig and others, also tend to throw further light upon mental + phenomena. The fact alone that mental actions and conditions may be made + the subject of experiment, and consequently of observation, comparison, + analysis and inference, proves that they may be rendered sources of new + facts and principles, and are therefore within the domain of science. As + the dependence of mental phenomena upon physical conditions has been + clearly demonstrated, an extensive reduction of them to scientific laws + is only a question of time and labour.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 90 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page90"></a>{90}</span></p> + + <p>The principles of nature and the modes of mental action are the same + for all men. It necessarily follows from the essential nature of truth + and the invariability of the chief methods of detecting it, that the + criteria of truth in mental science, and the mental powers and processes + by which truth is arrived at and detected in that science, are + essentially the same as in the physiological, chemical, and physical + ones. In each of these subjects, we first, either with or without the aid + of experiment, make observations, record facts, compare them, and draw + conclusions from our comparisons; we also group the facts, and the + conclusions, in every possible way, and then draw other conclusions; we + also analyse, combine, and permutate the various truths arrived at, and + cross examine the evidence in every possible manner in order to extract + from it the greatest amount of new knowledge. And in each case we employ + as the criteria of truth, the test of consistency with the whole of the + evidence bearing upon the case, and especially with the great principles + of science. We determine what is true, chiefly by comparison with those + principles, because they are the most firmly established true ones and + the most universal. There is no royal road to truth, and no special + mental faculty for detecting it in any subject; and it is in consequence + of our mental faculties being so very finite that we have no easier way + of arriving at truth.</p> + + <p>No dogmatic teaching can ever, except by accident, fully explain to + man the true nature of mind; and <!-- Page 91 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page91"></a>{91}</span>only in proportion as man becomes + enlightened by extension of new scientific knowledge, especially in + physiology, will he be able to view himself in a true aspect apart from + his consciousness. Science penetrates deeper than metaphysical + speculation, into the nature of mental action, chiefly because + metaphysics deals only with old ideas, whilst science furnishes us with + new experience and therefore with new conceptions and wider evidence.</p> + + <p>Fallacies are very prevalent, every subject of human study is liable + to a very large class of errors arising from the extremely imperfect + state of our knowledge, and in very few subjects is our ignorance as + great as in that of mental and moral phenomena. Every different subject + of study also, has, in consequence of its special peculiarities, its own + peculiar class of fallacies, into which the student of it is likely to be + led, unless he is previously guarded against them. In accordance with + this truth, the study of man's nature, especially the mental and moral + portions, is particularly liable to a class of errors arising from the + circumstance, that the phenomena to be observed and the observing power + are intimately connected together, each influencing and disturbing the + other. The obstacles to our arriving at truth in the study of mental and + moral actions, are greater and more frequent, the more nearly and + intimately related the phenomena to be observed and contemplated, are to + the observing and contemplating faculty, or rather to the contemplative + action. When the two mental <!-- Page 92 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page92"></a>{92}</span>actions are extremely intimate, as when + attention is directed to the action of will (which is itself a conscious + act of attention) undisturbed thought becomes very difficult; and when + further, the contemplative faculty attempts to contemplate itself, as + when consciousness attempts to observe consciousness, in order to define + it, the attempt results in almost complete failure, probably because the + two actions (observing and being observed) being opposite in kind, cannot + coexist at the same time in the same structure. Knowledge of the exact + nature of consciousness therefore, will probably only be arrived at by + indirect means, when physiological and other knowledge is sufficiently + advanced.</p> + + <p>Consciousness, when uncorrected by sufficient knowledge and inference, + is a great source of error. That which we feel, we think exists whether + it does or not, until the subject is correctly explained to us. The + incessant and irresistible obtrusion of consciousness exercises dominion + over every mind, even of our greatest thinkers, and causes disturbance + and interruption in nearly every train of thought. It is largely the + cause of some of our most general ideas and emotions and insensibly + influences our views of man and nature. It produces true impressions as + well as erroneous ones. It is a cause of the feeling that an occult + spirit exists within us independent of our material structure. Combined + with the almost equally persistent impression of the uniformity of + nature, it largely produces the idea that the spirit within us, <!-- Page + 93 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page93"></a>{93}</span>will live and + be active for ever. And by uniting with the frequent impressions of + failure of our efforts and desire for more perfect enjoyment, it largely + originates the idea of everlasting happiness.</p> + + <p>It is in accordance with modern scientific knowledge, to view the + mind, not as a collection of distinct faculties, but rather as a single + kind of power, like each of the physical forces, having several different + modes of action; and as that which perceives, thinks, and wills. Its + oneness is shewn by its inability to be simultaneously occupied by + several diverse feelings, thoughts, or volitions, and by our incapacity + to think of many varied ideas at once; the more ideas also or objects we + attempt to perceive at once, the less we realize of each. In proportion + as the mind is engaged upon one idea, so is it also unable to be occupied + with another. Strong feelings exclude intellectual action. The mind can + only execute several actions at a time, provided they have been rendered + more or less automatic by habit, &c., but as all mental acts are in + different degrees imperfectly automatic, and require more or less + attention, and each individual mind is limited in its power, every such + act withdraws a portion of attention from the more engrossing ideas. + Power of mind and power of maintaining attention are nearly + synonymous.</p> + + <p>The recognised fundamental elements of mind are Receptivity and + Perception of impression: Retentiveness of impression: Perception of + agreement (or similarity) of impression: and Perception of difference + <!-- Page 94 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page94"></a>{94}</span>of + impression. All purely mental acts appear to be resolvable into + these.</p> + + <p>Many persons still entertain the idea that mental actions are largely + independent of the natural conditions to which physiological, chemical, + and physical phenomena are subject. The unscientific mind is readily + beguiled by easy schemes of mental action, or simple systems of mental + and moral philosophy, unaware that great abstract truths often require + deep thought to discover them, or even to perceive them when discovered + and published. "A false notion, which is clear and precise, will always + meet a greater number of adherents in the world than a true principle + which is obscure." It is not until unscientific persons have become used + to advanced scientific ideas and nomenclature, and knowledge as so far + progressed as to enable thinking men to illustrate those ideas freely in + familiar language, that great abstract truths are believed by the public. + The ordinary and simple theory of the operations of the human mind is, + that they often arise without any cause, and are frequently not obedient + to ordinary influences, and this idea is still entertained and + promulgated even by some of our most popular ministers of truth. It is + therefore necessary in order to further prove that new scientific + knowledge is really a basis of mental progress, to point out a few of the + chief ways in which mental action essentially depends on scientific + principles, and to adduce a few instances in which other substances than + brain exhibit essentially similar phenomena. To <!-- Page 95 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page95"></a>{95}</span>shew this however in a + more satisfactory manner would require a large treatise to be written + upon the subject.</p> + + <p>The human brain and mind are evidently subject to the ordinary laws of + matter and energy. Receptivity and retentiveness of impression is not + only a property of brain, but of all solid matter without exception. + Moser's pictures, and Chinese mirrors, the impressions on each being + reproducible by warm breath, are examples of this. And as these two + properties are fundamental elements of mind, they must be present in and + essential to, every mental action.</p> + + <p>All phenomena require time and all matter occupies space; thought and + brain are no exception to this. Whilst all persons say "I must have time + to think," many believe that thought is instantaneous. Time is a + necessary condition of all thought, and therefore of all comparison, + inference, imagination, and mental analysis; it takes time even to form + an idea, or draw an inference from it, and the two cannot be formed + simultaneously. Professor Donders, of Utrecht, has invented what he terms + a Noëmatachograph for registering the amount of time occupied in mental + processes, and by the aid of that instrument has ascertained that the + time required by a man of middle age to perform a single act of simple + thought is about one twenty-fifth part of a second. It has also been + ascertained that the time required is longer in some persons than in + others; and longer if the <!-- Page 96 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page96"></a>{96}</span>subject of thought is one with which the + thinker is not familiar. Mosso, by means of an instrument which he calls + a Plethysmograph, has shewn, that during mental action, either in the + waking state, or in dreaming, there is a greater amount of blood + determined to the brain, and more during difficult than during easy + mental action. These are instances of scientific research casting a light + upon mental processes.</p> + + <p>Coexistence of matter and energy is another great truth which appears + to be applicable to all nature; wherever there is matter, there is either + active or stored up power; and as particular forms of energy are in some + cases most exhibited by particular kinds of substance, (as magnetism by + iron), so mind is associated with living brain. As also we never see the + physical powers exhibited except by material substance, so have we never + yet observed mental action in a space devoid of material. The most + perfect vacuum yet produced contains many millions of particles of + substance in each cubic inch. Of all the countless number of scientific + phenomena observed since men have been able to reliably investigate, not + one has afforded us conclusive evidence of mental action entirely + independent of these conditions. In accordance also with the usual truth + in science, that complicated action requires complex structures; mind, + being the most intricate action, is manifested by the most complicated + body.</p> + + <p>Mind, like each of the physical forces may be <!-- Page 97 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page97"></a>{97}</span>viewed as a mode of + energy; it is essentially dynamic; activity or change, within or without + us, appears to be the original source of all our mental impressions, and + the cause of their re-excitement in an act of memory. A man's mind, being + continually excited by circumstances, must be active whether he will or + no, and if it does not possess sufficient truthful ideas entirely to + occupy it, it must be more or less occupied with erroneous ones. "We can + neither feel, nor know, without a transition or change of state—and + every cognition, must be viewed as in relation to some other feeling, or + cognition," (Bain. Mental and Moral Science, p. 83); <i>i.e.</i> the + mental effect of impressions upon us depends upon our immediately + previous mental state; consciousness and perception appear to be based + upon cerebral change or activity; after strong excitement of + consciousness an increased amount of acid products is found in the + secretions. "It is a general law of the mental constitution, more or less + recognised by inquirers into the human mind, that change of impression is + essential to consciousness in every form," (Bain. Emotions and Will, 3rd + edi. p. 550). A sufficient degree also of such change is a necessary + condition of conscious perception; it is the stronger or more rapid only + of mental changes that excite our consciousness.</p> + + <p>We perceive nearly all things by means of a difference of impression + which they make upon us; by contrast. That which makes no such difference + of impression, such as the great uniformities of time and <!-- Page 98 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page98"></a>{98}</span>space, makes no + immediate impression upon us. We only know of the existence of those + uniformities by inference from our perceptions of sequences or of + relative difference. Although the Earth moves at the rate of 62,000 miles + an hour in its orbit, consciousness does not perceive it. If also there + was no error, we should be less immediately able to discern truth, + without pain we should lose much of the enjoyment of pleasure. Without + the contrast of imperfection we could not directly appreciate + perfection.</p> + + <p>This principle of "relativity," or of change of impression, operates + both in the phenomena of dead and living matter and in those of mind; the + selenium in a photophone is kept in a state of motion or activity, not by + a beam of uniform light, but only by one which changes; electrical action + is excited by a relative difference of friction, of temperature, of + chemical action, &c.; chemical action also often results from a + relative difference of property of two bodies. That the most inscrutable + phenomenon of mind, viz., consciousness, is largely dependent upon + relative physical and chemical conditions, is proved by the powerful + influence which alcohol, chloroform, opium, haschish, and other + substances, have in exciting or depressing it. These facts prove that + excitement of consciousness or mental action depends upon precisely the + same general condition, viz.: change of impression, as the excitement of + some of the physical forces; and that mind possesses a similar property + to the physical forces of being changed by inequality of impression. <!-- + Page 99 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page99"></a>{99}</span>Whilst + copious evidence is available to shew that the mind is excitable by + physical causes, no more conclusive proof exists that a mental impression + arises without a natural cause, than that a physical one, such as a + photographic impression, arises in that way. Abundant evidence of + non-creation of ideas out of nothing might be adduced; even imagination + and invention are subject to this limit, because an unlimited number of + new conceptions cannot be formed from a limited number of previous + ideas.</p> + + <p>The dependence of the mind (like any other mode of energy) upon + physical conditions, is further proved by the fact that the mental and + moral states of a man are largely governed by sensation; if the latter is + unhealthy it makes the mind so, and it makes some difference what the + part of the body is in which the sensation exists; most commonly it is + the viscera. The mind is also intimately dependent upon the physical + condition of the brain, and is largely affected by the quantity and + quality of the blood in that organ.</p> + + <p>The most fundamental principle which pervades every one of the + sciences, and agrees with the actions of every natural form of energy + without exception, including mind, is, that of consistency or + non-contradiction. No machine or scientific apparatus of any kind can + perform two contradictory acts at the same time. It is both a + physiological and psychological fact, that we cannot experience two + contradictory sensations, nor perceive two contradictory ideas at the + <!-- Page 100 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page100"></a>{100}</span>same instant. We can neither feel, + perceive, nor observe, one thing, whilst we are feeling, perceiving, or + observing, one of a contradictory nature; nor can we perform any two + contradictory acts of comparison, inference, imagination, or volition, + simultaneously. As also two mental actions are often not exactly alike, + or entirely harmonious, they must so far as they are really + contradictory, be mutually exclusive; and one of them must partly prevent + the other, the strongest one prevailing, and this general truth is + commonly though not explicitly, recognised in the maxim, that to do + anything well, we must do only one thing at a time. In accordance with + the universal truth, that contradictions cannot co-exist, it is + well-known that one disease frequently expels another from our frame, and + the action of counter-irritants is based upon the same principle. The + fortitude of martyrs may probably be explained by this power of one set + of ideas and feelings to exclude another, and the facts of mental + physiology afford plenty of other examples.</p> + + <p>It is probably because we cannot simultaneously perform two + contradictory actions, that we cannot contemplate consciousness, or think + of an idea and at the same time think of that act of thought. In + accordance with this, even Newton, and other great geniuses, have been + unable to accurately describe the mental processes by means of which they + arrived at their most difficult results. In consequence also of this, we + cannot define consciousness, and are often <!-- Page 101 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page101"></a>{101}</span>unable to directly + observe or analyse our mental actions, especially those of a very + abstruse or complex kind. Much of the knowledge of the operations of our + mind, we are therefore obliged to obtain by indirect means; by analogies, + and inferences from the phenomena of nature, &c., and in this way our + knowledge of mental action largely depends upon our acquaintance with + physical and chemical science, and can only advance as it advances. To + clearly understand one subject we are often obliged to study several + others. Ignorance of science in general, and of cerebral physiology in + particular, is the chief obstacle to our acquiring a more accurate + knowledge of mind.</p> + + <p>Next to consistency, the great principle of causation constitutes the + most essential part of all natural truth, and to deny the operation of + this principle in particular cases of mental action, simply because we, + with our very finite powers, cannot in the extremely imperfect state of + our knowledge, yet fully explain some of the most difficult, complex, + transient, and ever-changing phenomena of will and consciousness, is + contrary to the most weighty evidence. "The Will" is a conscious mental + effort to effect an object, the idea of which is already in the mind, and + being a mental "effort" it absorbs the mind and thereby incapacitates it + at the moment from observing its own action.</p> + + <p>If any phenomenon (such as mental action) is essentially dependent + upon another, it must be connected <!-- Page 102 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page102"></a>{102}</span>with it in a + never-failing or indissoluble manner, so that when the one occurs the + other is always present, otherwise it would not be essentially dependent. + The only known connections of this kind are those causation and + continuity of phenomena, according to which every phenomenon has a cause, + and all phenomena are indissolubly connected in endless series. The + evidence of the truth of these principles is so vast, that even all + mankind thinking through all ages, and after having made an almost + infinite number of definite experiments and observations, have never yet + met with a single well verified instance of their failure; and we are + therefore justified in inferring that they are universal. There are + however instances in the physical and chemical sciences, as well as in + mental action, where the dependence of phenomena upon those principles is + not very apparent, and has not yet been sufficiently proved, but it is + probably in consequence of our imperfect knowledge and limited faculties, + that we are unable as yet to fully trace such dependence. The history of + science, abundantly proves that we should not assume that a phenomenon + arises without a natural cause, simply for the reason that it is very + difficult to trace its origin, but wait patiently for more knowledge + respecting it. It is unphilosophic and contrary to reason to attribute to + occult agencies, effects which may be explicable by ordinary causes, or + to refuse to believe in more abstruse causes where the assumption of + simple ones is contradicted by some of the evidence. <!-- Page 103 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page103"></a>{103}</span></p> + + <p>The principle of causation forms the basis of many minor ones, such as + selection, evolution, differentiation, &c. Plurality of causes also + is a very common circumstance in all the sciences, and especially in + concrete phenomena, and in the complex ones of animal life; the arrival + of a ship for example at a distant port, is a result of many conditions. + Similarly with most of our mental actions, they are compounds of feeling + and intellect, and produced by many causes, such as hereditary tendency, + acquired habit, internal and external mental excitants, dogmatic belief, + knowledge of empirical rules, and occasionally of verified principles. + Several of these causes also frequently conspire to produce a single idea + or decision.</p> + + <p>Various general principles of lesser magnitude arise from the combined + action of two or more of the greater ones, and these also appear to + operate in mental actions as well as in physical ones. Thus by the + combined influence of causation and of the principle that every + phenomenon occupies time, "effects often lag behind their causes;" and in + some cases during a long period. The greatest heat of summer for example + usually occurs several weeks after mid-summer. The mental effects of + early mistakes are often not fully experienced until old age. The decline + of a nation also follows a long time behind the period of action of the + chief causes which produce it.</p> + + <p>Although effects are indissolubly connected with their causes, they + frequently do not occur in an active form until a long period after them. + In such cases <!-- Page 104 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page104"></a>{104}</span>they are stored up in what is termed a + potential or latent state, ready for liberation at a future occasion, + when the suitable conditions are present; the storage of chemical power + in gunpowder, of solar heat in coal, and its subsequent liberation in our + fires, are suitable examples. The principle of deferred activity and + storing up of power, occurs also in vital and mental phenomena; potential + heat is stored up in our food, and is afterwards evolved by oxidation in + our tissues. Muscular power is stored up during sleep, ready to be + evolved during labour. The storage also of cerebral impressions, and + cerebral energy, ready to call forth ideas, and thereby powerful + emotions, by the exciting action of memory, may also be viewed as an + instance of similar kind belonging to mental phenomena. A new and + striking instance of the storage of energy has been shewn in Faure's + improved form of secondary voltaic battery, in which the most powerful + voltaic current may be (at least practically) stored up (in a box + containing lead plates immersed in dilute sulphuric acid) and conveyed to + a distance with little loss, and then liberated.</p> + + <p>Exciting causes operate very extensively in mental actions as well as + in physical ones, a mere look or word from an eloquent speaker will + excite the passions and liberate the muscular power of a multitude. Every + part of the human body, especially the muscles and nerve centres, is a + store-house of power always ready to be set free by the slightest + suitable causes; this is strongly illustrated in the irrepressible + activity <!-- Page 105 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page105"></a>{105}</span>of children, and in the excitable passions + of young men and women. The more immediate cause of this power is the + oxidation of assimilated food; and the source of power in the food is the + heat of the Sun stored up in the plants and animals they have eaten.</p> + + <p>The subsequent liberation of power under the influence, often of very + slight causes, long after the original cause has ceased to act, has led + us to conclude erroneously that causes are not always proportional to + effects. Proportionality of effect to cause appears to be universal; it + probably operates in mental as well as in physical actions, our faith in + education as a means of intelligence is based upon this; the more + complete the education of a particular individual, the greater usually is + his degree of intelligence. Proportionality of cause to effect is + apparently disobeyed not only in physical but also in mental phenomena. + Throughout the whole realm of nature, minute circumstances often act as + exciting, deflecting, and guiding causes, and contribute to the + production of apparently disproportionate effects. Thus a spark will + discharge the largest cannon; a touch determine the most distant electric + signal; a word or look, excite the strongest emotions; the little change + of position of a railway point will direct a train either to distant + North or South; the minute change of contact of the telegraph switch, + will determine the signal to places wide asunder; one false idea also at + a critical moment will often lead a man or woman to ruin; and in all + these classes of cases, <!-- Page 106 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page106"></a>{106}</span>whilst trifling causes <i>appear</i> to + produce great effects; the real causes are the stored up latent powers + set free or directed. It is astonishing how small a circumstance will + excite an idea, and deflect the entire current of our thoughts; and it is + equally surprising what great physical and chemical effects are often + started by most minute exciting or deflecting conditions; the explosion + of seven tons of dynamite at Hell-gate, near New York, by the pressure of + a child's finger closing an electric circuit is a suitable example.</p> + + <p>Every phenomenon therefore whether physical or mental, is probably + connected in an indissoluble manner with some preceding phenomenon, + either immediately in point of time, or remotely through some static + condition, usually that of stored up power. In this sense the great + principle of continuity of phenomena appears to be universal, and the + present state of the Universe is said to implicitly or potentially + contain all the future states of the Universe. Mind also in this way, + like each of the physical forces, often acts as a link in an endless + chain of causes and effects, and is connected with non-mental phenomena + in accordance with the great principles of science.</p> + + <p>Science has demonstrated what has been termed the "Convertibility of + Forces," or, that when one form of energy disappears, another form (or + forms) of energy, and in precisely equivalent amount, is produced in its + stead, either in a latent or active state. The equivalent quantities of + the various forms of <!-- Page 107 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page107"></a>{107}</span>energy have also been discovered by actual + experiment and measurement. A pound weight falling through 772 feet gives + forth as much energy as would (in the form of heat) raise the temperature + of one pound of water one Fahrenheit degree. We know that so much + mechanical power is equal also to so much electric current, chemical + action, &c., and a large amount of evidence exists to show that these + transformations of energy occur in all the organs of living creatures, + and in obedience to the law of their equivalents. How far mental power is + a "mode of energy" transformable, and obedient to the laws of + equivalence, are interesting questions for future research.</p> + + <p>The mechanical principle of action and reaction is another which can + be traced in mental as well as in physical phenomena. Mental excitement + is often succeeded by mental depression, "after pleasure follows pain." + The power of mental self-guidance and self-education is largely dependent + upon the two well known scientific principles of latent energy, and + action and reaction. We are able to liberate energy, not only in cases + where it will influence inanimate matter but also ourselves. The + principle of self-guidance is not restricted to living creatures, nor is + self-regulation limited to mental power. The principle of self-regulation + operates in clocks, watches, musical boxes, the governors of steam + engines, water regulators, gas regulators, &c., &c., and upon an + immense scale in the movements of the heavenly <!-- Page 108 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page108"></a>{108}</span>bodies. With the + electric locomotive, the greater the load it has to draw, or the steeper + the incline it has to ascend, the more strongly does it exert its + strength, up to the full limits of its power. Neither in physical nor in + mental actions can a body or force usually act directly upon itself to + change its state whether of activity or rest. In both classes of cases + however we meet with plenty of instances where, a body by an almost + imperceptible expenditure of energy on its own part either alters some + surrounding conditions, or excites a powerful liberation of energy in + another body which then reacts upon it to change its state. In this way + the action of clock-work in the self-exploding apparatus of a torpedo + liberates at a particular moment a spring, and causes an explosion which + destroys the apparatus. Similarly, whilst a man, in many cases, is unable + to <i>directly</i> alter his mental state, to increase or diminish his + mental activity, to cause sleep, &c., he is able <i>indirectly</i> to + change his mental condition by drinking stimulants or by adopting means + of self-education; and to induce sleep by means of opium, suitable + exercise, &c.</p> + + <p>The principles of indestructibility or conservation of matter and + energy, flow from the preceding ones, and are exhibited in mental actions + as well as in physical ones. Whilst the universal experience of mankind + has not yet afforded us a single well verified instance of actual + creation or destruction of matter or energy, it has supplied us with + plenty of examples of apparent destruction and creation of each of them. + <!-- Page 109 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page109"></a>{109}</span>But scientific knowledge corrects the + uncertain testimony of consciousness; whilst we see coal burn and be + apparently destroyed, science proves to us that the elements composing it + remain undiminished. We observe also that the heat of the fire dissipates + and is apparently lost for ever; but science again proves that it is + either stored up in the latent state, ready to be again liberated at a + future time, or else converted into other forms of energy. A given atom + of matter or a portion of energy, therefore, to the best of our + knowledge, continues and persists for ever. As we cannot either create or + destroy matter so also can we not create or annihilate energy, and this + truth probably holds good with regard to mental as well as to physical + and chemical power. Great changes of state in bodies (as in the + combustion of wood &c.) have led us to erroneously think that the + substances are destroyed; and great apparent differences of property, + such as those of diamond and charcoal, have led us similarly to conclude + that they are entirely distinct and independent of each other when they + are not.</p> + + <p>As the cerebrum of man is composed of matter, and during excitement, + its parts are active, we might confidently predict that its particles + obey the First law of Motion, viz.: that a body in a state of rest or + motion will continue in that state of rest or motion until some cause + arise to prevent it. So it has been found that the action of the vital + and mental forces have a degree of persistence, like the physical ones. + It has been experimentally found that portions of <!-- Page 110 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page110"></a>{110}</span>living bone + transplanted to fleshy parts of animals where there was no bone, + continued to grow for a time by a life of their own, and increased by + formation of additional bone, like a crystal grows in its medium; but + after a time they diminished and disappeared. In a similar manner we are + all of us aware of the persistency of ideas, even in opposition to the + will, after the cause of them has been removed. Sometimes we cannot + retain an idea because of the persistence of others; and at other times + we cannot get rid of one, for a similar reason. Our mental habits also + have often very great persistence.</p> + + <p>The principle of heredity may be viewed as a result of the First law + of Motion, and appears as Persistency of state, either of structure, + form, or mode of action. It appears both in inanimate bodies, living + structures, and in mental phenomena; in the latter, as hereditary mental + peculiarities. The principle of Persistency of structure and Heredity of + form and property, during repeated or even continual dissolution and + aggregation of a material substance, is more or less manifest nearly + throughout the whole of nature. In the formation of crystals it is + clearly seen; each crystallizable substance will only grow into its own + shape or shapes; each particle of common salt, during an endless series + of successive solutions and aggregations into the solid state, always + forms a more or less perfect cube; that of silica a hexagon; and so on + throughout the entire series of thousands of different crystalline + bodies. As each <!-- Page 111 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page111"></a>{111}</span>form of crystal only produces crystals of + like form and property (or at most in certain cases a limited number of + modified forms, as in the instance of calcic carbonate, &c.) so also + each seed, both of animals and vegetables, only produces its own + particular essential shape and collection of functions. The same + principle shews itself in the transmission of particular types of + disease, and of eccentricities of organization, from one generation to + another of animals. Peculiar malformations of body and characteristics of + mind often persist in families from generation to generation. This + persistency or heredity of structure and of property is not limited to + solid bodies, but exists also in liquids: "The effect of vaccine virus + upon the liquid blood, in producing a permanent and organic change in its + constitution and character, which continues to exercise a protective + influence against small-pox, in the great mass of cases, through a long + life, during which time the blood must have undergone, many thousands, if + not millions of changes and modifications." (F. Winslow. "Obscure + diseases of Brain and Mind," page 432). The same persistency of structure + and property of structure, has even been detected in vapours; the vapour + of red iodide of mercury for example, deposits only crystals of red + iodide, whilst that of the yellow deposits only yellow (see Gmelin's + Handbook of Chemistry, vol. 1, p. 100.)</p> + + <p>We often appear to mentally select when we only yield to causes acting + upon us, <i>i.e.</i>, to the strongest influence or motive. That + "self-preservation is the <!-- Page 112 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page112"></a>{112}</span>first law of nature," is not only true of + living creatures, but largely also of dead substances. Inanimate as well + as animate matter, appears to usually select what is good for itself. + Apparent selection, which is manifested in the phenomena of instinct, is + exhibited not only by brain, but by all material substances. Acids appear + to select bases, North magnetism rejects North and prefers South + magnetism. Also if a piece of zinc is put into a mixed solution of the + nitrates of silver, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, lithium, + sodium, potassium, and rubidium, it will select the silver only with + which to form a "metallic tree," and reject all the other metals. + Everything which aggregates or grows to a definite shape, appears to + select its material; if a crystal of a particular salt is placed in a + mixture of saturated solutions of different salts, it will only select + and assimilate to itself suitable material, either particles of the same + composition as itself, or those which are isomorphous with it, + <i>i.e.</i> belonging to the same crystalline system. In living bodies + also, the same principle operates; Living tissues, whether of animals or + vegetables, usually select from their nutrient fluids, and assimilate, + particles only of those kinds of matter which are suitable for their + structure; in this way, a bone assimilates lime and phosphoric acid from + the multitude of different substances conveyed to it by the blood. And in + all these cases, the selecting material appears to act as if it possessed + the powers of instinct, perception, comparison, judgment, and <!-- Page + 113 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page113"></a>{113}</span>volition. + The act of self-repair is clearly connected with this, and is not limited + to living structures; Sir David Brewster observed that if a portion of + the surface of a perfect crystal of alum is very slightly abraded by + dissolving a film from it, and the crystal be then immersed during a very + brief period in a saturated solution of alum, the abraded portion repairs + itself. The subjects of "malformation of crystals," and "diseases of + crystals" have been scientifically investigated. The power of selection + (or rather of apparent selection) is no doubt a result of the combined + action of causation and of the inherent properties of bodies, and + depends, like consciousness, upon difference of impression, the strongest + suitable influence determining. If apparent selection can thus be + performed by inanimate matter, we should not, except for a very + sufficient reason, assume the existence in living creatures, of a special + occult power to perform the same function. In the selection of ideas also + the intellect acts according to the purely scientific method.</p> + + <p>We frequently appear to mentally adapt ourselves to particular + circumstances when we are really determined by causes; and this apparent + adaptation is also seen in ordinary physical and chemical phenomena. The + course of a river for instance, adapts itself to the configuration of the + country through which it flows, and if it cannot pass wholly by one + channel, as in seasons of flood, or on occasions of accidental + obstruction, it travels through several; and a similar result <!-- Page + 114 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page114"></a>{114}</span>occurs + with the flow of the blood when an artery is tied or becomes obstructed. + A plant when growing in a dark recess, bends itself towards the light as + if it preferred light; and its roots adapt themselves to the forms of + existing obstacles. A decapitated frog jumps away from a source of + irritation, as if he still possessed sensation, volition, and choice. A + man seeking his way through a crowd avoids the course in which <span + class="correction" title="Original reads 'the the' across line break." + >the</span> throng is densest. The human mind also, chooses as it were, + the easiest way of solving a problem, and usually adapts itself to + altered circumstances.</p> + + <p>The principle of evolution also operates both in physical and mental + actions, and is a result of that of causation. Complexity of structure + and function is evolved out of simplicity of composition and property by + plurality of causes and conditions. For instance, many complex forms of + crystals of ice are produced from water. Calcspar crystallizes in more + than one hundred varieties of form, (all derived from an obtuse + rhombohedron) under the influence of a number of slightly different + conditions of temperature, impurities in the solution, &c. The most + complex bodies are evolved out of the simplest, the bodily frame of man + himself (and that of other animals) is constructed of less than twenty of + the elementary substances. The same simple substances are capable of + yielding very different and more complex bodies under different + conditions; thousands of different chemical <span class="correction" + title="Original reads 'compouuds'.">compounds</span> are composed of + hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon only. In the development of <!-- Page 115 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page115"></a>{115}</span>living forms + from ova, the ultimate form produced does not exist in the germ, any more + than a crystal exists in its solution, but is a natural consequence of + the forces acting in and upon the germ, like the cubical form of a + crystal of common salt is a result of the forces acting in its + constituents under the conditions of its environment, especially those of + pressure and temperature. The extent to, and manner in which, the force + and principle operate, depend upon the material substance, and its + conditions internal and external.</p> + + <p>It is a common circumstance, both in physical, mental, and moral + subjects, for the apparent to be the very opposite of the real. This + general truth has been repeatedly illustrated in an incidental manner in + this book, and need not be much further elucidated. Phenomena are none + the less real, however, because they are not readily manifest; our earth + is as much tied to the sun by the invisible power of gravity, as if it + was attached to it by visible material chains. Mistaking the apparent for + the real, largely explains the persistency of certain beliefs, and why it + is that persons unacquainted with science, cling to self-deception, and + resist some of the most firmly established truths. The more evident but + untrue explanation is believed, whilst the less apparent but true one is + rejected. It is the chief cause of the belief that "the will is a + supernatural power." To a scientific man however, apparent contradictions + are not unfrequently a sign of truth; too accurate results sometimes <!-- + Page 116 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page116"></a>{116}</span>indicate that they have been artificially + made to appear correct.</p> + + <p>Sympathetic action or propagation of similar influence by immediate + impulse, is a property of all the natural forms of energy, as well as of + mind. Similar actions are propagated thus in all kinds of dead + substances, as well as in the living brain. Matter is sympathetic to + sound in the phenomena of singing-flames, and a vibrating string responds + to a particular note in obedience to well-known laws. Iodide of nitrogen + may be caused to explode by the influence of a particular note from a + fiddle. In the phenomena of light, with a spectroscope, a luminous gas is + sympathetic with, and emits and <span class="correction" title="Original reads 'aborbs'." + >absorbs</span>, only particular kinds of luminous rays. In chemical + action also, combustion excites combustion, ferment excites ferment, + infection communicates infection, and the similar chemical change is + transmitted from molecule to molecule. Mental excitement and disease in + one person, often excite similar phenomena in another, as is seen in + "religious revivals," and well-known epidemics, such as the "dancing + mania," "preaching epidemics," the "leaping ague," the "mewing + contagion," etc., etc., (See "Epidemics of the Middle Ages," by Hecker; + Sydenham Society publications; also Carpenter's Mental Physiology, p. + 312.) Like excites like in the actions of each of the forces of nature; + both in physical, chemical, and mental action, the kind of impulse + transmitted is similar, unless conditions exist which transmute it. + Dynamite, <!-- Page 117 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page117"></a>{117}</span>started into combustion by a flame, burns + slowly away; but when started by a detonating substance, detonates + violently. Guthrie has also discovered that if a melted cryohydrate + (<i>e. g.</i> a chilled saturated aqueous solution of a solid salt) is + cooled to a certain greater extent, it will not solidify—nothing + separates out, although the solution is four or five degrees below its + proper solidifying point. If a little crystal of ice be then thrown into + it, nothing separates but ice, which comes to the surface. If we throw in + a little anhydrous salt, nothing but the anhydrous salt separates out, + and that sinks to the bottom. But if we throw into it a crystal of a + previous crop of cryohydrate, then nothing but the cryohydrate separates. + In this case also, like evidently excites like only, in obedience to + physical laws. (Addresses, Science Conferences; South Kensington Museum, + 1876; Vol. 2, p. 108). Even two clocks, when hung near each other, + against a board or surface which readily transmits vibrations, have been + known to exhibit, by synchronous action, an apparent sympathy, which + changed their rate of going.</p> + + <p>Periodical phenomena, also, brought about by definite causes, occur in + mental, as well as in physical phenomena. In the former we have the + phenomena of sleep, and in the latter, definite causes produce summer and + winter, day and night, the tides, cycles of solar spots, maxima and + minima of magnetic intensity, etc., etc.</p> + + <p>Conversely to the manifestation of the principles of <!-- Page 118 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page118"></a>{118}</span>inanimate + matter by living bodies and in mental action, so have modern inventions + demonstrated the possibility of the performance by inanimate substances + and apparatuses, of the functions, not only of our bodily organs, (as of + locomotion by the steam engine,) but also of our senses and intellect, + and in some cases, to a degree far surpassing unaided human power. + Apparatus, sensitive to sound, have been constructed, as in the + microphone and singing-flames; others capable of reproducing articulate + speech, as in the phonograph, telephone, etc.; others again sensitive to + light, as in the production of visible images by photography, and + reproducing them at a distance through wires by means of the photophone; + the power of indicating or foretelling future events has also been + embodied in instruments called "tide predictors," and that of evolving + inferences has been shewn in Jevon's "Logical machine."</p> + + <p>The various facts mentioned in this chapter prove that mind agrees + with the various forms of physical energy in many essential points, and + obeys many of the same laws or principles. Examine whatever general + phenomena of the mind we may, we can always detect some apparent or real + connection of them with the great principles of inorganic nature; and in + order to prove the dependence of them upon the great principles of + science it is not necessary to show that all such actions are subject to + those principles. Until the whole is explained however, there will always + remain mysterious phenomena to cavil about. <!-- Page 119 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page119"></a>{119}</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">MORAL PROGRESS.</p> + + <p>At the present time few competent persons have largely investigated + the fundamental relations of morality to Physical Science, consequently + moral actions are usually considered not to have a scientific basis, and + the doctrine is still extensively taught that some moral phenomena are + essentially supernatural.</p> + + <p>As new scientific knowledge has increased, belief in witchcraft, + sorcery, demonology, exorcism, evil influences and omens, unseen spirits, + a God of evil, supernatural and occult powers, supernatural sources of + strange diseases, evil presages from comets and eclipses, fetishism, + worship of images and of the Sun, a belief that the Earth is the chief + body in the Universe, that man is the "Lord of Creation," &c, &c. + have largely passed away, and beliefs more consistent with facts and with + true inferences drawn from them, have taken their place. Belief in the + supernatural nature of the human will however is still largely retained. + A writer on morality, says—"In every genuine <span + class="correction" title="Original reads 'volitition'.">volition</span> + we have a phenomenon not law-determined, law-regulated, and + law-explained."<a name="NtA15" href="#Nt15"><sup>[15]</sup></a> A popular + expositor of religion says—"The phenomena of the human soul are + essentially different from the phenomena with which the student of + science is most familiar, and must be investigated on other principles + and by other methods." "The voluntary activity of man lies beyond the + limits of science." "Every language man has ever spoken—no matter + how <!-- Page 120 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page120"></a>{120}</span>perfect or how rude—the literature + of the ancient and the modern world, the indestructible instincts of the + human soul, the testimony of consciousness, unite to affirm that the + human will is independent of natural law." "The will is a supernatural + power." "I myself am not under the dominion of natural law;" "my moral + life is essentially a supernatural thing." "As soon as you approach the + intellectual and moral life of man, you enter a region in which you have + to do with a new order of facts." &c.<a name="NtA16" + href="#Nt16"><sup>[16]</sup></a></p> + + <p>Morality, the subject of duty, or of right and wrong-doing in + conscious creatures, is usually considered to relate only to those + actions over which a man has or might have had control, and which it was + his duty either to perform or avoid, and not to those which are entirely + beyond his influence, it is therefore essentially dependent upon the + power of selection or choosing. As then all moral actions require + voluntary choice between right and wrong, and every act of choice is a + mental one of comparison of two or more things, all moral actions are + mental ones. We cannot compare things which have not made any mental + impression upon us. We know further, and the evidence already given + proves, that mental actions are intimately dependent upon the principles + of nature operating within and around us. If then all acts of morality + (or immorality) are mental ones, and if all mental actions are intimately + dependent upon the great principles of nature; then all acts of morality + <!-- Page 121 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page121"></a>{121}</span>are dependent upon those principles. + Morality also cannot be properly understood without a knowledge of + various sciences, especially biology, because it relates to human + creatures, all of whom are morally affected by the various forces and + substances belonging to the physical and chemical sciences.</p> + + <p>Having shown that moral actions are mental ones, and adduced evidence + to prove that mental actions are largely subject to scientific + principles;—it follows as a necessary consequence, that moral + actions also largely obey those principles, and I need not repeat that + evidence.</p> + + <p>The extension of scientific knowledge conduces in a very general way + to moral progress, by diffusing the "scientific spirit," increasing our + love of truth, facilitating the attainment of greater certainty and + accuracy, enabling us to more perfectly avoid error, reducing our + ignorance, dispelling superstition, inculcating obedience to law, + diminishing difference of opinion and thereby lessening strife, conducing + to humility, to greater economy of means, to increased cleanliness, + &c, &c. Scientific research also, by disclosing to man his true + position in nature, enables him to act in harmony therewith, and thus + increase his morality and general happiness.</p> + + <p>Knowledge is as free as the air, once diffused it becomes impressed + upon the brains of men and cannot be easily destroyed or restrained; and + the greatest moral effects of science are cosmopolitan ones. Inventions + based upon new scientific truths are gradually <!-- Page 122 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page122"></a>{122}</span>breaking down the + barriers between the various nations of the Earth, and infusing common + interests amongst all mankind. Nothing is uniting the sympathies of + different nations, increasing the friendly feelings between them, and + diminishing the probability of war, more than the increasing facilities + of communication brought about in a great measure by the developments of + science and art; more particularly by ocean steam navigation, rapid + postal communication and the telegraph, (see p. <a + href="#page51">51</a>). At the present time there are about six Atlantic + telegraph cables in use, and an almost daily service of passenger steam + ships across that ocean. The use of inventions based upon scientific + discovery has aided moral progress in various ways. All inventions are + made with the object of supplying some real or supposed want, and nearly + everything which supplies a common want, conduces to contentment and + happiness and the general progress of mankind. No one can possibly + measure or estimate the advantage of the inventions of writing and + printing, in helping men to avoid quarrels, to settle differences of + opinion, to sympathise with suffering, to give advice: &c. Similar + moral functions are also performed by the electric telegraph, and a few + specimens of some of the messages sent through the wire would clearly + illustrate this fact. Great moral progress has also resulted from cheap + daily intelligence, collected largely with the aid of the telegraph; and + of cheap books produced by means of the steam engine. It is estimated + that 250 millions <!-- Page 123 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page123"></a>{123}</span>of copies of newspapers are yearly + published in Great Britain. The Bible and Religious Tract Societies could + hardly have existed had not the properties of the ingredients of ink been + discovered. The present multiplicity of testaments, prayer-books, + hymn-books, &c., has also been rendered possible by the invention of + printing. As darkness is favourable to crime, so the invention of + gaslight has conduced to morality. The numerous sources of intellectual + and moral enjoyment, developed by inventions based upon scientific + discovery, have attracted mankind from more sensual and less moral + amusements, and the invention of the piano-forte has operated largely in + a similar manner.</p> + + <p>In many respects, the poor man of to-day can command social comforts, + conveniences, and pleasures, which an emperor could not in former times. + Who can estimate the amount of beneficial moral influences of an indirect + kind obtained by means of modern science? The relief from pain by + chloroform and other new medicines, the diminution of domestic toil by + the sewing machine; the increased health and pleasure obtained by access + to the country and seaside by means of railways; the diminution of + anxiety resulting from more speedy conveyance of letters, and especially + of messages by telegraphs, the increased pleasure of life resulting from + being surrounded by objects of beauty multiplied cheaply by means of + scientific processes, such as photography?</p> + + <p>The human mind cannot greatly resist impression, the various effects + of scientific research necessarily <!-- Page 124 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page124"></a>{124}</span>produce an influence + upon it. Whilst great deep-seated truths make a powerful impression on + the minds of philosophers, the great practical effects of science in + inventions, &c., profoundly impress the mass of mankind. One of the + chief influences of the discovery of important scientific truths and of + their practical application in some wonderful way, such as in the + telescope and microscope, phosphorus matches, photography, + electro-plating, the electric light, the spectroscope, microphone, + telephone, &c., is to produce a profound and wide-spread impression + of the existence of a great and mysterious influence, which produces (or + enables us to produce) such striking effects.</p> + + <p>Whilst also the novelty of the practical effects of new scientific + truths in inventions, astonish persons in general; the definiteness of + scientific phenomena, and the certainty with which they may be reproduced + convince all competent persons who examine them, that they are rigidly + subject to definite laws. In this way the antique belief that natural + phenomena are produced by supernatural agencies, is gradually being + abandoned, and the more moral conviction of the omnipresence and + universality of law has been largely established in its stead. Every new + scientific fact and invention thus becomes a new proof of the + universality of law. Belief in the supernatural has diminished in + proportion as scientific knowledge has advanced; instead of natural + phenomena being erroneously ascribed to demons, spirits, supernatural + <!-- Page 125 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page125"></a>{125}</span>powers, and occult causes, they have been + proved to be results of natural powers, acting in accordance with known + principles. Assertions which have been made, that "the will is a + supernatural power, independent of natural law" &c., are not + supported by evidence at all equal in cogency to that in proof of the + statement, that our mental and moral powers as a whole act in accordance + with the great principles of science.</p> + + <p>That moral phenomena, like those of the physical sciences, are capable + of being made the subject of experiment, observation, comparison, + analysis, and inference, is very manifest. Every case of bribery may be + viewed as an experiment in morality. The very common case where an + employer tests the honesty of a servant by some contrivance, is also a + trial of a similar kind. The dependence of the moral powers upon + scientific conditions, is clearly seen in the influences of intoxicating + drinks. A mere natural substance could not possibly overcome the + influence of a power which exists entirely independent of it; + <i>i.e.</i>, a "supernatural" one. Even the greatest believer in the + "supernatural" power of the human will, deplores the serious injury which + the abuse of alcoholic liquors produces upon mankind, rendering the will + powerless, and debasing the moral sentiments. The effects of opium, + haschisch, &c., are other examples. A vast number of experiments + remain to be made of the effects of drugs and organic compounds, both + solid, liquid and gaseous, upon moral actions; <!-- Page 126 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page126"></a>{126}</span>which will probably + prove a still greater degree of dependence of those actions upon purely + <span class="correction" title="Original reads 'physicial'." + >physical</span> and chemical conditions.</p> + + <p>The "order of facts" in the subject of morality requires precisely + similar mental treatment to those to which scientific investigation has + been already applied with such great success, and which include all + phenomena admitting of observation, comparison, analysis and inference; + and not only those in which we are able, but also those in which we are + not able to produce by means of experiment, the phenomena to be observed, + such as those of astronomy and geology. Different subjects also are + experimental in different degrees, physical science is more experimental, + physiology is more observational; morality is partly experimental, and + therefore capable of reduction to scientific system by means of our + intellectual powers.</p> + + <p>In consequence of the essential nature of truth being the same in all + subjects, and of the fundamental processes of mental action in the + determination of truth being also alike in all, the essential modes of + arriving at and detecting moral truth are the same as those employed in + research in the physical sciences. We possess therefore no special + faculty, call it "conscience," or what we may, by which we are enabled to + infallibly arrive at truth in moral questions. What is right and good, + and what is wrong and evil, are determined by precisely the same general + means as what is true; our much vaunted consciousness alone does not + infallibly tell us; reason alone, <!-- Page 127 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page127"></a>{127}</span>acting upon the + evidence, is the final arbiter in any doubtful or disputed case. The + truth of moral questions must be examined and tested by precisely the + same mental faculties and processes as those employed in physical + science, viz:—by the faculties of perception, observation, + comparison, and inference, acting upon the whole of the evidence; and by + the processes of observing facts, comparing them, inferring conclusions; + by analysing and cross-examining the evidence in every possible way, and + extracting from it the largest amount of consistent knowledge.</p> + + <p>Although we cannot detect moral truth by any other than intellectual + processes, we may however arrive at correct moral conduct in two ways, + viz:—either blindly or intelligently. We arrive at it blindly or + automatically by the process of trusting to our inherited and acquire + tendencies and dogmatic beliefs; and intelligently by the conscious use + of our knowledge and intellectual powers; and each of these methods has + its advantages. The former process being an empirical one, is very + uncertain and cannot be employed for the <span class="correction" + title="Original reads 'judical'.">judicial</span> detection of truth, or + the certain discrimination of it from error, it has however to be trusted + to in all cases where we are deficient in knowledge, or have not time for + investigation. Truthful ideas and correct conduct also, which at first + require the exercise of considerable intellect and much self-discipline, + in order to arrive at them, become by habit so <span class="correction" + title="Original reads 'completly'.">completely</span> converted into + acquired <span class="correction" title="Original reads 'tendences'." + >tendencies</span> as to be automatic. It is not improbable <!-- Page 128 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page128"></a>{128}</span>that many of + our truthful ideas and correct tendencies were originally arrived at by + intellectual processes; and have become incorporated into our mental and + physical structure by habit, education, and inheritance.</p> + + <p>The scientific basis of morality is further shewn and essentially + proved by the fact that the fundamental rules of morality are dependent + upon scientific principles. According to Dr. Clarke, the two fundamental + "rules of righteousness" which regulate our moral conduct are, first, + that we should do unto another what we would, under like circumstances, + have him do unto us; and second, that we should constantly endeavour to + promote to the utmost of our power, the welfare and happiness of all men + (to the latter might well be added, the welfare of all sentient + creatures). The first of these rules is essentially dependent upon the + scientific principle of causation, viz:—that the same cause, acting + under the same circumstances, always produces the same effect, if what we + did for another person under like circumstances might produce a different + effect to what it would when done for ourself, the rule could not be + depended upon and would be of no use. The second also agrees with the + great principles of science, for the more we obey those principles, the + more do we really "promote the happiness and welfare of all men." The + first of these rules however in the form usually stated, is incomplete, + because it does not provide for the circumstance, that many persons + desire to have done unto themselves, not that which <!-- Page 129 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page129"></a>{129}</span>is most right, + and really most for their welfare and that of mankind in general, but + that which would most please them. The desire of immediate pleasure or + consolation is greater than the love of truth in nearly all men, and this + is connected with another fact, viz:—that persons unacquainted with + the great principles of science, have not the advantage of the moral + sustaining power of those principles, and are compelled in circumstances + of trial to seek extraneous mental relief.</p> + + <p>The desire to do right is not the primary source of morality; there + must be a cause for that desire, and this fact also shews that moral + phenomena are dependent upon the scientific principle of causation. We + can also much better understand a subject, especially a complex one like + that of morals, when we can co ordinate its facts in a scientific manner, + by referring them to some general principle which governs or includes + them. Referring moral actions to a verified scientific principle, is more + satisfactory than referring them to a less definite source such as + "conscience"; the "testimony of consciousness"; or "the indestructible + instincts of the human soul," because a principle affords a more + consistent explanation than a dogmatic idea. The fact also that the + discoveries of science usually precede the developments of the moral + advantages of science to mankind, is in harmony with the general truth + that effects follow their causes, and with the conclusion that moral + rules and moral progress have a scientific basis. <!-- Page 130 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page130"></a>{130}</span></p> + + <p>In a general way, the influence of science upon moral progress is + connected with what has been termed, "the scientific spirit." This + characteristic consists mainly of an intense love of truth, a desire to + acquire new knowledge, to arrive at certainty and accuracy; also an + obedience to law in general, and a consequent philosophic resignation to + inevitable ills. Science inculcates these qualities, and it is well known + that scientific discoverers have usually been highly moral persons, + truthful, accurate, law abiding, patient, persevering, temperate, &c. + On the other hand, the most lawless persons are usually those who are + most ignorant of the great laws which govern their actions, who + over-estimate human power and ability, and are impelled by ill-regulated + enthusiasm or feeling.</p> + + <p>Belief in and obedience to law, being a fundamental moral quality, is + in its turn the source of other moral qualities of less importance; for + instance, it tends to produce calmness, resignation, contentment, + patience, submission to the inevitable, &c. No man can be highly + moral who disobeys the great principles of nature. We may however obey + those laws either intelligently, by acquiring a scientific knowledge of + them; empirically, by obeying rules framed in accordance with them; or + blindly, by obeying dogmas which happen to agree with them. Those who do + not understand laws cannot of course intelligently obey them, and those + who most disobey them, consist nearly wholly of those who do not + understand them. <!-- Page 131 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page131"></a>{131}</span>Superstition, ignorance of natural law, + and a belief in occult powers, encourages lawlessness, injures the moral + sentiments, and is often attended by bigotry, associated with strife, + schism, and sectarian dispute.</p> + + <p>Probably the greatest influence which scientific discovery has had + upon the moral progress of mankind, has been by inculcating an + intelligent love of truth on account of its own intrinsic goodness; in + this respect it stands pre-eminent. Love of truth is a fundamental virtue + because it is the basis of many smaller ones. It is more virtuous, also, + to pursue truth on account of its own intrinsic and unqualified goodness + in all respects, than for any narrow extrinsic quality, such as the + personal pleasure or utility it may afford, or on account of any personal + gain or loss, reward or punishment, which may result from pursuing or + neglecting it. In the present imperfect state of civilization however, + the great bulk of mankind unavoidably employ less noble, as well as the + noblest motives, as a means of improvement. Most men can only be moved to + do right by means of inferior motives, one of the most effectual of which + in a commercial nation is "small investments, large profits, and quick + returns;" an expectation of great reward in return for small + self-sacrifice.</p> + + <p>The discovery and dissemination of verified scientific knowledge is a + purer kind of occupation than the promulgation of any kind of dogma, + because the statements of verified science are usually capable of + demonstration, whilst those of doctrine, being often <!-- Page 132 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page132"></a>{132}</span>contradictory, + may, or may not be true; mere affirmation also, when not based upon + proof, is often dangerous to morality. In dogmatic subjects a man may + tell untruths with impunity, because no one can disprove or convict him; + but in demonstrable ones, a man dare not utter falsehoods, because others + will prove his statements to be erroneous. It is demonstration rather + than doctrine that is of divine origin. A man also who practises + scientific research is largely compelled to adopt the most truthful views + of nature, in order to enable him to make discoveries.</p> + + <p>Real science is largely independent of opinion or faith. Whether we + believe or not that a piece of clean iron immersed in a mixture of oil of + vitriol and water, evolves hydrogen gas, the fact itself remains + unaltered. It is a great and glorious circumstance for mankind, that + human progress depends essentially upon a knowledge of new verified + truth. As verified experimental knowledge can only come from the great + source of all that is good, to doubt the value of new demonstrable truth, + is practical atheism. Those also who systematically investigate sources + of verifiable truth, are much more likely to ultimately arrive at the + fountain of all truth, than those who employ unsystematic methods, or + prefer unproved beliefs to verified knowledge.</p> + + <p>Another of the most powerful ways in which scientific discovery has + promoted moral progress has been an indirect one, viz., by diminishing + ignorance. Deficiency of knowledge is the parent of a vast <!-- Page 133 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page133"></a>{133}</span>amount of evil + and failure. "There is no instance on record of an active ignorant man, + who, having good intentions, and supreme power to enforce them, has not + done far more evil than good." (Buckle, "History of Civilization," vol. + 1, p. 167). Ignorance largely precludes happiness, and intelligence is an + indispensable condition of the highest morality. There are plenty of + difficult positions in life in which the desire to do right is not alone + sufficient, we must intelligently know what is the right course to + pursue. We are all of us ignorant in different degrees, and must be + content in many matters to walk by faith until we can walk by sight, and + to act according to rule and precept until we have discovered general + principles to guide us:—blind dogmatic morality and "rule of thumb" + method is vastly better than none, and has rendered great services to + mankind. Whether comforting doctrines are true or not, the great bulk of + mankind prefer them because they afford immediate relief; and whether + they be erroneous or truthful, men will be benefited by them and continue + to believe in them, until their minds are sufficiently advanced to + receive a knowledge of verified principles. Rules of morality however, + when presented to us with a basis of demonstrable truth, come with a + degree of divine authority, and possess greater claim to our observance, + than the same rules presented to us as empirical or dogmatic statements + only.</p> + + <p>In proportion to our ignorance the more we dislike to be apprised of + our defects and the more inclined are <!-- Page 134 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page134"></a>{134}</span>we to continue + uninformed; because the less intelligent we are the less are we able to + perceive the evil effects of our blindness or the advantages of + knowledge. As also the present state of <span class="correction" + title="Original reads 'civilzation'.">civilization</span> is very + imperfect, and unsolved problems exist in all directions, ignorance and + all its evil consequences are extremely prevalent. It causes the great + mass of mankind to neglect better objects for the sake of money. It + indirectly constrains lawyers to neglect moral evidence. It induces + medical men to <span class="correction" title="Original reads 'withold'." + >withhold</span> truth from ignorant patients. It causes ministers of + religion to prefer doctrine to demonstration. It would therefore be + comparatively easy to compose lists of our moral <span class="correction" + title="Original reads 'deficiences'.">deficiencies</span>, and of + improvements urgently needed in morality, far more extensive than the + very incomplete ones of our material shortcomings already given (see pp. + <a href="#page68">68</a> to <a href="#page78">78</a>). To enumerate + however the imperfections in the moral conduct of mankind, the frauds in + trades, the undue advantage taken of the defenceless, the deceit and + empiricism in professions, the professional trading on human weakness, + the cruelty of field sports, the hollow motives of social, political, and + religious life, the propagating as infallible truth, doctrines which may + be fallacious, is not the object of this Chapter; but rather to make + clear the fact, that the extension of the domain of verified truth by + means of scientific research is highly conducive to moral progress.</p> + + <p>The extension of new scientific knowledge is influencing morality and + gradually reducing the selfishness <!-- Page 135 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page135"></a>{135}</span>of mankind, by proving + that <span class="correction" title="Original reads 'their'." + >there</span> exist no royal roads to happiness, and that the greatest + amount of individual and national success can only be secured by a + genuine pursuit of truth, as an individual and cosmopolitan duty. + Increased knowledge is gradually proving to mankind that the purest + happiness is to be obtained by intelligent and virtuous conduct. By + shewing Man the unreasonable character of some of his fears and hopes, + and substituting for them a greater variety and extent of intellectual + pleasures, science is slowly making him more satisfied with his lot on + this Earth. Meanwhile the great mass of mankind are still pursuing the + ever retreating phantom of an easy way to happiness; the great laws of + nature however cannot be evaded, the avoidance of evil and the attainment + of good can only be secured by obeying all the great laws which govern + our nature.</p> + + <p>Progress in morality is largely dependent upon the diffusion of belief + in the universality of scientific laws. When men understand those laws, + know that their action is irresistible, and that they have no alternative + but to obey them or suffer, they acquire a habit of obeying them. + Universality of law in moral actions is often considered to be + incompatible with the existence of freedom of the will in selecting + ideas, and choosing courses of conduct; but we are free or not, according + to circumstances, both to think and to act. All things are free to be + active or not, in accordance with their properties and surrounding + conditions, but not in <!-- Page 136 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page136"></a>{136}</span>contradiction to them; and the human will + is no exception to this statement. The "will" is only free within certain + limits; it cannot act in opposition to its strongest motives or causes of + action. We believe ourselves to be much more free than we are, because we + often do not know the causes which determine us, and we frequently fail + to detect those influences, because we cannot think, and at the same time + clearly observe our act of thought and its motives. Freedom of the will + does not enable us to set aside laws: entire freedom from law in any + instance is probably only apparent. This limited degree of freedom of the + will indicates the dependence of volition upon scientific laws, because a + supernatural power, being entirely independent of natural law, could not + be limited by it. To affirm without proof that the human will is a + "supernatural power" is to implicitly deny the universality and constancy + of natural laws. New knowledge developed by Science, imparts to us + liberty, but not license; and, so far from diminishing the freedom of the + will, increases it by showing us what conditions we must fulfil and obey + in order to effect our objects. We acquire power by being first obedient; + and this is in accordance with the principles and facts of science; we + must obey nature before we can make nature obey us; the elementary + bodies, also, usually acquire the free state, latent power, and the + ability to evolve heat and electric energy, only by being first subjected + in their crude state to a process of reduction and purification. <!-- + Page 137 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page137"></a>{137}</span></p> + + <p>Few circumstances connected with the discovery of new truths of + science, have had a greater moral effect, than the very high degree of + certainty of such truths. The moral result of this is a corresponding + degree of confidence in the statements of science. Trustworthiness is a + great moral quality. Uncertainty is a continual hindrance to action and + enjoyment; and many persons are driven to believe in error, and hence to + commit sin, rather than remain in suspense. Contradictions of doctrine, + and the consequent uncertainty of belief, in any subject, are fertile + sources of strife. Science consists, not merely of opinions and words, + but also of the tangible realities which those opinions and words + represent, the forces, substances and phenomena of the material Universe. + Some persons however fancy that the results of science are as uncertain + as those of the undemonstrable subjects with which they are familiar.</p> + + <p>Another way in which science has contributed to moral progress, has + been by requiring greater accuracy in nearly all human actions, and + thereby diffusing greater exactitude of language and of conduct, which + has spread itself throughout all civilised society. Previous to the use + of watches and clocks, persons were no doubt much less exact in + fulfilling their appointments; the establishment also in our chief towns, + of electric time-keepers regulated from Greenwich Observatory, is + increasing exactitude in our large communities. Since the introduction of + railways, millions of persons have been compelled to be more <!-- Page + 138 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page138"></a>{138}</span>exact in + their movements, by the risk they incur of missing their train. Numerous + inventions and processes based upon scientific discoveries could not be + worked at all unless men possessed habits of greater accuracy than + formerly. Workmen now require higher moral and intellectual education, + and their duties require more intelligence and involve greater + responsibility.</p> + + <p>Science diminishes error, and the avoidance of error is a large step + towards the attainment of truth. There is no tyranny equal to that of + false ideas. Error often produces immoral acts, and every act of + immorality is a mental error. "The ignorant justice-loving man, enamoured + of the right, is blinded by the speciousness of wrong." "Inaccuracy of + thought is the cause not only of the errors we meet with in the sciences, + but also of the majority of the offences which are committed in civil + life,—of unjust quarrels, unfounded law suits, rash counsel, and + ill-arranged undertakings. There are few of those which have not their + origin in some error, and in some fault of judgment, so that there is no + defect which it more concerns us to correct."<a name="NtA17" + href="#Nt17"><sup>[17]</sup></a></p> + + <p>Our senses and consciousness are often great deceivers, and unless + corrected by sufficient knowledge, are frequently as great a source of + error in moral questions as in mental ones.<a name="NtA18" + href="#Nt18"><sup>[18]</sup></a> Their incessant influence is a cause of + selfishness, and of the fallacious tendency existing in nearly every man, + to exaggerate the importance of himself and of everything relating to + him. <!-- Page 139 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page139"></a>{139}</span>It has led man to consider himself "the + Lord of Creation";—to believe that his volitions are not subject to + natural laws &c.:—and has given rise to the comparatively + narrow-minded idea "the study of mankind is man." The fact that + consciousness frequently misleads men of energetic temperament who feel + their energy, indicates its connection with a physical basis.</p> + + <p>Consciousness is also an essential condition of what we term evil. If + we define evil as that which produces pain or discomfort in sentient + creatures, then evil is that influence only which unpleasantly affects + consciousness. And if we admit this, then all evil is relative, and there + is no absolute evil; because, if there were no sentient creatures, there + would be no evil. It is manifest also, that if the existence of evil is + dependent upon that of sentient creatures, and if the existence of such + creatures depends upon physical conditions, and upon the operations of + the great principles of science, then the existence of evil must itself + depend to that extent upon those conditions and principles. What we term + Evil, is caused, not only by the actions of man, but also on a large + scale by the operation of the simplest forces of matter, in earth-quakes, + storms, volcanic outbursts, droughts and famines, pestilences, etc. Evil + (as well as good) may therefore be viewed as a result, to some extent, of + the operation of the laws of the Universe; and here again we are + compelled to recognise a scientific basis of morality. <!-- Page 140 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page140"></a>{140}</span></p> + + <p>That the same causes, acting under different conditions, produce + different and even opposite effects, is a well-known scientific truth. + The same heat of summer which causes our foods to decay, promotes the + growth of plants in the soil; the same cold of winter which increases the + pain of bronchial affections, and cuts short the lives of aged and infirm + persons, acts as a stimulant and a source of pleasure to the young and + healthy. We need not therefore be surprised, that the same physical + conditions and principles of nature, act as causes or conditions both of + what we term evil and what we term good. If, also the theory of + relativity in physical and mental action is true, that change of + impression is a necessary cause or condition of consciousness, and that + previous experience of pain increases the perception of pleasure, we + possess in that theory, as one of the general ideas of science, a partial + basis of morality. All these remarks tend to shew, that in order to + obtain a truly scientific view of the nature of man, and of man's + position and duties in the Universe, we must avoid the errors caused by + uncorrected consciousness.</p> + + <p>Another great moral effect of the continual discovery of new truth in + science, is the gradual production and diffusion of uniformity of belief, + first amongst scientific men, and then amongst the mass of mankind. This + uniformity of belief is a necessary result of the invariability of fact + and law; it does not extend to scientific opinions, hypotheses or + theories, because they are not necessarily facts, and may be <!-- Page + 141 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page141"></a>{141}</span>erroneous. + A knowledge of science tends to remove differences of opinion between man + and man, because it enables every honest examiner to obtain essentially + similar results. Scientific research will gradually disclose what is true + and what is untrue in doctrine and empirical rules; and what is true will + be retained. A universal religion or a scientific philosophy which is + composed of contradictory creeds cannot be wholly true. Science is + gradually superseding unreasonable beliefs, and inaugurating a true + universal gospel in which all men will eventually think alike in + fundamental matters. The continued discovery of new truth must of + necessity sooner or later lead mankind to the source of all truth and to + universal satisfaction and happiness. It has been frequently stated that + science is antagonistic to religion; it is evident however that as + science is so conducive to morality, it cannot be opposed to true + religion, but only to false or unfounded beliefs. Nothing shews more + plainly a weakness of moral confidence and a deficiency of faith in an + over-ruling power, than a fear that the pursuit of scientific truth will + lead to results injurious to mankind. What we most need to fear is, not + that our most cherished doctrinal beliefs may be proved to be mistakes, + but that we through deficiency of knowledge may be led to do wrong.</p> + + <p>There are plenty of questions, especially in matters of theory and + doctrine in concrete subjects, which science cannot directly and + absolutely decide either one way or the other, but respecting which, by + the <!-- Page 142 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page142"></a>{142}</span>aid of new knowledge and of inference + based upon it, science gradually accumulates so large a preponderence of + evidence as conclusively settles them to the conviction of every + unprejudiced and reasonable person. Many of the most deeply interesting + questions in mental science and morality are of this kind; and will + probably be settled in this manner. It is well-known also to scientific + men that the indirect conclusions of the intellect and reasoning power + are often more certain than the direct evidence of the senses and + consciousness; we are more certain for instance that the Earth is a + sphere than that it is a plane, although the former conclusion is arrived + at largely by inference, whilst the latter is the direct testimony of + uneducated consciousness. Whilst our senses and consciousness inform us + that the Earth is a fixed body, inference proves to us that it is rushing + through space at an immense velocity. Sense and consciousness are not + intellect, although they are often treated as such. Their functions are + to perceive and observe, to act as witnesses, to supply evidence to the + judgment, and not to usurp the reasoning power. Even the universal + consciousness of all mankind is insufficient to overthrow the final + decisions of the intellect, or to decide what is true or false, because + the senses and consciousness cannot compare or infer. As it is the force + and repitition, and not the truthfulness of mental impressions, which + largely determines belief, we are capable of believing error as well as + truth, and we believe much that is erroneous until the <!-- Page 143 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page143"></a>{143}</span>corrections of + the intellect are applied to the evidence of the senses and feelings. The + correctness or otherwise of our present beliefs will be tested in the + future as others have been in the past, and the new experiences requisite + for the purpose will probably be obtained by means of original research. + It is a great mistake to suppose that the warrantable inferences deduced + from scientific knowledge will not sooner or later profoundly influence + questions relating to the highest hopes and aspirations of the human + race, such as the independent existence and immortality of the human + soul; that of a personal Ruler of the Universe; freedom of the will; the + origin of evil; future reward and punishment; &c. By extension of + knowledge a scientific system of morality will be formed. The great + principles which govern the phenomena of all bodies are gradually being + discovered, and when found we deductively apply them to ourselves, and + thus arrive at a knowledge of our true position in nature, our duties, + our proper course of conduct, &c. Science also by disclosing to us + the true relations of matter to mind in the human brain, will probably + not only make known to us the true limits of our mental powers and of the + knowable, but also help to solve the problems of the relations of the + Universe and of Man to an intelligent Creator. It will decide such + questions, largely by shewing us whether or not the ideas we entertain + respecting them are consistent with the more extensive knowledge evolved + by research. A part of the data from which we may <!-- Page 144 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page144"></a>{144}</span>safely predict that + science will in the future exercise so great a moral influence over + mankind, is the fact that its chief principles are fundamental guides and + regulators of human action.</p> + + <p>Probably nothing has a greater effect in making a man humble and + reverent than a thorough knowledge of science. By the inventions of the + telescope, microscope, spectroscope, telegraph, microphone, telephone, + &c., the extremely finite extent of all our faculties has been + abundantly demonstrated. Whilst the wonders of the telescope have + developed an intelligent sentiment of reverence, by revealing to us a + portion of the vast amount of the Universe of matter and energy, those of + the microscope have strengthened that sentiment by affording us an + insight into the almost endless complexity of minute creatures, + substances and actions. Whilst also these and other scientific + instruments and appliances have proved the excessively limited extent of + our senses; the inscrutable character and immense number and variety of + problems of nature yet unsolved, equally demonstrate the extreme + feebleness of our mental powers. To obtain an accurate acquaintance with + science also, and especially to discover new scientific truths, it is + absolutely necessary to set aside human pride, and approach the subject + like a little child; no other course is possible.</p> + + <p>A knowledge of geology and astronomy also makes a man humble and + reverent. The fact that this globe must have existed myriads of years; + and is always moving at the immense velocity of more than 62,000 <!-- + Page 145 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page145"></a>{145}</span>miles + an hour in its orbit, is sufficient to convince any unprejudiced person + of his own transient physical existence and his comparative physical + feebleness and insignificance. Hitherto, man has largely been accustomed, + through the influence of uncorrected impressions and other causes, to + view all nature as having been expressly provided for him, but science + informs us that whilst this Earth is suitable for his abode, and Nature + ministers to his necessities and pleasures, it is only on condition that + he first obeys the great laws of matter and energy, and adapts himself to + their requirements. The operation of those laws often ruthlessly destroys + thousands of men by pestilence, famine, drought, and other great + calamities, and man can do nothing which is incompatible with them + without suffering a penalty. Science shews that man is but one out of at + least 320,000 different species of animals; it also discloses the fact + that the entire human population of this globe constitute only about one + 50,575,785 millionth part of the Earth, and proves to us that the Earth + itself is but a speck in the Universe, one out of at least 75 millions of + worlds; and that not only is it merely a planet revolving round the Sun, + but that the Sun is only one of a multitude of Suns, and is itself, with + all its planets, revolving round a still more distant centre in + space.</p> + + <p>There is scarcely a faculty man possesses, which is not immeasurably + limited in comparison with the powers and capabilities of inanimate + nature. His physical energy, when compared with that of the <!-- Page 146 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page146"></a>{146}</span>momentum of + this Earth, is so exceedingly small that it can hardly be conveyed to our + minds by means of figures; even the steam engine, excessively wasteful as + it is of power, far surpasses him in strength. The duration of his + existence is to that of the world he inhabits, as nothing to infinity. + His power and speed of locomotion are also very limited; the globe to + which he is fixed by gravity, moves in one hour through a distance + greater than he could walk in twenty years. Practically, by + circumstances, he is almost rooted like a vegetable to the locality where + he exists; comparatively few men have walked even a hundred miles from + their homes, or have been conveyed round this little globe by the aid of + all our improved means of transport. A balloon can ascend in the air, but + a man cannot; without the aid of that apparatus he is absolutely fixed to + the surface of the Earth, and with the assistance of all the appliances + of science, he cannot yet ascend even ten miles into the atmosphere, nor + dive more than a few fathoms into the sea. His senses are equally + contracted; his perceptions of touch and sound are far less delicate than + that of the microphone; a photographic surface will detect vibrations of + light which he cannot at all perceive, and record images more quickly + than his brain; and for the detection of magnetism and the chemical rays + of light he possesses no sense whatever:—electrometers and + galvanometers can detect thousands of times smaller quantities of + electricity than he can perceive:—whilst a bolometer renders + manifest a one <!-- Page 147 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page147"></a>{147}</span>hundred-thousandth of a Centigrade degree + change of temperature, he can hardly detect a difference of an entire + degree; and whilst carbon and platinum may be heated to whiteness without + material change, a rise or fall of about five Fahrenheit degrees in his + temperature endangers his life. His mental and intellectual powers are as + limited as his senses; he can hardly reckon without making an error even + a single million, nor can he conceive an adequate idea of a billion; a + million miles or a millionth of an inch are each quite beyond his + immediate perception; an extremely minute circumstance also is capable of + disturbing and entirely diverting his train of thought. He cannot create + or destroy even a particle of dust, nor form out of nothing a single + idea. The velocity of transmission of his nervous power, and the speed of + his execution of will, are also extremely slow in comparison with that of + an electric current in a copper wire. Every person is aware that he can + only very slowly receive and understand a new idea. His mental advance is + as tardy as his locomotion, a sixth part of his life is spent in + acquiring the merest rudiments of universal knowledge. Whilst his + reasoning power, when applied to actual and truthfully stated experience, + is truly "the great guide" of his life, it only renders explicit what was + already contained in that experience; for when he draws an inference, he + usually only states in one form of words, what he has already implicitly + included in the propositions; and if the inference contains more than + this it is <!-- Page 148 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page148"></a>{148}</span>unwarranted. His mental helplessness in + the absence of knowledge, is equal to his physical incapacity in the + absence of light. Nearly every problem of nature also is so complex, and + affected by so many conditions, that his reasoning power only enables him + to advance a very minute step at a time in the discovery of new + knowledge; he is then obliged to halt, and have recourse to new + experiences obtained either by means of experiment and observation, or by + the latter alone.</p> + + <p>Man's moral actions are largely the effect of circumstances; his + thoughts and actions are probably the whole of them limited by law. He is + never free from the influence of causation. His mental and moral freedom + are limited by the epoch in which he lives, by the customs of his nation, + by the individuals by whom he is immediately surrounded, by the alcoholic + stimulants of which he partakes, and by his own physical and mental + constitution, his degree of intelligence, &c., &c. Whether he is + willing or not, he is incessantly compelled to receive sensuous and + mental impressions, and be influenced by an almost infinite number and + variety of agencies acting upon him both from within and + without:—To be mentally and physically active, and perform all the + bodily functions and acts necessary to his existence:—To live on + this globe in presence of all its phenomena, and be carried through space + at an immense velocity:—To undergo through a long series of + generations a progressive existence and development of civilization, + &c., &c. <!-- Page 149 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page149"></a>{149}</span>He is more subject to the laws of the + Universe than those laws are subject to him; and he can only exercise his + will successfully and become their master by first obeying them.</p> + + <p>Under the influence of the light and heat of the Sun, the entire + population of this planet (about fifteen hundred millions) are renewed + out of the crust of the Earth every few years, by breathing the air, + drinking the water, feeding upon plants which take their constituents + from the Earth, water and air; or by eating animals which have lived upon + plants; and if that heat and light, or that supply of food and air, were + to cease, all those human beings would die, and all the moral phenomena + of man on this globe would terminate. Whilst man cannot exist without the + support of inanimate nature and the operation of its laws, inanimate + nature and its laws can exist without him. That also which is naturally + ordained by Creative power to be dependent, cannot be essentially more + important than that upon which it depends for its existence. The + essential importance of man in relation to the Universe, exists only in + his own imagination.</p> + + <p>These facts shew that the principles of science, and the physical and + chemical properties of substances, lie at the very basis of man's + existence and activity and it would therefore be incorrect to say that + the physical system of the Universe is unimportant in comparison with the + moral phenomena of mankind.</p> + + <p>That science conduces to humanity by preventing <!-- Page 150 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page150"></a>{150}</span>and alleviating animal + suffering has been already alluded to (p. <a href="#page80">80</a>-<a + href="#page81">81</a>). True humanity consists not in the abolition of + experiments upon living creatures, but in the judicious employment of + them. Instead of barbarously treating our suffering fellow creatures by + indolently and ignorantly allowing causes of disease and pain to + continually occur and take their course, it urgently enforces upon us the + duty of extending our knowledge of physiology by means of new + experiments, observations and study. It would be untruthful to say that + experiments purposely made upon men and other animals do not yield new + and valuable information;—Pharmacopœias and Materia-Medicæs + are full of descriptions of the properties of curative agents discovered + by these and other scientific methods.</p> + + <p>Amongst the lesser virtues which have been greatly promoted by means + of scientific research is that of cleanliness. The origin of soap was the + discovery of the detergent properties of a boiled mixture of fat and + alkali. The numerous inventions which have cheapened the most important + soap-producing material, viz., washing soda, and those which have + cheapened oil of vitriol, the chief substance consumed in making + washing-soda, have all contributed to the cleanliness of mankind; and it + has been stated that the degree of civilization of a nation might be + ascertained by the amounts consumed of those substances.</p> + + <p>Even the minor virtue of economy has been greatly promoted by the + results of scientific research. New <!-- Page 151 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page151"></a>{151}</span>scientific truth has + through inventions taught us how to obtain greater effects with less + expenditure of space, of time, of materials, and forces. It has enabled + us to effect our objects quicker and with a <span class="correction" + title="Original reads 'dimunition'.">diminution</span> of waste. In the + sugar manufacture for example, by means of the centrifugal machine, the + sugar is deprived as perfectly of molasses in three minutes, as it was + previously in three days, and the necessary manufacturing apparatus has + been so much reduced in magnitude as not to require more than one half + the space. The process of bleaching linen, which formerly required weeks, + has by the discovery of chlorine been reduced to hours. Journeys which at + one time occupied weeks now only require days. Messages are now + transmitted in hours which formerly required months. Multitudes of + instances might be adduced of the diminished cost of the comforts and + conveniences of life, resulting in consequence of discovery of new + scientific knowledge. Ultramarine for example, which at one time cost + from ten to twenty pounds an ounce, has by means of chemical research + been reduced in price to a few pence per pound; phosphorus, which + formerly cost several guineas an ounce, now costs only as many pence.</p> + + <p>Numerous substances which were formerly thrown away, destroyed, or + neglected, are now utilized. Coal tar and gas-water, which were at one + time waste products in the making of gas, and which when thrown away were + the causes of costly litigation to gas-companies, by polluting streams + and wells, &c., <!-- Page 152 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page152"></a>{152}</span>are now sources of very large income to + those companies. Those substances yield great quantities of salts of + ammonia, the beautiful aniline dyes, paraffin, benzene, napthaline, + alizarine, and other valuable products. Glycerine also, which formerly + was a most offensive waste product in soap-making, is now purified and + used, to an extent of twenty millions of pounds <span class="correction" + title="Original reads 'anually'.">annually</span>, for a great number of + purposes; as an emollient for the skin; as a source of nitro-glycerine + and dynamite, used in blasting rocks, in warfare, &c. The immense + beds of native sulphide of iron also, notably those of Tharsis and Rio + Tinto in Spain, and of many other places, are now utilized, literally in + millions of tons, for the production of sulphur, copper, oxide of iron, + &c. A long list of instances of this class might be adduced if it + were necessary, some of them of very great importance.<a name="NtA19" + href="#Nt19"><sup>[19]</sup></a></p> + + <p>The promotion of morality by enabling us to detect crime, is one of + the smaller influences of scientific research, and may be referred to as + a set-off against the bad uses sometimes made of scientific knowledge. + The telegraph is very commonly employed to assist in tracking and + capturing criminals. Photography is also largely used in our <span + class="correction" title="Original reads 'goals'.">gaols</span> as a + means of recognising offenders.</p> + + <p>Knowledge of science conduces also to self-discipline and + self-mastery, it tends to bridle our vicious passions by making known to + us the penalties which must be paid for their indulgence; it limits our + self-will by shewing us that we must respect and obey the <!-- Page 153 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page153"></a>{153}</span>laws of nature + whether we are willing or not, no man can improperly manipulate dangerous + substances or forces with impunity; it moderates our bigotry by + exhibiting to us the great uncertainty of unproved opinions; it restrains + undue credulity in men's assertions, by shewing us their frequent + fallacy; it gives us confidence in the laws of nature, by proving to us + their uniformity; it withdraws us from self-deception by compelling us to + accept the truths of nature as they exist ready made for us, whether they + harmonise with our preconceived ideas or not; men cannot argue with + nature, as they can with their fellow-men, but must submit to the + influence of verified truth. It supplies us with principles instead of + empirical "rule of thumb" methods as guides of morality. Whilst it + liberates us from the terror of irrational fears, it cautions us against + entertaining unreasonable hopes. It substitutes for ignorant wonder and + awe, an intelligent appreciation of created things; and when fully + developed it will probably satisfy all the reasonable instincts and + desires of men.</p> + + <p>Whilst law, medicine and divinity, direct man's attention almost + exclusively to matters concerning himself, and thus tend to limit his + sphere of perception and knowledge, and unconsciously impress him with + the idea that all other existences are less important than himself, + science not only enlightens him respecting all the departments of his own + nature, but extends his mental vision in all directions by exciting his + mind to observe and reflect upon all other bodies <!-- Page 154 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page154"></a>{154}</span>and actions throughout + the Universe. Whilst also music, painting, sculpture, poetry and the + drama, afford excitement and pleasure to his senses, feelings and + sentiments, and are largely personal; science not only constitutes the + basis of those arts, but shews the relations of them to Man and to the + external Universe, and thus more largely cultivates the intellect and + corrects and refines the senses, feelings and sentiments.</p> + + <p>New scientific knowledge affords advantages to all classes of men; to + the minister of religion, by supplying him with new illustrations of + Creative power, in the greatness, smallness, and vast variety of nature; + to the physician, by explaining to him more perfectly the structure and + phenomena of the human body, and by providing him with new remedies; to + the statesman and politician, by making known to him the great and + increasing relations of science to national progress, by its influence + upon wages, capital, the employment of workmen, the art of war, the means + of communication with foreign countries, &c.; to the philanthropist, + as an endless source of employment for poor persons, by the development + of new discoveries, inventions, and improvements in arts and + manufactories; to the military man, by affording him new engines and + materials for warfare and defence; to the inventor, by supplying him with + new discoveries upon which to found inventions; to the merchant and man + of trade, by the influence of new products and processes upon the prices + of his commodities; to the manufacturer, as a means of improving his + materials, <!-- Page 155 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page155"></a>{155}</span>apparatus, and processes; and to the + investor of money, by assisting him to judge what new technical schemes + are likely to succeed.</p> + + <p>As the domain of rational enjoyment afforded by means of science + gradually enlarges, that derivable from less intellectual sources will + probably be modified; indeed this change is already progressing, and is + manifested in the alterations occurring in theological views, and in the + extensive adoption of scientific entertainments by religious bodies. The + recognition of science by professors of religion is also shewn by the + already extensive use of railways on Sundays as a means of conveyance to + churches and chapels; also by the publication by the Society for + Promoting Christian Knowledge, of Manuals of Electricity, Astronomy, + Botany, Chemistry, Crystallography, Geology, Physiology, Zoology, Matter + and Motion, the Spectroscope, &c.</p> + + <p>Having shewn some of the chief modes in which new scientific truth is + a basis of mental and moral progress, it is not necessary to say much + respecting the evil uses sometimes made of science, because every good + thing is liable to be abused by ignorant or ill-intentioned persons. The + abuses of scientific knowledge do not arise from the true spirit of + research, viz., a desire for new knowledge on account of its intrinsic + goodness and value to man, but from an absence of that sentiment. The + Bremerhaven explosion, the assassination of the Czar, the uses of + photography to forge letters of credit, and of the <!-- Page 156 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page156"></a>{156}</span>telegraph in swindling + operations, the employment of electro-gilding and silvering in coining + base money, &c., &c., are all attributable to motives other than + a love of science.</p> + + <p>All the facts mentioned in this chapter, and the various points of + essential similarity between physical, physiological, and mental + phenomena, justify the conclusion that both moral and other mental + actions, like physical and chemical ones, are obedient to the great + principles of science. And from the evidence here adduced and alluded to, + it is certain that those principles influence human progress, not only in + a few conspicuous direct ways, but in a multitude of varied, deep-seated, + and indirect ones.</p> + + <p>If the statements made in this Chapter are true, that the innate + properties of matter really are motive powers of the human organism, and + the principles of science are regulators of mental and moral action; that + Man is a feeble epitome of the principles and powers of inorganic matter; + that the laws of Nature operate in utter disregard of his erroneous + beliefs; that nearly all man's sins and sufferings are traceable to his + ignorance and limited powers; that in proportion to his ignorance of + science so is he unable to foresee the more remote consequences of his + thoughts and acts; and if new knowledge does correct erroneous beliefs + and purify human thought and action, it behoves teachers of morality to + make themselves adequately acquainted with the principles and newest + developments of science.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p><!-- Page 157 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page157"></a>{157}</span></p> + +<h3>CHAPTER III.</h3> + +<h3>———</h3> + +<h3><span class="sc">New Truth, and its General Relation to Human Progress.</span></h3> + + <p>The great source of the success of applying science to trade, and of + the beneficent effect of science upon human welfare in general, is simply + the influence of demonstrable truth. We know that if we have once + discovered all the principles, laws, and conditions of some scientific + phenomenon, or of some improved process or result in a manufacture, the + reproduction of exactly the same conditions will hereafter enable us to + invariably produce the same result. In this respect science differs from + dogma, the truth or falsity of which cannot be demonstrated; it also + differs from empiricism, because when empirically working a process we + are ignorant of the principles or laws which are operating, whilst with a + scientific knowledge we understand those laws, and can direct them to our + particular purposes. In the process of electro-plating for example, we + understand the laws of the phenomena, and can direct them so as to obtain + silver of a hard or soft quality, brittle or tough, crystalline silver, + &c., according to our wish; but if we had only an empirical knowledge + of the subject we could not thus vary the process. <!-- Page 158 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page158"></a>{158}</span></p> + + <p>The highest test of truth is verified prediction; if we calculate + beforehand that an eclipse of the Sun will occur at a certain hour and + minute, and that eclipse occurs accurately at the predicted moment, we + may rest assured that our knowledge upon that point is true and complete. + If we say that a piece of clean iron, immersed in a solution of blue + vitriol, will become covered with a layer of metallic copper, and we find + upon trial that this result invariably occurs when we fulfil those + conditions, we may be certain that our knowledge of this phenomenon and + its conditions is also of a definite and certain character. Similarly, + when we become able to predict with certainty the conditions of the Sun's + surface, we shall probably also be able to predict severe winters, + famines, &c., and therefore be prepared to suggest precautions to be + taken against them. Even now the new truth necessary for this purpose is + beginning to be evolved by means of scientific research.<a name="NtA20" + href="#Nt20"><sup>[20]</sup></a></p> + + <p>Amongst the great axioms and principles of science, possessing great + certainty, and which enable us to predict, are, <i>1st.</i> the general + truth known as the Principle of Causation, that every effect has a cause; + that the same cause, acting under the same <span class="correction" + title="Original reads 'conitions'.">conditions</span>, always produces + the same effect; and that causation acts through all time and all + space:—<i>2nd.</i> the great truth, that every phenomenon <span + class="correction" title="Original reads 'requiries'.">requires</span> + time; and every substance occupies space:—<i>3rd.</i> the + Principles of Conservation and Persistency of Matter <!-- Page 159 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page159"></a>{159}</span>and Energy; + that out of nothing, nothing comes; and out of everything, everything + proceeds; that all the future states of the Universe are implicitly + contained in and will be evolved out of the present state of the + Universe; that we have no experience and possess no verified knowledge + either of creation or annihilation of Matter or Energy; that we cannot + absolutely create or destroy even an idea;<a name="NtA21" + href="#Nt21"><sup>[21]</sup></a> and that Matter and Energy appear to be + eternal:—<i>4th.</i> the Principle of Convertibility and + Equivalency of the different forms of Energy, according to which the + various forces known as mechanical power, heat, light, electricity, + magnetism, chemical action, &c., being modes of motion, are + convertible into each other in equivalent quantities and without addition + or loss. These and other great principles constitute the basis of + physical and chemical science, by obeying which, we have been enabled to + evolve all the wonderful practical realities of science of the present + day.<a name="NtA22" href="#Nt22"><sup>[22]</sup></a> To these great + principles may be added the more concrete truth called the "Law of + Progress," the essential idea of which is time, a time-rate; which + regulates the speed of increase of civilization, and is evidently + connected with the great truth that every phenomenon occupies time.</p> + + <p>The Principle of Gravitation, demonstrated by Newton, explains a vast + number of facts relating to the motions of the Heavenly bodies:—the + <!-- Page 160 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page160"></a>{160}</span>Undulatory Theory of Light, largely + developed by the labours of Fresnel, renders equally clear and systematic + an almost endless number and variety of optical phenomena; Oersted's law + of Electro-magnetism similarly explains and renders consistent a + multitude of facts respecting the movements of magnets and electric + conductors, which would otherwise be confusing to remember and impossible + to satisfactorily explain. And the great mental value of these + comprehensive ideas to mankind, consists largely in relieving the memory + and diminishing mental confusion, by co-ordinating a large number of + different facts and apparently inconsistent phenomena by means of a + general conception which embraces the whole of them. Thus a knowledge of + the Principle of Gravitation informs us that both the ascent of a balloon + in the air, and the descent of a stone in water, are alike due to the + same force of gravity; and that of Chemical Affinity proves to us that + the apparently unlike phenomena of slow rusting of iron and vivid + combustion of phosphorus are essentially alike and due to the same + cause.</p> + + <p>All bodies, whether living or dead, and all forms of energy, appear to + be absolutely subject to the great laws of Causation, Progress, + Conservation, &c., no one can escape them; the man who transgresses + the Law of Progress by being too much in advance of his epoch, is + punished as certainly as he who lags behind it; all must advance + together, and at approximately the prescribed rates. <!-- Page 161 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page161"></a>{161}</span></p> + + <p>The real source of all that is good in new scientific knowledge arises + from its verified and verifiable character, its high degree of certainty, + and its capacity of withstanding all the tests which can be applied to + it. By the term "scientific knowledge" in this case I mean that only that + which has been verified, and I purposely exclude all matters of + hypothesis, mere opinion or belief. Scientific research is the chief + basis of national progress, not only because it is continually disclosing + new truths to us, but also because the truths it reveals are frequently + of the most definite kind.</p> + + <p>As the term "verified truth" may appear vague, the questions may well + be asked, what is truth? And how may we best detect it? And especially + what is new truth? and how may it best be recognised? Truth may be + conveniently defined as universal consistency; or that which perfectly + conforms to facts, and agrees with the widest experience, when tested by + means of all our intellectual powers, the reasoning faculty in + particular. The usual modern criterion of it, is consistency with the + fundamental axioms of logic, and with all the great principles of nature + as established by means of scientific research, such as the universality + of causation, the continuity of phenomena, the indestructibility of + matter and energy, the convertibility and equivalency of forces, &c. + All truth whatever is one in character by possessing the inseparable + attribute of complete consistency. The truthfulness of scientific + knowledge is proved by its agreement with universal experience and with + the <!-- Page 162 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page162"></a>{162}</span>fundamental logical axioms:—a thing + either is or is not:—a thing cannot both be and not be:—a + thing must either be or not be:—things equal to the same are equal + to each other; &c. It is chiefly by means of knowledge of these + axioms and of the above principles of science, and of their varied and + numerous modes of operation and application, that the man of science + "explains" the multitudinous phenomena of nature, predicts future events, + and is enabled to discover new truths and develope new inventions in the + arts. Unlike other persons; when he sees a new effect, or hears of a new + phenomenon, he at once refers it to these principles, in order to test + its correctness or to explain it.</p> + + <p>With regard to the detection of truth, that is often a difficult and + complex process. There exists no royal or easy method; usually it can + only be recognised by means of laborious and critical examination of the + whole of the evidence obtainable in the case; and even then we are often + obliged to be satisfied with only an approximation, or it may be with + even a mere probability. Frequently also the truthfulness or otherwise of + a statement cannot be decided in any degree in consequence of the absence + of suitable or sufficient evidence, and for that we may have to wait for + ages. We are now waiting for evidence necessary to decide many questions + respecting the human mind.</p> + + <p>With regard to the question, what is new truth?; that also is a + difficult one to solve. The forms in which different truths appear are so + various, and those <!-- Page 163 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page163"></a>{163}</span>also in which even the same truth may shew + itself are so diverse, that it is often impossible to discriminate new + truth from old ideas clothed in a new form of words. The newness of an + idea is entirely a question of evidence, and to determine it, usually + requires a complete knowledge of all the circumstances affecting the + particular case.</p> + + <p>New truth appears to be usually derived from new physical or mental + experiences of phenomena external to our perceiving faculty; either by + observing matter or its forces under new conditions or from a new aspect; + and the knowledge comes to us either through the avenues of our feelings + and senses, or by means of direct observations, by comparison of such + impressions, or by inferences drawn from them. From the results of such + mental operations, additional new truths are evolved by the more complex + process of analysis, combination and permutation of ideas. New truths are + also evolved from old ones by each of these latter methods; but sooner or + later the implicit contents of our stock of old knowledge becomes + exhausted when used for such a purpose, and we are then obliged to seek + new experience.</p> + + <p>As new truths may be acquired in the more direct manner, by + acquisition of new experience; and less directly, by mental operations + upon old ideas, other subjects of less fundamental and more concrete + nature than the simple sciences, such as sociology, &c., are also + sources of progress, when treated in these ways. <!-- Page 164 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page164"></a>{164}</span></p> + + <p>Of all subjects, the simple sciences of physics and chemistry, are at + the present time, apparently making the most rapid advance, and the chief + reasons for this probably are, <i>1st.</i> they treat of facts and + principles which can be verified, and <i>2nd.</i> because the more + complex sciences, together with the arts and manufactures based upon + them, can only improve in proportion as they are developed. All the + essentially human subjects, such as sociology, politics, morality, + religious worship, &c., are in this position, and are probably + results partly of the operation of the great principles of nature acting + through the body and mind of man.</p> + + <p>The chief method of discovering new truth is that of observation, + experiment, and study, and further mental treatment of the results. The + most systematic methods also of evolving new truths are those employed by + scientific men in making discoveries, and when any person arrives at a + new idea, he usually (either consciously or unconsciously) employs + them.</p> + + <p>The acquisition of new knowledge must of necessity precede its + diffusion. Immediately a new truth, especially an important one, is + discovered, its influence begins to permeate the existing mass of + knowledge in various directions, causing us to view many of our old ideas + in a new aspect; giving rise also by comparison and inference, and by + processes of combination, permutation and analysis of ideas, to a + multitude of other new truths, usually less important ones, which + themselves also affect previous knowledge in similar ways, <!-- Page 165 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page165"></a>{165}</span>and by + analogous treatment give rise to additional new conceptions.</p> + + <p>But although we evolve truthful new conceptions from previous ones by + these purely mental methods, there is a limit to the number capable of + being evolved from a limited stock of ideas, because the number of + combinations and permutations of such a stock, though usually large, are + themselves limited. The number however is large in proportion to the + degree of essential importance of the ideas, and is greatest when we + employ those of the fundamental principles of nature, already referred + to; for instance a greater number of new ideas have been evolved by means + of appropriate mental processes from the law of gravitation and from that + of electro-magnetism than from any minor truth in science. Persons + therefore who are the least familiar with great demonstrable principles + are usually the least able to conceive new truthful ideas of intrinsic + importance, or to draw new verifiable inferences of much theoretical + value.</p> + + <p>Every inventor and student knows that he continually requires new + materials of thought, and if he does not obtain them, an obstacle, like a + wall of adamant, rises before his mind in all directions, and prevents + his forming new ideas. That also which is true of each individual is true + of the collection of individuals, mankind; if new truths are not + obtained, the thoughts of men flow in circles, and mental progress + ceases. The mental characteristics of sequestered communities in remote + isolated districts, are examples of this <!-- Page 166 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page166"></a>{166}</span>fact. The influence of + printing, railways, telegraphs, postal communication and other scientific + developments, in aiding mental progress, afford other illustrations. A + multitude of facts of this kind, and many others, leads us to the + conclusion that each new idea requires a cause to produce it, and that + human knowledge is subject to the great law of causation; also that the + creation of an idea out of nothing would be a miracle, a phenomenon + without a cause. Our present knowledge was not created by us, but was + originated by previous knowledge and experience, including of course + inherited impressions. Even in what is termed the "noblest effort of the + mind," an act of reasoning or inference, we do not create an idea, but + only render explicit in a new form of words, ideas already implicitly + contained in the words of the propositions employed, as may easily be + rendered manifest by mechanical means in Jevons's "Logical Machine;" a + proper inference never contains more than its data. In the so-called + "creation" of ideas by the imagination also, the new ideas are evolved + from old ones, and rendered explicit by mental processes of analysis, + combination, permutation, &c. Our scientific inventions also, being + mental conceptions, an unlimited number of them cannot be made by means + of a limited stock of old knowledge. It was in consequence of this limit, + viz., the impossibility of actually creating ideas out of nothing, that + human knowledge was not more advanced by metaphysical speculations until + science with its experiments and <!-- Page 167 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page167"></a>{167}</span>observations came to + its assistance. These various facts prove the statement made in the + Preface of this book, that present knowledge only enables mankind to + maintain its present state.</p> + + <p>Not only the mental, but also the physical advance of mankind is + essentially dependent upon the discovery of new truths. Men's physical + actions are determined not alone by their inherited and acquired + tendencies and the influence of external nature upon them, but also by + their ideas; as a man thinks, so also to a large extent does he act. + Nations who do not adopt new ideas do not either mentally or physically + advance, but change only so far as their immediate surroundings change; + the Chinese are a remarkable example of this; even the tendencies which + men inherit, were largely produced in their ancestors by the influence of + ideas. The great fact of the essential dependence of human progress upon + new knowledge, is a truth, the importance of which to man cannot be + over-estimated, and is one which statesmen, ministers of religion, and + philanthropists should seriously study.</p> + + <p>Much of the apparent advance of this nation however is not real. The + great bulk of our newly published knowledge, even that which is + scientific, and considered by the public to be new, consists, not of new + truths, but of old ones dressed in new forms of expression:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="hg3">"The tale repeated o'er and o'er,</p> + <p>With change of place and change of name.</p> + <p>Disguised, transformed, and yet the same</p> + <p>We've heard a hundred times before."—<i>Longfellow.</i></p> + </div> + </div> + +<p><!-- Page 168 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page168"></a>{168}</span></p> + + <p>It falls to the lot of but comparatively few men to discover or evolve + important new truths. The great majority of learned men also, have + through all historic time been occupied, and are still, not in evolving + new ideas, but in re-expressing old ones in different forms of words; the + literary spirit, is in civilised nations, almost universal. In ordinary + writings it is a rare circumstance to meet with an important and really + new idea; it is usually in books written by men who are acquainted or + imbued with the great principles and truths of science, that the newest + demonstrable ideas are most frequently found. The difference between + evolving new ideas, and re-expressing and permutating old ones; largely + characterises the dissimilarity of the scientific and the literary and + theological minds. All however are necessary to the welfare of mankind, + the former to advance and the other to maintain the condition of man. If + all were not necessary they would probably not exist.</p> + + <p>There are two great artificial divisions of scientific knowledge also, + upon the development of which national progress largely depends, viz., + knowledge of inanimate matter and knowledge of man; the latter we have + largely cultivated but the former we have greatly neglected:—and + even our study of man has been largely one-sided and literary. It is far + less important to know what is man, than to know what are the great + principles which underlie the actions of all living creatures, and in + obedience to which man is compelled to work out his destiny in the + Universe and the infinite future. <!-- Page 169 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page169"></a>{169}</span></p> + + <p>It is evident from this, that much of the mental activity around us is + not progress, but rather a process of maintaining present state, a + prevention of decline, a continually going round and round in + conventional varied step, a kind of intellectual mill. Under these + circumstances it is not the original discoverer, but he who in this + occupation, can best express old ideas, in the most varied forms and + choicest language, who is most generally considered to be the greatest + intellectual chief.</p> + + <p>Although originality even in literature and art is very imperfectly + encouraged in this country, both art and literature are much more readily + understood and appreciated than scientific research, and treated as if + they were more important. Whilst most persons can understand and + appreciate the gift of a work of art to a public art collection, few can + understand or properly value the discovery and gift of a new scientific + truth of far greater intrinsic value to the public stock of knowledge; + the treatment received by Priestley and other discoverers in comparison + with that of local donors, sufficiently illustrates this. Even publishers + of lucrative newspapers prefer to give prizes and pay liberally for + sensational tales, than to pay for articles on the public advantages of + new scientific knowledge.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p><!-- Page 170 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page170"></a>{170}</span></p> + +<h3>CHAPTER IV.</h3> + +<h3>———</h3> + +<h3><span class="sc">The Promotion of Scientific Research.</span></h3> + + <p>Nearly the whole of the most distinguished mathematicians, physicists, + chemists, biologists, and physiologists of Great Britain, also the Earl + of Derby, the Marquis of Salisbury, Sir Stafford Northcote and many other + eminent men, have given evidence before the Royal Commissioners on + "Scientific Instruction and the Advancement of Science"<a name="NtA23" + href="#Nt23"><sup>[23]</sup></a> to the following + effect:—<i>1st.</i> That the promotion of original scientific + research is neglected in this country. <i>2nd.</i> That such research is + encouraged more by the State in Germany than here. And <i>3rd</i>. That + much greater encouragement of it by our Government, by the Universities + and the Public, is highly necessary to our commercial prosperity. They + have also stated in evidence their opinions as to the best ways in which + they consider it may be assisted. The additional fact that all the + greatest scientific men who have ever existed have pursued research, and + sacrificed much for it, is a practical proof that they also approved of + its encouragement.</p> + + <p>That research should be promoted is further the opinion of many men + learned in politics, literature, art, and science. The views expressed in + numerous letters on the subject, received by me from Members <!-- Page + 171 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page171"></a>{171}</span>of the + Privy Council, and of both Houses of Parliament, and from other eminent + persons, confirm this. It has also been adopted as a chief part of the + programme of the "Association for the Organization of Academical + Study."<a name="NtA24" href="#Nt24"><sup>[24]</sup></a></p> + + <p>"M. de Candolle, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Science, + Paris, is a strong advocate for the encouragement of a class of + sinecurists like the non-working Fellows of our Colleges, who should have + leisure to investigate and not be pestered by the petty mechanical work + of continued teaching and examining." "The modern ideas of democracy are + adverse to places to which definite work is not attached, and from which + definite results do not flow. This principle is a wise one for the mass + of mankind; but is utterly misplaced when applied to those who have the + zeal for investigation, and who work best when left quite alone."</p> + + <p>The correctness of the principle of promoting research is also + recognised by our Governments in their yearly grants of money to the + Royal Society, and to the Royal Irish Academy<a name="NtA25" + href="#Nt25"><sup>[25]</sup></a> to aid research, also by the Council of + the Chemical Society, which has established a fund for the same purpose; + and by the British Association in their annual grants for the promotion + of scientific enquiry. The Fishmonger's Company also presented to Mr. W. + R. Parker, F.R.S., the sum of £50, followed by an annual gift of £20 for + <!-- Page 172 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page172"></a>{172}</span>the three years, to assist him in bearing + the expenses of his researches on the skulls of vertebrate animals. And + the British Pharmaceutical Conference voted the sum of £80 from the Bell + and Hills fund, during the period of three years, in aid of research in + connection with pharmaceutical science. A small fund for the purpose of + research exists also at the Royal Institution. Fellowships also with a + similar object have been founded at the Victoria University. Dr. + Priestley also was aided in his researches by contributions from a small + circle of friends. In recognition of the same principle, nearly all of + the most eminent scientific men on the Continent have been assisted by + their respective Governments. The total amount of aid to research in this + country is however very small, and to one acquainted with the great + commercial and other any valuable results of such labour, it is simply + astounding that we have not systematically organized a powerful means of + promoting discovery.</p> + + <p>A few scientific persons however still continue to oppose aid to + research; quite recently, scientific investigators have been spoken of as + a class of "men amusing themselves without any result whatever."<a + name="NtA26" href="#Nt26"><sup>[26]</sup></a> That idea however + abundantly refuted in the foregoing pages. It has also been remarked<a + name="NtA27" href="#Nt27"><sup>[27]</sup></a> that "practically, + endowment of research comes to the creation of positions where there is + payment without corresponding labour." "In England above all countries in + the world, there will always be plenty of <!-- Page 173 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page173"></a>{173}</span>amateurs ready and + willing to assist in research, and it is notorious that in England, + almost without exception, all the great advances in science have been + made by such amateurs. Therefore I do not think it at all desirable that + the British tax-payer should be required to put his hand in his pocket to + provide salaries for gentlemen who might be working rightly or wrongly. + He could not control them, and while there are such a body of amateurs in + the country, I think the researches may be very well left to them."</p> + + <p>The first of these statements is not correct; the endowment of + research does not amount to "payment without corresponding labour." + Scientific discoverers have always been distinguished as a body of men + intensely devoted to their labours, and willing to perform much work for + small payment. Most of the great advances in science also in England, + have been made not by "amateurs," but by men of great experience, such as + Newton, Herschel, Priestley, Davy, Faraday, Graham, and many others. + Endowment of research is not desired for wealthy amateurs, but for + investigators of proved ability and small pecuniary means and who require + assistance. Such men, although not infallible, are the least likely to + "work wrongly," and much less likely to do so than amateurs. Many + scientific investigators also of repute, object to give their services + wholly to a wealthy nation, because they cannot afford to do so, and + because it is only just that the nation should make them some pecuniary + return for their skill and labour. The great evils <!-- Page 174 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page174"></a>{174}</span>in this country + requiring new knowledge to remedy them<a name="NtA28" + href="#Nt28"><sup>[28]</sup></a> also prove that there are not "plenty of + amateurs ready and willing to assist in research here," or that "the + researches may be very well left to them."</p> + + <p>Whilst some investigators have had abundant means to carry on + research, and have excelled in that occupation, many of the most eminent + have been persons of limited circumstances; and their insufficient + pecuniary means has often restricted their degree of success. The + argument also that insufficiency of means stimulates research, is only + employed by persons who are not making investigations under such a + condition.</p> + + <p>The President of the Royal Society, Dr. Spottiswoode, in his recent + address<a name="NtA29" href="#Nt29"><sup>[29]</sup></a> also + remarked:—"The question has been raised whether it be wise, even in + the interests of science, to encourage any one not yet of independent + income, to interrupt the main business of his life. It is too often + assumed that a profession or a business may be worked at half speed, or + may be laid down and taken up again, whenever we like. But this is not + so, and a profession temporarily, or even partially laid aside, may prove + irrecoverable, and the temptation to diverge from the dull and laborious + path of business may prove to have been a snare." Each of these remarks + appears to be made upon the assumption that it is still a doubtful + question whether persons qualified for research should be encouraged or + not to abandon occupations they reluctantly follow, and for which they + are less fitted, in order to become scientific <!-- Page 175 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page175"></a>{175}</span>discoverers. As it is a + fact that the welfare of this country is suffering through deficiency of + encouragement of research, it is certainly desirable to encourage, by + every proper means, qualified persons to occupy themselves in such + labour. Some of the greatest discoveries have been made by men "not yet + of independent income," for instance, those made by Scheele, Priestley, + Dalton, Faraday, W. Herschel, and many others.</p> + + <p>The late Astronomer Royal, also,<a name="NtA30" + href="#Nt30"><sup>[30]</sup></a> who has made many researches, and was a + scientific official paid by the State, says:—"I think that + successful researches have in nearly every instance originated with + private persons, or with persons whose positions were so nearly private + that the investigators acted under private influence, without incurring + the danger attending connection with the State. Certainly I do not + consider a Government is justified in endeavouring to force, at public + expense, investigations of undefined character, and, at best, of doubtful + utility; and I think it probable that any such attempt will lead to + consequences disreputable to science. The very utmost, in my opinion, to + which the State should be expected to contribute, is exhibited in the + large grants intrusted to the Royal Society. The world, I think, is not + unanimous in believing that they have been useful." He then enumerates + what he considers "the proper foundations of claims upon the State," + which he illustrates, and substantially includes in and <!-- Page 176 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page176"></a>{176}</span>limits by, the + kinds of scientific research done under his direction at the Royal + Observatory. He further adds—"The Royal Observatory was founded + expressly for a definite utilitarian purpose (the promotion of + navigation) necessarily connected with the highest science. And this + utilitarian purpose has been steadily kept in view for two centuries, and + is now followed with greater vigour than ever before. To its original + plan have also been added—but still in the utilitarian + sense—the publication of time, the broader observation of + terrestrial magnetism, and local meteorology." His views therefore appear + to be, that State aid to research should be limited to utilitarian + objects; and that it is with propriety given to his own department, which + is connected with the State. It has however been abundantly proved that + nearly all the great scientific utilities of every-day life, had their + origin in the pursuit, not of utilities, but of pure truth, and that + immediate usefulness is neither the most successful nor the highest + motive in scientific research, nor should research be limited by so + narrow a condition. The investigations also made by the aid of Government + Grants possess the usual degree of definiteness and of utility of such + labours, and it cannot be reasonably expected that the world would be + unanimous respecting any measure, especially respecting a subject so + little understood by the public as the Endowment of Research.</p> + + <p>If investigators were to limit their researches to utilities, or what + appeared to be such, scarcely any <!-- Page 177 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page177"></a>{177}</span>essentially new + experiments or new discoveries of importance would be made. No attempts + would be made to discover essentially novel facts, nor would many trials + be made to test fundamental abstract questions which affect the very + basis of scientific knowledge. The principles of electro-magnetism, of + magneto-electric action, and of the magnetic rotation of polarized light, + were each discovered by means of perfectly novel experiments, in which + immediate utility was not the motive.</p> + + <p>It is worthy of notice that of the very small proportion of scientific + investigators who disapprove of State aid to Research, nearly every one + already possesses sufficient pecuniary means to carry on investigations, + and therefore cannot adequately appreciate the position and necessities + of investigators having only small incomes. In some cases also the + objections to aid investigators come from scientific men who have + attempted to make discoveries but have not succeeded.</p> + + <p>Dr. Robinson of Armagh, a well-known investigator, has very properly + pointed out<a name="NtA31" href="#Nt31"><sup>[31]</sup></a> what has been + done in this country towards giving assistance to those engaged in the + pursuit of science, and mentions the Observatories maintained by the + Universities and by the Nation. He says also that if anything more were + to be done in increasing the amount of grants of money to assist + scientific work, he thinks "it might be best applied in establishing in + the great commercial <!-- Page 178 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page178"></a>{178}</span>centres of the realm, physical and + chemical laboratories such as that which the Duke of Devonshire has + established at Cambridge, provided with the most refined apparatus, and + accessible to all who are considered privileged by a competent tribunal." + He also says "when there is found a man so far surpassing his fellows in + any department of science that he may be expected to do work beyond their + power, he ought to be made independent of any other pursuit, so that none + of his time and energy may be lost, such a case is exceptional, and when + it occurs it should be exceptionally provided for."</p> + + <p>Original research will for a long time to come, be opposed by a large + section of the non-scientific public:—by the numerous persons whose + source of income depends upon the ignorance of their fellow-men:—by + those who are deficient of faith in demonstrable truth, and fear that + their most cherished beliefs are endangered by it:—and by many of + those who are insufficiently acquainted with it to perceive its great + value to mankind.</p> + + <p>With regard to the fears of many objectors that the Endowment of + Research would lead to jobbery and abuses, and thus retard the progress + of discovery instead of promoting it; it is evident that such a risk is + an inseparable concomitant of every remunerated office and is not + peculiar to that of research, and must therefore be accepted as + unavoidable and be provided against in the usual ways. It does not + however appear probable that the risk in this respect is at all greater + <!-- Page 179 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page179"></a>{179}</span>than that already existing and provided + against in many other appointments.</p> + + <p>Many persons, not clearly perceiving the difference between pure + research and other scientific occupations, suppose that because science + is encouraged in various ways in this country; and because sums of money + are occasionally given to scientific institutions, and some scientific + men are evidently receiving good incomes, that discoverers are + remunerated, but this is a great mistake; there is probably not a + scientific man in the kingdom who is wholly employed in such work in + abstract physics or chemistry, and paid for his entire skill, time, and + labour. Wherever payment is made for scientific labour, it is nearly + always for that performed with a view to some immediate practical + application. Inventors and expositors are remunerated, but discoverers + are not.</p> + + <p>At the present time in this country scientific men are paid for + teaching, lecturing, writing popular scientific articles, compiling + scientific books, editing scientific journals, making chemical analyses + and experiments for manufacturers, companies, and others, for practical + purposes, or to obtain evidence for legal cases, giving evidence on + scientific subjects in courts of law, with consultations and advice to + manufacturers and others, superintending scientific commercial + undertakings, &c. Some also unfortunately obtain an income and cheap + publicity by the empirical contrivance of selling to tradesmen, their + scientific opinions in the form of testimonials which are extensively + <!-- Page 180 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page180"></a>{180}</span>advertised at the cost of the purchasers. + But not one of these occupations constitutes pure research, or is an + immediate source of new discoveries. Payment is made for all kinds of + scientific labour which will immediately benefit individuals or + corporations, but very little for pure investigation, and nearly every + inducement exists to attract men of science from pursuing such + labour.</p> + + <p>It might be supposed that investigators would patent or sell their + discoveries; but discoveries in pure science cannot usually be patented + or sold, because they have not been converted by invention into + commercial commodities. New scientific truth is utterly unsaleable; no + one will purchase it. Whilst the real or intrinsic value of it is great, + its extrinsic value is small and is the sum of money it will sell for in + the market. No one would have purchased Oersted's great discovery of + electro-magnetism. It would also be less to public advantage if + investigators were to neglect discovering new knowledge in order to apply + that knowledge to practical uses. It requires a different training of + mental power to discover new truths, than to utilize them by means of + invention, teaching or lecturing; and men who can invent and instruct are + far more numerous than those who are able to discover. Discoveries are + also generally much more valuable than inventions, because a single + discovery (that of gutta percha for example) not unfrequently forms the + basis of many inventions. Discoverers not unfrequently meet with new + facts <!-- Page 181 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page181"></a>{181}</span>which they perceive might be applied to + valuable technical uses, but they hesitate to patent them because the + process of invention, taking out a patent, seeking a manufacturer to work + it, and protecting their patent from piracy, would occupy a large portion + of their time, and take them away from research. Sir D. Brewster got no + money by patenting his kaleidoscope because the patent was instantly + pirated in all directions.</p> + + <p>Some persons have suggested that scientific men should keep their + discoveries secret, but this would usually be a greater disadvantage to + the investigator even than publishing them, and no one would then derive + any benefit; discoveries also, being often capable of numerous + applications, and not being in a saleable shape, cannot usually be + monopolised by any one. New scientific knowledge is like a powerful + light, it cannot be hidden. Discoveries are eminently national knowledge, + and research should therefore be national employment.</p> + + <p>Other persons suppose that investigators should be satisfied with the + fame of their discoveries, and not require any payment; but this is a + most unfair supposition, because no man can live without means, and every + useful person deserves to be paid for his labour. Ought the late Duke of + Wellington to have been satisfied with the fame alone of his exploits, + without being paid any salary? Ought a Bishop to be content with the + renown of his eloquence, without receiving any payment for his services? + Genius alone is <!-- Page 182 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page182"></a>{182}</span>appropriately rewarded by fame, but time, + unusual skill, labour and expenditure, should be repaid by money.</p> + + <p>It has been suggested that an investigator, if he is a man of + practical ability, is very often put into an office, the duties of which + he can efficiently discharge, and yet have leisure for original research, + as in the case of the late Dr. Graham, the eminent Master of the Mint,<a + name="NtA32" href="#Nt32"><sup>[32]</sup></a> our Astronomers Royal, + &c., and thus obtain his reward. But this is a very imperfect plan, + because research is very difficult, and to be carried out <span + class="correction" title="Original reads 'effectualy'." + >effectually</span>, requires the whole of a man's time and attention; + the investigator would also be taken from more important work to do that + which is of less value to the nation, and which might be performed by a + more suitable person; appointments also of the kind referred to are much + too few in number. Such a plan as this, of relegating important national + work to odd hours spared from official duties, is a makeshift, and quite + unworthy of this nation. Entire occupation in research, combined with + efficient publication of the results, is the only satisfactory plan of + procedure.</p> + + <p>Probably one of the most satisfactory ways of rewarding scientific + discoverers and serving national interests at the same time, would be to + create salaried professorships of original research, and appoint + discoverers of repute to fill them.</p> + + <p>The time is near at hand when this nation will be compelled by the + injurious consequences arising from its neglect of scientific research, + to acquire a <!-- Page 183 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page183"></a>{183}</span>knowledge of the relations of science to + national existence and welfare, and to adopt some means of encouraging + discovery. The greatest difficulty, probably, which has to be overcome, + is not so much how to obtain funds for the purpose, as how to employ them + successfully, and especially how to prevent their getting into the hands + of unsuitable persons. But, as methods have been found of remunerating + all other classes of persons, ways may be devised of remunerating + scientific investigators. It is only because the case is novel that it + seems difficult; it is probably no more intrinsically difficult to + establish a professorship of research than to found an ecclesiastical + benefice.</p> + + <p>The great difficulty of determining from what source discoverers + should be paid for their labours, arises from the fact that all classes + of the community share in the benefit. It is evident they should in some + measure be paid from a source towards which all classes either directly + or indirectly contribute, and therefore from some public fund. The + persons who first use scientific knowledge are the compilers of + scientific books, and teachers of science; but these only disseminate the + knowledge, and do not derive from it any great pecuniary advantage, they + are only the agents for supplying the knowledge to others. The persons + who first convert such knowledge into valuable commercial commodities are + inventors and manufacturers who have received scientific education or + advice; but those who derive the greatest pecuniary benefit from it, and + who should therefore either <!-- Page 184 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page184"></a>{184}</span>directly or indirectly pay in the largest + degree for it, are the great manufacturers, capitalists, and landowners. + Whilst the question is being settled as to what class of persons shall + primarily bear the expense of research, discoverers themselves are + suffering great injustice, and our manufactures and commerce are passing + into the hands of foreign nations. What the amount of loss and + disadvantage suffered by this nation, through want of encouragement of + scientific enquiry is, cannot be estimated, but it is certainly enormous. + Had even a very moderate amount of payment been made for such labour, and + the expenses out of pocket paid in full, the amount of research performed + would have been greatly increased.</p> + + <p>Under present circumstances, many promising young men, fitted to + become good investigators, have been driven out of science <span + class="correction" title="Original reads 'althogether'." + >altogether</span>. I have found by long experience and persistent + enquiry, that there are many young men distributed over this country, who + are very desirous of engaging in scientific research, and likely to make + good investigators, but are entirely prevented by the non-remunerative + character of the labour, every one wishes to know "what will it lead to"? + Even amongst our most able discoverers, scarcely one who has not + possessed private means has continued research beyond the middle age of + life, because such labour enables no provision to be made for old age; + and all those who have left have devoted themselves to less important but + more lucrative occupations. Most of these gentlemen have been <!-- Page + 185 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page185"></a>{185}</span>obliged to + abandon research at a period of life when their faculties were in the + most perfect state for continuing it.</p> + + <p>Where one young beginner in science meets with the fortunate + circumstance of a helping hand, as Scheele did in Bergmann, and Faraday + in Davy, many are crushed out. The want of encouragement to scientific + discovery in this country is so very great that extremely few men are + able to struggle through it, and this is one reason why we have had so + few discoveries. Some persons have argued that the very difficulties and + discouragements offered are an advantage to science by producing only men + of the very highest eminence in discovery; but it is manifest that + however great the amount of ability may be that is developed by + discouragement, that amount would probably be still greater by judicious + assistance. Moreover, progress in the developement of the national + scientific intellect is not so much to be reckoned by the few great + successes which have occurred in spite of all obstacles, but rather by + the much more numerous ones which would have resulted from proper + encouragement. The advocates of such an argument can have no idea of the + heart-sickening feeling of long deferred hope experienced by the young + beginner in science; or the disgust gradually engendered in his mind at + the injustice of other men taking all the profits of his labours and + leaving him without means of support; or they would never adduce it. In + this country the success of the few <!-- Page 186 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page186"></a>{186}</span>eminent men of science + has resulted from the accidental combination of a few more or less <span + class="correction" title="Original reads 'fortuitious'." + >fortuitous</span> circumstances, and their own great natural + determination, and not from legitimate and just support. How many + investigators we have lost from the above causes it is impossible to + tell. The encouragement also of unusual ability should not be left to + accident.</p> + + <p>As scientific research has proved itself to be of such great value to + this nation, the question naturally arises, how can it best be promoted? + A number of plans have been proposed. Amongst these may be mentioned. + <i>1st.</i> By founding State Laboratories, in which discoverers of + established repute, supplied with every aid and appliance, should be + wholly engaged in research in their respective subjects, and be paid by + the State. <i>2nd.</i> By founding colleges or Professorships of original + research in each of the Universities, and appointing professors + similarly. <i>3rd.</i> By founding provincial colleges or Professorships + of research, the funds being raised locally by means of subscriptions, + donations, and endowments, with or without State assistance. <i>4th.</i> + By State or Local aid, in the form of additional salary, to Professors in + colleges, to enable them to pursue research. <i>5th.</i> By an extension + of the present Government grants distributed by the Royal Society. + <i>6th.</i> By making it a condition at each of our Universities that + every student entering for a degree in science, should previously make an + original research. <i>7th.</i> By the formation by learned societies, of + Endowment of <!-- Page 187 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page187"></a>{187}</span>Research Funds, and making grants of money + therefrom to recognised investigators. <i>8th.</i> By aid to local + scientific investigators by Municipal bodies out of the rates. And + <i>9th.</i> The support of Institutes of Scientific Research by private + munificence. Aid to research, in Germany, has been chiefly been made by + the State, by affording means to the Professors in the Universities; in + America, more by munificence of wealthy individuals; and in this country, + chiefly in the form of Government grants of money to investigators. The + greatest difficulty to be surmounted in carrying out any of these + schemes, is the very general ignorance in this country of the value and + necessity of research; and this can only be overcome by scientific men + themselves performing their duty of enlightening the public on the + subject.</p> + + <p><i>1st.</i> <i>By founding State Laboratories.</i> One of the first + duties of a Government is to protect its subjects in the enjoyment of + their property; but as no law reserves to discoverers the fruits of their + ability, it is clearly a duty of the State to protect them in other ways. + It is believed to be a duty of the State to provide and pay for pure + scientific research, for the following reasons:—because research is + eminently national work; because the results of such labour are + indispensable to national welfare and progress, and are of immense value + to the nation, and especially to the Government; because nearly the whole + pecuniary benefit of it goes to the nation, and scarcely any to the + discoverer; because research is not sufficiently <!-- Page 188 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page188"></a>{188}</span>provided for by means + of voluntary effort, nor can its benefits be restricted to a locality; + and because there appears to be scarcely any other way (except by + application of University revenues) in which discoverers can be + satisfactorily recompenced for their labour. Also "Government should for + its own sake honour the men who do honour and service to the country." + (Faraday.)</p> + + <p>The founding of State laboratories for original research was proposed + and advocated by the late Lieutenant-Colonel Strange, F.R.S., in + communications read before the British Association, and in evidence given + before the Royal Commissioners.<a name="NtA33" + href="#Nt33"><sup>[33]</sup></a> As the erection and maintenance of State + laboratories would require a large sum of money, and as all classes of + the community would share in the benefit, it is reasonable to suggest + that the money should come from some source towards which all classes of + the community, either directly or indirectly contribute, and therefore + from some national fund.</p> + + <p>In national improvements, expense is quite a secondary consideration; + the funds however for providing State laboratories already exist; the sum + of nearly £600,000 has accumulated in the form of fees received by + Government for the granting of patents for inventions; and as the + discoveries made by scientific men form the materials by means of which + those inventions were made, the money thus accumulated may be justly + claimed by scientific discoverers as a suitable <!-- Page 189 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page189"></a>{189}</span>source from which their + labours should be <span class="correction" title="Original reads 'remuerated'." + >remunerated</span> by the State.</p> + + <p>Strong arguments might be adduced both against and in favour of the + application of this money for the purpose. Inventors are a great + wealth-producing class of the community; they are at present very highly + taxed, and receive but little advantage in return; to tax them without + giving them equivalent advantages, strikes very near to the root of + commercial prosperity, by diminishing improvements in arts and + manufactures. If an inventor is poor and his patent is valuable, he is + also frequently harassed out of it by litigation. Inventors are usually + poor, and but little able to pay taxes on patents at all; their pecuniary + position in this country is not greatly better than that of discoverers; + they are largely at the mercy of manufacturers and capitalists; and the + injustice to which they are sometimes subjected is notorious and + disgraceful. On the other hand, the fund already exists; inventors also + receive an equivalent from investigators, discovery is the indispensable + basis of nearly all invention; patented inventions are formed by means of + the knowledge obtained by pure scientific research. The poverty of a man + does not justify his taking the fruits of the labours of another man + without paying for them. If also the patent fees were thus applied, the + cost of research would then be paid for by all classes of the community, + somewhat in proportion to the benefit derived, because the cost of + patents in general ultimately falls upon the public at <!-- Page 190 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page190"></a>{190}</span>large, in the + shape of an increased price put upon the commodity, in order to pay the + cost of the patent, like the grower of wheat is paid by the consumers of + bread, through the medium of the baker, the miller, and corn + merchant.</p> + + <p>Whilst the benefits derived from the labours of discoverers, flows + chiefly in the form of money into the hands of wealthy manufacturers, and + finally gets locked up in the possession of capitalists and landowners, + it is hardly to be expected that the Government will be in possession of + funds necessary to promote research unless some such plan as this is + adopted. Should the wealthy and governing classes however become + sufficiently acquainted with the value of research, and of the essential + and permanent dependence of their material prosperity upon it, there will + then be some hope that they will be willing to contribute in a more + direct manner their just share towards paying the expenses. There is, + however, but little prospect of this whilst the influence of wealth so + depresses the scientific education of those classes at the + Universities.</p> + + <p>The fundamental object in founding State laboratories should be to + keep a staff of the most competent men wholly engaged in original + research in pure science, and a secondary object might be to train + assistants to become investigators. Such laboratories would doubtless be + located in London, and be on a scale of magnitude creditable to science + and the nation. They might very suitably include <!-- Page 191 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page191"></a>{191}</span>departments for the + simpler pure sciences and even for biology.</p> + + <p>It is manifest that the arguments which support the proposition for + professorships of original research in those sciences apply in a greater + or less degree to other sciences; and it has been stated that "there is + no ground upon which the scheme can be limited to the subject of natural + philosophy." In reference to this remark, (which, like most objections, + contains some truth), it must be remembered that there is a natural order + of dependence of the sciences upon each other, in which order also they + are being evolved. It is a general truth that the physical sciences of + light and heat are based upon mechanical conditions of the particles of + matter; that the science of chemistry is founded upon physics; that + biological phenomena are dependent upon physical and chemical conditions; + that psychological subjects are based upon biology; and that biological + science cannot progress excepting in proportion to the advance of the + sciences on which it is based. In addition to this general order of + precedence of evolution in point of time, the various sciences are so + mutually related that all must advance together, the simple ones taking + the lead, and the concrete and more complex sciences, with their + attendant arts, following behind.</p> + + <p>As this natural order of dependence and development of the sciences is + a great fact of nature, over which we have little or no control, and as a + scheme for the simultaneous establishment of professorships of research + in all the sciences, simple, complex, and <!-- Page 192 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page192"></a>{192}</span>concrete, would + probably be too great an undertaking, the most proper course would be to + commence with the simpler ones, such as those of mathematics, mechanics, + physics, and chemistry, and perhaps biology. If it be argued that it + would be unadvisable to commence with the simple and purely experimental + sciences, it would be still more unadvisable to commence with the + concrete subjects of "natural history, medicine, civil history, law, and + theology," or with the arts which also depend upon science.</p> + + <p>The number of investigators in such an institution would not be large, + because few of high repute could be obtained, many of our ablest ones + abandon research for remunerative pursuits. In order to make the plan + succeed, the conditions of the appointments should be such as to limit + the election to the most competent persons. In the selection of such + gentlemen, the verdict of opinion of scientific men generally, upon the + published researches of the candidates, would have previously determined + who were qualified for the office. Any man who had published reliable + papers in the Transactions of the Royal Society, might very properly be + considered a fit candidate, and the selection and appointment might be + made by the Government, with the advice of the Council of the Royal + Society.</p> + + <p>Probably there exists no class of persons upon whom the country might + more rely for industry in office than eminent investigators, because they + have pursued truth for its good effects alone. Men who had <!-- Page 193 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page193"></a>{193}</span>previously + exercised the degree of self-sacrifice necessary to make a number of long + and difficult experimental researches, with only very limited pecuniary + means, must necessarily be possessed of great enthusiasm in their + calling, and would therefore be extremely unlikely persons to become idle + by being supplied with a sufficiency only of means to carry on their + labours. Further, such men might at present obtain a much larger income + than they would receive in such a post, by abandoning research and + devoting themselves to the various profitable engagements which are open + to every man of scientific ability who is willing to devote himself to + applied science. The actual work of research is much too arduous and + difficult to permit such an office to become an object of desire to a + place-seeking or idle person. But in order to exclude with certainty + those who might devote themselves to research solely or primarily for the + purpose of subsequently obtaining a well paid appointment, (as persons + sometimes devote themselves to learning, with the object of getting an + "idle Fellowship,") and to ensure in all cases a reasonable continuance + of industry, it would be necessary, that whilst the salaries paid should + be sufficient to render the professors free from care, if expended with a + reasonable degree of economy, they should not be so large as to conduce + to idleness. The professors should undertake not to engage in any other + remunerative employment, and provision should be made, that in case a + professor persistently failed to make, complete, or publish his <!-- Page + 194 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page194"></a>{194}</span>researches, or devoted less than the + stipulated amount of time to such labour in the Institution, without + reasonable cause, he should be removed.</p> + + <p>Many persons fancy that "it must be very nice to be always making + experiments," and that they "should be delighted with such an occupation" + if they "could only spare the time." But such an idea is only another + illustration of the general ignorance of the subject, and it is only + expressed by those who have never made a laborious and difficult + research. Pure research is by far the most difficult of all scientific + occupations, and this is another chief reason why discoverers are few, + and why they will probably remain so.</p> + + <p>To succeed in research, a man must set aside all human pride, and + approach the subject with perfect humility; and this is not an easy task, + men cannot so readily abandon preconceived and cherished notions. Many + researches are moreover extremely dangerous. Thilorier was killed by the + explosion of a vessel of liquefied carbonic anhydride; Dulong lost an eye + and finger, and Sir Humphrey Davy was wounded by an explosion of chloride + of nitrogen. Faraday was near being blinded by an experiment with oxygen. + Nicklès of Nancy, and Louyet of Brussels, lost their lives, and two other + chemists were seriously injured in health by exposure to the excessively + dangerous fumes of hydrofluoric acid. Bunsen lost the sight of an eye and + was nearly poisoned by an explosion whilst analysing cyanide of + cacodyl.<a name="NtA34" href="#Nt34"><sup>[34]</sup></a> Hennel was + killed by an <!-- Page 195 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page195"></a>{195}</span>explosion of fulminate of silver, and + Chapman by one of nitrate of methyl; and nearly every chemical + investigator could tell of some narrow escape of life in his own + experience. Any one who wishes to know whether it is "very nice to be + always making experiments" should attempt the isolation of fluorine, the + chemical examination of some offensive substance, or the determination of + some difficult physical, or chemical problem.</p> + + <p>That a professorship of original research would "involve substantial + work" does not admit of doubt, and therefore "there would be some + security that it would be worthily bestowed." It would not become an + "ornamental sinecure," in which "there is pay but no work," unless, by + assigning to it too large a stipend, inducement was held out to that + numerous class of persons whose love of money is stronger than their love + of truth, to seek the office; to say the utmost, it could hardly become + so largely a sinecure as many offices now held by ecclesiastics. Jobbery + and abuse of patronage would be still further prevented by making the + duties sufficiently heavy.</p> + + <p>The appointment, and remuneration by salary, of professor of research, + would not lessen the independence of scientific men if the office was not + placed under the superintendence of active and interfering officials + ignorant of science. Although the professors might not be highly paid, + the appointment would increase their independence because it would be one + of the most honourable to which scientific men could <!-- Page 196 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page196"></a>{196}</span>attain, and + because they would thereby be put into a sphere in which they could + exercise their talents to the fullest extent, and render the greatest + service and honour to the nation. If also the salaries offered were not + too great, those persons only would become candidates who at present have + insufficient means to defray the considerable cost of experiments.</p> + + <p>It would be necessary to appoint only persons who would undertake to + devote their time solely to the discovery of new facts and principles in + science, and the determination of purely scientific questions, and not to + the making of inventions; because discovery is of far greater national + value than invention; and because inventions would immediately on their + publication be seized, modified, and patented by individuals for their + own personal benefit. Discoveries, on the other hand, would require a + large additional amount of labour expended upon them by inventors before + they could be converted into saleable commodities.</p> + + <p>Each professor should be allowed perfect freedom to choose his own + special subjects of research in the sciences he had been accustomed to + study, because each investigator is usually the best judge of what + researches are the most likely to yield him important results. No + discoverer of repute would be very likely to trespass on another man's + sphere of research, because he would usually have an abundance of good + subjects of his own; and every honourable man would purposely avoid doing + so; and we find this practically to be the case at the present time. + Separate sets of <!-- Page 197 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page197"></a>{197}</span>rooms would be necessary for each + investigator in order to keep the researches private and distinct.</p> + + <p>The whole of the new knowledge obtained by research should be treated + as national property, and all of it worthy of publication should be made + known without the least reserve, it would also be desirable to publish + the results at reasonable intervals of time. The publication might take + place, as at present, in the journals of the learned Societies, or in the + leading scientific magazines, and the value of the work would be largely + guaranteed by such a mode of publication. The professors should also + engage not to sell, patent, or prematurely disclose any of the knowledge + obtained. By electing to such offices only discoverers of repute, the + nation might reasonably depend for the results upon the known ability and + industry of the men. That the results obtained would, many of them, be + highly valuable, does not admit of doubt, because long experience has + uniformly proved it; but no discoverer can tell beforehand what results + he will obtain, otherwise research would hardly be needed.</p> + + <p>An objection has been made that no one can tell how long it will be + after a discovery is made before the nation will derive the chief + benefit. The length of time which elapses between the publication of + discoveries and their practical fruits is very variable. Usually benefit + commences at once and gradually widens; directly discoveries are + published they begin to be used by compilers of scientific books, and by + teachers and lecturers in science, and are thus diffused <!-- Page 198 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page198"></a>{198}</span>amongst the + public in general, and begin to produce beneficial effects. Inventors, + manufacturers, medical men, and others, also begin to apply them to their + respective purposes. In some cases striking applications are immediately + made of them, and public attention is thus directed to the useful result; + but in many cases the beneficial effects are small, numerous, and + indirect, and it is difficult to trace and describe them. The objection + also is deficient in force, because expenditure in any other occupation, + and receipt of the profit upon it, are rarely simultaneous. Many of the + wisest reforms in this country have been a long time in producing their + results. We must therefore be content, as in all ordinary cases of + investment, with the conviction that the expenditure will be profitable, + and we must wait patiently for the certain harvest. In research, as in + many other human enterprises, a man who will not move until he is + absolutely certain that what he intends to do will at at once succeed, + must sit still and perish.</p> + + <p>Suggestions have also been made to appoint a Government Committee, or + Council, whose function should be to value scientific discoveries, and + make corresponding amounts of reward to the discoverers. But this appears + to be a less feasible plan, because no man can, at the period of + discovery, determine what amount of practical result a discovery will + ultimately produce. Who could have foretold with certainty at the date of + Oersted's discovery of electro-magnetism, that this discovery would + result in <!-- Page 199 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page199"></a>{199}</span>the expenditure of hundreds of millions of + pounds upon telegraphs alone?<a name="NtA35" + href="#Nt35"><sup>[35]</sup></a></p> + + <p>Objections have been made to definite payment for labour in research, + on the ground of indefiniteness of the results, and the impossibility of + measuring their value. Can we expect to buy new scientific knowledge at + so much a pound, or to retail discovery by the pint? The work of + discoverers is as definite as that of many other persons who are paid. + Who can measure the value of the cure of souls, of the duties of a judge, + or of those of a field-marshal? Instead of paying for the labour of + research in a definite way, we have adopted unsatisfactory makeshifts. + Exceptional gifts, and semi-charitable pensions, have been with + difficulty obtained in a few cases for scientific men; most often for + those who applied scientific knowledge to practical uses than for those + who discovered that knowledge. In this country, neither lawyers, medical + men, military persons, nor clergymen are paid definitely by results, but + by time and labour, in accordance with the reputation of the man, and + there is no sufficient reason why investigators should not be <span + class="correction" title="Original reads 'similarily'.">similarly</span> + remunerated. The differences in the cases are only ones of degree.</p> + + <p>The time has arrived when this great evil should be made known and + remedied, and men of science should press upon our Government, as a + matter of justice to themselves, and necessary for the nation's welfare, + that the accumulated fees from patents should be applied to the + establishment of a Scientific <!-- Page 200 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page200"></a>{200}</span>department of the State, the erection of + State laboratories, and the payment of discoverers for the national work + of research.</p> + + <p><i>2nd.</i> <i>Professorships of Research at the Universities.</i> + Most of the remarks already made respecting the appointment and + maintenance of professors of research in State laboratories, would apply + equally to those proposed in connection with the Universities. Amongst + the reasons which may be adduced in favour of the establishment of such + professorships the following may be selected. Because the advancement of + learning is peculiarly the function of a University, and one of the chief + objects for which such institutions were founded. The word University + implies a seat of universal knowledge, and it is reasonable to assume + that Universities should act as fountains of new theoretical knowledge, + as well as perform the function of diffusing it; such an addition would + also raise their intellectual position, and make them much more + respected, both at home and abroad.</p> + + <p>With regard to such professorships, the "Association for the + Organization of Academical Study," consisting of a number of learned men + belonging to the Universities, the Royal Society, and other learned + bodies, adopted the following resolutions:—</p> + + <p>"That the chief end to be kept in view in any redistribution of the + revenues of Oxford and Cambridge is the adequate maintenance of Mature + Study and Scientific Research, as well for their own sake as with the + view of bringing the higher education within the <!-- Page 201 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page201"></a>{201}</span>reach of all who are + desirous of profiting by it." "That to have a class of men whose lives + are devoted to research is a national object." "That it is desirable, in + the interest of national progress and education, that Professorships and + special institutions shall be founded in the Universities for the + promotion of Scientific Research." "That the present mode of awarding + Fellowships as prizes, has been unsuccessful as a means of promoting + Mature Study and Original Research, and that it is therefore desirable + that it should be discontinued."</p> + + <p>With regard to the funds necessary:—It has been estimated that + the money paid in the form of sinecure fellowships or retiring pensions, + to young men in Oxford alone now amounts to about £80,000 or £90,000 a + year; and it has been suggested that this money be applied to the + purpose. These funds were originally intended for promoting knowledge, + but vested interests prevent their being used for discovering new + truths.</p> + + <p>The chief object of such professorships would be the same as that in + the proposed State laboratories, viz.—to keep a staff of the most + competent men wholly engaged upon research in pure science. The + professors of physical and chemical research might be selected in + accordance with the suggestions already made, and be appointed by the + Senate or other governing body, with the advice of the Council of the + Royal Society. All the precautions which have been already suggested + under the head of "State laboratories," would <!-- Page 202 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page202"></a>{202}</span>have to be taken in + order to exclude unsuitable persons, and to secure industry in the + professors. The remarks also, already made respecting the limitation of + the duties of the professors to research in pure science, the exclusion + of invention, the publication of results, the class of sciences with + which a commencement might best be made, etc., apply equally in this + case. I do not however mean by these remarks to suggest the disendowment + of research in the more complex or concrete subjects, in order to make a + commencement with the simpler sciences.</p> + + <p>The existence within the Universities of offices in which the + faculties of scientific men might be developed to their fullest extent, + would induce those engaged in the work of scientific instruction in those + institutions to devote more time to research, in order that they might + improve their scientific talents, and in their turn become fitted to + occupy such posts.</p> + + <p>It has been suggested that discoverers should teach as well as + investigate; but this would be an imperfect plan, and would largely + convert the position of a professor into that of one at an ordinary + college. Every person who has had much experience in experimental + investigation also knows, that to carry it out effectually, requires the + whole of his time and attention. If, therefore, teaching or lecturing + constitutes a part of the duties, a portion of the professor's time must + be taken from the more important occupation of research, and the + fundamental object of the institution will be frustrated. Research + evolves new knowledge; <!-- Page 203 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page203"></a>{203}</span>teaching simply distributes it. The + labours of a scientific teacher or lecturer consist <span + class="correction" title="Original reads 'esssentially'." + >essentially</span> of a continued series of repetitions of other men's + discoveries. For each single man who can discover, there exist many who + can teach. With teaching in addition to research, all the usual + educational machinery, lecture theatres and apparatus, diagrams, + audiences, pupils, registration of students, receipt of fees, + examinations, marking of papers, valuing of answers, attending annual + meetings, etc., would be brought into requisition, and the result would + probably be, as it is at present, the duties of teaching would, in nearly + all cases, swallow up the time, and prevent the freedom from interruption + necessary for successful research Under present circumstances, it is the + testimony of nearly every teacher and lecturer in science, that he "has + no time for research." If teaching is also carried on, the Research + laboratories will compete with educational institutions, established and + carried on by private enterprize, and place them at a disadvantage, and + thus discourage voluntary effort in the diffusion of science; but by + limiting the functions of the professors entirely to pure research, there + will be no competition with any private interests, because no persons + gain a livelihood entirely by means of such occupation.</p> + + <p>That the practice of teaching is however of very great use in + preparing the mind of a scientific man for research is quite certain, + because it compels him to study all parts of his subject, and whilst + doing so, many questions for investigation occur to his mind. <!-- Page + 204 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page204"></a>{204}</span>Many of + our most eminent discoverers have also been teachers. But teaching is not + a necessary condition of success in research, nor even a necessary + preparation for it; the examples of various able discoverers prove this. + In some cases discoverers have devoted themselves to teaching, only after + having attained high repute in research; in others they have not been + teachers at all. Original research itself usually suggests plenty of new + subjects of investigation, without the additional ones suggested by + teaching.</p> + + <p>In order that self improvement in a man of science might never + stagnate, there should exist a continuous and complete series of steps of + preferment, by which the merest beginners in scientific knowledge, might + be enabled to attain to the highest scientific position; and finally + become wholly occupied in that kind of labour by which their scientific + faculties would be developed to their fullest extent, but this last step + is wanting. By the proposed plan however a student would become a + teacher; the teacher develope into a professor; and a professor might + employ for a period a portion of his time in research, and thus become + qualified for entire devotion to original investigation and + discovery.</p> + + <p>After a scientific teacher has acquired a thorough knowledge of his + subjects, and a high position in his profession, his occupation becomes + to him a species of intellectual routine, in which he is continually + going through the same courses of lectures and examinations over and over + again, and his personal improvement stagnates. But if there was + remuneration for research, <!-- Page 205 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page205"></a>{205}</span>or there existed some post or employment, + to which those who had acquired the ability to investigate might be + appointed, there would be an inducement to continued intellectual + improvement, and a sphere in which the most valuable faculties of + scientific men might be developed for national benefit to their fullest + extent.</p> + + <p><i>3rd.</i> <i>Provincial Colleges of Research.</i>—The success + of this plan would depend essentially upon the diffusion of a knowledge + of the importance of scientific research amongst the richer classes. + There are at present a very few wealthy persons in this country who + perceive to some extent the value of such research, and the dependence of + their wealth upon it, who would be willing to contribute to a fund for + the purpose; and there are many more who would assist if the importance + of the subject was properly explained to them. The chief argument in + favour of provincial colleges of research is, that it is a duty of + wealthy persons to aid research, because they have derived, and are + continually deriving great benefits from it, for which they make no + payment. The ways in which some of those benefits have been derived have + been already briefly stated. As the large manufacturers and capitalists + are generally the persons who derive great pecuniary benefit from the + progress of science, it might be reasonably urged that they should + contribute freely towards its advancement.</p> + + <p>Such an institution might be located in each of the <!-- Page 206 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page206"></a>{206}</span>largest + centres of industry. The objects of the institution; the branches of + science to be investigated in it; the number of professors, the mode of + selecting them, and of excluding unsuitable candidates for the office; + the means by which industry might be secured and jobbery prevented; the + exclusion of invention, and of teaching and lecturing; the publication of + results, removal of professors, etc., have already been treated of under + the head of "State laboratories." The chief difficulties to be overcome + in this, as in all other plans of aiding research, are to find a + sufficient number of influential persons acquainted with the subject to + practically carry out the plan; to secure investigators of high ability; + and to prevent the offices being filled by incompetent persons.</p> + + <p><i>4th.</i> <i>Aid to Professors of Science in + Colleges.</i>—Another way by which research might be promoted, + would be by giving assistance in the form of a definite amount of + additional salary, for the purpose of pure research, to professors and + teachers in colleges and institutions; the money being supplied by the + State or from the funds of the Institution. In carrying out this plan, it + would be necessary to assist only those persons who had already published + a good research, and thus proved their ability; and who would engage to + devote a definite portion of their time to the labour as a part of their + duty. The selection of suitable men might be made with the advice of the + Council of the Royal Society. <!-- Page 207 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page207"></a>{207}</span>The additional salary should be entirely + in the form of remuneration for labour, time, and materials, etc., + expended upon research in pure science, and not in effecting inventions. + The knowledge obtained should be treated as public property, and be + published in the usual manner, and the investigator should not be + permitted to sell or patent it. It would be necessary to provide that in + case the investigator failed to make or publish a reasonable amount of + good research, the additional salary should cease. Publication in the + journals of the Royal Society, or in a leading scientific magazine, might + be considered a sufficient proof of the satisfactory quality of the + labour.</p> + + <p>It is very desirable that all the higher teachers and professors of + science in our educational institution should devote a portion of their + time to original research. It would make their lectures more reliable, + because research yields experience in the detection of error; whilst + there is usually only one way of succeeding in making an experiment, + there are always many ways of failing, and in the directions given in + books, the latter are usually omitted. It would also induce the students + to take a greater interest in the subject, and feel more respect for the + teacher. The special excellence of the German system of teaching consists + in the union of teaching and original research. This plan of aiding + research would induce some of our teachers of science who have not yet + made researches, to attempt such labour, it would also develope a + superior class of scientific teachers generally; and produce a supply of + candidates for professorships of research. <!-- Page 208 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page208"></a>{208}</span></p> + + <p>A great obstacle to the carrying out of this plan lies in the fact + that in consequence of the ignorance of the value of original research by + the founders of such Institutions, no definite provision usually exists + in the Trust deeds to authorise the Trustees to devote any of the funds + to such a purpose.</p> + + <p><i>5th.</i> <i>Extension of the Government Grant + System.</i>—During a number of years the British Government has + entrusted to the Royal Society the annual sum of £1,000 for the purpose + of aiding science; and that sum has been given in varying portions to + different investigators who have applied for grants in aid of their + expenses in making investigations.</p> + + <p>Although the total amount to be disbursed annually was not large, very + few persons, qualified to make good researches, usually applied for its + assistance, and it was difficult to dispose of the whole. The chief + causes of this difficulty were:—a grant from the fund was an + unprofitable gift to accept, because it was only sufficient to partly pay + the expenses out of pocket for chemicals and apparatus, and allowed + nothing for the skill, time, or labour, nor for payments made to + assistants. Further, "By order of the Council, all instruments, + apparatus, and drawings, made or obtained by aid of the Government + Grants, shall, after serving the purpose for which they were procured, + and in the absence of any specific understanding to the contrary, be + delivered into the custody of the Royal Society."</p> + + <p>By far the greater part of the expense of an investigation in physics + or chemistry is the exceedingly large <!-- Page 209 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page209"></a>{209}</span>amount of time it + occupies. Many necessary preliminary experiments have to be made, which + yield either negative, unsuccessful, or incomplete results, and make the + undertaking expensive. A good investigation in chemistry also not + unfrequently costs the investigator a sovereign a day if he is wholly + employed upon it. In some cases, for each £100 received as a grant, at + least a £1,000, was directly and indirectly expended. Any person + therefore who undertook a research became a loser, and aid from the + Government Grant fund did not entirely cover his loss. Only scientific + men who had other sources of income were able to avail themselves of the + grants. The existence of the grants also was not widely known. The + advantages of the plan were, it diminished the loss to the investigator, + and the fact of being allotted a sum from the fund was considered highly + creditable to the recipient.</p> + + <p>In consequence largely of the evidence collected from eminent men of + science from all parts of Great Britain, and the recommendations based + upon it, by the Royal Commission for the Advancement of Science, the + Grant system has been extended; our Government recently placed an + additional amount of £4,000 a year, for five years, to be distributed in + sums at the recommendation of the Royal Society to suitable applicants, + and the five years have now elapsed.</p> + + <p>This extension of the Grant system has been an <!-- Page 210 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page210"></a>{210}</span>improvement. It has + resulted both in a large increase in the number of applicants and of + researches; and has shown that there exists in this country a large + amount of scientific ability in need of encouragement. The amounts + granted were increased in magnitude so as to cover in some cases payments + made to assistants and the entire outlay made for experiments, also a + small payment for a portion of the time occupied in actual research. The + plan of awarding the grants has been for work proposed by the applicants + to be done, and not for that already performed. How far a retrospective + method might be worthy of trial, is difficult to decide. It has been + objected to it that the claims of scientific investigators for researches + already made, would be so great and so convincing that it would be + impossible to resist them, and the funds required to satisfy those claims + would be so large as to render the plan quite impracticable; if however + the retrospective period was limited to a short time, a year for example, + the difficulty would be lessened. There would still however remain the + great difficulty of valuing the results. This might probably be overcome + by regulating the money payment according to the time, labour, pecuniary + expenditure, and scientific status of the particular investigator, and + leaving genius to be rewarded by the fame and honour of the results.</p> + + <p>No system of aid however can place scientific investigation in a + satisfactory position in this country, which does not include certain + remuneration for time, <!-- Page 211 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page211"></a>{211}</span>money and labour expended; and no sound + argument can be adduced why investigators should not be adequately + recompenced. The genius alone of a discoverer should be rewarded by fame, + and his time, labour, and expenditure, in accordance with his + professional reputation, be repaid by money, as in all other intellectual + occupations. The same amount of time and labour expended in any ordinary + profession, requiring an equal, or even less amount of preparatory + education and experience, and less rare ability, would yield an income of + several thousand pounds a year. Although the lives of a few eminent + discoverers have proved that it has been possible for them to do a + considerable amount of research under the conditions which have existed, + that is no reason why they should not be remunerated. Previous success in + research has been due to the unusually great perseverance, industry, and + self-denial of the men, and but little to any pecuniary encouragement + received. The fewness of such men, supports this view of the case. The + plan of aiding research by grants which include no certain payment for + time or labour, is quite incommensurate with the importance of the + subject and entirely unworthy of the reputation of a great nation.</p> + + <p><i>6th.</i> <i>Students pursuing Research at the Universities.</i> In + the German Universities each student is required to make an original + research before he can obtain a degree in Science, and the plan has + worked successfully; also in the Victoria University, Manchester, <!-- + Page 212 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page212"></a>{212}</span>several Fellowships have recently been + established for the encouragement of students in original + investigation.</p> + + <p>If this plan could be carried out in our old Universities it would + produce most valuable results, because the governing, wealthy, and + influential classes of this nation are chiefly educated at those + institutions, and they would then acquire habits of more accurate + scientific thought, and some knowledge of the nature and importance of + scientific research, and of the essential dependence of national welfare + upon it.</p> + + <p>But a great and probably insuperable obstacle exists to the carrying + out of such a plan, viz., the wealth possessed by the parents of + students. An original research cannot be made without considerable + industry, and the greatest opponent of industry, especially with young + men, is the possession or expectation of wealth. According to college + tutors at our old Universities, there is no large class of industrious + students at those institutions. The greatest cause of the idleness of the + students is parental neglect and the habits of wealthy society. Many + parents allow their sons too much money, and over-look too readily their + idleness and frivolity; the young men also know their parents are rich, + and act accordingly. Many persons send their sons to those places chiefly + to form aristocratic acquaintances, and for other purposes than those of + educational discipline and learning. The college authorities have also + largely acquiesced in the wishes of the parents and students. And in this + way <!-- Page 213 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page213"></a>{213}</span>scientific research has been almost + entirely excluded from our old Universities. If the present tutors and + governing bodies of those Institutions cannot induce students generally + to be industrious, by what means can it be expected that these young men + can be persuaded to exercise the still greater degree of industry and + intelligence requisite to prosecute research, whilst they are decoyed + from it by the attractions of wealth? In Germany the conditions are very + different, the students in the Universities of that country have much + less money at their disposal. Nearly the whole of the educational courses + also at the Grammar schools and other educational institutions in this + country, are formed upon the plan of sending all the superior scholars to + our Universities, and thus the defective state of scientific training at + the Universities operates through our whole scholastic system, and + depresses the entire scientific instruction of the nation. It is evident + that in this way the undue wealth of this country largely retards + national progress.</p> + + <p><i>7th.</i> <i>Local Endowment of Research Funds.</i> In addition to + the foregoing means, local efforts might be made to encourage research in + each great centre of industry; through the medium of the local scientific + societies. Nearly as early as the year 1660, Cowley in a treatise, + proposed a Philosophical Society to be established near London, with + liberal salaries to learned men to make experiments; but he could not get + the money raised. A plan of this kind is in operation in Birmingham and + carried out by the <!-- Page 214 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page214"></a>{214}</span>Council of the Birmingham Philosophical + Society in accordance with the following:—</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"<span class="sc">Scheme for Establishing and Administering A Fund for + the Endowment of Research in Birmingham.</span>"</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>"The Council are of opinion that this Society would be omitting a + principal means of the advancement of Science—the end for which all + such associations exist—if it neglected the question of the + Endowment of Research. To maintain a successful investigator in his + labours, even though no results of immediate or obvious utility can be + shown to spring out of them, is of interest to the community at large. + Indeed, it is just because the practical usefulness of such work is not + immediate or obvious that it becomes necessary to give it special + support, for otherwise it would have its own market value, and endowment + would be superfluous. But the proper and effectual administration of an + Endowment Fund is perceived to be so beset with difficulty, as often to + deter even those who recognise the principle from advocating it in + practice. Most of the dangers usually foreseen would, however, as a rule + be avoided, simply by the distribution of such funds from local centres, + under such a scheme as is now proposed. The Council, are therefore, + anxious to establish a Fund, in connection at once with the Society and + the Town, for the direct Endowment of Scientific Research."<a + name="NtA36" href="#Nt36"><sup>[36]</sup></a></p> + +<p><!-- Page 215 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page215"></a>{215}</span></p> + + <p><i>8th.</i> <i>Local Laboratories of Research.</i> Another plan would + be for local scientific societies to raise money by soliciting + subscriptions and donations for the support of local laboratories; a + prospectus of the following kind being issued:—</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p><span class="sc">Proposal to Found A Laboratory of Pure Scientific + Research in ——.</span></p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>"As the manufacturers, merchants, capitalists, land-owners, and the + public generally, of this town and district, have derived and are still + deriving great pecuniary and other benefits from the discovery of new + knowledge by means of pure research in the sciences of Physics and + Chemistry; and as in consequence of the great neglect of such research in + this country, and the increased cultivation of it in other lands, our + commerce is suffering, and a great many evils in manufacturing and other + operations, in sanitary and many other matters dependant upon physical + and chemical conditions, remain unremedied; it is proposed to found a + Local Laboratory of original research in those sciences, with every + suitable appliance in it; and to employ one or more investigators of + repute, with assistants, who shall be wholly engaged in such labour in + their respective sciences."</p> + + <p>As it is largely the custom in this country to effect great objects by + means of individual liberality and corporate enterprise, instead of + trusting to State assistance, it is not improbable that when the great + importance of scientific research and its claims <!-- Page 216 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page216"></a>{216}</span>to encouragement have + become more generally known, that aid which has hitherto been with-held + from it will be rendered by private generosity; and local institutions, + wholly for the purpose of original scientific research will be + established and supported by public-spirited wealthy persons. An + institution of this kind upon a small scale, and called "The Institute of + Scientific Research" has already been established in Birmingham, (see <a + href="#Nt5">Note</a> p. 40). By founding local institutions of this kind + there exist opportunities for wealthy persons to do great good to + mankind, and acquire renown as philanthropists by the action.</p> + + <p>And <i>9th</i>. In consequence of the great benefit derived from + scientific research by the inhabitants of each locality, it has become a + duty of each large community to promote it, and local Town Councils might + with advantage and perfect justice to the public, devote a portion of + municipal funds to the purpose of aiding local scientific research. To + this plan it may be objected, that as the results of research are + cosmopolitan, diffusing themselves everywhere, and this diffusion cannot + be prevented; the benefits arising from research cannot be restricted + even to a large community. In reply to this:—As knowledge and its + advantages are cosmopolitan, the duty of promoting research must be + equally extensive. There is also a real return received by the public for + expenditure of money in research, in the free liberty to use all new + knowledge developed everywhere by such labour, and although the money + expended by a <!-- Page 217 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page217"></a>{217}</span>community upon particular researches or + upon an individual investigator, does not directly produce an immediate + return; practically an immediate and direct benefit is received by that + community, because new scientific knowledge for the use of teachers and + popular lecturers, and new inventions based upon it, <span + class="correction" title="Original reads 'of of'.">of</span> local value + to that society, continually become public. Every civilized community has + also received beforehand such benefits to an enormous extent; and each + investigator may reasonably claim public support on the ground that he + contributes to the general stock of new knowledge. Some persons however, + who have not fully considered the subject, wish to receive not only the + advantages accruing from the common stock of knowledge, but also to + reserve to themselves the entire benefit arising from their own special + contributions.</p> + + <p>Experience alone will prove which of the foregoing schemes is the most + suitable in this country, or in particular cases. At present the plan + largest in operation is the system of Government Grants, next in + magnitude are the other funds distributed by the Royal Society, the + British Association, the Chemical Society, the Royal Institution, the + Birmingham Philosophical Society, and those provided by the munificence + of private individuals. It is greatly to be hoped that the liberal spirit + of private individuals will yet further remove the great blot which lies + upon the reputation of the wealthy manufacturers, capitalists, and + land-owners, who have derived such great profits from <!-- Page 218 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page218"></a>{218}</span>scientific + research and have scarcely aided it at all in return. It is also to be + desired that the Corporations of manufacturing towns will recognise the + value of original scientific enquiry to their fellow townsmen, and will + undertake the responsibility of voting money from municipal funds to + promote it.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<h3>Notes</h3> + +<div class="note"> + <p><a name="Nt1" href="#NtA1">[1]</a> See p.p. <a href="#page165">165</a> + to <a href="#page167">167</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt2" href="#NtA2">[2]</a> Essays and Addresses, Owen's + College, 1874, pp. 172-182.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt3" href="#NtA3">[3]</a> See Chapter 2, Section B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt4" href="#NtA4">[4]</a> In the year 1870, a gentleman of + the name of Davis bequeathed £2,000 to the Royal Institution, London, to + aid original scientific research.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt5" href="#NtA5">[5]</a> As a notable exception to the above + statement:—"Scientific research has now an Institute of its own in + Birmingham, without being indebted to the public funds. A fund has + already been collected for carrying on the work. The building is called + 'The Institute of Scientific Research.'" See <i>Nature</i>, January 7th, + 1881, p. 366; the <i>Athenæum</i>, February 5th, 1881, p. 204; the + <i>English Mechanic</i>, p. 537, February 11th, 1881.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt6" href="#NtA6">[6]</a> Professor Bache left 50,000 + dollars, and Smithson bequeathed 541,000 dollars to this Institution.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt7" href="#NtA7">[7]</a> Respecting the Members of our + Houses of Legislature, a former Postmaster-General remarked to me, that a + dose of scientific research would be too much for them.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt8" href="#NtA8">[8]</a> The Victoria University has + recently become a partial exception to this statement.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt9" href="#NtA9">[9]</a> See "Royal Society Catalogue of + Scientific Papers," vol. 5, pp. 719 and 890; and vol. 8, p. 1,010.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt10" href="#NtA10">[10]</a> See <i>Nature</i>, April 24th + and May 1st, 1873, pp. 485 and 13; also <i>Work and Wages</i>, by + Brassey, pp. 170 and 178.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt11" href="#NtA11">[11]</a> <span + class="sc">Note</span>.—See "Work and Wages," by Brassey, p.p. + 15-131 and 132; also the "Laboratory," vol. 1, p.p. 313-316, 378 and + 380.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt12" href="#NtA12">[12]</a> <span + class="sc">Note.</span>—The whole of this chapter, especially the + Moral Section, is capable of great amplification and much more copious + illustration.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt13" href="#NtA13">[13]</a> <span + class="sc">Note.</span>—See also p. <a href="#page95">95</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt14" href="#NtA14">[14]</a> <span + class="sc">Note.</span>—Athenæum, Aug. 3, 1877. p. 242.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt15" href="#NtA15">[15]</a> "Wish and Will," by L. Turner, + M.A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt16" href="#NtA16">[16]</a> "The Mutual Relations of + Physical Science and Religious Faith."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt17" href="#NtA17">[17]</a> Port Royal Logic, Discourse + 1.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt18" href="#NtA18">[18]</a> See p. <a + href="#page91">91</a>-<a href="#page92">92</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt19" href="#NtA19">[19]</a> See "Waste Products and + Undeveloped Substances," by P. W. Simmonds.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt20" href="#NtA20">[20]</a> See "Barometer Cycles," by + Balfour Stewart, F.R.S.—<i>Nature</i>, Jan. 13, 1881, p. 237.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt21" href="#NtA21">[21]</a> See p. <a + href="#page165">165</a>, et seq.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt22" href="#NtA22">[22]</a> It would I consider be an + improvement in our educational arrangements, if a Professorial chair, + solely devoted to teaching those laws and principles, existed in each + Scientific College.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt23" href="#NtA23">[23]</a> See vols. 1 (1872) 2 (1874) of + the Reports of that Commission.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt24" href="#NtA24">[24]</a> See pages 100 and 101.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt25" href="#NtA25">[25]</a> "<i>Nature</i>," April 3rd, + 1873. p. 431.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt26" href="#NtA26">[26]</a> Sir Edmund Beckett, "<i>English + Mechanic</i>", 1881, No. 830, p. 560.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt27" href="#NtA27">[27]</a> The Earl of Craufurd, + "<i>English Mechanic</i>," 1881, No. 830, p. 560.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt28" href="#NtA28">[28]</a> See page <a + href="#page68">68</a>, et seq. p. <a href="#page134">134</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt29" href="#NtA29">[29]</a> See "<i>Nature</i>," Dec. 2nd, + 1880, p. 112.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt30" href="#NtA30">[30]</a> "<i>English Mechanic</i>," 1881, + No. 831, pp. 586, 587.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt31" href="#NtA31">[31]</a> "<i>English Mechanic</i>," + August 17th, 1881, p. 83.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt32" href="#NtA32">[32]</a> The Mastership of the Mint is no + longer given to scientific men.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt33" href="#NtA33">[33]</a> See Reports of Royal Commission + on Scientific Instruction and Advancement of Science, Vol 2, pp. + 75-92.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt34" href="#NtA34">[34]</a> See "<i>Nature</i>" No. 600, p. + 597, April 28th, 1881.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt35" href="#NtA35">[35]</a> A fleet of thirty ships, varying + in size from 500 to 5000 tons each, is employed in laying and repairing + telegraph cables, and 25 millions of pounds have already been invested in + submarine cable enterprises.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt36" href="#NtA36">[36]</a> See "<i>Nature</i>," vol. XXII, + page 203.</p> + +</div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Scientific Basis of National +Progress, by George Gore + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS *** + +***** This file should be named 34771-h.htm or 34771-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/7/7/34771/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Keith Edkins and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Scientific Basis of National Progress + Including that of Morality + +Author: George Gore + +Release Date: December 28, 2010 [EBook #34771] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Keith Edkins and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + + +Page numbers enclosed by curly braces (example: {25}) have been +incorporated to facilitate the use of the Table of Contents. + + * * * * * + + +THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS + +OF + +NATIONAL PROGRESS, + +INCLUDING THAT OF MORALITY. + + + +G. GORE, L.L.D., F.R.S., + +_Author of "The Art of Scientific Discovery;" +"The Principles and Practice of Electro-deposition;" +"The Art of Electro-metallurgy;" &c._ + +[Illustration] + +NATIONS ADVANCE BY NEW KNOWLEDGE. + + + +WILLIAMS AND NORGATE, + +14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON; +AND 20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH. +1882. + + * * * * * + + +To the President (the Rev. N. Watson, F.R.S.), the Vice Presidents, the +Council and Members of the Birmingham Philosophical Society, I dedicate the +following small treatise, in appreciation of the fact, that although only a +young Society, they have certified in a substantial manner the views +persistently advocated by me respecting the National importance of +Scientific Investigation, and have shown so intelligent an example of +devotion to public welfare by establishing a Fund for the Endowment of +original Scientific Research. + + GEORGE GORE. + + _The Institute of Scientific Research,_ + _Birmingham._ + + * * * * * + + +THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF NATIONAL PROGRESS. + +------ + +CONTENTS. + +------ + + PREFACE. + + CHAPTER I. PAGE + + THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF MATERIAL PROGRESS 1 + + CHAPTER II. + + THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF MENTAL AND MORAL PROGRESS 83 + + CHAPTER III. + + NEW TRUTH, AND ITS GENERAL RELATION TO HUMAN PROGRESS 157 + + CHAPTER IV. + + THE PROMOTION OF ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 170 + + * * * * * + + +THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF NATIONAL PROGRESS. + +------ + +NEW KNOWLEDGE IMPARTS NEW POWER. + +------ + +PREFACE. + +As there exists at the present time in this country a considerable degree +of uneasiness in the public mind respecting our ability to maintain our +position in the race of progress, and as our future success as a nation +depends largely upon science, it is desirable to call attention to the +great public importance of _new_ scientific knowledge, and to the means of +promoting its development. + +Although the illustrations given in this book of the importance of such +knowledge to mankind, constitute but a small fraction of the number which +might be adduced, they are sufficient to show that by the neglect of +scientific investigation, we are sacrificing our welfare as a nation to an +enormous extent. + +The greatest obstacle to the discovery of new knowledge in this country, +lies in a wide spread ignorance of the dependence of human welfare upon +scientific research. I propose therefore to show in a brief manner, that +the essential starting-point of human progress, lies in scientific +discovery; also that new truths are evolved by original research made in +accordance with scientific methods; and to illustrate these statements by +examples; also to point out how such research can be encouraged. + +The book is divided into four chapters, viz.: _1st._ The Scientific basis +of Material progress: _2nd._ The Scientific basis of Mental and Moral +progress: _3rd._ New truth and its relation to Human progress: and _4th._ +The Promotion of original Scientific Research. As the object of the book is +only to call attention to the vast importance of _new_ truth, as as a +fundamental source of advance, and how to promote the discovery of it, the +essay is written as briefly as possible, and is not offered in any sense as +a complete exposition of the subject, especially the section relating to +the Scientific basis of Morality. + +The leading idea of the Book is that present knowledge only enables us to +maintain our present state, that national _progress_ is the result of _new_ +ideas, and that the chief source of new ideas is original research.[1] That +as _advance_ has its origin in _new_ knowledge; unless new discoveries are +made, new inventions and improvements must sooner or later cease. Another +prominent idea is, that truth is essentially the same in all divisions of +knowledge, and that the mental powers and processes employed in detecting +it are the same in all subjects. + +For reasons stated in the text, the influence of scientific discovery upon +mental and moral progress are treated together. Notwithstanding the far +greater importance of the mental and moral advantages of new truths, the +book treats chiefly of the pecuniary and material gains to mankind; mainly +because the latter are more easily understood and appreciated, the chapter +however on "The Scientific Basis of Mental and Moral progress," indicates +in a very brief and imperfect manner, the vast importance of new scientific +knowledge to mankind, as a source of mental and moral advancement. + +The chief object of this book is to disseminate more correct ideas +respecting the importance of _new_ positive knowledge, and the duties of +society in relation to it; and a further object is to assist in maintaining +Birmingham in the front rank of intellectual, social and moral advance, in +accordance with its motto "Forward." + + * * * * * + + +{1} + +CHAPTER I. + +------ + +THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF MATERIAL PROGRESS. + +During the last one hundred years this nation has advanced with unexampled +speed. More wealth has been accumulated by Englishmen since the +commencement of the present century, than in all preceding time since the +period of Julius Caesar; one of the causes of this has been the discovery of +new truths of science, and their subservience to useful purposes by means +of invention. The great manufacturing success of this country has been +largely due to those applications of science, which have enabled us to +utilise our abundant stores of coal and iron-ore, in steam engines, +machinery, and a multitude of mechanical, physical, and chemical processes; +also to the discovery of electro-magnetism and its application in the +electric-telegraph, etc. And had it not been for these and other +adaptations of scientific knowledge, we should have competed in vain with +the cheaper labour and longer days of toil of continental nations. Other +great causes, such as our insular position, suitable climate, freedom, {2} +geographical position, etc., etc. have, however, also contributed to the +result. Commerce also in its turn has done vast things for mankind. + +The purely scientific knowledge we possess was discovered almost entirely +by means of original research, and to only a small extent by persons +engaged in industrial occupations. Probably not two per cent. of all the +important discoveries in pure science were made in manufactories; the +scientific experiments which are made in such establishments are usually of +the nature of invention, not of discovery, and are not often published, +because it is a usual object with men of business to retain as much as +possible of the pecuniary benefit of their labours to themselves. Whilst it +is the object of a business man to monopolise special knowledge; that of +the scientific man is to diffuse it, in order that all mankind may be +benefited and helped to improve. + +Discoveries in science are, however, occasionally made by practical men +engaged in technical employments. The hydro-electric machine originated in +this way, a man at Newcastle was attending to a steam boiler, and found +that he received electric shocks when he touched the boiler. This +circumstance was investigated by his employer, Mr. Armstrong, a scientific +man, and led him to construct the hydro-electric machine. The accumulation +of electricity in submarine telegraph cables was first observed at the +Gutta-Percha Company's works {3} London. It was noticed on testing a cable +by means of a voltaic battery (the cable being submerged in water) that +discharges of electricity flowed from the cable after the battery was +removed; this circumstance was investigated by Faraday, and led to +improvements in submarine telegraphy. In each of these instances the same +general method as that used by scientific discoverers was however employed, +viz., new experiments were made (though not intentionally) by putting +matter and its forces under new conditions, and new results were observed. + +Nearly all great modern scientific discoveries have been made by teachers +of science and others, who spend a large portion of their lives in +experimental investigation, searching for new truths, and not by persons +who have hit upon them by accident. The greatest discoveries in physics and +chemistry in modern times, were made chiefly by such men as Newton, +Cavendish, Scheele, Priestley, Oersted, Volta, Davy and Faraday: all great +workers in science. + +It is either by observing matter and its forces under new conditions or +from a new aspect, that nearly all discoveries are made; thus Priestley +placed some oxide of mercury in an inverted glass vessel, and heated it by +means of the Sun's rays and a lens, and discovered Oxygen. This substance +was nearly discovered by Eck de Sulsbach three hundred years before; he +heated six pounds of an amalgam {4} of silver and mercury, and converted +the latter metal into a red oxide like cinnabar, and he remarked, "a spirit +is united with the metal, and what proves it is this, that this artificial +cinnabar submitted to distillation, disengages that spirit." The "spirit" +was evidently oxygen. + +Some discoveries are made by observing the phenomena of bodies placed under +special conditions by those operations of nature over which we have little +or no control. All our knowledge of Astronomy, and much of that of geology +and physiology, was acquired in this way. + +Nearly all modern discoveries of importance in physics or chemistry require +long and difficult investigations to be made in order to completely +establish their truth. When Crookes discovered Thallium, he saw the first +sign of its existence in a momentary flash of green light in a +spectroscope, but he had to expend upon the subject several years of most +difficult labour, and a considerable sum of money, in order to prove the +correctness of his suspicion that he had discovered a new metal. M. Lecocq +de Boisbaudran discovered the metal Gallium and Bunsen discovered Rubidium +and Caesium in a similar manner. + +Discoveries in science, are usually made, not by trying to obtain some +valuable commercial or technical result, but by making new, reliable, and +systematic investigations. By investigating the chemical action of +electricity upon saline bodies, {5} Sir Humphrey Davy isolated sodium and +magnesium, which has led to the establishment at Patricroft near +Manchester, of the manufactures of those metals. By the abstract researches +of Hofmann and others upon Coal-tar, many new compounds were discovered, +and the extremely profitable manufacture of the splendid coal-tar dyes was +originated. + +Scientific discovery is the most valuable in its ultimate practical results +when it is pursued from a love of truth as the ruling motive, and any +attempt to make it more directly and quickly remunerative by trying to +direct it to immediately practical objects, decreases the importance of its +results, diminishes the spirit of inquiry, and sooner or later reduces it +to the character of invention. The greatest practical realities of this age +had their origin in a search after important truths entirely irrespective +of what utilities they might lead to. + +I do not intend by these remarks to imply that any new trades or +improvements in manufactures have been or can be effected without the +labours of inventors and practical men, but that there should be a more +judicious division of labour: one man to discover new truths, another to +put them into the form of practical inventions, and the business man to +work them; because it is proved by experience, that in nearly all cases +these different kinds of labour require men of widely different habits of +mind, and {6} that the faculties of discovery, invention, and practical +working are very rarely united in one man. + +Scientific investigations however, made in a manufactory, for the purpose +of ascertaining the various sources of loss of materials, the circumstances +which affect the amount or quality of the product; or made with the object +of substituting cheaper or more suitable materials, or for varying their +proportions, or for many other kindred objects, have in many cases resulted +in great benefit to the manufacturer, and have formed the basis of +successful patents. Some of the large brewers, chemical manufacturers, +candle companies, and many others, constantly employ scientific men in this +way to examine their materials, processes and products, and keep them +acquainted with the progress of discovery and invention in relation to +their own particular trades. + +No art or manufacture is so perfect as to be exempt from the influence of +discovery and invention, and no man can produce so perfect an article but +that, by the aid of science, a better may be produced. Science and trade +are mutually dependent, without the assistance of science, trade would be +unable to supply our daily increasing wants, and without the pecuniary +support of trade, science would languish and decay. + +"As long as arts and manufactures are left to be directed and improved by +simple experience, their progress is extremely slow, but directly +scientific knowledge is successfully applied to them, they {7} bound +forward with astonishing speed." Look at the art of taking portraits; for +hundreds of years it remained entirely in the hands of oil and water-colour +painters with but little progress in rapidity of production, but directly +science was applied to it in the form of photography, its advance in this +respect became amazing. Fifty years ago photography was almost unknown, but +immediately Messrs. Daguerre and Talbot, in 1844, made known their +processes, the new art began to advance, and so rapid has been its +progress, that at the present time many thousand persons are employed in +its exercise, and millions of portraits have been taken with an accuracy +and at a cost quite beyond the reach of the old method. + +Many persons hardly know the difference between science and art; a still +greater number cannot readily distinguish between a concrete science and a +pure one; and nearly all persons confound discovery with invention. A +science may be conveniently defined as a collection of facts and general +principles which are to be learned; an art as a collection of rules which +are to be followed:--Art therefore is applied science; and every art also +has a basis in science, whether that basis has been discovered or not. +Scientific principles underlie not only manufacturing processes, but also +sculpture, music, poetry and painting. + +Discoveries differ also from inventions: a scientific discovery is a newly +found truth in science, which in the great majority of cases is not in the +form of {8} applied knowledge. An invention is usually a combination and +application to some desired purpose, of scientific truths which have been +previously discovered. When Oersted first observed a magnetic needle move +by means of a current of electricity, he made a scientific discovery; but +when Wheatstone and Cooke applied Oersted's discovery in their telegraph +from Paddington to Slough, they made an invention. The success of the +electro-plating process was dependent upon knowledge previously discovered. +Mr. Wright, a surgeon in Birmingham, was led to the invention of the use of +cyanide of potassium in electro-plating and gilding, by reading in +Scheele's "Chemical Essay" (p.p. 405 and 406), that "if after these calces" +(_i.e._, the cyanides of gold and silver) "have been precipitated, a +sufficient quantity of precipitating liquor be added, in order to +redissolve them, the solution remains clear in the open air, and in this +state the aerial acid" (_i.e._, carbonic acid of the air) "does not +reprecipitate the metallic calx." + +Immediately a discovery is effected it is made public, and is afterwards +incorporated in the ordinary text books of science, ready for the use of +inventors; and in this way such books have become filled with valuable +knowledge acquired by researches in past times. All this knowledge (which +has cost millions of pounds and a vast amount of intellect and labour) has +been given by its discoverers freely to the nation. Some idea of the number +of scientific {9} researches which have been made since the year 1800, may +be obtained from the fact, that a mere list of their titles, with the names +of the authors, occupies eight large quarto volumes, of about one thousand +pages each, compiled and published at a cost of about ten thousand pounds, +by the British Government and the Royal Society. + +In discovery we search for new phenomena, their causes and relations; in +invention we seek to produce new effects, or to produce known effects in an +improved manner. The objects of the scientific discoverer are, new truth +and greater accuracy; whereas those of the inventor, are increased +usefulness and economy of results. The ancients classed inventors with the +gods, because they considered them great benefactors to the human race. +Discoverers may properly be viewed as priests and prophets of truth, +because they both reveal new knowledge to mankind, and predict with +certainty coming events. + +A man cannot usually invent an improvement unless he possesses scientific +knowledge, and, for that knowledge he must in nearly all cases resort to a +scientific book or teacher. The great practical value of new scientific +knowledge is proved by the fact, that when scientific discoveries are +published, there are numerous inventors and practical men, who immediately +endeavour to apply them to useful purposes. Since the first application of +coal-tar to the production of dyes, every discovery in that {10} branch of +chemistry has been closely watched for a similar purpose. + +A complete account of the growth and development of scientific discoveries +and inventions would form an extensive history, and would include numerous +instances of experiments attended by results which, sooner or later, +affected all mankind. Take that of phosphorus, for example. The first +evidence of the existence of that substance was obtained by the Saracens in +the eighth century. Achild Bechil distilled a powdered mixture of charcoal, +clay, lime, and dried extract of urine, and obtained a substance which +shone in the dark "like a good moon;" that substance was phosphorus. The +discovery contained in the results of that little dirty and stinking +experiment was the germ or seed of all the subsequent developments and +applications of phosphorus. About the year 1669 Bechil's experiment was +further developed by Brandt, a merchant of Hamburg, and the publication of +the wonderful properties of the substance produced a great sensation in his +fellow-citizens. "There was then cried nothing but triumph and victory +among the chymists. Those good people erected already in their thoughts so +many hospitals and poor-houses that no beggar should more molest any man in +the streets, made great legacies, and pious causes, and what not else." +"Besides, the other alchymists did encourage him yet more, and desisted not +to make him believe how this was the same fiery ghost of {11} Moses that in +the beginning moved upon the water, yea, his splendid shining face: the +fiery pillar in the desert, that secret fire of the altar wherewith Moses +burned the golden calf before he strewed it upon the fire and made it +potable." + +The experiment of Brandt was repeated by Kunckel before the courts of +Saxony and Brandenburg, although it was not a very delicate or agreeable +exhibition, "because the anctuous and daubing oyliness was not yet +accurately separated from it, and without doubt it was very stinking." +Brandt's process was further developed by Boyle, and published in the +Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, in the year 1692-3; and +phosphorus was afterwards obtained in larger quantity and in a purer state +by Hanckwitz, a chemist in Southampton Street, Strand, and sold by him at +three pounds sterling per ounce. Its price at present is less than three +shillings per pound. + +Margraaf, Fourcroy, Vauquelin, and Dr. Slare also extended our knowledge of +the substance; Gahn, in 1769, made the important discovery of phosphorus in +bones, and Scheele immediately devised the process now in use by our +manufacturers for extracting it from that substance. The commencement of +the use of phosphorus for the purpose of getting a light occurred about the +year 1803, but it was not until the year 1833 that the invention of +phosphorus matches became commercially successful. The use of such matches +is now universal, and it has {12} been estimated that the daily consumption +of them in Great Britain alone amounts to two hundred and fifty millions, +or more than eight matches per day for each individual in the kingdom. + +"There is nothing on the Earth so small that it may not produce great +things." The most abstract and apparently trivial experiments in original +research have in some cases led to inventions and results of national and +even world-wide importance. The contractions of a frog's leg in the +experiments of Galvani, and the movements of a magnetic needle in those of +Oersted, have already led to the expenditure of hundreds of millions of +pounds in laying telegraph wires all over the earth, and to an immense +extension of international intercourse. But the original experiment of +Oersted was not discovered without labour, it was only arrived at after +many years of research. + +The saying that "all great things have had small beginnings," is true, not +only of electric telegraphs, but also of the great trade of +electro-plating, and of the magneto-electric machine which is now largely +used instead of the voltaic battery. After Volta had made his small and +apparently unimportant experiments on the electricity produced by metals +and liquids, various persons tried the effect of that electricity upon +metallic solutions. Brugnatelli, in 1805, found that two silver medals +became gilded in a solution of gold by passing the electricity through +them. Mr. Henry Bessemer, in 1834, coated various {13} lead ornaments with +copper by using a solution of copper in a similar manner. And in 1836 Mr. +De la Rue found that copies might be taken in copper of engraved +copper-plates by the electro-depositing process. Faraday discovered +magneto-electricity in the year 1831, by rotating a disc of copper between +the poles of a magnet, and he has stated that the first successful result +he obtained was so small that he could hardly detect it. This simple +experiment was the origin of the magneto-electric machine, and many of +these machines are now used for producing the electric light, and for +depositing nickel, copper, silver, and gold, instead of by the voltaic +battery. These, and other engines, thermic, magnetic, electric, &c, will +probably, ere long, be constructed on as large a scale, and as many in +number, as the present steam engine. + +The discovery in olden times of the attractive properties of a fragment of +iron ore, was the basis of the invention of the mariner's compass, which +greatly improved navigation, and led to nearly all the chief maritime +discoveries which have since been made. The sciences of magnetism and +geometry form the basis of the art of navigation, and have thus made our +great foreign commerce possible. The discovery of magnetism enabled sailing +vessels to venture freely out of sight of land, and to traverse the wide +ocean with even greater safety than to sail near the shore. By its means +Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean and discovered America. By its {14} +means also, Vasco de Gama sailed round the Cape of Good Hope and discovered +a new route to India; and in the year 1500, another Portuguese Captain, +Cabral, was driven across the Atlantic, discovered Brazil, and was enabled +by the aid of the magnet, to send back a ship to Lisbon with news of the +discovery. By its assistance also Magellan discovered Patagonia and the +South Pacific Ocean; and by the completion of that voyage the Earth was +first circumnavigated and proved to be a globe. + +The geographical discoveries of the Portuguese, made by means of the +magnet, produced great national results; they profoundly changed the +balance of power and wealth among European nations, by changing the +direction of navigation and of the great streams of commerce between Europe +and the East. They gave a mortal blow to Italy and the cities of the +Mediterranean, by transferring Eastern commerce to Spain and Portugal: and +Egypt ceased to be the greatest route of commerce from Europe to India. + +A singular contract relating to geographical research was made in the +fifteenth century, between King Alphonso, of Portugal, and Ferdinand Gomez, +of Lisbon, by which the latter engaged to navigate a ship and explore the +coast of Africa, and to discover not less than three hundred miles of coast +every year, the measurement to be made from Sierra Leone. {15} + +Scientific discovery has in all ages been a most powerful agent of +civilization and human progress. The discovery of the black liquid which a +solution of nutgalls produces when mixed with green vitriol, led to the +invention of writing ink; and a knowledge of the properties of ink and +paper prepared the way for the invention of printing, by means of which +truth and learning have spread all over the earth. + +The apparently insignificant property possessed by amber, of attracting +feathers immediately after it has been rubbed, was known twenty-four +hundred years ago, and afterwards led to the discovery of electricity. In +later times, Dr. Franklin, by means of a kite, charged a bottle with +lightning, examined it, and proved lightning and electricity to be +identical. This knowledge, joined to the further discovery, that +electricity would pass freely through metals, led to the modern invention +of the lightning conductor, by means of which all our great buildings, +ships, lighthouses, arsenals, and powder magazines are protected from +lightning. + +"Coming events cast their shadows before them:" the discovery of the +instant transmission of electricity along wires by Stephen Gray and +Wheeler, about the year 1729, fore-shadowed the invention of the electric +telegraph. About the year 1819, Oersted, a Danish philosopher, after +fifteen years of study and experiment, to ascertain the relation of +electricity to magnetism, discovered that if a freely suspended magnetic +needle was supported parallel and near to {16} a wire, and an electric +current then passed through the wire, the needle moved and placed itself at +right angles to the current. This discovery, coupled with the previous one +of the electric conductivity of metals, formed the indispensable basis of +all our electric telegraphs. + +Original research is very productive of new industries and inventions. The +discoveries made by Volta, Faraday, and many other investigators, have led +to the process of electro-plating, the use of electric lights for +lighthouses, and for ocean steamships, and the great system of telegraphs. +Those of Davy, Wedgwood, and others, respecting the action of light upon +salts of silver, have resulted in the modern processes of photography, +which are now in use almost everywhere. The discovery of zinc, by +Paracelsus, has been followed by the use of that metal in galvanic +batteries, and the great use of "galvanized" iron for telegraph wires, for +roofing, and many other purposes. The discovery of nickel, by Cronstedt, +has led to the great modern use of that metal in electro-plating, and to +that of German silver in the construction of electro-plated and other +articles. The discovery of chlorine, by Scheele, formed the basis of nearly +all our modern processes of bleaching cotton and other fabrics. The +discovery of gun-cotton and nitro-glycerine has led to the use of those +substances in blasting rocks and in warfare. The discovery of oxygen, by +Priestley, has enabled us to understand and improve in a great number of +{17} ways the numerous manufacturing, agricultural, and other processes in +which that substance operates. Priestley made many experiments also on the +absorption of gases by water, and proposed the resulting liquids as +beverages; and those apparently trifling experiments have since expanded +into the large manufactures of aerated waters. The discoveries of +gutta-percha and india-rubber were indispensible to the great applications +of those substances in telegraph cables, and in a multitude of useful +articles. The discovery of chloroform and anaesthetics has led to their use +for the purpose of alleviating human suffering. The discovery, by Sir Isaac +Newton, of the decomposition of light by means of a prism, has led in +recent times to the invention of the spectroscope; to the use of that +instrument in the Bessemer steel process; to the discovery of a number of +new metals, thallium, rubidium, caesium, indium, and several others, and to +the most wonderful discovery of the composition of the Sun and distant +heavenly bodies. + +Even the invention of the steam-engine was partly a consequence of previous +researches made by scientific discoverers. Watt, himself, stated in his +pamphlet, entitled "A plain Story," that he could not have perfected his +engine had not Dr. Black and others previously discovered what amount of +heat was rendered latent by the conversion of water into steam. "Each +mechanical advance in the steam-engine has been preceded by and the result +of the {18} discovery of some physical law or property of steam." "The +first step in the invention of the steam-engine was the experimental +research and the discoveries of the properties of steam by Hooke, Boyle, +and Papin."[2] Had not the steam-engine been developed, it is clear that +railways, steamships, machinery, and all the other numerous uses to which +that instrument is now applied, would have been almost unknown. The +introduction of the steam-engine enabled abandoned Cornish mines to be +relieved of water, and to be worked to much greater depths. The discoveries +of nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, oil of vitriol, and washing soda, by the +alchemists and early chemists in their researches, led to the erection of +the numerous great manufactories of those substances which now exist in +England and in other civilized countries. There is probably not an art, +manufacture, or process, which is not largely due to scientific discovery, +and if we trace them back to their source we nearly always find them +originate in scientific research. + +So far has scientific discovery, and its practical applications to human +benefit by invention, now progressed, that every one considers this to be, +_par excellence_, the scientific age. And as discovery and invention +continue to progress with accelerated speed, we are encouraged to hope, not +only that scientific principles will ultimately be universally recognised +as {19} the regulators of all technical industry, but also as a fundamental +basis of morality.[3] + +"It is true that some processes of manufacture have not been consequences +of abstract scientific discovery--that they originally resulted from +alterations made in the rudest appliances, and that they have been directed +and improved by the results of simple experience. For ages past we derived +the benefit of scientific principles without a knowledge of their +existence. We trod in the beaten paths of experience ignorant of the truth +that we were acting in unison with fixed and certain laws. Numerous arts +and processes were in extensive operation long before the principles +involved in them were at all understood. The arts of enamelling and of iron +smelting were known hundreds of years before we were acquainted with the +principles of chemistry. In some rare instances also the recorded results +of daily experience in practical matters, tabulated and studied, have +ultimately led to the discovery of scientific laws; but all this is merely +the making use of our ordinary experience for the advancement of knowledge, +instead of making _special experiments_ for the purpose." + +Many of our processes and manufactures, those of glass and copper for +example, are of such great antiquity, it is impossible to ascertain with +certainty the special circumstances under which they originated; but after +we have fully considered the ways in which {20} various modern trades and +manufactures have first arisen, we shall come to the conclusion that all +manufactures and improvements in manufacturing processes, must have been +first produced by the same general means, viz., new observations, although +the special circumstances connected with the origin of each were different. + +Let us consider German-silver and its manufacture. That substance is an +alloy of copper, zinc, and nickel; it owes its peculiar whiteness or +"silver-like" appearance to the latter metal, and cannot be made without +it; it is certain, therefore, that by whatever means that metal or the +alloy was discovered, the discovery was the origin of the German-silver +manufacture, and was essential to all manufactures, processes, or +appliances in which German-silver, nickel, or any of its compounds are +used. Nickel was discovered by Cronstedt during the year 1751, and its +compounds were chiefly investigated by English and foreign chemists. +Cronstedt found it as a peculiar metal in the mineral called kupfernickel, +whilst chemically examining the properties of that substance. The general +method by which he discovered it was careful experiment, observation, and +study of the properties of matter. + +It is stated that the Chinese and other nations made alloys of nickel long +before nickel itself was known to be a distinct metal; they had found, by +experiment, that when ores of copper and zinc were mixed with a particular +kind of mineral and smelted, {21} a white alloy was obtained; but this also +proves the general statement already made, that the German-silver +manufacture was originated by means of new observations. It was by a more +skilful, but similar mode of procedure that Cronstedt isolated the metal +itself, and thus laid a definite basis of improvements in the manufacture +of its alloys. + +No art is probably more antique, or remained longer exempt from the +influence of science, than that of match making and obtaining a light. Many +adult persons can remember the primitive and old-fashioned tinder-box, +which had passed, with its flint and steel, from one generation to another +without any material improvement. Phosphorus, it is true, was definitely +discovered at least as early as the year 1669, but it was not applied to +match making till about 1833. Since then the progress of invention has been +so rapid that there are now numerous manufactories which produce many +millions per day of phosphorus matches; for instance, those of M. Pollak, +at Vienna, and of M. Fuerth, in Bohemia, consume together more than 20 tons +of phosphorus annually, and give employment to about 6,000 persons, and as +one pound of phosphorus suffices for about one million German matches (or +600,000 English ones), those two makers alone produce the astonishing +number of 44,800 millions of matches yearly. + +Judging by means of the experience already acquired, we cannot reasonably +expect that {22} discoveries fraught with such momentous consequences as +those of magnetism or of galvanism and electro-magnetism, will be made very +often. The progress of scientific discovery is gradual; we have at present +but mere glimpses of the new world of truth which is being revealed to us +by means of research; we are only at the very commencement of a knowledge +of the inherent properties of matter and its forces, and consequently the +methods we employ to utilize them are extremely imperfect. Matter has a +general property of subdividing and transmuting forces; if we apply one +force to a substance or machine, it produces many effects, not only those +we want, but those also we do not want; when we heat a piece of iron, the +heat produces a number of changes, mechanical, electric, magnetic, and +chemical, and it is partly by means of what is termed the "internal +resistance" of bodies that these effects are produced, and we know but +little of that property. The explosive action in a gas engine produces not +only the mechanical force we desire, but also a quantity of heat we do not +want, and at a cost of a portion of the gas. In a similar manner, in the +steam-engine the largest portion of the heat of the coal is converted into +forces which are lost; a large amount of it is uselessly expended in +warming the machine itself and the surrounding atmosphere; much also is +lost by friction. + +That "knowledge is power" is an old maxim, but that _new knowledge is new +power_ is a new maxim {23} which scientific discovery has impressed upon +us. By means of discoveries we have acquired new powers; by those of +electricity we have acquired the ability of conversing with each other at +unlimited distances, and by means of those in optics we are enabled to +analyse the composition, and perceive some of the physical changes of the +most distant heavenly bodies. As our ignorance is probably much greater +than our knowledge, more inventions also, and extensions of human power, +must ultimately result from discovering new qualities of bodies, than by +applying to useful purposes their already known properties. + +Experience in science has already shown that it is by means of invention +based upon _new_ discoveries that the greatest utilities are obtained, +rather than by the exercise of invention upon knowledge acquired long ago. +The information obtained by research in former times has been largely +exhausted for the purposes of invention by modern inventors, and what we +very greatly require now is _new_ knowledge. Experience in science also +leads us to believe that the extent of possible discovery is as boundless +as Nature, and that an immense amount of new knowledge may yet be +discovered. Every discoverer of repute could supply a copious list of +investigations yet to be made. + +An infinite number of questions in pure science remain to be decided by +means of research. Is Electricity decomposible like radiant heat or light? +{24} Are the "elementary substances" really compound bodies? Are they all +compounds of Hydrogen? Are they all decomposed by very high temperatures, +as compound substances are "disassociated" by less elevated temperatures? +Under what conditions is Fluorine isolated? Do gases transmit heat by +conduction? Under what circumstances is Light converted into Electricity? +and into Magnetism? What is the actual size of an atom of Hydrogen? Does +Light (without heat) expand bodies? What is the actual molecular +arrangement of the atoms of Hydrogen at 60 Fahrenheit? What is the cause of +the absence of metalloids in the Sun? What are the properties of Fluorine? +What is the vapour density of Caesium? Under what circumstances is heat +wholly converted into mechanical power? &c., &c. All these discoveries when +made, will probably, sooner or later, be productive of practical benefits +to mankind. + +Nearly every manufacturer in this country is deriving, from scientific +discoveries, advantages for which there has been little or no payment made +to the discoverers. The makers of coal-tar-dyes, and dyers of wool and +silk, are using Mitscherlich's discovery of nitro-benzine. Manufacturers of +picric acid and "French purple" have enjoyed the fruits of the labours of +Dr. Stenhouse. Makers of chlorate of potash and cyanide of potassium are +profiting largely by the discoveries of Scheele, Gay-Lussac, and others. +All the percussion cap makers {25} are indebted to Howard and Brugnatelli +for fulminating silver. Railway-contractors, quarry-proprietors, and +others, use nitro-glycerine discovered by Sobrero. Iron smelters are +benefiting by the discovery of Bunsen, that 42 per cent. of the heat of the +fuel was lost as combustible gases--these gases are now utilized. +Telegraphists and electro-platers are also indebted to him for his voltaic +battery. The producers of metallic magnesium owe the origin of their +process to him as being the first to convert it into wire and make known +its great light giving power. Multitudes of persons now use his well-known +"Bunsen's burner" for heating, cooking, and other operations. The various +telegraph companies, copper smelters, and makers of copper telegraph wire, +are using Dr. Matthiessen's discovery of the influence of impurities on the +electric conducting power of copper. Phosphorus-makers are reaping the +reward of the labours of Gahn and Scheele. The makers of electro-plate and +German silver are deriving profits from the labours of Faraday, who +investigated electrolysis; of Gay Lussac, who discovered cyanogen; and of +Cronstedt, who discovered nickel. Makers of Bessemer steel enjoy advantages +derived from the spectrum discoveries of Kirchoff. Iron and copper +smelters, metallurgists in general, dyers, calico printers, bleachers, +brewers, makers of vinegar, red lead, varnishes, colours, soaps, green +vitriol, phosphorus, oil-of-vitriol, and many others, are deriving benefit +from the discoveries of Priestley and {26} Scheele. Physicians and their +patients are receiving the reward of the labours of Soubeiran, Liebig, and +Dumas, in the discovery of chloroform; of the researches of Fourcroy, +Vauquelin, Pelletier, and others, in the discovery of quinine; and of many +other chemists who discovered numerous remedial substances. By means of the +discoveries of Oersted and others, embodied in the telegraph, manufacturers +are enabled to anticipate the state of the markets and of the weather, and +editors are enabled to obtain the earliest news. + +Suppose that Gay Lussac, in 1815, had not discovered cyanide of potassium, +and that it had never been discovered, it is highly probable that the +manufacturing returns of Birmingham and Sheffield would be much less in +amount at the present time than they are, simply because there is no other +known substance with which the electro-plating of base metals with gold and +silver can be satisfactorily effected. Or suppose that sal-ammoniac, +chloride of zinc, or other soldering agents had not been discovered, the +extensive and so-called "galvanizing" process could not have been effected, +because without those substances the iron articles immersed in the melted +zinc would not have received an adhesive metallic coating. + +On the other hand, science has in various cases rendered obsolete some +manufactures and superseded old customs, comforts and conveniences. We have +ceased, or almost so, to use tinder-boxes, snuffers, {27} sulphur matches, +rush-lights, tallow candles, sedan chairs, stage coaches, the ancient +water-bucket and well, and even the comparatively modern pump; coal fires +also are gradually being superseded by fires of gas, and articles formed of +solid silver are now being replaced by those of electro-plate; canals have +also to some extent been supplanted by railways. But in all these cases +science has supplied us either with something better or more suited to our +present wants. + +The great pecuniary benefits arising from the applications of science are +generally reaped in the first instance by the great manufacturers, +agriculturists, merchants, and capitalists. Countless fortunes have been +made by means of processes and manufactures based upon scientific +discovery. The pecuniary benefits of calico printing, bleaching, dyeing; of +the great manufactures of cotton, iron, pottery, beer, sugar, glass, +spirits, vinegar, gutta-percha, india-rubber, gun cotton, the numerous +metals, machinery, electro-plate, washing soda, German silver, brass, +phosphorus, manures, the common acids, numerous chemicals, and a multitude +of other substances and articles, have been extremely great. More than +eighteen hundred million pounds of sulphuric acid alone are manufactured in +Europe yearly. The pecuniary advantages of the use of the electric +telegraph and railways to merchants, the gains of capitalists by monies +invested in railways, telegraphs, steam-ships, cotton-mills, gas-works, +{28} iron shipbuilding, engineering, and other great applications of +science, have been enormous. The annual gas rental of London alone amounts +to more than two millions sterling; and even in Birmingham the produce of +gas is more than twenty-five hundred millions of cubic feet yearly. The +amount of capital expended in the construction of railways only in this +country, has been estimated at more than seven hundred millions of pounds, +and the total receipts upon British railways has reached forty-three +millions per annum. In the year 1875 our railways carried 200 million tons +of goods, and consumed ten million tons of coal; the Great Northern Railway +alone consumes 5,000 tons of coal each week. In the year 1877 there existed +in the entire world about 198,000 miles of railway, the whole having been +constructed since the year 1825. In the year 1880 six hundred millions of +journeys were made by passengers on British railways; and the stock of +those railways included 13,174 locomotives; 369,694 waggons, 28,717 +passenger carriages, and 22,712 other vehicles. The London and +North-Western Railway Company alone possessed, in the year 1873, no less +than 1,900 locomotive engines, each of a value of nearly two thousand +pounds; 4,000 carriages and 36,000 waggons; and it has been estimated by +competent authorities, that there are in the world 200,000 steam-engines, +having a total power of twelve million horses, or 100 million men. The +number of cotton spindles on the whole Earth is {29} estimated at about 711/4 +millions. In the United States of America there are about five thousand +telegraph stations, and 75,000 miles of line, which transmit yearly about +11,500,000 messages.--The telegrams of Great Britain number about +one-fourth of a million per week. The world's telegrams during the year +1877 numbered nearly 130 millions; and the world's letters about 3,300 +millions, or 91/4 millions each day. Even the little phosphorus match is +being manufactured and consumed at a rate estimated at more than ten +thousand millions daily. + +Much of the wealth of this country, resulting from science, has been very +easily obtained by its possessors. That acquired by means of our coal has +especially been obtained without commensurate effort. The amount of that +substance raised in Great Britain during the year 1876 was 734 millions of +tons. To draw upon a great stock of that mineral is like drawing money from +a bank, because coal, unlike any other abundant substance (except wood and +petroline), contains in itself an immense store of energy, which is evolved +as heat during combustion, and may be utilized. Each piece of coal contains +sufficient energy to lift its own weight twenty-three hundred miles, but it +costs only a small proportion of that power to extract and raise it from +the mine. I do not mean by these remarks to imply that the wealth accruing +from this great store of power in coal is derived chiefly by the owners of +coal mines. {30} + +This acquisition of wealth without commensurate sacrifice is not an +unqualified advantage; it constitutes a debt to nature, which upon the +great principle of causation, and of equivalency of action and reaction, +must sooner or later be repaid. Judging from the infallibility of the +action of those laws, and the signs of the times, this nation is now +beginning to repay in the form of emigration of trade to other lands, and +of relatively less rapid national advance, the debt incurred by undue +pecuniary success. An excess of money or power obtained without equivalent +effort, fails to properly develop the intelligence of its possessors, and +nations have been hastened to ruin in this way. Our great success in +getting money has attracted many from the pursuit of knowledge, and our +love of knowledge has not increased as fast as our wealth. The wealth of +the upper classes has, by decoying from study undisciplined young men at +our old Universities, kept down the general standard of scientific +instruction throughout the country, and, by leading to neglect of +scientific research, is now retarding our progress in arts, manufactures, +commerce, and civilization. The consequent relative poverty of the working +classes is also producing similar effects by retarding education, and +contributing towards the great deficiency of skilled labour, of which our +inventors, manufacturers, and others so strongly complain in the working of +their scientific processes. Had a just share of the great amount of money, +gained by the application of science to useful {31} purposes, been applied +to the payment and maintenance of scientific discoverers and inventors, as +it should have been, the general standard of scientific education would +have been higher, the poor would have had more employment and money, and +the happiness and civilization of all would have been greater. + +In a usual way the greatest pecuniary benefits, arising from science, +sooner or later go to enrich the possessors of land. The demand created for +coal, iron, lime, building-stone, and all the metals, by the industrial +applications of science, has greatly increased the value of land under +which those substances lie. The value of cultivated land has been +everywhere increased by the discoveries of agricultural chemistry. Land has +also been required for railways in nearly all parts of the kingdom, and has +thereby been considerably raised in value. Discoveries produce inventions, +inventions give rise to processes and manufactures, the employment of +workmen and others, and the erection of workshops and dwellings, and these +have rapidly increased the value of building ground. In Lancashire the +value of such ground has been greatly increased by the inventions of the +steam-engine and machinery, the discovery of chlorine, and their +application to cotton manufacture. In all the great manufacturing +districts, and in all the chief centres of industry, a similar result has +occurred. Wherever a railway has been constructed, the value of land has +also increased in {32} consequence of the increased facilities of +communication. All these great additions to the value of land are largely +due to the unpaid labours of scientific discoverers, and it may be said +that this nation has largely gained its wealth, and is still living in a +great degree on the products of those labours. Those great additions to the +value of land are also permanent, are continually increasing, and are +largely independent of any exertions on the part of the owners. That many +other influences, besides that of science, have contributed to the +development of our manufacturing and commercial prosperity is also true, +but it would be foreign to the subject of the present chapter to point them +out. + +It is a fallacious argument to say that scientific discovery and increased +value of land are only remotely connected together, a cause as certainly +produces its effect, however many connections lie between them, provided +the connections are certain--the number of links in a chain makes no +difference in the transmission of motion from one end of it to the other. +Great causes are frequently distant and wide-spread in their effects. +Persons in general can easily understand that an acorn planted in the +ground will in the course of time become an oak, because it is a palpable +and visible effect; but they cannot so readily perceive that the benefits +resulting from a knowledge of science ramify through all our manufacturing, +artistic, and commercial occupations, our social and moral {33} relations, +and our every-day life, not because the dependence of our welfare upon +science is less real, but partly because the connection between the two is +less understood. + +Not only has science benefited manufacturers, but also operatives, because +the extension of science to manufacturing purposes has compelled them to +make themselves acquainted with intellectual subjects. "Instead of +remaining mere machines, mechanically performing the work set before them, +they are obliged to exercise the faculties of observation and judgment in +watching the results and directing the action of mechanical, physical, and +chemical powers. Instead of following the blind path of experience, using +unknown forces to accomplish some definite result, they pursue their +labours with the aid of known and certain laws." It is true that in many +cases artisans who have acquired a little knowledge of science have thereby +been rendered conceited and unfit for their special employment, and this +has made many manufacturers object to technical scientific education for +their servants; but this would not be so much the case if scientific +knowledge were more generally and equally diffused. Arguments are not +unfrequently adduced to support the opinion that ignorance has its +advantages; but, however great the advantages of ignorance may be, those of +knowledge are greater. + +In consequence of the labours of scientific discoverers and inventors, the +progress of science is {34} such that in a very few years a knowledge of it +will be indispensible to all persons engaged in superintending or carrying +out manufacturing operations, and in all arts, occupations and appointments +in which man is dealing with matter. Science is fast penetrating into all +our manufactures and occupations, and "those who are unscientific will have +much less employment and will be left behind in the race of life." England +also will be compelled, by the necessities of human progress and the +advance of foreign intellect, to determine and recognize the proper value +of scientific research as a basis of progress. National superiority can +only be maintained by being first in the race, and not by buying inventions +of other nations. + +The philosophy of matter is the foundation of all manufacturing arts and +artistic processes; technical education, or the relation of science to +manufactures, &c., can only be properly imparted upon the basis of a +sufficient knowledge of theoretical science. Science tends to abbreviate +mental and bodily labour. The use of our reason saves us the labour of +using our senses, because it enables us to know that under certain +conditions a certain effect must occur. The use of our reason and senses +also saves us using our hands. + +The properties of a single substance are so numerous that if a workman was +to thoroughly study the whole of them, he would become a scientific +authority in the subjects of heat, light, electricity, {35} magnetism, and +chemistry. A blacksmith who knew all the physical and chemical properties +and relations of iron and steel would be quite a scientific philosopher. + +No man has more occasion to bless the introduction of the steam-engine, +machinery, the galvanic battery, and science in general, than the working +mechanic, because it has mitigated his physical toil by giving him the duty +of simply directing the labour instead of actually performing it; whilst it +has deprived him of one kind of employment it has provided him with +something better. But a few years ago the operatives in the silver-plating +trade had to lay the silver on the articles with their hands, with the aid +of a soldering iron; now they have simply to set their batteries in action +and watch the electricity doing it for them. In a similar manner the +working engineer at his metal-turning lathe has merely to direct the action +of his tools whilst the steam-engine performs the heavy labour of turning. + +There is not a man in this kingdom who has not derived some advantage, in +one way or another, from scientific research. The advantages of gas light, +electric light, rapid postal service and transmission of goods, railway +travelling, steam-ships for navigation, cotton apparel, photography, cheap +pottery, improved medicine and surgery, telegraphic forecasts of weather, +Australian preserved meats, &c., &c., have been reaped more or less by +everyone, even the very paupers. Not only has travelling been {36} +considerably cheapened and immensely increased, but also rendered more +safe:--in travelling by diligence in France the average number of persons +injured was 1 to every 30,000 carried; and killed, 1 in every 335,000; but +by railway, notwithstanding the average length of the journey has greatly +increased, the former has been diminished to 1 in 580,000, and the latter +to one in five millions; safety in travelling by sea has also been greatly +increased by means of improved lighthouses. By the rapid transmission of +messages by telegraphs and of commodities by steam-ships and railways, the +horrors of famine have been largely diminished; the health of this nation +has also been improved by greater variety of foods, and the increasing cost +of meat has been restrained. It is well known that in periods of famine, +the great loss of life has arisen, not from universal scarcity of food, but +from the loss of time in ordering and conveying it. Whilst also the +steam-engine has been the means of relieving hundreds of thousands of men +from mere animal toil; it has, with the aid of the printing-press, supplied +them with cheap daily intelligence. + +Science has also proved itself to be a great source of employment, as well +as wealth. By developing new processes it has given employment to whole +armies of workmen in numerous arts, manufactures, and occupations. Some of +those employments necessitating scientific training. About 300,000 persons +are employed on railways alone in Great {37} Britain, besides those who +were engaged in their construction; and in the postal department alone of +the telegraph service of this country more than fifteen thousand operatives +are employed. Chemical works also find employment for twenty-six thousand, +and gasworks for ten thousand work people. The telegraphs of the United +States of America alone, provide employment for about 7,000 persons; and +the railways of the world employ about 1,900,000 men. + +It may be objected that the extension of science in this country, instead +of increasing employment for workmen has produced an opposite effect, by so +increasing the production of goods by machinery, and by physical and +chemical processes, that we have glutted the markets of the world in years +gone by, and are now suffering the results of over-production. This is a +very limited view of the case; over-production is only true of particular +manufactures, and is a result of ill-directed commercial energy, to which +manufacturing skill is only a servant. The objection also contains its own +reply;--that it is certainly much greater to our advantage to have supplied +other nations with manufactured commodities, than that other nations should +have supplied us, as they would have done had they the manufacturing skill. +At present, however, continental nations are gradually supplanting us in +manufactures; and gradually supplying us with the goods which we {38} +formerly supplied them, and our fear is that this is largely a result of +our neglect of science. + +In many cases instead of superseding labour, science has changed its kind, +or its mode of distribution;--in the case of steam-ships, instead of +navigation being conducted entirely by nautical ability, it is partly +effected by the skill of the engineer; conveyance of goods by road and +canal has not been entirely supplanted, but partly supplemented by +conveyance by railways. The diminution of labour which sometimes occurs in +consequence of the progress of science is extremely small compared with its +increase. The number of waggoners and horses now employed, merely to +collect and deliver all the goods for railways, is actually much greater +than the whole of those employed for conveying all the goods of the country +before railways were constructed. + +It would be altogether a false argument to say that the practical benefits +derived from the labour of scientific discoverers by the different classes +of the community are uncertain or imaginary, because the discoveries and +the practical benefits are not in all cases immediately connected. We know +that the consumers of tea in this country derive benefit from the grower of +that herb in China through the hands of a series of intervening agents, as +certainly as if they received the tea direct from his hands. Cause and +effect are inseparable, and the remote effect of a {39} series of connected +causes is not less certain than the immediate ones. + +It is a remarkable fact, that of the multitude of rich manufacturers, +merchants, capitalists, and land-owners in this country, who have derived +such great pecuniary benefits from original scientific research, there is +scarcely one who has ever given to a scientific society, institution, or +investigator, a single thousand pounds for the aid of pure research in +experimental physics or chemistry;[4] the nearest approach to exceptions +are a very few wealthy persons who have devoted themselves personally to +scientific discovery. Manufacturers have willingly reaped the advantages of +the labours of unpaid discoverers, but have not adequately sowed the means +of future progress. Many of those manufacturers and others would, however, +willingly give money towards such an object if they understood the value +and the necessity of scientific research. + +Whilst also many millions of pounds are annually expended in this country +upon religious, philanthropic and other good objects, there is scarcely a +scientific society or institution (with the exception of the Royal Society +and the British Association) which expends even the small sum of five +hundred pounds a year on pure experimental research in physics or {40} +chemistry. In the Royal Institution of Great Britain, the average annual +expenses relating to experimental research, including salaries to +assistants for research in the laboratory, from the year 1867 to 1871, did +not amount to two hundred and fifty pounds. On the other hand, the "total +net receipts" of the British and Foreign Bible Society alone, amount to +about L213,000 a year. These circumstances strongly indicate extreme +ignorance of the value and necessity of new scientific knowledge, and an +equally strong desire to aid any good object which is understood. The money +given to charitable and religious objects is largely a result of the unpaid +labours of scientific investigators in the manner already described. The +fact that verifiable truth is seriously neglected, whilst millions of +pounds are annually devoted in this country to the support of dogmas and +doctrines, proves that the English nation is even now in a very imperfectly +civilized state. + +Considering the multiplicity and variety of philanthropic institutions and +bequests in this country, and the great effect original scientific research +has in ameliorating the condition of mankind, and reducing the amount of +human misery, it is surprising that no wealthy philanthropic individual has +bequeathed funds for the endowment of an institution for pure research in +physics or chemistry.[5] In {41} America, the Smithsonian Institution was +founded at Washington by benevolent and patriotic persons,[6] "for the +increase and diffusion of knowledge among men," and one of the objects of +that institution is "to enlarge the existing stock of knowledge by the +addition of new truths," and a portion of its plan is "to stimulate men of +talent to make original researches by offering suitable rewards for memoirs +containing new truths," and "to appropriate annually a portion of the +income for particular researches." + +What is the reason that scientific research is not sufficiently encouraged +in England? It is chiefly ignorance. There are very few good and important +subjects, understood by the public, which are not in this country greatly +assisted, nor many valuable public servants, whose labours are understood, +who do not receive liberal payment and reward; and scientific research and +discoverers therefore are neglected, not wilfully, nor because persons are +unwilling to encourage good objects, but because scientific discovery and +its great value to the nation are so little known. Scarcely a member of our +legislature, or of our Universities, is fully acquainted with the national +importance of scientific discovery,[7] and it {42} would probably be +impossible to find a subject of such great magnitude so little understood. +Comparatively few persons have clear ideas of the essential differences +between scientific instruction and research. + +Scientific research can only be successfully pursued by employing the +highest motive--viz., a love of truth in preference to all things; and this +is a condition which very few persons really understand, and a principle +which a still smaller number practise. Men in this country are so +accustomed to be actuated by the less noble motive of immediate +self-interest or of some apparent practical result, that they cannot +perceive that in scientific investigation the most valuable results can +only be obtained by employing the highest motive. However necessary and +effective the motive of immediate self-interest or of apparent practical +result may be in ordinary affairs of life, it will not enable a man to make +many discoveries, because it leads him away from those which are possible +to search for others which may or may not be possible. The beginning of +discoveries are often so very small, that it requires acute senses and +observation in order to perceive them; and if the mind is preoccupied with +a desire to discover some particular practical object, new phenomena are +overlooked. In discovery, man must follow where Nature leads. + +Another cause of want of encouragement of research, is the natural +selfishness which exists, {43} though in very different degrees, in all +men. Many wealthy persons wish things to remain as they are. Some +manufacturers would not aid research unless they could monopolize its +advantages. Students also generally prefer those subjects which are best +rewarded, and do not sufficiently consider their intrinsic value. The love +of truth for truth's sake alone is very weak in most men, and but few men +make the greatest good their chief object in life. + +The extreme ignorance in this country of the value of scientific research, +is also largely due to the narrowness of the "practical" character of the +English mind; men cannot perceive the deep-seated and universal sources of +their wealth, and they prefer those occupations which yield the most +obviously remunerative results. It is also partly due to scientific +investigators themselves not having pleaded their own cause; such men have +been so absorbed in the more important occupation of discovery, that they +have, probably more than any other class of persons, neglected to enforce +the just claims of their own subject. It is, however, chiefly caused by the +influence of misapplied wealth, operating through the old Universities and +large public schools. The sons of the wealthy are most of them educated at +those institutions, and according to evidence supplied by University +authorities to Royal Commissioners, many persons send their sons to those +places for other purposes than to acquire learning, and allow them too much +money. The considerable wealth of {44} these young men supplies them with +attractions which decoy them from industrious study, and the wishes of the +parents and students have been largely acquiesced in by the tutors and +college authorities. At our old Universities also, physical and chemical +knowledge is very much less rewarded than some other subjects, though +latterly a considerable improvement has been made in this respect, but even +now there is not a University in the kingdom in which a knowledge in +scientific research is necessary in order to obtain the highest scientific +honour.[8] In these various ways physical and chemical science has been +kept very low in our chief seats of learning; and scientific research is +greatly neglected by the governing authorities. + +It is reasonable to suppose that Universities should be fountains of new +theoretical scientific knowledge, as well as be the disseminators of it, +and that they (especially the old ones with their rich endowments) would be +certain to promote scientific research, as being especially a part of their +functions; but such is not the case. Our old Universities have not +established any professorships of original research; they make no payment +for such labour, nor reimburse any expenditure incurred in such occupation, +and afford but little facility for the prosecution of pure scientific +inquiry. Further, they discourage scientific discovery by giving the +greatest emoluments, and the {45} highest honours in science they have to +bestow, to young men who have never made a single original research, or +discovered a new fact in science. The money paid in the form of +comparatively sinecure fellowships, or retiring pensions to young men in +Oxford alone, "now amounts to about eighty or ninety thousand pounds a +year." It may be objected that young men are not capable of doing original +research, but as they do it in German Universities, they can also do it in +England, if they are properly disciplined, and are not decoyed from +industry by the possession or expectation of wealth. A man who has never +made a scientific research is not the most worthy recipient of the highest +scientific honours, and in Germany it would not be given to him; he is not +properly disciplined in the detection of error or the discernment of truth +in matters of science; he is deficient in accuracy of scientific judgment, +and in the true spirit of scientific inquiry. + +It is unnecessary to speak of what has been done during the last few years +at our old Universities and great public schools, in the erection of +laboratories, and in other ways for the promotion of science, because it +has been for the purposes of instruction, and not of original research. No +amount of ordinary instruction in science will remedy the evils caused by +want of original inquiry, because such instruction does not produce new +knowledge, but only disseminates that already possessed. {46} + +Many persons in this country think that all scientific men are +investigators, and that a portion of the funds of scientific institutions +generally are expended upon investigation, but such is rarely the case. +Many also consider that those scientific men who are applying new knowledge +are discovering new truths. And nearly all persons look upon inventors as +the only really practical scientific men, and upon discoverers as +unpractical enthusiasts who spend their lives in pursuit of vague theories. +But whilst the inventor is a great and useful agent of civilization, there +is one behind him who is greater than he, viz., the man who provides him +with the new knowledge upon which all his inventions must be based. + +The general aspect in which scientific research is viewed by many persons +in this country, is that of a refined intellectual pursuit, which may be +encouraged and honoured for the purpose of maintaining the tone of society. +The question, however, is not whether this nation shall encourage research +as a refined intellectual occupation, but whether it will contribute +towards its own welfare by aiding scientific discovery. + +Many persons also look upon scientific research as a hobby or as +unpractical, and upon discoverers as mere accumulators of knowledge, but +this is simply in consequence of their ignorance of the subject; if +discoveries were commercial commodities, the practical character of +research would be within their {47} comprehension. A man who discovers +knowledge for the use of invention is quite as practical a person as he who +converts that knowledge into inventions fit for practical uses. The men who +thus lead practical men must be practical themselves. Scientific +discoverers may be considered the most practical men in existence, because +their labours give rise to greater and more numerous practical results than +those of any other persons. The discovery of a single substance, such as +oil-of-vitriol, or washing-soda, has led to the formation of many valuable +inventions, patented or otherwise, and to the establishment of thousands of +manufactories. It is well known also that scientific discoverers are ardent +lovers of truth, and are therefore very willing to communicate their +knowledge for the good of mankind, and that manufacturers, men of business, +and others, not unfrequently obtain from them and from their published +researches, information of great value to themselves without even expecting +to pay for it; forgetting that a scientific man may communicate in a +passing remark, information which cost him years of labour to obtain. + +Some persons also think that science is changeable and uncertain--that the +discoveries of one generation are disproved by those of another, because +they occasionally see scientific theories altered and superseded. But the +real truth of the case is that the changes in the aspect of science which +we continually witness do not often result from _alterations_ in our {48} +stock of positive knowledge, but from _additions_ made to it. Demonstrable +truth is imperishable. It is true that many theories have been invented and +entertained for a while in the minds of scientific men, and have then +passed away, but we must remember that these are only the scaffolding of +science, and no part of its real fabric. They consist of ideas which, +whilst they assist us in understanding science, and in making discoveries, +form no real part of our positive knowledge. + +Other persons seem to think that the laws of matter are different in the +laboratory from what they are in the workshop; that the principles which +regulate a scientific experiment are different from those which govern a +large manufacturing process; but this is a wrong idea. The laws of matter +are universal, substances have nearly the same properties in all places and +in the hands of all men; water boils at the same temperature whether in the +retort of a chemist, the saucepan of a kitchenmaid, or the pan of a +soap-boiler; iron wire is as readily deprived of its rust in a chemist's +acid bottle as in a wire-drawer's pickling tub; a piece of phosphorus will +as readily ignite in the hands of a chemist as in those of a match maker; a +galvanic battery yields the same quantity of electricity whether it be in +the hands of an experimentalist or in those of a working electro-plater. + +It is true that many things which have appeared very promising in theory or +in experiment, have {49} failed altogether in practice, but why is this? it +is not that the principles of nature operated in the one case and did not +operate in the other, but that we have imperfectly understood them, that +from some unforeseen circumstances we have been unable to apply them; or +that we have indolently abandoned them without sufficient or proper trial. +In many cases we are unable to obtain the same conditions of success upon +the large scale that we have upon the small one. In other cases a process +fails because of its too great expense; many attempts have been made to +supersede steam as a motive power by means of electro-magnetism, and +engines driven by that force have been constructed of five or ten +horse-power, but the cost of driving them has been found to be at least ten +times the amount of that of the steam-engine of equal strength. And in +other cases we fail because we attempt _at once_ to carry out upon a large +scale that which has only been the subject of limited experiment, instead +of enlarging the process by small degrees, and adapting the apparatus, the +materials and the treatment, to the size of the operation. + +That also which appears very simple in the hands of an experimentalist, +almost invariably becomes much more complex when carried into practice in a +manufactory, simply because there is then a greater number of conditions to +be fulfilled. Electro-plating a piece of steel with silver is to a chemist +a very simple matter, because it is of no importance to him {50} whether +the silver adheres firmly, is of good colour, or is deposited at a certain +cost; but with a _manufacturer_ unless _all_ these conditions are +fulfilled, the process is a failure. These matters, however, belong to +invention and not to original discovery. + +We should not condemn theoretical science because we are not able, even +with fair and persevering trial, to apply it to any useful purpose, but +wait patiently until circumstances ripen for its application. Many +inventions which are inapplicable in one state of knowledge become +applicable by the progress of scientific research. The idea of an electric +telegraph, attempted by Mr. Ronalds, in the year 1816, with the aid of +frictional electricity, had to wait the development of the galvanic battery +and the discovery of electro-magnetism before it could be successfully +applied. + +Many manufacturers seem to think that because some of their operations are +completely routine, and have been handed down to them by their predecessors +in nearly their present state, they are not at all indebted to science; but +there is no manufacture, especially among metals, which has not in some +degree been aided by scientific discovery. + +In addition to the great benefits accruing from original research to all +classes of society, our Governments have also derived immense advantages +from the same source. The revenues have been greatly increased by the +universal advantages conferred upon all kinds of industry and commerce by +{51} scientific knowledge. The additional taxes upon increased incomes from +agriculture, arts, manufactures, mines; increased value of land and rents; +investments in railway, telegraph, steam-ship and other companies, have +been extremely great. From the sale of patents alone, a surplus sum of +nearly six hundred thousand pounds has already accumulated. Our Governments +are also indebted to original research for the use of percussion-powder, +gun-cotton, improvements in cannon, projectiles, rifles, armour-plated +ships, the ocean telegraph, field telegraph, the telephone, rapid postal +communication, the speedy transport of troops and war-material, and a +multitude of other advantages. The value of science to Governments in the +prevention of war by means of more ready correspondence through telegraph +is incalculable. Mr. Sumner, of America, at the period when the Atlantic +telegraph was first employed, stated that the use of that telegraph averted +a probable rupture between Great Britain and America. There was a period +when we did not possess such evidence of the great value of science; but +that time has now passed away, and our governing men have had abundant +proof of the national importance of scientific discovery, and of the +essential dependence of the welfare of this country upon scientific +research. + +Whilst vast sums of money are spent upon the applications of science in +military and naval affairs, research itself is neglected; the +superstructure is {52} attended to, but the foundations are left to decay. +A very small proportion of the money which is expended upon military +affairs would, if devoted to research, save a great deal of expense in +warfare:-- + + "Were half the power, that fills the world with terror,-- + Were half the wealth, bestowed on camps and courts, + Given to redeem the human mind from error, + There were no need of arsenals nor forts."--LONGFELLOW. + +Our Government has as yet made but little payment for the labour of pure +research in experimental physics or chemistry; it has, however, given four +thousand pounds a year for five years to be distributed by the Royal +Society among scientific investigators, partly as personal payment. Income +tax is deducted from these grants. + +Want of recognition of the value of science has been so general in this +country, that it is quite pleasing to quote a somewhat different case from +the _Illustrated London News_, January 4th, 1873, viz., that of the late +Archibald Smith, L.L.D., F.R.S. That gentleman was an investigator in pure +mathematical science, and devoted the latter part of his life to the +_application_ of mathematics in the computation, reduction, and discussion +of the deviation of the mariners' compass in wooden and in iron ships, and +made practical deductions therefrom in the construction of those vessels. +He published those practical applications of his scientific knowledge in +the form of an Admiralty Manual, which was afterwards reprinted in various +languages. Her Majesty's Government {53} subsequently "requested his +acceptance of a gift of two thousand pounds, not as a reward, but as a mark +of appreciation of the value of his researches, and of the influence they +were exercising on the maritime interests of England and the world at +large." The kind of labour rewarded in this case was not scientific +discovery, but the practical application of previously existing scientific +knowledge. + +The case of the late Dr. Stenhouse, F.R.S., is one of rather an opposite +kind. That gentleman devoted his life throughout to pure investigations in +organic chemistry, and published several of his researches in the +Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.[9] His discoveries are +very numerous, and although not much applied to practical uses by himself, +the result of his researches on Lichens, and the yellow gum of Botany Bay, +have been applied extensively by other persons in the manufacture of +"French purple" and picric acid, and will doubtless continue to be applied +to valuable uses. He held the Government appointment of Assayer to the +Royal Mint, London, an office for several years unprofitable to him, but of +increasing remunerative value, and which would have been subsequently worth +L1,200 a year; but after the decease of his colleague, Dr. Miller, in 1870, +that office, which was then worth to him about L600 a year, was abolished +by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and he lost the {54} appointment, +receiving, however, L500 as compensation. An application was therefore made +to the Government, and a partial recompense to him was obtained, by Her +Majesty granting him one hundred pounds a year "for eminence in chemical +attainments, and on account of loss by suppression of office in the Mint." +The only difference in these two instances, was, that in the second there +was a very much greater amount of pure research and discovery, and a much +smaller degree of applied knowledge. + +These instances illustrate the statement, that however great an amount of +valuable knowledge in pure science a man may discover and publish, or +however freely he may provide others with the materials of invention and +wealth, if he never invents anything, nor applies his knowledge to useful +purposes, he is usually less rewarded even than an inventor. "The more +intrinsically valuable the labour, and the greater the degree of profound +original thought required to direct it, the less is it usually appreciated +by the governing men of a nation." Absorbed in exciting questions relating +to political emergencies, and national matters requiring immediate +attention, even men of great administrative ability fail to appreciate the +less direct though more fundamental sources of a nation's happiness and +wealth. In harmony with these instances also, we find that it is not the +pure sciences, but the concrete and applied ones, such as meteorology, +geology, natural history, &c., in the Meteorological Department, the {55} +Geological Survey, the British and South Kensington Museums, the Geological +Museum, &c., and the National Gallery of Art, which have received the +greatest degree of support from our Governments. + +That discoverers are not treated by us as we treat other valuable members +of the community is quite clear; either a physician, a judge, divine, +lawyer, or railway superintendent of high ability, obtain from one to many +thousand pounds a year, but a discoverer in pure physics or chemistry is, +in scarcely any case, paid anything for his labour. That most eminent +discoverer, Faraday, received for his scientific lectures at the Royal +Institution of Great Britain, only L200 a year and apartments, during many +years, and absolutely nothing for his great discoveries; and during the +remainder of his life he only received a few hundred pounds per annum, +including a pension of L300 pounds a year from Government. In contrast with +this, the general manager of the Midland Railway has L4,000 a year. A +General of our army receives L2,000, and a Field Marshal L4,000 a year (See +"Whitaker's Almanack," 1873, pp. 121 and 138). A Head Master of either of +the great public schools obtains from L3,000 a year upwards. An Archbishop +of Canterbury receives L15,000 a year, besides a great amount of influence +and power in the form of patronage to 183 livings, a palatial residence, +and a seat in the House of Peers. A Bishop of London has L10,000, the +patronage of 98 livings, and a seat in the House of Lords. I do not, {56} +however, mean to imply that these large emoluments are not deserved. Whilst +also there are nearly 13,000 church benefices in England (See the "Clergy +List," also "Whitaker's Almanack," 1873, pp. 153 and 155, and "Walford's +County Families," 1872, pp. 173 and 610), there is scarcely a single +appointment entirely devoted to scientific discovery, nor a single +professorship in original research in science. I leave my readers to judge +to what extent these instances illustrate the statement that discoverers +are not treated by us as we treat other valuable members of the community. +Partly in consequence of the foregoing neglect, the proportion of persons +wholly devoted to scientific research in this country probably does not +much exceed one in one million of the population. + +It is scarcely credible that in a wealthy and civilized country, whilst the +non-productive classes are protected in the enjoyment of titles and +material wealth which in many cases they have not earned, the greatest +scientific benefactors of the nation are constrained to live in straitened +circumstances whilst working for the pecuniary and other advantages of +those classes, and of manufacturers, capitalists, land-owners, and the +nation in general. By these remarks it is not intended to imply that +discoverers are intentionally neglected; but that the injustice they suffer +is a disgrace to this country, and reflects discredit upon the governing +classes, and especially upon those who reap the greatest advantage. {57} + +The men who are rewarded highly in this country are not always those who +yield the greatest service to the nation, but frequently those who render +the most immediate or most apparent benefit; to stop short at this cannot +produce the greatest degree of success. The national services of a great +discoverer are probably not equalled by those of any man. Who can estimate +the value of the commercial, social, moral, political, and other great +advantages to the world, of Oersted's discovery of the principle of +electro-magnetism, which enabled the invention of the electric telegraph to +be made? The men we reward the highest are not those who discover +knowledge, but those who use or apply it; physicians, judges, bishops, +lawyers, railway managers, military and naval officers, and head masters of +schools, all of them gentlemen who render great services to the nation, by +using, diffusing, and applying knowledge already possessed. + +It requires less rare ability to apply knowledge to new purposes by means +of invention, than to discover it; it is still less difficult to diffuse it +by means of tuition and lectures, because the labours of a teacher consist +largely of a repitition of other men's discoveries and inventions; and to +use scientific knowledge in the ordinary business of every-day life, +requires a still more common degree of ability. + +A chief reason why ordinary business capacity is paid for whilst original +research is not, is the fact that research is not considered a necessity; +many {58} persons do not perceive its immense future value. Men perform +those duties first which they feel they must: they are also willing to pay +for the performance of those duties which press most urgently upon them, +and defer all other kinds of labour that they consider will bear +postponement. Most men act upon this rule, until they acquire a habit of +sacrificing the future to the present, of neglecting more important matters +in order to attend to less, and of living too much for money, without +sufficient regard for the more valuable condition, viz., individual and +national improvement. These circumstances also largely explain the fact +that it requires more pressure to induce individuals or governing bodies to +aid original research than to assist any other good object. Other chief +reasons why persons in general cannot perceive the great practical value of +new scientific truth are, because the perception of it requires a +scientifically trained mind. The greatest truths are frequently the least +obvious, and are therefore valued the least. + +It may be objected that research is not aided, because it sometimes takes a +long time to acquire a practical shape and make it pay. We do not omit to +plant an acorn because it requires many years to become an oak; we do not +neglect to rear a child because he may not live to become a man; but we +leave scientific discovery to take care of itself. The intense desire which +exists in this country for "quick returns" has shewn itself in the much +greater readiness to aid technical education than to promote {59} permanent +progress by means of original research. But the discoveries made in such a +place as the Royal Institution of Great Britain have had a vastly greater +beneficial effect upon civilization than that of any technical institution +which has ever existed. + +In a letter received by me from the Duke of Somerset, and which I have +permission to publish, the true state of things in this country in relation +to pure research is stated with remarkable accuracy and brevity:-- + +"The hindrances to scientific studies in this country are very many. The +gentry are almost invariably educated by the clergy, and the clergy have +seldom had time or opportunities for any scientific study. They usually +take pupils or become tutors as soon as they have taken their degrees, and +can only teach the Latin and Greek which they have themselves learned. The +commercial classes value what they call practical science; this means some +application of science for the purpose of making money. Competitive +examinations may promote a superficial acquaintance with the elements of +science, but are unfavourable to the development of scientific culture. The +scientific associations tend to degrade science by exhibiting scientific +men as candidates for applause from assemblies which seek amusement and +startling results from lectures and experiments. The advancement of +science, is therefore, left to comparatively few men, who are unregarded +and unrewarded." {60} + +To remedy this state of things we require a general encouragement of pure +scientific inquiry by the State and Universities. It is thought by some +persons who have given special attention to the subject, that the State +ought to encourage such research and science in general, by appointing a +Minister of Science possessing scientific knowledge and good administrative +ability; a Scientific Council to advise our Governments in all important +matters relating to science; and by establishing State laboratories for +pure scientific inquiry, with discoverers of repute in them wholly engaged +in research in their respective subjects. + +There are also many new experiments, investigations, and explorations, +which neither private individuals, nor even corporate bodies, such as the +Royal Society, the British Association, Geographical Society, can +effectually make, and which only a Government can carry out, such as Arctic +expeditions, trigonometrical surveys, deep sea dredging operations, +magnetic observations, determinations of longitude, meteorological and +astronomical observations, researches on tides, observations of +earthquakes, determinations of the height of mountains and the density of +the crust of the earth, experiments on the best form of ships, geographical +explorations, and many others. + +It is clear from the enormous advantages which this nation has already +derived from scientific discovery in physics and chemistry, pursued with +only {61} the aid of the very limited means of private persons, that had +research in those subjects been sufficiently supported, the manufactures, +arts, commerce, wealth, and civilization of this country would have been +much greater than they are; emigration also of the industrious classes, +disease, pauperism, crime, the evil effects of famine, etc., would have +been much less. The amount of knowledge and riches obtainable by means of +research and invention is practically unlimited, and it is astonishing that +this immense source of industry and wealth in a nation should have been so +neglected by our Governments. The practical value of new scientific +knowledge is vastly greater than that of all our goldfields or even of our +coal supply, because it would not only enable us to obtain from coal +several times the amount of available heat and mechanical power we now +secure, but also to apply to our wants the numerous other materials +composing the crust of our globe and the contents of our oceans; also all +terrestrial forces, the internal heat, the tidal energy and atmospheric +currents, and the immense amount of power this Earth is continually +receiving from the Sun. Whilst at present vast amounts of materials and +energy remain unutilized, nearly all those terrestrial substances and +forces might probably be rendered of service to us if we possessed +sufficient knowledge. + +That scientific research is a far greater source of wealth and wellbeing +than our stores of coal is easily proved. At present we obtain in our best +{62} steam-engines only about one-seventh (or less) of the mechanical power +producible by the combustion of the coal, the remainder being lost in +various ways. And this occurs simply because we have not yet discovered a +method of wholly converting heat into mechanical power. In some other +instances we are able to convert one force wholly into another without +loss, as for example: the chemical action of a voltaic cell into +electricity; and by means of research we shall probably be enabled to +effect a similar complete conversion of other powers into each other. The +effect of converting heat wholly into mechanical power would be equal to +increasing our stock of coals for that purpose to seven times its present +amount. This instance is only one of the many thousand possible ways in +which research may yet prove of value to mankind. + +It is true that a very large amount of original research in physics and +chemistry has been done in this country; the contents of our scientific +journals and of the publications of our various Learned Societies prove +this. It is also true that the English nation has been pre-eminently active +in applying scientific knowledge to practical uses by means of inventions, +and has been generally the first in carrying out inventions on a large +scale. We have been either the first, or nearly so, in developing +steam-engines, railways, locomotives, rapid trains, gas works, flour mills, +blast-furnaces, cotton machinery, cheap postage, light-houses, +electro-plating, lucifer-matches, {63} electric-telegraphs, submarine +electric cables, great engineering establishments, iron ship-building, and +many other important enterprises. Three out of four of all the great ocean +steamers, and three-fourths of all the locomotives of the world were +constructed in this country.[10] By means of our enterprise and capital +also, the first railways, telegraphs, gas works, cotton mills, modern water +works, suspension bridges, water wheels, harbours, lighthouses, &c., &c., +in nearly all parts of the world were constructed; and foreign nations have +been inducted into the practical methods of working our great manufacturing +and technical applications of science. + +By means of English enterprise and skill the cities of Aix-la-Chapelle, +Altona, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brussels, Cologne, +Frankfort-on-Maine, Ghent, Haarlem, Hanover, Lille, Rotterdam, Stolberg, +Toulouse, Vienna, and others were lighted with gas. We formed Water +Companies or Waterworks in Amsterdam, Berlin, and other cities, and drained +Naples. We utilized the falls of the Rhone at Bellegarde, and thus obtained +10,000 horse-power for the use of the French manufacturers. We also sent +the first steam-boat to Coblentz in 1817, and the first to America. We laid +the first Atlantic cables. And as a general truth, we have been foremost in +invention, application and enterprise. + +{64} + +Recent International Exhibitions however, and the migration of various +branches of our trade to the Continent and America, have shown that the +degree of our relative superiority in manufacturing skill is diminishing. +Other nations, especially the German and American, perceiving the +dependence of invention upon research, and the enormous pecuniary and other +advantages gained by us, by the application of scientific knowledge to +manufacturing and other purposes, have within the last few years aroused +themselves, and are now pursuing pure science much more energetically than +ourselves. A few years ago the relative number of original researches made +per annum in England, France, and Germany were in the proportion 127, 245, +and 777. Many of those made in Germany were valuable ones, and were made by +Students in order to obtain a degree. Other nations are rapidly gaining +upon us in the application of science to industrial purposes, and have even +surpassed us in the extent of some of their manufacturing and technical +operations. Many persons who have visited Europe and America at intervals +during the last twenty years have testified to this. + +The Vielle Montagne Zinc Company in Belgium employ 6,500 workmen, and +produce annually 32,000 tons of zinc. The John Cockerill Company, +engine-builders, Seraing, near Liege, employ nearly 8,000 men. Krupp, the +great engineer at Essen, near Dusseldorf, employs about 10,000 workmen; his +works at Essen alone cover 450 acres, and 1,000 tons {65} of coal are +consumed in them daily. The Anzin Company (Valenciennes) "is the largest +coal company in the world, producing no less than 1,200,000 tons per annum, +and employs 8,000 hands." The Chatillon and Commentry Iron and Coal Company +(France), produce annually from 300,000 to 350,000 tons of coal and coke, +nearly 70,000 tons of iron and steel, and employ nearly 9,000 workmen. At +the Creuzot Ironworks (France), "the mineral concessions cover an area of +nearly six square miles, the coal-fields nearly twenty-five square miles, +the building 296 acres. There are nearly forty-five miles of railway +between various parts of the works, upon which are generally running +sixteen locomotives. The galleries in the mines are more than twenty miles +long." 10,000 persons are employed in the works and the annual amount of +wages paid equals L400,000.[11] + +Our practice with regard to original science has been very different from +the plan carried out in Germany. Within the last few years great +laboratories have been erected in Berlin, Leipzig, Aix la Chapelle, Bonn, +Carlsruhe, Stuttgardt, and other places, at the expense of the State, and +special provision has been made in them for original scientific research. A +glance at the frequently published list of scientific investigations made +in different countries will shew us that the Germans have been making a far +greater number of discoveries in science than ourselves. + +Sir R. B. C. Brodie, Professor of Chemistry at {66} Oxford, speaking of his +experience when a student at Geissen, in Germany, states: "I say that the +enthusiasm and earnestness of the young men in the laboratory was quite +unparalleled in my experience at Oxford. The dilettante sort of way in +which things go on there is very inferior indeed to the way the German +students study. At Heidelberg, I have been told, there are about eighty +professors, and amongst those professors are some of the most eminent men +in Europe, so that they have a staff quite unsurpassed." + +The industry of the Germans in scientific research is quite remarkable, +they are availing themselves of the great fountain of knowledge to a much +greater extent than ourselves, and are already beginning to reap the +reward. Within the last few years they have succeeded, by means of +researches, in making alizarine, the colouring principle of madder. +"England produces immense quantities of benzene, the greatest part of which +goes to Germany, there to be converted into aniline dyes, a considerable +quantity of which goes back to England. No other country is so far advanced +in the manufacture of the coal-tar colours as Germany. The quantity of +alizarine manufactured by the German makers far surpasses the English +production." (See "Alizarine, Natural and Artificial," by F. Versmann, New +York, 1873). Statements of this kind are frequently published, and made by +our manufacturers and others, of the departure of branch after branch of +our manufactures to the Continent, and of continually increasing +importation of foreign-made articles. {67} + +Some persons, having become aware of the cosmopolitan nature of scientific +research, have suggested that it is a matter of no importance to us as a +nation whether we make researches or not, as foreigners would make them, +and we could apply them. But no honourable man would, after reflection, +seriously maintain such a proposition, because it implies a willingness to +obtain from the labours of other persons, advantages without paying for +them. It is partly this absence of a desire to pay for the labour of +investigation, which is now damaging the manufacturing and commercial +prosperity of this country. It is also certain that however much we may +have hitherto succeeded commercially, without making payment for research, +we should have succeeded much better had we properly assisted investigators +in pure science. Our success has hitherto been obtained, not in +consequence, but in spite of the disadvantageous circumstances under which +discoverers have laboured. + +The commercial argument in favour of encouraging research, although the +most effective with the great mass of persons, and therefore much dwelt +upon in this chapter, is however quite a secondary one; the encouragement +of truth for the sake of its own intrinsic worth, in preference to the +material or extrinsic value of its results, should be the foundation of all +aid to discovery. Justice, also, ought to come before all minor +considerations, and no upright man would wish for a moment that anyone, and +much less the greatest scientific intellects in the country, should work +for his benefit without being remunerated. {68} + +It has been objected that Continental nations, the Germans in particular, +have pirated our patents, infringed our designs, imitated our labels, used +our names, and taken our improvements wholesale, and this may be true. But +we still have had by far the largest portion of the reward of our greater +energy and inventive skill; we have had the great advantage of being first +in the markets of the world; and that advantage can only be retained by our +being the first in the pursuit of original research, as we have so long +been in the application of science to industrial arts, and not by +purchasing foreign inventions, nor by accepting gifts of unrecompensed +researches. + +Nations as well as individuals are apt to push to an extreme the means by +which they have succeeded in gaining either riches or power. We have +devoted ourselves relatively too much to the pursuit of money and too +little to the pursuit of knowledge. The desire for wealth is in this +country so great, that probably nothing but a loss of that wealth will ever +make us properly encourage the pursuit of new knowledge. + +Whilst research is being neglected, manufacturers and others in all +directions are asking for improvements in their machines and processes; +employers of steam engines want to obtain more power from the coals; makers +of washing soda wish to recover their lost sulphur; copper smelters, want +to utilize the copper smoke; glass makers wish to prevent bad colour in +their glass; iron puddlers want to economise heat; gas companies are +desirous of diminishing the {69} leakage of gas; iron smelters wish to +avoid the evil effects of impurities in the iron; manufacturers in general +want to utilise their waste products and prevent their polluting our +streams and atmosphere; and so on without end. And inventors are +continually trying to supply these demands, by exercising their skill in +every possible way, with the aid of scientific information contained in +books; but after putting manufacturers and themselves to great expense, +they very frequently fail, not always through want of inventive skill, but +often through want of _new_ knowledge attainable only by means of pure +research. Judging from the vast amount of inventive skill already expended +upon the steam engine, and the small proportion of available mechanical +power yet obtained from the coals consumed in it, it is highly probable +that a machine for completely converting heat into mechanical force cannot +be invented until more scientific knowledge is discovered. + +It must not be supposed from these remarks, that discoveries which will +enable a man to make any particular invention, can be produced to order; +that is only true to a very limited extent. Men are beggars of nature, and +must not expect to be permitted to choose her gifts, or dictate what +secrets shall be disclosed. We may however be certain that if we acquire a +very much greater supply of new scientific knowledge, we shall then be able +to perfect many good inventions, though not always of the kind we wish, or +in the way we expect. The great sewage question {70} may perhaps be solved +in quite an unexpected way, possibly by the discovery of some substance +capable of precipitating ammonia and organic matter from their solutions. + +Nearly all our manufacturing processes are full of imperfections; thus the +loss of gas by a single large provincial gas company, after that substance +has left the works, amounts to nearly one hundred and fifty millions of +cubic feet per annum, and to a value of about L18,000; and the soil of all +our large cities and towns is permeated and rendered foetid by coal gas. +And it has been stated by an eminent authority in such matters that we +might save 500,000 tons of coal a year by economizing the waste heat of +furnaces, by purifying the coal, coking it, etc. In a single chemical +manufactory, out of about two thousand tons of hydrochloric acid used per +annum, about eight hundred tons have been allowed to flow away as a +polluting substance, because it was not possible to utilise it. The loss of +material from a single large glass works equals fourteen hundred tons per +annum, and a value of L8,000. Similar grave defects might be pointed out in +nearly all our large manufactures, by those acquainted with the subject. + +Inventions are wanted for quickening the process of vinegar making, and +diminishing the percentage of loss of the acid. For bleaching discoloured +fats. For quickening the process of converting cast iron into malleable +iron. To easily separate nitrogen from the oxygen of the atmosphere. To +economically convert {71} the nitrogen of the air into valuable products, +such as nitric acid and ammonia. To find uses for the immense quantities of +minerals which abound all over the earth; to utilise wolfram and find +applications for tungstic acid; to apply titanic acid to great industrial +purposes; to produce aluminium on the large scale, as we now produce iron. +To tan leather more quickly, and without detriment to its quality. To +prevent the rusting of iron. To more perfectly prevent smoke. To collect +and use the sulphuric acid of the salt cake consumed in the glass +manufacture. To make window glass by means of common salt. To deodorise +offensive substances. To find larger uses for phosphorus, sodium, +magnesium, and common salt. To remove phosphorus and sulphur from iron +ores, and sulphur from coal and coke. To obtain a good white alloy as a +cheaper substitute for German silver. To convert white phosphorus into the +red variety by a less dangerous process than the present one. To prevent +the putrefaction of "peltries" in glue making. To obtain better and cheaper +materials for colouring glass. To more perfectly prevent animal food from +change. To obviate or prevent explosions in mines. To perfectly purify +ordinary red lead for making flint glass. A cheaper process for converting +common salt into washing soda; and so on without end. + +We also very badly require a method of recording our thoughts in readable +forms upon paper, without the slow and laborious process of writing. An +incalculable amount of brains and of intellect, especially of {72} the +greatest thinkers, would be saved by such a discovery. The curative arts +also are permeated with empiricism, and thousands of lives of persons of +all classes of society, are annually lost in this country through want of a +more perfect scientific basis of medicine, attainable only by means of +experiment and observation. + +In this country, such great practical results have been obtained by means +of invention, that many persons suppose a sufficiency of inventive skill +will enable us to effect every possible scientific object, and are +surprised that no one can invent a plan of utilising the entire heat of +coals, or a mode of overcoming the sewage difficulty, or prevent the great +leakage of coal gas, or arrest epidemics, or produce a steam engine which +shall work without waste of power. The progress of invention however +depends upon that of discovery, and these various inventions, etc., wanted +by manufacturers and others probably cannot be perfected until suitable +_new_ knowledge is found. Every new invention has its own appropriate +discoveries, by means of which alone it can be perfected; it was not +possible to perfect the idea of an electric telegraph before the +discoveries of Volta and Oersted were made. According to scientific laws, +out of everything proceeds everything, and out of nothing, nothing can +come, even ideas are not created. An unlimited number of inventions cannot +be made by means of a limited amount of scientific knowledge; and our +present stock of such information applicable to {73} invention, is very +insufficient. One great reason why only a small portion of patents are of +practical value; and so many useless ones are taken out is, that in +consequence of our so-called "practical" spirit, we overestimate the power +of invention and under-value the discovery of new abstract truths; because +also invention has done so much, we think it will continue to do so, but +the latter depends upon a continued supply of discoveries. + +Nearly every manufacturer is aware by painful experience of the great and +almost incessant variation that occurs in the quality and properties of the +materials used in his trade, and the frequent risk of failure of his +process. In the manufacture of iron, for example, the presence of much +phosphorus, sulphur, or silicon in the ore is liable to be very detrimental +to the quality of the iron produced from it; in the manufacture of glass, +the least quantity of iron in the materials will seriously injure the +colour of the product; in the selection of copper for telegraph wire, if it +contains the least trace of arsenic, the wire will not conduct the +electricity properly. The difficulties experienced in procuring suitable +materials for a manufacturing process are in some cases very great; and +when they are procured, additional difficulties arise from the inability of +the manufacturer or his manager to analyse them. + +Every manufacturer is also aware that the difficulties encountered in +manufactures are not limited to the substances employed, but extend to all +the different {74} processes and stages of processes through which these +substances have to pass, and to all the forces, tools, machinery, and +appliances employed in those processes; in the manufacture of glass, for +example, the greatest care has to be exercised in the making and gradual +heating of the pots in which the glass is melted, the proportions of the +materials, the construction of the furnaces, the management of the heat, +and a whole host of minor conditions too numerous to mention, all of which +must be attended to with the greatest care. In the manufacture of iron and +steel, the smelting of copper, the refining of nickel, the preparation and +baking of porcelain, and in many other trades, innumerable difficulties, +all having their origin in the properties of matter and forces, continually +beset the manufacturers. In some cases difficulties occur which perplex +both the workman and the scientific man called in to his aid, and so far +from an unscientific workman being able to overcome them, even with the aid +of the scientific man, he is unable to do so. + +The hidden difficulties which beset a manufacturer are not unfrequently so +inscrutable that the present state of knowledge in science fails to explain +them. Who can tell why it is that wire-work of brass or German silver +becomes gradually brittle by lapse of time? Or why varnish made in the open +country has different properties from that made in a town? Or why silk dyed +in Lyons should possess a finer colour than the same silk dyed by the same +process in Coventry? {75} With our present extremely imperfect knowledge of +Physical and Chemical science, we can perhaps hardly form an idea of the +amount of knowledge yet to be discovered respecting the phenomena which +manufactures present. + +One of the inevitable results of these difficulties in manufacturing +processes and of deficiency of knowledge, is the production of a large +amount of goods of an inferior quality; and useless goods, technically +called "wasters," the cost of which has to be laid upon the saleable ones, +and thus the price of the latter is enhanced to the consumer. For instance, +flint glass discoloured by iron has sometimes to be sold at a loss for +making common enamel; waste window glass has to be sold as "rockery" for +ornamenting gardens, and defective articles of glass or metal have to be +re-melted. + +In consequence of this want of new knowledge, manufacturers continue to +suffer losses which might be avoided; high prices of useful articles are +maintained; defects in their quality are not improved; preventable +accidents still continue to happen; the health of workmen continues to +suffer; many means of curing diseases remain unknown; medical practice +remains full of empiricism, &c., &c. + +The great sewage question is apparently in this predicament; we are +probably trying to solve it without first discovering the requisite +knowledge; inventors, engineers, and consulting chemists have racked their +brains, and have not been able to devise a satisfactory {76} remedy, and +meanwhile the health of the entire population of this country is suffering. +If we so neglect the fundamental means of ameliorating our condition we +deserve to suffer. One would suppose that cholera, contagious diseases, +colliery accidents, pollution of air and water, enormous waste of heat from +fires, and a multitude of other evils which depend upon physical and +chemical conditions, are of but little importance, that we should so +neglect one of the most effectual means of preventing them; and it is +perfectly clear that by neglecting to aid research, those who gain so much +money and advantage from original science, and render no return, are +unwittingly sacrificing national interests upon a large scale to personal +benefit. + +The practice of some manufacturers using and deriving great profit from new +knowledge evolved by research, without recompensing the discoverers, +sometimes causes injury to the public welfare by preventing the publication +of discoveries which have an immediate practical application. Experience of +this kind has constrained me to postpone the publication of a method I have +found of readily and quickly converting lumps of white phosphorus into the +red variety in a state of powder without protracted heat or grinding. + +"What will be the next chapter of British enterprise and invention, and who +and where the men to perform the chief part in it? As to the work to be +done, there can be no doubt or mystery, for not a day passes {77} without +loud complaints, indignant remonstrances, fatal oversights, sad +mis-calculations, terrible shortcomings, social or material evils to be +remedied if possible, whole masses of people, indeed whole classes to be +succoured and lifted out of the slough, and enormous difficulties placed by +nature in our way evidently that we may exercise our wit and our virtues in +the attempt to overcome them. Here, from all these Isles, there arises a +despairing cry from agriculture, as if it had really reached the end of its +tether, and had found itself landed in utter helplessness and insolvency--a +bad speculation altogether. Here are countless problems, and at the same +time countless discoveries, which if they lead to nothing else, prove the +inexhaustible nature of our dominion over the elements. Then, for the sea, +with its terrible average of wreck and total loss running on without +intermission and with but rare abatement, who shall say there is here no +work for the discoverer and inventor who will give his heart and soul and +mind to it?" + +It is indeed high time, that by means of discoveries which will enable us +to predict with certainty the nature of coming seasons, we shall be better +enabled to cope with adversities in agriculture; also, that the numerous +wrecks, and the thousands of lives lost with them every year on our coasts, +should be diminished. But these desirable results cannot be effected by +invention based upon insufficient knowledge; invention must be preceded by +general as well as special research, because the former often discloses +important {78} truths which we cannot predict. Our present electric lights +in light-houses and on large ocean steamers, had their origin, not in +direct inventions or special researches for the purpose, but in abstract +researches on apparently remote subjects. + +It is nothing less than a national crime that proper provision has not yet +been made for investigating scientifically the causes of famine and +pestilence, also physiology and pathology, and the discovery of the laws +which regulate diseases and epidemics. What can be more painful to behold +than a mother and father deprived of a whole family of five or six children +in rapid succession by scarlatina or other contagious disease, and both the +parents and medical men utterly unable to save them; and this is a common +occurrence. Persons who are ignorant of science look with an abject feeling +of helplessness upon great national calamities, and even upon private +afflictions, such as a local epidemic, as if there was absolutely no +remedy, whilst scientific men believe that by extension of knowledge, such +evils might be largely avoided or prevented. + +Many persons however, actuated by the very kindest of motives, but +insufficiently acquainted with the necessity, conditions, results, and +advantages of experiments, unwittingly obstruct the discovery of new +knowledge in physiology and pathology, by attempting to prevent experiments +being made upon animals. + +We should not strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. Nearly every step in +life involves a choice {79} between two alternatives, and this is the case +with experiments upon living creatures, either such experiments must be +made, or the wholesale slaughter of men and other animals, by pestilences, +epidemics, small-pox, foot and mouth disease, &c., must continue. Many of +the properties of living bodies, like those of dead ones, can only be +ascertained by means of experiments, no other course is possible; and the +knowledge so obtained enables us not only to prolong the lives but also to +alleviate the sufferings of all kinds of living creatures. Nearly all our +medical and surgical knowledge has been obtained by observation and study, +either of the results of experiments made by ourselves, or by the course of +nature for us; and the former is often attended by immeasurably less pain +and expence than the latter. No one who has ever made in a proper manner +new experiments, would venture to assert that valuable knowledge is not +gained by them; and this statement is as correct of experiments in +physiology as in all the other sciences. + +The total amount of pain inflicted upon animals by vivisection experiments +in this country is infinitesimally small--because, firstly, the proportion +of experimentalists in so-called "vivisection," does not amount to one +person in one million of our inhabitants:--secondly, students cannot be +induced to enter upon scientific research in physiology, because such +labour is unrewarded, either by enabling them to obtain certificates, +degrees, or money. Whatever pain also, {80} is inflicted in such +experiments, is by men of the highest eminence in physiology, and therefore +by the most competent persons. + +Experimental research is an occupation requiring an exceptional kind of +ability and experience; and persons who have never made experiments, nor +studied their relation to human welfare, are largely incompetent to +determine when and how they should be made, the real effects of them, or +the value of the knowledge they afford. To persons inexperienced in +scientific research, many experiments appear useless, which have great +practical value, either immediately or at a later period. Our greatest +curse is ignorance; and knowledge, by enabling us to avoid the fatal +effects of pestilences, and epidemics, is as necessary as food to mankind. +The "Anti-vivisection" movement however is but one of the phases of the +ever-existing conflict between the advancing and retarding sections of +mankind. + +Greater sympathy with suffering accompanies greater civilization. The +increased humanity of the present age over that of previous ones, is +largely due to the discovery and extension of new scientific knowledge. +Science, by showing more clearly to man his true position in nature and in +relation to his fellow-men and other animals, has rendered more evident the +concrete fact, that the happiness of each depends upon the happiness of +all, and the happiness and welfare of all upon that of each individual. It +has also operated in a more apparent, though less {81} important way, by +inculcating better systems of hygiene, improved sanitary arrangements, &c, +&c. It is not to the zeal of "anti-vivisectionists," but to the +well-directed labours of experimental medical men, that mankind are +indebted for the discovery and invention of nearly every known method of +preventing and alleviating animal suffering and of prolonging human life. +This statement is true of vaccination, the use of chloroform in general +surgery, dentistry, and midwifery, of carbolic acid spray in surgical +operations; the abolition of the practice of searing amputated limbs with a +red-hot iron; and many other improvements. Ferrier's comparatively recent +vivisection experiments have already enabled medical men to treat more +successfully those formidable diseases, epilepsy and abcess of the brain. + +What this nation badly requires, is not less experimental research, but +more. When famines result from insufficiency of Solar heat, instead of +investigating the conditions of the Sun's surface to enable us to predict +their occurrence and provide accordingly, we allow them to come upon us in +our unprepared state and produce their fearful effects. When contagious +disease overtakes us, what do we do? Instead of previously employing and +paying scientific investigators to make experiments in physiological and +chemical science, to enable us to combat it successfully, we vainly attempt +to apply our present stock of chemical and physiological knowledge to ward +off the difficulty. When high price of fuel intervenes, instead {82} of +previously giving discoverers the means of finding new principles relating +to heat, and to chemical, and electrical action, we ineffectually endeavour +by means of invention, to economise fuel. These are the pottering, +short-sighted, and ignorant ways in which "the great English nation" +temporises with great evils, and permits national welfare to be sacrificed +to private gain, instead of employing for the discovery of new knowledge +some of that superfluous wealth which in many instances is a curse to its +possessors. + + * * * * * + + +{83} + +CHAPTER II. + +------ + +THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF MENTAL AND MORAL PROGRESS.[12] + +It is not highly necessary after what has been already said in these pages, +to adduce much evidence to show that scientific discoveries, either +directly or through the medium of the inventions based upon them, have been +a great cause of mental and moral progress. As however there are many +persons who do not perceive the dependence of such progress, and especially +of moral advance, upon science, a few of the chief relations of those +subjects to each other may be pointed out. + +The dependence of mental progress upon science may be rendered manifest in +several ways:--1st. By showing that new scientific knowledge is continually +extending and modifying our views of existing things. 2nd. That inventions +based upon scientific discoveries have aided and extended our mental +powers:--3rd. That mental phenomena may be made the subject of experiment, +observation, analysis, and {84} inference:--4th. That the criteria of +truth, and the mental powers and processes employed for discovering and +detecting truth, are the same in mental as in physical science, and, 5th. +That mental action is subject to the great principles and laws of science. +And moral progress may be proved to have a scientific basis:--1st. By +shewing that moral actions are a class of mental actions, and therefore +subject to the same fundamental laws and influences:--2nd. That the +discovery of new scientific knowledge, and the use of inventions based upon +it, often conduce to morality:--3rd. That moral phenomena may be made the +subject of experiment, observation, analysis, and inference:--4th. That the +criteria of truth, and the mental faculties and processes employed, in +discovering truth, are the same in moral as in physical science:--5th. That +the fundamental rules of morality are subject to the great principles of +science:--6th. That moral improvement follows in the wake of scientific +advance:--and 7th. By showing the moral influence of experimental research +in imparting "the scientific spirit;" promoting a love of truth; dispelling +ignorance and superstition; detecting error; imparting certainty and +accuracy to our knowledge; inculcating obedience to law; producing +uniformity of belief; aiding economy and cleanliness, promoting humanity, +&c, &c. Each of these will be treated with extreme brevity. + +MENTAL PROGRESS. + +The chief object of this chapter is only to shew {85} that mental action is +largely consistent with the great principles of science; not that in our +present state of knowledge, mental phenomena can be entirely explained by +them, or that mental actions involve nothing more than physical and +chemical processes. + +That mental progress is advanced by scientific discovery is a common +circumstance. Our ideas of facts, our knowledge of general principles, our +views of man, of nature, and of the Universe; and even our modes of +thought, have been gradually and profoundly changed by the new knowledge +acquired by means of scientific research. This truth is capable of being +most extensively illustrated by a multitude of facts in the whole of the +sciences, and in the arts, manufactures, and other subjects dependent upon +science. For example, in astronomy, great changes, produced by the results +of scientific discovery have taken place in our ideas respecting the +magnitude of Space and of the Heavenly bodies, the constitution, form, and +motion of the Earth, the functions of the Sun and Moon, the distances of +the Sun and fixed Stars, the nature of eclipses and comets; and a great +many other matters. In terrestrial physics, the mental advances have been +equally great in our ideas respecting the causes of tides and of winds, the +pressure of the atmosphere, the existence and course of the Gulf Stream, +the physical conditions of the Equator and Poles, the conditions upon which +day and night, summer and winter depend, the depth of the ocean, the height +of the atmosphere, the cause of rainbows, of {86} rain, hail, snow, mist +and dew, of thunder and lightning, the composition of air, water, mineral, +and organic substances, and other most numerous and varied phenomena. In +the subjects of heat, light, electricity, magnetism, chemistry, vegetable +and animal physiology, psychology and morality, and the more concrete +subjects depending upon them, such as politics, trade, commerce, +government, &c., our ideas have equally advanced, in consequence of +scientific research; and to fully describe the mental progress resulting +from discovery in nearly all branches of human knowledge would require a +series of books to be written on the History of all the Sciences. + +Other causes also, which I need hardly mention, besides scientific +discovery, have of course contributed to the mental progress of mankind. We +arrive at true ideas, not only by the more certain and systematic process +employed in scientific research, but largely also by the uncertain method +of trusting to instinct and habit, by adopting dogmatic opinions, and by +the semi-scientific plan of following empirical rules. + +Dogma and empiricism, in nearly all subjects, has rendered immense service +to mankind. Contemporaneously with the progress produced by new knowledge, +the mental condition of man has been maintained and prevented from +receding, by the combined influence of hereditary mental proclivity, +acquired habit, promulgation of dogmatic opinions and empirical rules, and +by previously known verified truth. Religious {87} belief has thus been the +forerunner of Science. Dogma and empiricism are indispensable agents of +civilization; they cannot be dispensed with by the great mass of mankind, +who have not the time at command, nor possess the other means, necessary +for acquiring verified knowledge. They afford rough and ready guides and +useful "rule of thumb" methods, though less certain and less accurate than +those afforded by verified and definite science. + +That various inventions, based upon scientific discoveries, have greatly +aided and extended our mental powers is quite certain. The discovery of the +properties of a mixture of solution of nutgalls and green vitriol, has, +through the invention of ink, exercised an immense influence in promoting +the mental developement of mankind; and the discovery of the properties of +esparto grass and other materials for making paper has contributed to this +result. Every discovery also resulting in inventions which facilitated the +transmission of intelligence has had a similar effect. Amongst these are +magnetism, which, in the mariner's compass greatly assisted navigation and +the conveyance of letters by sea; and the steam engine which facilitated +the transmission of letters by land and by water; the electric telegraph, +the telephone, and other contrivances for transmitting ideas, have also +greatly promoted mental advance. The steam engine, by largely abolishing +physical drudgery, gave time for study and mental and moral improvement. It +has been said that "it is impossible to lay down a {88} railway without +creating an improved intellectual influence. It is probable that Watt and +Stephenson will eventually modify the opinions of mankind, almost as +profoundly as Luther and Voltaire." Photography has exercised an immense +intellectual influence of an improved kind, by making common to all mankind +views of the beautiful scenery of all parts of our globe, and portraits of +individuals of all nations and of all classes of society. Processes of +printing from electrotype plates, pictures and letter-press, upon the paper +wrappers used by grocers and other tradesmen, have also carried into the +homes of millions of poor persons truthful ideas and an improved +intellectual influence. The invention of steel pens, of which a thousand +millions are made yearly in Birmingham alone, must also have considerably +aided intellectual progress. The various calculating machines used by +merchants, the copying presses, papyrographs, and the numerous inventions +for copying and multiplying letters and circulars and for domestic +printing, have saved intellectual toil, and promoted the diffusion of +intelligence. These are only a few of the numerous ways in which inventions +based upon scientific discoveries, have resulted in mental progress. + +Less perhaps has been done in the way of actual definite scientific +experiments upon mental actions and processes than in almost any other +department of science, and this is partly accounted for by the fact that +the other sciences require to be largely advanced before we can use them to +examine mental action, {89} and partly also because (as occasionally +happens) the latter has been a neglected subject of research. During the +past few years however, various experimental investigations have been made, +especially by Donders in Holland, and Mosso in Turin, for the purpose of +elucidating the physical conditions of mental action; and it has been found +that instead of an act of thought being instantaneous, as was formerly +believed, it requires a variable time.[13] Numerous desultory experiments +made upon dreamers, and with drugs, alcohol, &c., upon persons in the +waking state, also prove that mental phenomena are amenable to scientific +research. F. Galton has even proposed experiments and methods for measuring +the mental faculties of different persons.[14] The effects of exciting +different parts of the brain of animals by means of electric currents, and +the localization of the functions of the brain effected by the experiments +of Ferrier, Hirtzig and others, also tend to throw further light upon +mental phenomena. The fact alone that mental actions and conditions may be +made the subject of experiment, and consequently of observation, +comparison, analysis and inference, proves that they may be rendered +sources of new facts and principles, and are therefore within the domain of +science. As the dependence of mental phenomena upon physical conditions has +been clearly demonstrated, an extensive reduction of them to scientific +laws is only a question of time and labour. + +{90} + +The principles of nature and the modes of mental action are the same for +all men. It necessarily follows from the essential nature of truth and the +invariability of the chief methods of detecting it, that the criteria of +truth in mental science, and the mental powers and processes by which truth +is arrived at and detected in that science, are essentially the same as in +the physiological, chemical, and physical ones. In each of these subjects, +we first, either with or without the aid of experiment, make observations, +record facts, compare them, and draw conclusions from our comparisons; we +also group the facts, and the conclusions, in every possible way, and then +draw other conclusions; we also analyse, combine, and permutate the various +truths arrived at, and cross examine the evidence in every possible manner +in order to extract from it the greatest amount of new knowledge. And in +each case we employ as the criteria of truth, the test of consistency with +the whole of the evidence bearing upon the case, and especially with the +great principles of science. We determine what is true, chiefly by +comparison with those principles, because they are the most firmly +established true ones and the most universal. There is no royal road to +truth, and no special mental faculty for detecting it in any subject; and +it is in consequence of our mental faculties being so very finite that we +have no easier way of arriving at truth. + +No dogmatic teaching can ever, except by accident, fully explain to man the +true nature of mind; and {91} only in proportion as man becomes enlightened +by extension of new scientific knowledge, especially in physiology, will he +be able to view himself in a true aspect apart from his consciousness. +Science penetrates deeper than metaphysical speculation, into the nature of +mental action, chiefly because metaphysics deals only with old ideas, +whilst science furnishes us with new experience and therefore with new +conceptions and wider evidence. + +Fallacies are very prevalent, every subject of human study is liable to a +very large class of errors arising from the extremely imperfect state of +our knowledge, and in very few subjects is our ignorance as great as in +that of mental and moral phenomena. Every different subject of study also, +has, in consequence of its special peculiarities, its own peculiar class of +fallacies, into which the student of it is likely to be led, unless he is +previously guarded against them. In accordance with this truth, the study +of man's nature, especially the mental and moral portions, is particularly +liable to a class of errors arising from the circumstance, that the +phenomena to be observed and the observing power are intimately connected +together, each influencing and disturbing the other. The obstacles to our +arriving at truth in the study of mental and moral actions, are greater and +more frequent, the more nearly and intimately related the phenomena to be +observed and contemplated, are to the observing and contemplating faculty, +or rather to the contemplative action. When the two mental {92} actions are +extremely intimate, as when attention is directed to the action of will +(which is itself a conscious act of attention) undisturbed thought becomes +very difficult; and when further, the contemplative faculty attempts to +contemplate itself, as when consciousness attempts to observe +consciousness, in order to define it, the attempt results in almost +complete failure, probably because the two actions (observing and being +observed) being opposite in kind, cannot coexist at the same time in the +same structure. Knowledge of the exact nature of consciousness therefore, +will probably only be arrived at by indirect means, when physiological and +other knowledge is sufficiently advanced. + +Consciousness, when uncorrected by sufficient knowledge and inference, is a +great source of error. That which we feel, we think exists whether it does +or not, until the subject is correctly explained to us. The incessant and +irresistible obtrusion of consciousness exercises dominion over every mind, +even of our greatest thinkers, and causes disturbance and interruption in +nearly every train of thought. It is largely the cause of some of our most +general ideas and emotions and insensibly influences our views of man and +nature. It produces true impressions as well as erroneous ones. It is a +cause of the feeling that an occult spirit exists within us independent of +our material structure. Combined with the almost equally persistent +impression of the uniformity of nature, it largely produces the idea that +the spirit within us, {93} will live and be active for ever. And by uniting +with the frequent impressions of failure of our efforts and desire for more +perfect enjoyment, it largely originates the idea of everlasting happiness. + +It is in accordance with modern scientific knowledge, to view the mind, not +as a collection of distinct faculties, but rather as a single kind of +power, like each of the physical forces, having several different modes of +action; and as that which perceives, thinks, and wills. Its oneness is +shewn by its inability to be simultaneously occupied by several diverse +feelings, thoughts, or volitions, and by our incapacity to think of many +varied ideas at once; the more ideas also or objects we attempt to perceive +at once, the less we realize of each. In proportion as the mind is engaged +upon one idea, so is it also unable to be occupied with another. Strong +feelings exclude intellectual action. The mind can only execute several +actions at a time, provided they have been rendered more or less automatic +by habit, &c., but as all mental acts are in different degrees imperfectly +automatic, and require more or less attention, and each individual mind is +limited in its power, every such act withdraws a portion of attention from +the more engrossing ideas. Power of mind and power of maintaining attention +are nearly synonymous. + +The recognised fundamental elements of mind are Receptivity and Perception +of impression: Retentiveness of impression: Perception of agreement (or +similarity) of impression: and Perception of difference {94} of impression. +All purely mental acts appear to be resolvable into these. + +Many persons still entertain the idea that mental actions are largely +independent of the natural conditions to which physiological, chemical, and +physical phenomena are subject. The unscientific mind is readily beguiled +by easy schemes of mental action, or simple systems of mental and moral +philosophy, unaware that great abstract truths often require deep thought +to discover them, or even to perceive them when discovered and published. +"A false notion, which is clear and precise, will always meet a greater +number of adherents in the world than a true principle which is obscure." +It is not until unscientific persons have become used to advanced +scientific ideas and nomenclature, and knowledge as so far progressed as to +enable thinking men to illustrate those ideas freely in familiar language, +that great abstract truths are believed by the public. The ordinary and +simple theory of the operations of the human mind is, that they often arise +without any cause, and are frequently not obedient to ordinary influences, +and this idea is still entertained and promulgated even by some of our most +popular ministers of truth. It is therefore necessary in order to further +prove that new scientific knowledge is really a basis of mental progress, +to point out a few of the chief ways in which mental action essentially +depends on scientific principles, and to adduce a few instances in which +other substances than brain exhibit essentially similar phenomena. To {95} +shew this however in a more satisfactory manner would require a large +treatise to be written upon the subject. + +The human brain and mind are evidently subject to the ordinary laws of +matter and energy. Receptivity and retentiveness of impression is not only +a property of brain, but of all solid matter without exception. Moser's +pictures, and Chinese mirrors, the impressions on each being reproducible +by warm breath, are examples of this. And as these two properties are +fundamental elements of mind, they must be present in and essential to, +every mental action. + +All phenomena require time and all matter occupies space; thought and brain +are no exception to this. Whilst all persons say "I must have time to +think," many believe that thought is instantaneous. Time is a necessary +condition of all thought, and therefore of all comparison, inference, +imagination, and mental analysis; it takes time even to form an idea, or +draw an inference from it, and the two cannot be formed simultaneously. +Professor Donders, of Utrecht, has invented what he terms a Noematachograph +for registering the amount of time occupied in mental processes, and by the +aid of that instrument has ascertained that the time required by a man of +middle age to perform a single act of simple thought is about one +twenty-fifth part of a second. It has also been ascertained that the time +required is longer in some persons than in others; and longer if the {96} +subject of thought is one with which the thinker is not familiar. Mosso, by +means of an instrument which he calls a Plethysmograph, has shewn, that +during mental action, either in the waking state, or in dreaming, there is +a greater amount of blood determined to the brain, and more during +difficult than during easy mental action. These are instances of scientific +research casting a light upon mental processes. + +Coexistence of matter and energy is another great truth which appears to be +applicable to all nature; wherever there is matter, there is either active +or stored up power; and as particular forms of energy are in some cases +most exhibited by particular kinds of substance, (as magnetism by iron), so +mind is associated with living brain. As also we never see the physical +powers exhibited except by material substance, so have we never yet +observed mental action in a space devoid of material. The most perfect +vacuum yet produced contains many millions of particles of substance in +each cubic inch. Of all the countless number of scientific phenomena +observed since men have been able to reliably investigate, not one has +afforded us conclusive evidence of mental action entirely independent of +these conditions. In accordance also with the usual truth in science, that +complicated action requires complex structures; mind, being the most +intricate action, is manifested by the most complicated body. + +Mind, like each of the physical forces may be {97} viewed as a mode of +energy; it is essentially dynamic; activity or change, within or without +us, appears to be the original source of all our mental impressions, and +the cause of their re-excitement in an act of memory. A man's mind, being +continually excited by circumstances, must be active whether he will or no, +and if it does not possess sufficient truthful ideas entirely to occupy it, +it must be more or less occupied with erroneous ones. "We can neither feel, +nor know, without a transition or change of state--and every cognition, +must be viewed as in relation to some other feeling, or cognition," (Bain. +Mental and Moral Science, p. 83); _i.e._ the mental effect of impressions +upon us depends upon our immediately previous mental state; consciousness +and perception appear to be based upon cerebral change or activity; after +strong excitement of consciousness an increased amount of acid products is +found in the secretions. "It is a general law of the mental constitution, +more or less recognised by inquirers into the human mind, that change of +impression is essential to consciousness in every form," (Bain. Emotions +and Will, 3rd edi. p. 550). A sufficient degree also of such change is a +necessary condition of conscious perception; it is the stronger or more +rapid only of mental changes that excite our consciousness. + +We perceive nearly all things by means of a difference of impression which +they make upon us; by contrast. That which makes no such difference of +impression, such as the great uniformities of time and {98} space, makes no +immediate impression upon us. We only know of the existence of those +uniformities by inference from our perceptions of sequences or of relative +difference. Although the Earth moves at the rate of 62,000 miles an hour in +its orbit, consciousness does not perceive it. If also there was no error, +we should be less immediately able to discern truth, without pain we should +lose much of the enjoyment of pleasure. Without the contrast of +imperfection we could not directly appreciate perfection. + +This principle of "relativity," or of change of impression, operates both +in the phenomena of dead and living matter and in those of mind; the +selenium in a photophone is kept in a state of motion or activity, not by a +beam of uniform light, but only by one which changes; electrical action is +excited by a relative difference of friction, of temperature, of chemical +action, &c.; chemical action also often results from a relative difference +of property of two bodies. That the most inscrutable phenomenon of mind, +viz., consciousness, is largely dependent upon relative physical and +chemical conditions, is proved by the powerful influence which alcohol, +chloroform, opium, haschish, and other substances, have in exciting or +depressing it. These facts prove that excitement of consciousness or mental +action depends upon precisely the same general condition, viz.: change of +impression, as the excitement of some of the physical forces; and that mind +possesses a similar property to the physical forces of being changed by +inequality of impression. {99} Whilst copious evidence is available to shew +that the mind is excitable by physical causes, no more conclusive proof +exists that a mental impression arises without a natural cause, than that a +physical one, such as a photographic impression, arises in that way. +Abundant evidence of non-creation of ideas out of nothing might be adduced; +even imagination and invention are subject to this limit, because an +unlimited number of new conceptions cannot be formed from a limited number +of previous ideas. + +The dependence of the mind (like any other mode of energy) upon physical +conditions, is further proved by the fact that the mental and moral states +of a man are largely governed by sensation; if the latter is unhealthy it +makes the mind so, and it makes some difference what the part of the body +is in which the sensation exists; most commonly it is the viscera. The mind +is also intimately dependent upon the physical condition of the brain, and +is largely affected by the quantity and quality of the blood in that organ. + +The most fundamental principle which pervades every one of the sciences, +and agrees with the actions of every natural form of energy without +exception, including mind, is, that of consistency or non-contradiction. No +machine or scientific apparatus of any kind can perform two contradictory +acts at the same time. It is both a physiological and psychological fact, +that we cannot experience two contradictory sensations, nor perceive two +contradictory ideas at the {100} same instant. We can neither feel, +perceive, nor observe, one thing, whilst we are feeling, perceiving, or +observing, one of a contradictory nature; nor can we perform any two +contradictory acts of comparison, inference, imagination, or volition, +simultaneously. As also two mental actions are often not exactly alike, or +entirely harmonious, they must so far as they are really contradictory, be +mutually exclusive; and one of them must partly prevent the other, the +strongest one prevailing, and this general truth is commonly though not +explicitly, recognised in the maxim, that to do anything well, we must do +only one thing at a time. In accordance with the universal truth, that +contradictions cannot co-exist, it is well-known that one disease +frequently expels another from our frame, and the action of +counter-irritants is based upon the same principle. The fortitude of +martyrs may probably be explained by this power of one set of ideas and +feelings to exclude another, and the facts of mental physiology afford +plenty of other examples. + +It is probably because we cannot simultaneously perform two contradictory +actions, that we cannot contemplate consciousness, or think of an idea and +at the same time think of that act of thought. In accordance with this, +even Newton, and other great geniuses, have been unable to accurately +describe the mental processes by means of which they arrived at their most +difficult results. In consequence also of this, we cannot define +consciousness, and are often {101} unable to directly observe or analyse +our mental actions, especially those of a very abstruse or complex kind. +Much of the knowledge of the operations of our mind, we are therefore +obliged to obtain by indirect means; by analogies, and inferences from the +phenomena of nature, &c., and in this way our knowledge of mental action +largely depends upon our acquaintance with physical and chemical science, +and can only advance as it advances. To clearly understand one subject we +are often obliged to study several others. Ignorance of science in general, +and of cerebral physiology in particular, is the chief obstacle to our +acquiring a more accurate knowledge of mind. + +Next to consistency, the great principle of causation constitutes the most +essential part of all natural truth, and to deny the operation of this +principle in particular cases of mental action, simply because we, with our +very finite powers, cannot in the extremely imperfect state of our +knowledge, yet fully explain some of the most difficult, complex, +transient, and ever-changing phenomena of will and consciousness, is +contrary to the most weighty evidence. "The Will" is a conscious mental +effort to effect an object, the idea of which is already in the mind, and +being a mental "effort" it absorbs the mind and thereby incapacitates it at +the moment from observing its own action. + +If any phenomenon (such as mental action) is essentially dependent upon +another, it must be connected {102} with it in a never-failing or +indissoluble manner, so that when the one occurs the other is always +present, otherwise it would not be essentially dependent. The only known +connections of this kind are those causation and continuity of phenomena, +according to which every phenomenon has a cause, and all phenomena are +indissolubly connected in endless series. The evidence of the truth of +these principles is so vast, that even all mankind thinking through all +ages, and after having made an almost infinite number of definite +experiments and observations, have never yet met with a single well +verified instance of their failure; and we are therefore justified in +inferring that they are universal. There are however instances in the +physical and chemical sciences, as well as in mental action, where the +dependence of phenomena upon those principles is not very apparent, and has +not yet been sufficiently proved, but it is probably in consequence of our +imperfect knowledge and limited faculties, that we are unable as yet to +fully trace such dependence. The history of science, abundantly proves that +we should not assume that a phenomenon arises without a natural cause, +simply for the reason that it is very difficult to trace its origin, but +wait patiently for more knowledge respecting it. It is unphilosophic and +contrary to reason to attribute to occult agencies, effects which may be +explicable by ordinary causes, or to refuse to believe in more abstruse +causes where the assumption of simple ones is contradicted by some of the +evidence. {103} + +The principle of causation forms the basis of many minor ones, such as +selection, evolution, differentiation, &c. Plurality of causes also is a +very common circumstance in all the sciences, and especially in concrete +phenomena, and in the complex ones of animal life; the arrival of a ship +for example at a distant port, is a result of many conditions. Similarly +with most of our mental actions, they are compounds of feeling and +intellect, and produced by many causes, such as hereditary tendency, +acquired habit, internal and external mental excitants, dogmatic belief, +knowledge of empirical rules, and occasionally of verified principles. +Several of these causes also frequently conspire to produce a single idea +or decision. + +Various general principles of lesser magnitude arise from the combined +action of two or more of the greater ones, and these also appear to operate +in mental actions as well as in physical ones. Thus by the combined +influence of causation and of the principle that every phenomenon occupies +time, "effects often lag behind their causes;" and in some cases during a +long period. The greatest heat of summer for example usually occurs several +weeks after mid-summer. The mental effects of early mistakes are often not +fully experienced until old age. The decline of a nation also follows a +long time behind the period of action of the chief causes which produce it. + +Although effects are indissolubly connected with their causes, they +frequently do not occur in an active form until a long period after them. +In such cases {104} they are stored up in what is termed a potential or +latent state, ready for liberation at a future occasion, when the suitable +conditions are present; the storage of chemical power in gunpowder, of +solar heat in coal, and its subsequent liberation in our fires, are +suitable examples. The principle of deferred activity and storing up of +power, occurs also in vital and mental phenomena; potential heat is stored +up in our food, and is afterwards evolved by oxidation in our tissues. +Muscular power is stored up during sleep, ready to be evolved during +labour. The storage also of cerebral impressions, and cerebral energy, +ready to call forth ideas, and thereby powerful emotions, by the exciting +action of memory, may also be viewed as an instance of similar kind +belonging to mental phenomena. A new and striking instance of the storage +of energy has been shewn in Faure's improved form of secondary voltaic +battery, in which the most powerful voltaic current may be (at least +practically) stored up (in a box containing lead plates immersed in dilute +sulphuric acid) and conveyed to a distance with little loss, and then +liberated. + +Exciting causes operate very extensively in mental actions as well as in +physical ones, a mere look or word from an eloquent speaker will excite the +passions and liberate the muscular power of a multitude. Every part of the +human body, especially the muscles and nerve centres, is a store-house of +power always ready to be set free by the slightest suitable causes; this is +strongly illustrated in the irrepressible activity {105} of children, and +in the excitable passions of young men and women. The more immediate cause +of this power is the oxidation of assimilated food; and the source of power +in the food is the heat of the Sun stored up in the plants and animals they +have eaten. + +The subsequent liberation of power under the influence, often of very +slight causes, long after the original cause has ceased to act, has led us +to conclude erroneously that causes are not always proportional to effects. +Proportionality of effect to cause appears to be universal; it probably +operates in mental as well as in physical actions, our faith in education +as a means of intelligence is based upon this; the more complete the +education of a particular individual, the greater usually is his degree of +intelligence. Proportionality of cause to effect is apparently disobeyed +not only in physical but also in mental phenomena. Throughout the whole +realm of nature, minute circumstances often act as exciting, deflecting, +and guiding causes, and contribute to the production of apparently +disproportionate effects. Thus a spark will discharge the largest cannon; a +touch determine the most distant electric signal; a word or look, excite +the strongest emotions; the little change of position of a railway point +will direct a train either to distant North or South; the minute change of +contact of the telegraph switch, will determine the signal to places wide +asunder; one false idea also at a critical moment will often lead a man or +woman to ruin; and in all these classes of cases, {106} whilst trifling +causes _appear_ to produce great effects; the real causes are the stored up +latent powers set free or directed. It is astonishing how small a +circumstance will excite an idea, and deflect the entire current of our +thoughts; and it is equally surprising what great physical and chemical +effects are often started by most minute exciting or deflecting conditions; +the explosion of seven tons of dynamite at Hell-gate, near New York, by the +pressure of a child's finger closing an electric circuit is a suitable +example. + +Every phenomenon therefore whether physical or mental, is probably +connected in an indissoluble manner with some preceding phenomenon, either +immediately in point of time, or remotely through some static condition, +usually that of stored up power. In this sense the great principle of +continuity of phenomena appears to be universal, and the present state of +the Universe is said to implicitly or potentially contain all the future +states of the Universe. Mind also in this way, like each of the physical +forces, often acts as a link in an endless chain of causes and effects, and +is connected with non-mental phenomena in accordance with the great +principles of science. + +Science has demonstrated what has been termed the "Convertibility of +Forces," or, that when one form of energy disappears, another form (or +forms) of energy, and in precisely equivalent amount, is produced in its +stead, either in a latent or active state. The equivalent quantities of the +various forms of {107} energy have also been discovered by actual +experiment and measurement. A pound weight falling through 772 feet gives +forth as much energy as would (in the form of heat) raise the temperature +of one pound of water one Fahrenheit degree. We know that so much +mechanical power is equal also to so much electric current, chemical +action, &c., and a large amount of evidence exists to show that these +transformations of energy occur in all the organs of living creatures, and +in obedience to the law of their equivalents. How far mental power is a +"mode of energy" transformable, and obedient to the laws of equivalence, +are interesting questions for future research. + +The mechanical principle of action and reaction is another which can be +traced in mental as well as in physical phenomena. Mental excitement is +often succeeded by mental depression, "after pleasure follows pain." The +power of mental self-guidance and self-education is largely dependent upon +the two well known scientific principles of latent energy, and action and +reaction. We are able to liberate energy, not only in cases where it will +influence inanimate matter but also ourselves. The principle of +self-guidance is not restricted to living creatures, nor is self-regulation +limited to mental power. The principle of self-regulation operates in +clocks, watches, musical boxes, the governors of steam engines, water +regulators, gas regulators, &c., &c., and upon an immense scale in the +movements of the heavenly {108} bodies. With the electric locomotive, the +greater the load it has to draw, or the steeper the incline it has to +ascend, the more strongly does it exert its strength, up to the full limits +of its power. Neither in physical nor in mental actions can a body or force +usually act directly upon itself to change its state whether of activity or +rest. In both classes of cases however we meet with plenty of instances +where, a body by an almost imperceptible expenditure of energy on its own +part either alters some surrounding conditions, or excites a powerful +liberation of energy in another body which then reacts upon it to change +its state. In this way the action of clock-work in the self-exploding +apparatus of a torpedo liberates at a particular moment a spring, and +causes an explosion which destroys the apparatus. Similarly, whilst a man, +in many cases, is unable to _directly_ alter his mental state, to increase +or diminish his mental activity, to cause sleep, &c., he is able +_indirectly_ to change his mental condition by drinking stimulants or by +adopting means of self-education; and to induce sleep by means of opium, +suitable exercise, &c. + +The principles of indestructibility or conservation of matter and energy, +flow from the preceding ones, and are exhibited in mental actions as well +as in physical ones. Whilst the universal experience of mankind has not yet +afforded us a single well verified instance of actual creation or +destruction of matter or energy, it has supplied us with plenty of examples +of apparent destruction and creation of each of them. {109} But scientific +knowledge corrects the uncertain testimony of consciousness; whilst we see +coal burn and be apparently destroyed, science proves to us that the +elements composing it remain undiminished. We observe also that the heat of +the fire dissipates and is apparently lost for ever; but science again +proves that it is either stored up in the latent state, ready to be again +liberated at a future time, or else converted into other forms of energy. A +given atom of matter or a portion of energy, therefore, to the best of our +knowledge, continues and persists for ever. As we cannot either create or +destroy matter so also can we not create or annihilate energy, and this +truth probably holds good with regard to mental as well as to physical and +chemical power. Great changes of state in bodies (as in the combustion of +wood &c.) have led us to erroneously think that the substances are +destroyed; and great apparent differences of property, such as those of +diamond and charcoal, have led us similarly to conclude that they are +entirely distinct and independent of each other when they are not. + +As the cerebrum of man is composed of matter, and during excitement, its +parts are active, we might confidently predict that its particles obey the +First law of Motion, viz.: that a body in a state of rest or motion will +continue in that state of rest or motion until some cause arise to prevent +it. So it has been found that the action of the vital and mental forces +have a degree of persistence, like the physical ones. It has been +experimentally found that portions of {110} living bone transplanted to +fleshy parts of animals where there was no bone, continued to grow for a +time by a life of their own, and increased by formation of additional bone, +like a crystal grows in its medium; but after a time they diminished and +disappeared. In a similar manner we are all of us aware of the persistency +of ideas, even in opposition to the will, after the cause of them has been +removed. Sometimes we cannot retain an idea because of the persistence of +others; and at other times we cannot get rid of one, for a similar reason. +Our mental habits also have often very great persistence. + +The principle of heredity may be viewed as a result of the First law of +Motion, and appears as Persistency of state, either of structure, form, or +mode of action. It appears both in inanimate bodies, living structures, and +in mental phenomena; in the latter, as hereditary mental peculiarities. The +principle of Persistency of structure and Heredity of form and property, +during repeated or even continual dissolution and aggregation of a material +substance, is more or less manifest nearly throughout the whole of nature. +In the formation of crystals it is clearly seen; each crystallizable +substance will only grow into its own shape or shapes; each particle of +common salt, during an endless series of successive solutions and +aggregations into the solid state, always forms a more or less perfect +cube; that of silica a hexagon; and so on throughout the entire series of +thousands of different crystalline bodies. As each {111} form of crystal +only produces crystals of like form and property (or at most in certain +cases a limited number of modified forms, as in the instance of calcic +carbonate, &c.) so also each seed, both of animals and vegetables, only +produces its own particular essential shape and collection of functions. +The same principle shews itself in the transmission of particular types of +disease, and of eccentricities of organization, from one generation to +another of animals. Peculiar malformations of body and characteristics of +mind often persist in families from generation to generation. This +persistency or heredity of structure and of property is not limited to +solid bodies, but exists also in liquids: "The effect of vaccine virus upon +the liquid blood, in producing a permanent and organic change in its +constitution and character, which continues to exercise a protective +influence against small-pox, in the great mass of cases, through a long +life, during which time the blood must have undergone, many thousands, if +not millions of changes and modifications." (F. Winslow. "Obscure diseases +of Brain and Mind," page 432). The same persistency of structure and +property of structure, has even been detected in vapours; the vapour of red +iodide of mercury for example, deposits only crystals of red iodide, whilst +that of the yellow deposits only yellow (see Gmelin's Handbook of +Chemistry, vol. 1, p. 100.) + +We often appear to mentally select when we only yield to causes acting upon +us, _i.e._, to the strongest influence or motive. That "self-preservation +is the {112} first law of nature," is not only true of living creatures, +but largely also of dead substances. Inanimate as well as animate matter, +appears to usually select what is good for itself. Apparent selection, +which is manifested in the phenomena of instinct, is exhibited not only by +brain, but by all material substances. Acids appear to select bases, North +magnetism rejects North and prefers South magnetism. Also if a piece of +zinc is put into a mixed solution of the nitrates of silver, magnesium, +calcium, strontium, barium, lithium, sodium, potassium, and rubidium, it +will select the silver only with which to form a "metallic tree," and +reject all the other metals. Everything which aggregates or grows to a +definite shape, appears to select its material; if a crystal of a +particular salt is placed in a mixture of saturated solutions of different +salts, it will only select and assimilate to itself suitable material, +either particles of the same composition as itself, or those which are +isomorphous with it, _i.e._ belonging to the same crystalline system. In +living bodies also, the same principle operates; Living tissues, whether of +animals or vegetables, usually select from their nutrient fluids, and +assimilate, particles only of those kinds of matter which are suitable for +their structure; in this way, a bone assimilates lime and phosphoric acid +from the multitude of different substances conveyed to it by the blood. And +in all these cases, the selecting material appears to act as if it +possessed the powers of instinct, perception, comparison, judgment, and +{113} volition. The act of self-repair is clearly connected with this, and +is not limited to living structures; Sir David Brewster observed that if a +portion of the surface of a perfect crystal of alum is very slightly +abraded by dissolving a film from it, and the crystal be then immersed +during a very brief period in a saturated solution of alum, the abraded +portion repairs itself. The subjects of "malformation of crystals," and +"diseases of crystals" have been scientifically investigated. The power of +selection (or rather of apparent selection) is no doubt a result of the +combined action of causation and of the inherent properties of bodies, and +depends, like consciousness, upon difference of impression, the strongest +suitable influence determining. If apparent selection can thus be performed +by inanimate matter, we should not, except for a very sufficient reason, +assume the existence in living creatures, of a special occult power to +perform the same function. In the selection of ideas also the intellect +acts according to the purely scientific method. + +We frequently appear to mentally adapt ourselves to particular +circumstances when we are really determined by causes; and this apparent +adaptation is also seen in ordinary physical and chemical phenomena. The +course of a river for instance, adapts itself to the configuration of the +country through which it flows, and if it cannot pass wholly by one +channel, as in seasons of flood, or on occasions of accidental obstruction, +it travels through several; and a similar result {114} occurs with the flow +of the blood when an artery is tied or becomes obstructed. A plant when +growing in a dark recess, bends itself towards the light as if it preferred +light; and its roots adapt themselves to the forms of existing obstacles. A +decapitated frog jumps away from a source of irritation, as if he still +possessed sensation, volition, and choice. A man seeking his way through a +crowd avoids the course in which the throng is densest. The human mind +also, chooses as it were, the easiest way of solving a problem, and usually +adapts itself to altered circumstances. + +The principle of evolution also operates both in physical and mental +actions, and is a result of that of causation. Complexity of structure and +function is evolved out of simplicity of composition and property by +plurality of causes and conditions. For instance, many complex forms of +crystals of ice are produced from water. Calcspar crystallizes in more than +one hundred varieties of form, (all derived from an obtuse rhombohedron) +under the influence of a number of slightly different conditions of +temperature, impurities in the solution, &c. The most complex bodies are +evolved out of the simplest, the bodily frame of man himself (and that of +other animals) is constructed of less than twenty of the elementary +substances. The same simple substances are capable of yielding very +different and more complex bodies under different conditions; thousands of +different chemical compounds are composed of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon +only. In the development of {115} living forms from ova, the ultimate form +produced does not exist in the germ, any more than a crystal exists in its +solution, but is a natural consequence of the forces acting in and upon the +germ, like the cubical form of a crystal of common salt is a result of the +forces acting in its constituents under the conditions of its environment, +especially those of pressure and temperature. The extent to, and manner in +which, the force and principle operate, depend upon the material substance, +and its conditions internal and external. + +It is a common circumstance, both in physical, mental, and moral subjects, +for the apparent to be the very opposite of the real. This general truth +has been repeatedly illustrated in an incidental manner in this book, and +need not be much further elucidated. Phenomena are none the less real, +however, because they are not readily manifest; our earth is as much tied +to the sun by the invisible power of gravity, as if it was attached to it +by visible material chains. Mistaking the apparent for the real, largely +explains the persistency of certain beliefs, and why it is that persons +unacquainted with science, cling to self-deception, and resist some of the +most firmly established truths. The more evident but untrue explanation is +believed, whilst the less apparent but true one is rejected. It is the +chief cause of the belief that "the will is a supernatural power." To a +scientific man however, apparent contradictions are not unfrequently a sign +of truth; too accurate results sometimes {116} indicate that they have been +artificially made to appear correct. + +Sympathetic action or propagation of similar influence by immediate +impulse, is a property of all the natural forms of energy, as well as of +mind. Similar actions are propagated thus in all kinds of dead substances, +as well as in the living brain. Matter is sympathetic to sound in the +phenomena of singing-flames, and a vibrating string responds to a +particular note in obedience to well-known laws. Iodide of nitrogen may be +caused to explode by the influence of a particular note from a fiddle. In +the phenomena of light, with a spectroscope, a luminous gas is sympathetic +with, and emits and absorbs, only particular kinds of luminous rays. In +chemical action also, combustion excites combustion, ferment excites +ferment, infection communicates infection, and the similar chemical change +is transmitted from molecule to molecule. Mental excitement and disease in +one person, often excite similar phenomena in another, as is seen in +"religious revivals," and well-known epidemics, such as the "dancing +mania," "preaching epidemics," the "leaping ague," the "mewing contagion," +etc., etc., (See "Epidemics of the Middle Ages," by Hecker; Sydenham +Society publications; also Carpenter's Mental Physiology, p. 312.) Like +excites like in the actions of each of the forces of nature; both in +physical, chemical, and mental action, the kind of impulse transmitted is +similar, unless conditions exist which transmute it. Dynamite, {117} +started into combustion by a flame, burns slowly away; but when started by +a detonating substance, detonates violently. Guthrie has also discovered +that if a melted cryohydrate (_e. g._ a chilled saturated aqueous solution +of a solid salt) is cooled to a certain greater extent, it will not +solidify--nothing separates out, although the solution is four or five +degrees below its proper solidifying point. If a little crystal of ice be +then thrown into it, nothing separates but ice, which comes to the surface. +If we throw in a little anhydrous salt, nothing but the anhydrous salt +separates out, and that sinks to the bottom. But if we throw into it a +crystal of a previous crop of cryohydrate, then nothing but the cryohydrate +separates. In this case also, like evidently excites like only, in +obedience to physical laws. (Addresses, Science Conferences; South +Kensington Museum, 1876; Vol. 2, p. 108). Even two clocks, when hung near +each other, against a board or surface which readily transmits vibrations, +have been known to exhibit, by synchronous action, an apparent sympathy, +which changed their rate of going. + +Periodical phenomena, also, brought about by definite causes, occur in +mental, as well as in physical phenomena. In the former we have the +phenomena of sleep, and in the latter, definite causes produce summer and +winter, day and night, the tides, cycles of solar spots, maxima and minima +of magnetic intensity, etc., etc. + +Conversely to the manifestation of the principles of {118} inanimate matter +by living bodies and in mental action, so have modern inventions +demonstrated the possibility of the performance by inanimate substances and +apparatuses, of the functions, not only of our bodily organs, (as of +locomotion by the steam engine,) but also of our senses and intellect, and +in some cases, to a degree far surpassing unaided human power. Apparatus, +sensitive to sound, have been constructed, as in the microphone and +singing-flames; others capable of reproducing articulate speech, as in the +phonograph, telephone, etc.; others again sensitive to light, as in the +production of visible images by photography, and reproducing them at a +distance through wires by means of the photophone; the power of indicating +or foretelling future events has also been embodied in instruments called +"tide predictors," and that of evolving inferences has been shewn in +Jevon's "Logical machine." + +The various facts mentioned in this chapter prove that mind agrees with the +various forms of physical energy in many essential points, and obeys many +of the same laws or principles. Examine whatever general phenomena of the +mind we may, we can always detect some apparent or real connection of them +with the great principles of inorganic nature; and in order to prove the +dependence of them upon the great principles of science it is not necessary +to show that all such actions are subject to those principles. Until the +whole is explained however, there will always remain mysterious phenomena +to cavil about. {119} + +MORAL PROGRESS. + +At the present time few competent persons have largely investigated the +fundamental relations of morality to Physical Science, consequently moral +actions are usually considered not to have a scientific basis, and the +doctrine is still extensively taught that some moral phenomena are +essentially supernatural. + +As new scientific knowledge has increased, belief in witchcraft, sorcery, +demonology, exorcism, evil influences and omens, unseen spirits, a God of +evil, supernatural and occult powers, supernatural sources of strange +diseases, evil presages from comets and eclipses, fetishism, worship of +images and of the Sun, a belief that the Earth is the chief body in the +Universe, that man is the "Lord of Creation," &c, &c. have largely passed +away, and beliefs more consistent with facts and with true inferences drawn +from them, have taken their place. Belief in the supernatural nature of the +human will however is still largely retained. A writer on morality, +says--"In every genuine volition we have a phenomenon not law-determined, +law-regulated, and law-explained."[15] A popular expositor of religion +says--"The phenomena of the human soul are essentially different from the +phenomena with which the student of science is most familiar, and must be +investigated on other principles and by other methods." "The voluntary +activity of man lies beyond the limits of science." "Every language man has +ever spoken--no matter how {120} perfect or how rude--the literature of the +ancient and the modern world, the indestructible instincts of the human +soul, the testimony of consciousness, unite to affirm that the human will +is independent of natural law." "The will is a supernatural power." "I +myself am not under the dominion of natural law;" "my moral life is +essentially a supernatural thing." "As soon as you approach the +intellectual and moral life of man, you enter a region in which you have to +do with a new order of facts." &c.[16] + +Morality, the subject of duty, or of right and wrong-doing in conscious +creatures, is usually considered to relate only to those actions over which +a man has or might have had control, and which it was his duty either to +perform or avoid, and not to those which are entirely beyond his influence, +it is therefore essentially dependent upon the power of selection or +choosing. As then all moral actions require voluntary choice between right +and wrong, and every act of choice is a mental one of comparison of two or +more things, all moral actions are mental ones. We cannot compare things +which have not made any mental impression upon us. We know further, and the +evidence already given proves, that mental actions are intimately dependent +upon the principles of nature operating within and around us. If then all +acts of morality (or immorality) are mental ones, and if all mental actions +are intimately dependent upon the great principles of nature; then all acts +of morality {121} are dependent upon those principles. Morality also cannot +be properly understood without a knowledge of various sciences, especially +biology, because it relates to human creatures, all of whom are morally +affected by the various forces and substances belonging to the physical and +chemical sciences. + +Having shown that moral actions are mental ones, and adduced evidence to +prove that mental actions are largely subject to scientific principles;--it +follows as a necessary consequence, that moral actions also largely obey +those principles, and I need not repeat that evidence. + +The extension of scientific knowledge conduces in a very general way to +moral progress, by diffusing the "scientific spirit," increasing our love +of truth, facilitating the attainment of greater certainty and accuracy, +enabling us to more perfectly avoid error, reducing our ignorance, +dispelling superstition, inculcating obedience to law, diminishing +difference of opinion and thereby lessening strife, conducing to humility, +to greater economy of means, to increased cleanliness, &c, &c. Scientific +research also, by disclosing to man his true position in nature, enables +him to act in harmony therewith, and thus increase his morality and general +happiness. + +Knowledge is as free as the air, once diffused it becomes impressed upon +the brains of men and cannot be easily destroyed or restrained; and the +greatest moral effects of science are cosmopolitan ones. Inventions based +upon new scientific truths are gradually {122} breaking down the barriers +between the various nations of the Earth, and infusing common interests +amongst all mankind. Nothing is uniting the sympathies of different +nations, increasing the friendly feelings between them, and diminishing the +probability of war, more than the increasing facilities of communication +brought about in a great measure by the developments of science and art; +more particularly by ocean steam navigation, rapid postal communication and +the telegraph, (see p. 51). At the present time there are about six +Atlantic telegraph cables in use, and an almost daily service of passenger +steam ships across that ocean. The use of inventions based upon scientific +discovery has aided moral progress in various ways. All inventions are made +with the object of supplying some real or supposed want, and nearly +everything which supplies a common want, conduces to contentment and +happiness and the general progress of mankind. No one can possibly measure +or estimate the advantage of the inventions of writing and printing, in +helping men to avoid quarrels, to settle differences of opinion, to +sympathise with suffering, to give advice: &c. Similar moral functions are +also performed by the electric telegraph, and a few specimens of some of +the messages sent through the wire would clearly illustrate this fact. +Great moral progress has also resulted from cheap daily intelligence, +collected largely with the aid of the telegraph; and of cheap books +produced by means of the steam engine. It is estimated that 250 millions +{123} of copies of newspapers are yearly published in Great Britain. The +Bible and Religious Tract Societies could hardly have existed had not the +properties of the ingredients of ink been discovered. The present +multiplicity of testaments, prayer-books, hymn-books, &c., has also been +rendered possible by the invention of printing. As darkness is favourable +to crime, so the invention of gaslight has conduced to morality. The +numerous sources of intellectual and moral enjoyment, developed by +inventions based upon scientific discovery, have attracted mankind from +more sensual and less moral amusements, and the invention of the +piano-forte has operated largely in a similar manner. + +In many respects, the poor man of to-day can command social comforts, +conveniences, and pleasures, which an emperor could not in former times. +Who can estimate the amount of beneficial moral influences of an indirect +kind obtained by means of modern science? The relief from pain by +chloroform and other new medicines, the diminution of domestic toil by the +sewing machine; the increased health and pleasure obtained by access to the +country and seaside by means of railways; the diminution of anxiety +resulting from more speedy conveyance of letters, and especially of +messages by telegraphs, the increased pleasure of life resulting from being +surrounded by objects of beauty multiplied cheaply by means of scientific +processes, such as photography? + +The human mind cannot greatly resist impression, the various effects of +scientific research necessarily {124} produce an influence upon it. Whilst +great deep-seated truths make a powerful impression on the minds of +philosophers, the great practical effects of science in inventions, &c., +profoundly impress the mass of mankind. One of the chief influences of the +discovery of important scientific truths and of their practical application +in some wonderful way, such as in the telescope and microscope, phosphorus +matches, photography, electro-plating, the electric light, the +spectroscope, microphone, telephone, &c., is to produce a profound and +wide-spread impression of the existence of a great and mysterious +influence, which produces (or enables us to produce) such striking effects. + +Whilst also the novelty of the practical effects of new scientific truths +in inventions, astonish persons in general; the definiteness of scientific +phenomena, and the certainty with which they may be reproduced convince all +competent persons who examine them, that they are rigidly subject to +definite laws. In this way the antique belief that natural phenomena are +produced by supernatural agencies, is gradually being abandoned, and the +more moral conviction of the omnipresence and universality of law has been +largely established in its stead. Every new scientific fact and invention +thus becomes a new proof of the universality of law. Belief in the +supernatural has diminished in proportion as scientific knowledge has +advanced; instead of natural phenomena being erroneously ascribed to +demons, spirits, supernatural {125} powers, and occult causes, they have +been proved to be results of natural powers, acting in accordance with +known principles. Assertions which have been made, that "the will is a +supernatural power, independent of natural law" &c., are not supported by +evidence at all equal in cogency to that in proof of the statement, that +our mental and moral powers as a whole act in accordance with the great +principles of science. + +That moral phenomena, like those of the physical sciences, are capable of +being made the subject of experiment, observation, comparison, analysis, +and inference, is very manifest. Every case of bribery may be viewed as an +experiment in morality. The very common case where an employer tests the +honesty of a servant by some contrivance, is also a trial of a similar +kind. The dependence of the moral powers upon scientific conditions, is +clearly seen in the influences of intoxicating drinks. A mere natural +substance could not possibly overcome the influence of a power which exists +entirely independent of it; _i.e._, a "supernatural" one. Even the greatest +believer in the "supernatural" power of the human will, deplores the +serious injury which the abuse of alcoholic liquors produces upon mankind, +rendering the will powerless, and debasing the moral sentiments. The +effects of opium, haschisch, &c., are other examples. A vast number of +experiments remain to be made of the effects of drugs and organic +compounds, both solid, liquid and gaseous, upon moral actions; {126} which +will probably prove a still greater degree of dependence of those actions +upon purely physical and chemical conditions. + +The "order of facts" in the subject of morality requires precisely similar +mental treatment to those to which scientific investigation has been +already applied with such great success, and which include all phenomena +admitting of observation, comparison, analysis and inference; and not only +those in which we are able, but also those in which we are not able to +produce by means of experiment, the phenomena to be observed, such as those +of astronomy and geology. Different subjects also are experimental in +different degrees, physical science is more experimental, physiology is +more observational; morality is partly experimental, and therefore capable +of reduction to scientific system by means of our intellectual powers. + +In consequence of the essential nature of truth being the same in all +subjects, and of the fundamental processes of mental action in the +determination of truth being also alike in all, the essential modes of +arriving at and detecting moral truth are the same as those employed in +research in the physical sciences. We possess therefore no special faculty, +call it "conscience," or what we may, by which we are enabled to infallibly +arrive at truth in moral questions. What is right and good, and what is +wrong and evil, are determined by precisely the same general means as what +is true; our much vaunted consciousness alone does not infallibly tell us; +reason alone, {127} acting upon the evidence, is the final arbiter in any +doubtful or disputed case. The truth of moral questions must be examined +and tested by precisely the same mental faculties and processes as those +employed in physical science, viz:--by the faculties of perception, +observation, comparison, and inference, acting upon the whole of the +evidence; and by the processes of observing facts, comparing them, +inferring conclusions; by analysing and cross-examining the evidence in +every possible way, and extracting from it the largest amount of consistent +knowledge. + +Although we cannot detect moral truth by any other than intellectual +processes, we may however arrive at correct moral conduct in two ways, +viz:--either blindly or intelligently. We arrive at it blindly or +automatically by the process of trusting to our inherited and acquire +tendencies and dogmatic beliefs; and intelligently by the conscious use of +our knowledge and intellectual powers; and each of these methods has its +advantages. The former process being an empirical one, is very uncertain +and cannot be employed for the judicial detection of truth, or the certain +discrimination of it from error, it has however to be trusted to in all +cases where we are deficient in knowledge, or have not time for +investigation. Truthful ideas and correct conduct also, which at first +require the exercise of considerable intellect and much self-discipline, in +order to arrive at them, become by habit so completely converted into +acquired tendencies as to be automatic. It is not improbable {128} that +many of our truthful ideas and correct tendencies were originally arrived +at by intellectual processes; and have become incorporated into our mental +and physical structure by habit, education, and inheritance. + +The scientific basis of morality is further shewn and essentially proved by +the fact that the fundamental rules of morality are dependent upon +scientific principles. According to Dr. Clarke, the two fundamental "rules +of righteousness" which regulate our moral conduct are, first, that we +should do unto another what we would, under like circumstances, have him do +unto us; and second, that we should constantly endeavour to promote to the +utmost of our power, the welfare and happiness of all men (to the latter +might well be added, the welfare of all sentient creatures). The first of +these rules is essentially dependent upon the scientific principle of +causation, viz:--that the same cause, acting under the same circumstances, +always produces the same effect, if what we did for another person under +like circumstances might produce a different effect to what it would when +done for ourself, the rule could not be depended upon and would be of no +use. The second also agrees with the great principles of science, for the +more we obey those principles, the more do we really "promote the happiness +and welfare of all men." The first of these rules however in the form +usually stated, is incomplete, because it does not provide for the +circumstance, that many persons desire to have done unto themselves, not +that which {129} is most right, and really most for their welfare and that +of mankind in general, but that which would most please them. The desire of +immediate pleasure or consolation is greater than the love of truth in +nearly all men, and this is connected with another fact, viz:--that persons +unacquainted with the great principles of science, have not the advantage +of the moral sustaining power of those principles, and are compelled in +circumstances of trial to seek extraneous mental relief. + +The desire to do right is not the primary source of morality; there must be +a cause for that desire, and this fact also shews that moral phenomena are +dependent upon the scientific principle of causation. We can also much +better understand a subject, especially a complex one like that of morals, +when we can co ordinate its facts in a scientific manner, by referring them +to some general principle which governs or includes them. Referring moral +actions to a verified scientific principle, is more satisfactory than +referring them to a less definite source such as "conscience"; the +"testimony of consciousness"; or "the indestructible instincts of the human +soul," because a principle affords a more consistent explanation than a +dogmatic idea. The fact also that the discoveries of science usually +precede the developments of the moral advantages of science to mankind, is +in harmony with the general truth that effects follow their causes, and +with the conclusion that moral rules and moral progress have a scientific +basis. {130} + +In a general way, the influence of science upon moral progress is connected +with what has been termed, "the scientific spirit." This characteristic +consists mainly of an intense love of truth, a desire to acquire new +knowledge, to arrive at certainty and accuracy; also an obedience to law in +general, and a consequent philosophic resignation to inevitable ills. +Science inculcates these qualities, and it is well known that scientific +discoverers have usually been highly moral persons, truthful, accurate, law +abiding, patient, persevering, temperate, &c. On the other hand, the most +lawless persons are usually those who are most ignorant of the great laws +which govern their actions, who over-estimate human power and ability, and +are impelled by ill-regulated enthusiasm or feeling. + +Belief in and obedience to law, being a fundamental moral quality, is in +its turn the source of other moral qualities of less importance; for +instance, it tends to produce calmness, resignation, contentment, patience, +submission to the inevitable, &c. No man can be highly moral who disobeys +the great principles of nature. We may however obey those laws either +intelligently, by acquiring a scientific knowledge of them; empirically, by +obeying rules framed in accordance with them; or blindly, by obeying dogmas +which happen to agree with them. Those who do not understand laws cannot of +course intelligently obey them, and those who most disobey them, consist +nearly wholly of those who do not understand them. {131} Superstition, +ignorance of natural law, and a belief in occult powers, encourages +lawlessness, injures the moral sentiments, and is often attended by +bigotry, associated with strife, schism, and sectarian dispute. + +Probably the greatest influence which scientific discovery has had upon the +moral progress of mankind, has been by inculcating an intelligent love of +truth on account of its own intrinsic goodness; in this respect it stands +pre-eminent. Love of truth is a fundamental virtue because it is the basis +of many smaller ones. It is more virtuous, also, to pursue truth on account +of its own intrinsic and unqualified goodness in all respects, than for any +narrow extrinsic quality, such as the personal pleasure or utility it may +afford, or on account of any personal gain or loss, reward or punishment, +which may result from pursuing or neglecting it. In the present imperfect +state of civilization however, the great bulk of mankind unavoidably employ +less noble, as well as the noblest motives, as a means of improvement. Most +men can only be moved to do right by means of inferior motives, one of the +most effectual of which in a commercial nation is "small investments, large +profits, and quick returns;" an expectation of great reward in return for +small self-sacrifice. + +The discovery and dissemination of verified scientific knowledge is a purer +kind of occupation than the promulgation of any kind of dogma, because the +statements of verified science are usually capable of demonstration, whilst +those of doctrine, being often {132} contradictory, may, or may not be +true; mere affirmation also, when not based upon proof, is often dangerous +to morality. In dogmatic subjects a man may tell untruths with impunity, +because no one can disprove or convict him; but in demonstrable ones, a man +dare not utter falsehoods, because others will prove his statements to be +erroneous. It is demonstration rather than doctrine that is of divine +origin. A man also who practises scientific research is largely compelled +to adopt the most truthful views of nature, in order to enable him to make +discoveries. + +Real science is largely independent of opinion or faith. Whether we believe +or not that a piece of clean iron immersed in a mixture of oil of vitriol +and water, evolves hydrogen gas, the fact itself remains unaltered. It is a +great and glorious circumstance for mankind, that human progress depends +essentially upon a knowledge of new verified truth. As verified +experimental knowledge can only come from the great source of all that is +good, to doubt the value of new demonstrable truth, is practical atheism. +Those also who systematically investigate sources of verifiable truth, are +much more likely to ultimately arrive at the fountain of all truth, than +those who employ unsystematic methods, or prefer unproved beliefs to +verified knowledge. + +Another of the most powerful ways in which scientific discovery has +promoted moral progress has been an indirect one, viz., by diminishing +ignorance. Deficiency of knowledge is the parent of a vast {133} amount of +evil and failure. "There is no instance on record of an active ignorant +man, who, having good intentions, and supreme power to enforce them, has +not done far more evil than good." (Buckle, "History of Civilization," vol. +1, p. 167). Ignorance largely precludes happiness, and intelligence is an +indispensable condition of the highest morality. There are plenty of +difficult positions in life in which the desire to do right is not alone +sufficient, we must intelligently know what is the right course to pursue. +We are all of us ignorant in different degrees, and must be content in many +matters to walk by faith until we can walk by sight, and to act according +to rule and precept until we have discovered general principles to guide +us:--blind dogmatic morality and "rule of thumb" method is vastly better +than none, and has rendered great services to mankind. Whether comforting +doctrines are true or not, the great bulk of mankind prefer them because +they afford immediate relief; and whether they be erroneous or truthful, +men will be benefited by them and continue to believe in them, until their +minds are sufficiently advanced to receive a knowledge of verified +principles. Rules of morality however, when presented to us with a basis of +demonstrable truth, come with a degree of divine authority, and possess +greater claim to our observance, than the same rules presented to us as +empirical or dogmatic statements only. + +In proportion to our ignorance the more we dislike to be apprised of our +defects and the more inclined are {134} we to continue uninformed; because +the less intelligent we are the less are we able to perceive the evil +effects of our blindness or the advantages of knowledge. As also the +present state of civilization is very imperfect, and unsolved problems +exist in all directions, ignorance and all its evil consequences are +extremely prevalent. It causes the great mass of mankind to neglect better +objects for the sake of money. It indirectly constrains lawyers to neglect +moral evidence. It induces medical men to withhold truth from ignorant +patients. It causes ministers of religion to prefer doctrine to +demonstration. It would therefore be comparatively easy to compose lists of +our moral deficiencies, and of improvements urgently needed in morality, +far more extensive than the very incomplete ones of our material +shortcomings already given (see pp. 68 to 78). To enumerate however the +imperfections in the moral conduct of mankind, the frauds in trades, the +undue advantage taken of the defenceless, the deceit and empiricism in +professions, the professional trading on human weakness, the cruelty of +field sports, the hollow motives of social, political, and religious life, +the propagating as infallible truth, doctrines which may be fallacious, is +not the object of this Chapter; but rather to make clear the fact, that the +extension of the domain of verified truth by means of scientific research +is highly conducive to moral progress. + +The extension of new scientific knowledge is influencing morality and +gradually reducing the selfishness {135} of mankind, by proving that there +exist no royal roads to happiness, and that the greatest amount of +individual and national success can only be secured by a genuine pursuit of +truth, as an individual and cosmopolitan duty. Increased knowledge is +gradually proving to mankind that the purest happiness is to be obtained by +intelligent and virtuous conduct. By shewing Man the unreasonable character +of some of his fears and hopes, and substituting for them a greater variety +and extent of intellectual pleasures, science is slowly making him more +satisfied with his lot on this Earth. Meanwhile the great mass of mankind +are still pursuing the ever retreating phantom of an easy way to happiness; +the great laws of nature however cannot be evaded, the avoidance of evil +and the attainment of good can only be secured by obeying all the great +laws which govern our nature. + +Progress in morality is largely dependent upon the diffusion of belief in +the universality of scientific laws. When men understand those laws, know +that their action is irresistible, and that they have no alternative but to +obey them or suffer, they acquire a habit of obeying them. Universality of +law in moral actions is often considered to be incompatible with the +existence of freedom of the will in selecting ideas, and choosing courses +of conduct; but we are free or not, according to circumstances, both to +think and to act. All things are free to be active or not, in accordance +with their properties and surrounding conditions, but not in {136} +contradiction to them; and the human will is no exception to this +statement. The "will" is only free within certain limits; it cannot act in +opposition to its strongest motives or causes of action. We believe +ourselves to be much more free than we are, because we often do not know +the causes which determine us, and we frequently fail to detect those +influences, because we cannot think, and at the same time clearly observe +our act of thought and its motives. Freedom of the will does not enable us +to set aside laws: entire freedom from law in any instance is probably only +apparent. This limited degree of freedom of the will indicates the +dependence of volition upon scientific laws, because a supernatural power, +being entirely independent of natural law, could not be limited by it. To +affirm without proof that the human will is a "supernatural power" is to +implicitly deny the universality and constancy of natural laws. New +knowledge developed by Science, imparts to us liberty, but not license; +and, so far from diminishing the freedom of the will, increases it by +showing us what conditions we must fulfil and obey in order to effect our +objects. We acquire power by being first obedient; and this is in +accordance with the principles and facts of science; we must obey nature +before we can make nature obey us; the elementary bodies, also, usually +acquire the free state, latent power, and the ability to evolve heat and +electric energy, only by being first subjected in their crude state to a +process of reduction and purification. {137} + +Few circumstances connected with the discovery of new truths of science, +have had a greater moral effect, than the very high degree of certainty of +such truths. The moral result of this is a corresponding degree of +confidence in the statements of science. Trustworthiness is a great moral +quality. Uncertainty is a continual hindrance to action and enjoyment; and +many persons are driven to believe in error, and hence to commit sin, +rather than remain in suspense. Contradictions of doctrine, and the +consequent uncertainty of belief, in any subject, are fertile sources of +strife. Science consists, not merely of opinions and words, but also of the +tangible realities which those opinions and words represent, the forces, +substances and phenomena of the material Universe. Some persons however +fancy that the results of science are as uncertain as those of the +undemonstrable subjects with which they are familiar. + +Another way in which science has contributed to moral progress, has been by +requiring greater accuracy in nearly all human actions, and thereby +diffusing greater exactitude of language and of conduct, which has spread +itself throughout all civilised society. Previous to the use of watches and +clocks, persons were no doubt much less exact in fulfilling their +appointments; the establishment also in our chief towns, of electric +time-keepers regulated from Greenwich Observatory, is increasing exactitude +in our large communities. Since the introduction of railways, millions of +persons have been compelled to be more {138} exact in their movements, by +the risk they incur of missing their train. Numerous inventions and +processes based upon scientific discoveries could not be worked at all +unless men possessed habits of greater accuracy than formerly. Workmen now +require higher moral and intellectual education, and their duties require +more intelligence and involve greater responsibility. + +Science diminishes error, and the avoidance of error is a large step +towards the attainment of truth. There is no tyranny equal to that of false +ideas. Error often produces immoral acts, and every act of immorality is a +mental error. "The ignorant justice-loving man, enamoured of the right, is +blinded by the speciousness of wrong." "Inaccuracy of thought is the cause +not only of the errors we meet with in the sciences, but also of the +majority of the offences which are committed in civil life,--of unjust +quarrels, unfounded law suits, rash counsel, and ill-arranged undertakings. +There are few of those which have not their origin in some error, and in +some fault of judgment, so that there is no defect which it more concerns +us to correct."[17] + +Our senses and consciousness are often great deceivers, and unless +corrected by sufficient knowledge, are frequently as great a source of +error in moral questions as in mental ones.[18] Their incessant influence +is a cause of selfishness, and of the fallacious tendency existing in +nearly every man, to exaggerate the importance of himself and of everything +relating to him. {139} It has led man to consider himself "the Lord of +Creation";--to believe that his volitions are not subject to natural laws +&c.:--and has given rise to the comparatively narrow-minded idea "the study +of mankind is man." The fact that consciousness frequently misleads men of +energetic temperament who feel their energy, indicates its connection with +a physical basis. + +Consciousness is also an essential condition of what we term evil. If we +define evil as that which produces pain or discomfort in sentient +creatures, then evil is that influence only which unpleasantly affects +consciousness. And if we admit this, then all evil is relative, and there +is no absolute evil; because, if there were no sentient creatures, there +would be no evil. It is manifest also, that if the existence of evil is +dependent upon that of sentient creatures, and if the existence of such +creatures depends upon physical conditions, and upon the operations of the +great principles of science, then the existence of evil must itself depend +to that extent upon those conditions and principles. What we term Evil, is +caused, not only by the actions of man, but also on a large scale by the +operation of the simplest forces of matter, in earth-quakes, storms, +volcanic outbursts, droughts and famines, pestilences, etc. Evil (as well +as good) may therefore be viewed as a result, to some extent, of the +operation of the laws of the Universe; and here again we are compelled to +recognise a scientific basis of morality. {140} + +That the same causes, acting under different conditions, produce different +and even opposite effects, is a well-known scientific truth. The same heat +of summer which causes our foods to decay, promotes the growth of plants in +the soil; the same cold of winter which increases the pain of bronchial +affections, and cuts short the lives of aged and infirm persons, acts as a +stimulant and a source of pleasure to the young and healthy. We need not +therefore be surprised, that the same physical conditions and principles of +nature, act as causes or conditions both of what we term evil and what we +term good. If, also the theory of relativity in physical and mental action +is true, that change of impression is a necessary cause or condition of +consciousness, and that previous experience of pain increases the +perception of pleasure, we possess in that theory, as one of the general +ideas of science, a partial basis of morality. All these remarks tend to +shew, that in order to obtain a truly scientific view of the nature of man, +and of man's position and duties in the Universe, we must avoid the errors +caused by uncorrected consciousness. + +Another great moral effect of the continual discovery of new truth in +science, is the gradual production and diffusion of uniformity of belief, +first amongst scientific men, and then amongst the mass of mankind. This +uniformity of belief is a necessary result of the invariability of fact and +law; it does not extend to scientific opinions, hypotheses or theories, +because they are not necessarily facts, and may be {141} erroneous. A +knowledge of science tends to remove differences of opinion between man and +man, because it enables every honest examiner to obtain essentially similar +results. Scientific research will gradually disclose what is true and what +is untrue in doctrine and empirical rules; and what is true will be +retained. A universal religion or a scientific philosophy which is composed +of contradictory creeds cannot be wholly true. Science is gradually +superseding unreasonable beliefs, and inaugurating a true universal gospel +in which all men will eventually think alike in fundamental matters. The +continued discovery of new truth must of necessity sooner or later lead +mankind to the source of all truth and to universal satisfaction and +happiness. It has been frequently stated that science is antagonistic to +religion; it is evident however that as science is so conducive to +morality, it cannot be opposed to true religion, but only to false or +unfounded beliefs. Nothing shews more plainly a weakness of moral +confidence and a deficiency of faith in an over-ruling power, than a fear +that the pursuit of scientific truth will lead to results injurious to +mankind. What we most need to fear is, not that our most cherished +doctrinal beliefs may be proved to be mistakes, but that we through +deficiency of knowledge may be led to do wrong. + +There are plenty of questions, especially in matters of theory and doctrine +in concrete subjects, which science cannot directly and absolutely decide +either one way or the other, but respecting which, by the {142} aid of new +knowledge and of inference based upon it, science gradually accumulates so +large a preponderence of evidence as conclusively settles them to the +conviction of every unprejudiced and reasonable person. Many of the most +deeply interesting questions in mental science and morality are of this +kind; and will probably be settled in this manner. It is well-known also to +scientific men that the indirect conclusions of the intellect and reasoning +power are often more certain than the direct evidence of the senses and +consciousness; we are more certain for instance that the Earth is a sphere +than that it is a plane, although the former conclusion is arrived at +largely by inference, whilst the latter is the direct testimony of +uneducated consciousness. Whilst our senses and consciousness inform us +that the Earth is a fixed body, inference proves to us that it is rushing +through space at an immense velocity. Sense and consciousness are not +intellect, although they are often treated as such. Their functions are to +perceive and observe, to act as witnesses, to supply evidence to the +judgment, and not to usurp the reasoning power. Even the universal +consciousness of all mankind is insufficient to overthrow the final +decisions of the intellect, or to decide what is true or false, because the +senses and consciousness cannot compare or infer. As it is the force and +repitition, and not the truthfulness of mental impressions, which largely +determines belief, we are capable of believing error as well as truth, and +we believe much that is erroneous until the {143} corrections of the +intellect are applied to the evidence of the senses and feelings. The +correctness or otherwise of our present beliefs will be tested in the +future as others have been in the past, and the new experiences requisite +for the purpose will probably be obtained by means of original research. It +is a great mistake to suppose that the warrantable inferences deduced from +scientific knowledge will not sooner or later profoundly influence +questions relating to the highest hopes and aspirations of the human race, +such as the independent existence and immortality of the human soul; that +of a personal Ruler of the Universe; freedom of the will; the origin of +evil; future reward and punishment; &c. By extension of knowledge a +scientific system of morality will be formed. The great principles which +govern the phenomena of all bodies are gradually being discovered, and when +found we deductively apply them to ourselves, and thus arrive at a +knowledge of our true position in nature, our duties, our proper course of +conduct, &c. Science also by disclosing to us the true relations of matter +to mind in the human brain, will probably not only make known to us the +true limits of our mental powers and of the knowable, but also help to +solve the problems of the relations of the Universe and of Man to an +intelligent Creator. It will decide such questions, largely by shewing us +whether or not the ideas we entertain respecting them are consistent with +the more extensive knowledge evolved by research. A part of the data from +which we may {144} safely predict that science will in the future exercise +so great a moral influence over mankind, is the fact that its chief +principles are fundamental guides and regulators of human action. + +Probably nothing has a greater effect in making a man humble and reverent +than a thorough knowledge of science. By the inventions of the telescope, +microscope, spectroscope, telegraph, microphone, telephone, &c., the +extremely finite extent of all our faculties has been abundantly +demonstrated. Whilst the wonders of the telescope have developed an +intelligent sentiment of reverence, by revealing to us a portion of the +vast amount of the Universe of matter and energy, those of the microscope +have strengthened that sentiment by affording us an insight into the almost +endless complexity of minute creatures, substances and actions. Whilst also +these and other scientific instruments and appliances have proved the +excessively limited extent of our senses; the inscrutable character and +immense number and variety of problems of nature yet unsolved, equally +demonstrate the extreme feebleness of our mental powers. To obtain an +accurate acquaintance with science also, and especially to discover new +scientific truths, it is absolutely necessary to set aside human pride, and +approach the subject like a little child; no other course is possible. + +A knowledge of geology and astronomy also makes a man humble and reverent. +The fact that this globe must have existed myriads of years; and is always +moving at the immense velocity of more than 62,000 {145} miles an hour in +its orbit, is sufficient to convince any unprejudiced person of his own +transient physical existence and his comparative physical feebleness and +insignificance. Hitherto, man has largely been accustomed, through the +influence of uncorrected impressions and other causes, to view all nature +as having been expressly provided for him, but science informs us that +whilst this Earth is suitable for his abode, and Nature ministers to his +necessities and pleasures, it is only on condition that he first obeys the +great laws of matter and energy, and adapts himself to their requirements. +The operation of those laws often ruthlessly destroys thousands of men by +pestilence, famine, drought, and other great calamities, and man can do +nothing which is incompatible with them without suffering a penalty. +Science shews that man is but one out of at least 320,000 different species +of animals; it also discloses the fact that the entire human population of +this globe constitute only about one 50,575,785 millionth part of the +Earth, and proves to us that the Earth itself is but a speck in the +Universe, one out of at least 75 millions of worlds; and that not only is +it merely a planet revolving round the Sun, but that the Sun is only one of +a multitude of Suns, and is itself, with all its planets, revolving round a +still more distant centre in space. + +There is scarcely a faculty man possesses, which is not immeasurably +limited in comparison with the powers and capabilities of inanimate nature. +His physical energy, when compared with that of the {146} momentum of this +Earth, is so exceedingly small that it can hardly be conveyed to our minds +by means of figures; even the steam engine, excessively wasteful as it is +of power, far surpasses him in strength. The duration of his existence is +to that of the world he inhabits, as nothing to infinity. His power and +speed of locomotion are also very limited; the globe to which he is fixed +by gravity, moves in one hour through a distance greater than he could walk +in twenty years. Practically, by circumstances, he is almost rooted like a +vegetable to the locality where he exists; comparatively few men have +walked even a hundred miles from their homes, or have been conveyed round +this little globe by the aid of all our improved means of transport. A +balloon can ascend in the air, but a man cannot; without the aid of that +apparatus he is absolutely fixed to the surface of the Earth, and with the +assistance of all the appliances of science, he cannot yet ascend even ten +miles into the atmosphere, nor dive more than a few fathoms into the sea. +His senses are equally contracted; his perceptions of touch and sound are +far less delicate than that of the microphone; a photographic surface will +detect vibrations of light which he cannot at all perceive, and record +images more quickly than his brain; and for the detection of magnetism and +the chemical rays of light he possesses no sense whatever:--electrometers +and galvanometers can detect thousands of times smaller quantities of +electricity than he can perceive:--whilst a bolometer renders manifest a +one {147} hundred-thousandth of a Centigrade degree change of temperature, +he can hardly detect a difference of an entire degree; and whilst carbon +and platinum may be heated to whiteness without material change, a rise or +fall of about five Fahrenheit degrees in his temperature endangers his +life. His mental and intellectual powers are as limited as his senses; he +can hardly reckon without making an error even a single million, nor can he +conceive an adequate idea of a billion; a million miles or a millionth of +an inch are each quite beyond his immediate perception; an extremely minute +circumstance also is capable of disturbing and entirely diverting his train +of thought. He cannot create or destroy even a particle of dust, nor form +out of nothing a single idea. The velocity of transmission of his nervous +power, and the speed of his execution of will, are also extremely slow in +comparison with that of an electric current in a copper wire. Every person +is aware that he can only very slowly receive and understand a new idea. +His mental advance is as tardy as his locomotion, a sixth part of his life +is spent in acquiring the merest rudiments of universal knowledge. Whilst +his reasoning power, when applied to actual and truthfully stated +experience, is truly "the great guide" of his life, it only renders +explicit what was already contained in that experience; for when he draws +an inference, he usually only states in one form of words, what he has +already implicitly included in the propositions; and if the inference +contains more than this it is {148} unwarranted. His mental helplessness in +the absence of knowledge, is equal to his physical incapacity in the +absence of light. Nearly every problem of nature also is so complex, and +affected by so many conditions, that his reasoning power only enables him +to advance a very minute step at a time in the discovery of new knowledge; +he is then obliged to halt, and have recourse to new experiences obtained +either by means of experiment and observation, or by the latter alone. + +Man's moral actions are largely the effect of circumstances; his thoughts +and actions are probably the whole of them limited by law. He is never free +from the influence of causation. His mental and moral freedom are limited +by the epoch in which he lives, by the customs of his nation, by the +individuals by whom he is immediately surrounded, by the alcoholic +stimulants of which he partakes, and by his own physical and mental +constitution, his degree of intelligence, &c., &c. Whether he is willing or +not, he is incessantly compelled to receive sensuous and mental +impressions, and be influenced by an almost infinite number and variety of +agencies acting upon him both from within and without:--To be mentally and +physically active, and perform all the bodily functions and acts necessary +to his existence:--To live on this globe in presence of all its phenomena, +and be carried through space at an immense velocity:--To undergo through a +long series of generations a progressive existence and development of +civilization, &c., &c. {149} He is more subject to the laws of the Universe +than those laws are subject to him; and he can only exercise his will +successfully and become their master by first obeying them. + +Under the influence of the light and heat of the Sun, the entire population +of this planet (about fifteen hundred millions) are renewed out of the +crust of the Earth every few years, by breathing the air, drinking the +water, feeding upon plants which take their constituents from the Earth, +water and air; or by eating animals which have lived upon plants; and if +that heat and light, or that supply of food and air, were to cease, all +those human beings would die, and all the moral phenomena of man on this +globe would terminate. Whilst man cannot exist without the support of +inanimate nature and the operation of its laws, inanimate nature and its +laws can exist without him. That also which is naturally ordained by +Creative power to be dependent, cannot be essentially more important than +that upon which it depends for its existence. The essential importance of +man in relation to the Universe, exists only in his own imagination. + +These facts shew that the principles of science, and the physical and +chemical properties of substances, lie at the very basis of man's existence +and activity and it would therefore be incorrect to say that the physical +system of the Universe is unimportant in comparison with the moral +phenomena of mankind. + +That science conduces to humanity by preventing {150} and alleviating +animal suffering has been already alluded to (p. 80-81). True humanity +consists not in the abolition of experiments upon living creatures, but in +the judicious employment of them. Instead of barbarously treating our +suffering fellow creatures by indolently and ignorantly allowing causes of +disease and pain to continually occur and take their course, it urgently +enforces upon us the duty of extending our knowledge of physiology by means +of new experiments, observations and study. It would be untruthful to say +that experiments purposely made upon men and other animals do not yield new +and valuable information;--Pharmacopoeias and Materia-Medicaes are full of +descriptions of the properties of curative agents discovered by these and +other scientific methods. + +Amongst the lesser virtues which have been greatly promoted by means of +scientific research is that of cleanliness. The origin of soap was the +discovery of the detergent properties of a boiled mixture of fat and +alkali. The numerous inventions which have cheapened the most important +soap-producing material, viz., washing soda, and those which have cheapened +oil of vitriol, the chief substance consumed in making washing-soda, have +all contributed to the cleanliness of mankind; and it has been stated that +the degree of civilization of a nation might be ascertained by the amounts +consumed of those substances. + +Even the minor virtue of economy has been greatly promoted by the results +of scientific research. New {151} scientific truth has through inventions +taught us how to obtain greater effects with less expenditure of space, of +time, of materials, and forces. It has enabled us to effect our objects +quicker and with a diminution of waste. In the sugar manufacture for +example, by means of the centrifugal machine, the sugar is deprived as +perfectly of molasses in three minutes, as it was previously in three days, +and the necessary manufacturing apparatus has been so much reduced in +magnitude as not to require more than one half the space. The process of +bleaching linen, which formerly required weeks, has by the discovery of +chlorine been reduced to hours. Journeys which at one time occupied weeks +now only require days. Messages are now transmitted in hours which formerly +required months. Multitudes of instances might be adduced of the diminished +cost of the comforts and conveniences of life, resulting in consequence of +discovery of new scientific knowledge. Ultramarine for example, which at +one time cost from ten to twenty pounds an ounce, has by means of chemical +research been reduced in price to a few pence per pound; phosphorus, which +formerly cost several guineas an ounce, now costs only as many pence. + +Numerous substances which were formerly thrown away, destroyed, or +neglected, are now utilized. Coal tar and gas-water, which were at one time +waste products in the making of gas, and which when thrown away were the +causes of costly litigation to gas-companies, by polluting streams and +wells, &c., {152} are now sources of very large income to those companies. +Those substances yield great quantities of salts of ammonia, the beautiful +aniline dyes, paraffin, benzene, napthaline, alizarine, and other valuable +products. Glycerine also, which formerly was a most offensive waste product +in soap-making, is now purified and used, to an extent of twenty millions +of pounds annually, for a great number of purposes; as an emollient for the +skin; as a source of nitro-glycerine and dynamite, used in blasting rocks, +in warfare, &c. The immense beds of native sulphide of iron also, notably +those of Tharsis and Rio Tinto in Spain, and of many other places, are now +utilized, literally in millions of tons, for the production of sulphur, +copper, oxide of iron, &c. A long list of instances of this class might be +adduced if it were necessary, some of them of very great importance.[19] + +The promotion of morality by enabling us to detect crime, is one of the +smaller influences of scientific research, and may be referred to as a +set-off against the bad uses sometimes made of scientific knowledge. The +telegraph is very commonly employed to assist in tracking and capturing +criminals. Photography is also largely used in our gaols as a means of +recognising offenders. + +Knowledge of science conduces also to self-discipline and self-mastery, it +tends to bridle our vicious passions by making known to us the penalties +which must be paid for their indulgence; it limits our self-will by shewing +us that we must respect and obey the {153} laws of nature whether we are +willing or not, no man can improperly manipulate dangerous substances or +forces with impunity; it moderates our bigotry by exhibiting to us the +great uncertainty of unproved opinions; it restrains undue credulity in +men's assertions, by shewing us their frequent fallacy; it gives us +confidence in the laws of nature, by proving to us their uniformity; it +withdraws us from self-deception by compelling us to accept the truths of +nature as they exist ready made for us, whether they harmonise with our +preconceived ideas or not; men cannot argue with nature, as they can with +their fellow-men, but must submit to the influence of verified truth. It +supplies us with principles instead of empirical "rule of thumb" methods as +guides of morality. Whilst it liberates us from the terror of irrational +fears, it cautions us against entertaining unreasonable hopes. It +substitutes for ignorant wonder and awe, an intelligent appreciation of +created things; and when fully developed it will probably satisfy all the +reasonable instincts and desires of men. + +Whilst law, medicine and divinity, direct man's attention almost +exclusively to matters concerning himself, and thus tend to limit his +sphere of perception and knowledge, and unconsciously impress him with the +idea that all other existences are less important than himself, science not +only enlightens him respecting all the departments of his own nature, but +extends his mental vision in all directions by exciting his mind to observe +and reflect upon all other bodies {154} and actions throughout the +Universe. Whilst also music, painting, sculpture, poetry and the drama, +afford excitement and pleasure to his senses, feelings and sentiments, and +are largely personal; science not only constitutes the basis of those arts, +but shews the relations of them to Man and to the external Universe, and +thus more largely cultivates the intellect and corrects and refines the +senses, feelings and sentiments. + +New scientific knowledge affords advantages to all classes of men; to the +minister of religion, by supplying him with new illustrations of Creative +power, in the greatness, smallness, and vast variety of nature; to the +physician, by explaining to him more perfectly the structure and phenomena +of the human body, and by providing him with new remedies; to the statesman +and politician, by making known to him the great and increasing relations +of science to national progress, by its influence upon wages, capital, the +employment of workmen, the art of war, the means of communication with +foreign countries, &c.; to the philanthropist, as an endless source of +employment for poor persons, by the development of new discoveries, +inventions, and improvements in arts and manufactories; to the military +man, by affording him new engines and materials for warfare and defence; to +the inventor, by supplying him with new discoveries upon which to found +inventions; to the merchant and man of trade, by the influence of new +products and processes upon the prices of his commodities; to the +manufacturer, as a means of improving his materials, {155} apparatus, and +processes; and to the investor of money, by assisting him to judge what new +technical schemes are likely to succeed. + +As the domain of rational enjoyment afforded by means of science gradually +enlarges, that derivable from less intellectual sources will probably be +modified; indeed this change is already progressing, and is manifested in +the alterations occurring in theological views, and in the extensive +adoption of scientific entertainments by religious bodies. The recognition +of science by professors of religion is also shewn by the already extensive +use of railways on Sundays as a means of conveyance to churches and +chapels; also by the publication by the Society for Promoting Christian +Knowledge, of Manuals of Electricity, Astronomy, Botany, Chemistry, +Crystallography, Geology, Physiology, Zoology, Matter and Motion, the +Spectroscope, &c. + +Having shewn some of the chief modes in which new scientific truth is a +basis of mental and moral progress, it is not necessary to say much +respecting the evil uses sometimes made of science, because every good +thing is liable to be abused by ignorant or ill-intentioned persons. The +abuses of scientific knowledge do not arise from the true spirit of +research, viz., a desire for new knowledge on account of its intrinsic +goodness and value to man, but from an absence of that sentiment. The +Bremerhaven explosion, the assassination of the Czar, the uses of +photography to forge letters of credit, and of the {156} telegraph in +swindling operations, the employment of electro-gilding and silvering in +coining base money, &c., &c., are all attributable to motives other than a +love of science. + +All the facts mentioned in this chapter, and the various points of +essential similarity between physical, physiological, and mental phenomena, +justify the conclusion that both moral and other mental actions, like +physical and chemical ones, are obedient to the great principles of +science. And from the evidence here adduced and alluded to, it is certain +that those principles influence human progress, not only in a few +conspicuous direct ways, but in a multitude of varied, deep-seated, and +indirect ones. + +If the statements made in this Chapter are true, that the innate properties +of matter really are motive powers of the human organism, and the +principles of science are regulators of mental and moral action; that Man +is a feeble epitome of the principles and powers of inorganic matter; that +the laws of Nature operate in utter disregard of his erroneous beliefs; +that nearly all man's sins and sufferings are traceable to his ignorance +and limited powers; that in proportion to his ignorance of science so is he +unable to foresee the more remote consequences of his thoughts and acts; +and if new knowledge does correct erroneous beliefs and purify human +thought and action, it behoves teachers of morality to make themselves +adequately acquainted with the principles and newest developments of +science. + + * * * * * + + +{157} + +CHAPTER III. + +------ + +NEW TRUTH, AND ITS GENERAL RELATION TO HUMAN PROGRESS. + +The great source of the success of applying science to trade, and of the +beneficent effect of science upon human welfare in general, is simply the +influence of demonstrable truth. We know that if we have once discovered +all the principles, laws, and conditions of some scientific phenomenon, or +of some improved process or result in a manufacture, the reproduction of +exactly the same conditions will hereafter enable us to invariably produce +the same result. In this respect science differs from dogma, the truth or +falsity of which cannot be demonstrated; it also differs from empiricism, +because when empirically working a process we are ignorant of the +principles or laws which are operating, whilst with a scientific knowledge +we understand those laws, and can direct them to our particular purposes. +In the process of electro-plating for example, we understand the laws of +the phenomena, and can direct them so as to obtain silver of a hard or soft +quality, brittle or tough, crystalline silver, &c., according to our wish; +but if we had only an empirical knowledge of the subject we could not thus +vary the process. {158} + +The highest test of truth is verified prediction; if we calculate +beforehand that an eclipse of the Sun will occur at a certain hour and +minute, and that eclipse occurs accurately at the predicted moment, we may +rest assured that our knowledge upon that point is true and complete. If we +say that a piece of clean iron, immersed in a solution of blue vitriol, +will become covered with a layer of metallic copper, and we find upon trial +that this result invariably occurs when we fulfil those conditions, we may +be certain that our knowledge of this phenomenon and its conditions is also +of a definite and certain character. Similarly, when we become able to +predict with certainty the conditions of the Sun's surface, we shall +probably also be able to predict severe winters, famines, &c., and +therefore be prepared to suggest precautions to be taken against them. Even +now the new truth necessary for this purpose is beginning to be evolved by +means of scientific research.[20] + +Amongst the great axioms and principles of science, possessing great +certainty, and which enable us to predict, are, _1st._ the general truth +known as the Principle of Causation, that every effect has a cause; that +the same cause, acting under the same conditions, always produces the same +effect; and that causation acts through all time and all space:--_2nd._ the +great truth, that every phenomenon requires time; and every substance +occupies space:--_3rd._ the Principles of Conservation and Persistency of +Matter {159} and Energy; that out of nothing, nothing comes; and out of +everything, everything proceeds; that all the future states of the Universe +are implicitly contained in and will be evolved out of the present state of +the Universe; that we have no experience and possess no verified knowledge +either of creation or annihilation of Matter or Energy; that we cannot +absolutely create or destroy even an idea;[21] and that Matter and Energy +appear to be eternal:--_4th._ the Principle of Convertibility and +Equivalency of the different forms of Energy, according to which the +various forces known as mechanical power, heat, light, electricity, +magnetism, chemical action, &c., being modes of motion, are convertible +into each other in equivalent quantities and without addition or loss. +These and other great principles constitute the basis of physical and +chemical science, by obeying which, we have been enabled to evolve all the +wonderful practical realities of science of the present day.[22] To these +great principles may be added the more concrete truth called the "Law of +Progress," the essential idea of which is time, a time-rate; which +regulates the speed of increase of civilization, and is evidently connected +with the great truth that every phenomenon occupies time. + +The Principle of Gravitation, demonstrated by Newton, explains a vast +number of facts relating to the motions of the Heavenly bodies:--the {160} +Undulatory Theory of Light, largely developed by the labours of Fresnel, +renders equally clear and systematic an almost endless number and variety +of optical phenomena; Oersted's law of Electro-magnetism similarly explains +and renders consistent a multitude of facts respecting the movements of +magnets and electric conductors, which would otherwise be confusing to +remember and impossible to satisfactorily explain. And the great mental +value of these comprehensive ideas to mankind, consists largely in +relieving the memory and diminishing mental confusion, by co-ordinating a +large number of different facts and apparently inconsistent phenomena by +means of a general conception which embraces the whole of them. Thus a +knowledge of the Principle of Gravitation informs us that both the ascent +of a balloon in the air, and the descent of a stone in water, are alike due +to the same force of gravity; and that of Chemical Affinity proves to us +that the apparently unlike phenomena of slow rusting of iron and vivid +combustion of phosphorus are essentially alike and due to the same cause. + +All bodies, whether living or dead, and all forms of energy, appear to be +absolutely subject to the great laws of Causation, Progress, Conservation, +&c., no one can escape them; the man who transgresses the Law of Progress +by being too much in advance of his epoch, is punished as certainly as he +who lags behind it; all must advance together, and at approximately the +prescribed rates. {161} + +The real source of all that is good in new scientific knowledge arises from +its verified and verifiable character, its high degree of certainty, and +its capacity of withstanding all the tests which can be applied to it. By +the term "scientific knowledge" in this case I mean that only that which +has been verified, and I purposely exclude all matters of hypothesis, mere +opinion or belief. Scientific research is the chief basis of national +progress, not only because it is continually disclosing new truths to us, +but also because the truths it reveals are frequently of the most definite +kind. + +As the term "verified truth" may appear vague, the questions may well be +asked, what is truth? And how may we best detect it? And especially what is +new truth? and how may it best be recognised? Truth may be conveniently +defined as universal consistency; or that which perfectly conforms to +facts, and agrees with the widest experience, when tested by means of all +our intellectual powers, the reasoning faculty in particular. The usual +modern criterion of it, is consistency with the fundamental axioms of +logic, and with all the great principles of nature as established by means +of scientific research, such as the universality of causation, the +continuity of phenomena, the indestructibility of matter and energy, the +convertibility and equivalency of forces, &c. All truth whatever is one in +character by possessing the inseparable attribute of complete consistency. +The truthfulness of scientific knowledge is proved by its agreement with +universal experience and with the {162} fundamental logical axioms:--a +thing either is or is not:--a thing cannot both be and not be:--a thing +must either be or not be:--things equal to the same are equal to each +other; &c. It is chiefly by means of knowledge of these axioms and of the +above principles of science, and of their varied and numerous modes of +operation and application, that the man of science "explains" the +multitudinous phenomena of nature, predicts future events, and is enabled +to discover new truths and develope new inventions in the arts. Unlike +other persons; when he sees a new effect, or hears of a new phenomenon, he +at once refers it to these principles, in order to test its correctness or +to explain it. + +With regard to the detection of truth, that is often a difficult and +complex process. There exists no royal or easy method; usually it can only +be recognised by means of laborious and critical examination of the whole +of the evidence obtainable in the case; and even then we are often obliged +to be satisfied with only an approximation, or it may be with even a mere +probability. Frequently also the truthfulness or otherwise of a statement +cannot be decided in any degree in consequence of the absence of suitable +or sufficient evidence, and for that we may have to wait for ages. We are +now waiting for evidence necessary to decide many questions respecting the +human mind. + +With regard to the question, what is new truth?; that also is a difficult +one to solve. The forms in which different truths appear are so various, +and those {163} also in which even the same truth may shew itself are so +diverse, that it is often impossible to discriminate new truth from old +ideas clothed in a new form of words. The newness of an idea is entirely a +question of evidence, and to determine it, usually requires a complete +knowledge of all the circumstances affecting the particular case. + +New truth appears to be usually derived from new physical or mental +experiences of phenomena external to our perceiving faculty; either by +observing matter or its forces under new conditions or from a new aspect; +and the knowledge comes to us either through the avenues of our feelings +and senses, or by means of direct observations, by comparison of such +impressions, or by inferences drawn from them. From the results of such +mental operations, additional new truths are evolved by the more complex +process of analysis, combination and permutation of ideas. New truths are +also evolved from old ones by each of these latter methods; but sooner or +later the implicit contents of our stock of old knowledge becomes exhausted +when used for such a purpose, and we are then obliged to seek new +experience. + +As new truths may be acquired in the more direct manner, by acquisition of +new experience; and less directly, by mental operations upon old ideas, +other subjects of less fundamental and more concrete nature than the simple +sciences, such as sociology, &c., are also sources of progress, when +treated in these ways. {164} + +Of all subjects, the simple sciences of physics and chemistry, are at the +present time, apparently making the most rapid advance, and the chief +reasons for this probably are, _1st._ they treat of facts and principles +which can be verified, and _2nd._ because the more complex sciences, +together with the arts and manufactures based upon them, can only improve +in proportion as they are developed. All the essentially human subjects, +such as sociology, politics, morality, religious worship, &c., are in this +position, and are probably results partly of the operation of the great +principles of nature acting through the body and mind of man. + +The chief method of discovering new truth is that of observation, +experiment, and study, and further mental treatment of the results. The +most systematic methods also of evolving new truths are those employed by +scientific men in making discoveries, and when any person arrives at a new +idea, he usually (either consciously or unconsciously) employs them. + +The acquisition of new knowledge must of necessity precede its diffusion. +Immediately a new truth, especially an important one, is discovered, its +influence begins to permeate the existing mass of knowledge in various +directions, causing us to view many of our old ideas in a new aspect; +giving rise also by comparison and inference, and by processes of +combination, permutation and analysis of ideas, to a multitude of other new +truths, usually less important ones, which themselves also affect previous +knowledge in similar ways, {165} and by analogous treatment give rise to +additional new conceptions. + +But although we evolve truthful new conceptions from previous ones by these +purely mental methods, there is a limit to the number capable of being +evolved from a limited stock of ideas, because the number of combinations +and permutations of such a stock, though usually large, are themselves +limited. The number however is large in proportion to the degree of +essential importance of the ideas, and is greatest when we employ those of +the fundamental principles of nature, already referred to; for instance a +greater number of new ideas have been evolved by means of appropriate +mental processes from the law of gravitation and from that of +electro-magnetism than from any minor truth in science. Persons therefore +who are the least familiar with great demonstrable principles are usually +the least able to conceive new truthful ideas of intrinsic importance, or +to draw new verifiable inferences of much theoretical value. + +Every inventor and student knows that he continually requires new materials +of thought, and if he does not obtain them, an obstacle, like a wall of +adamant, rises before his mind in all directions, and prevents his forming +new ideas. That also which is true of each individual is true of the +collection of individuals, mankind; if new truths are not obtained, the +thoughts of men flow in circles, and mental progress ceases. The mental +characteristics of sequestered communities in remote isolated districts, +are examples of this {166} fact. The influence of printing, railways, +telegraphs, postal communication and other scientific developments, in +aiding mental progress, afford other illustrations. A multitude of facts of +this kind, and many others, leads us to the conclusion that each new idea +requires a cause to produce it, and that human knowledge is subject to the +great law of causation; also that the creation of an idea out of nothing +would be a miracle, a phenomenon without a cause. Our present knowledge was +not created by us, but was originated by previous knowledge and experience, +including of course inherited impressions. Even in what is termed the +"noblest effort of the mind," an act of reasoning or inference, we do not +create an idea, but only render explicit in a new form of words, ideas +already implicitly contained in the words of the propositions employed, as +may easily be rendered manifest by mechanical means in Jevons's "Logical +Machine;" a proper inference never contains more than its data. In the +so-called "creation" of ideas by the imagination also, the new ideas are +evolved from old ones, and rendered explicit by mental processes of +analysis, combination, permutation, &c. Our scientific inventions also, +being mental conceptions, an unlimited number of them cannot be made by +means of a limited stock of old knowledge. It was in consequence of this +limit, viz., the impossibility of actually creating ideas out of nothing, +that human knowledge was not more advanced by metaphysical speculations +until science with its experiments and {167} observations came to its +assistance. These various facts prove the statement made in the Preface of +this book, that present knowledge only enables mankind to maintain its +present state. + +Not only the mental, but also the physical advance of mankind is +essentially dependent upon the discovery of new truths. Men's physical +actions are determined not alone by their inherited and acquired tendencies +and the influence of external nature upon them, but also by their ideas; as +a man thinks, so also to a large extent does he act. Nations who do not +adopt new ideas do not either mentally or physically advance, but change +only so far as their immediate surroundings change; the Chinese are a +remarkable example of this; even the tendencies which men inherit, were +largely produced in their ancestors by the influence of ideas. The great +fact of the essential dependence of human progress upon new knowledge, is a +truth, the importance of which to man cannot be over-estimated, and is one +which statesmen, ministers of religion, and philanthropists should +seriously study. + +Much of the apparent advance of this nation however is not real. The great +bulk of our newly published knowledge, even that which is scientific, and +considered by the public to be new, consists, not of new truths, but of old +ones dressed in new forms of expression:-- + + "The tale repeated o'er and o'er, + With change of place and change of name. + Disguised, transformed, and yet the same + We've heard a hundred times before."--_Longfellow._ + +{168} + +It falls to the lot of but comparatively few men to discover or evolve +important new truths. The great majority of learned men also, have through +all historic time been occupied, and are still, not in evolving new ideas, +but in re-expressing old ones in different forms of words; the literary +spirit, is in civilised nations, almost universal. In ordinary writings it +is a rare circumstance to meet with an important and really new idea; it is +usually in books written by men who are acquainted or imbued with the great +principles and truths of science, that the newest demonstrable ideas are +most frequently found. The difference between evolving new ideas, and +re-expressing and permutating old ones; largely characterises the +dissimilarity of the scientific and the literary and theological minds. All +however are necessary to the welfare of mankind, the former to advance and +the other to maintain the condition of man. If all were not necessary they +would probably not exist. + +There are two great artificial divisions of scientific knowledge also, upon +the development of which national progress largely depends, viz., knowledge +of inanimate matter and knowledge of man; the latter we have largely +cultivated but the former we have greatly neglected:--and even our study of +man has been largely one-sided and literary. It is far less important to +know what is man, than to know what are the great principles which underlie +the actions of all living creatures, and in obedience to which man is +compelled to work out his destiny in the Universe and the infinite future. +{169} + +It is evident from this, that much of the mental activity around us is not +progress, but rather a process of maintaining present state, a prevention +of decline, a continually going round and round in conventional varied +step, a kind of intellectual mill. Under these circumstances it is not the +original discoverer, but he who in this occupation, can best express old +ideas, in the most varied forms and choicest language, who is most +generally considered to be the greatest intellectual chief. + +Although originality even in literature and art is very imperfectly +encouraged in this country, both art and literature are much more readily +understood and appreciated than scientific research, and treated as if they +were more important. Whilst most persons can understand and appreciate the +gift of a work of art to a public art collection, few can understand or +properly value the discovery and gift of a new scientific truth of far +greater intrinsic value to the public stock of knowledge; the treatment +received by Priestley and other discoverers in comparison with that of +local donors, sufficiently illustrates this. Even publishers of lucrative +newspapers prefer to give prizes and pay liberally for sensational tales, +than to pay for articles on the public advantages of new scientific +knowledge. + + * * * * * + + +{170} + +CHAPTER IV. + +------ + +THE PROMOTION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. + +Nearly the whole of the most distinguished mathematicians, physicists, +chemists, biologists, and physiologists of Great Britain, also the Earl of +Derby, the Marquis of Salisbury, Sir Stafford Northcote and many other +eminent men, have given evidence before the Royal Commissioners on +"Scientific Instruction and the Advancement of Science"[23] to the +following effect:--_1st._ That the promotion of original scientific +research is neglected in this country. _2nd._ That such research is +encouraged more by the State in Germany than here. And _3rd_. That much +greater encouragement of it by our Government, by the Universities and the +Public, is highly necessary to our commercial prosperity. They have also +stated in evidence their opinions as to the best ways in which they +consider it may be assisted. The additional fact that all the greatest +scientific men who have ever existed have pursued research, and sacrificed +much for it, is a practical proof that they also approved of its +encouragement. + +That research should be promoted is further the opinion of many men learned +in politics, literature, art, and science. The views expressed in numerous +letters on the subject, received by me from Members {171} of the Privy +Council, and of both Houses of Parliament, and from other eminent persons, +confirm this. It has also been adopted as a chief part of the programme of +the "Association for the Organization of Academical Study."[24] + +"M. de Candolle, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Science, Paris, is +a strong advocate for the encouragement of a class of sinecurists like the +non-working Fellows of our Colleges, who should have leisure to investigate +and not be pestered by the petty mechanical work of continued teaching and +examining." "The modern ideas of democracy are adverse to places to which +definite work is not attached, and from which definite results do not flow. +This principle is a wise one for the mass of mankind; but is utterly +misplaced when applied to those who have the zeal for investigation, and +who work best when left quite alone." + +The correctness of the principle of promoting research is also recognised +by our Governments in their yearly grants of money to the Royal Society, +and to the Royal Irish Academy[25] to aid research, also by the Council of +the Chemical Society, which has established a fund for the same purpose; +and by the British Association in their annual grants for the promotion of +scientific enquiry. The Fishmonger's Company also presented to Mr. W. R. +Parker, F.R.S., the sum of L50, followed by an annual gift of L20 for {172} +the three years, to assist him in bearing the expenses of his researches on +the skulls of vertebrate animals. And the British Pharmaceutical Conference +voted the sum of L80 from the Bell and Hills fund, during the period of +three years, in aid of research in connection with pharmaceutical science. +A small fund for the purpose of research exists also at the Royal +Institution. Fellowships also with a similar object have been founded at +the Victoria University. Dr. Priestley also was aided in his researches by +contributions from a small circle of friends. In recognition of the same +principle, nearly all of the most eminent scientific men on the Continent +have been assisted by their respective Governments. The total amount of aid +to research in this country is however very small, and to one acquainted +with the great commercial and other any valuable results of such labour, it +is simply astounding that we have not systematically organized a powerful +means of promoting discovery. + +A few scientific persons however still continue to oppose aid to research; +quite recently, scientific investigators have been spoken of as a class of +"men amusing themselves without any result whatever."[26] That idea however +abundantly refuted in the foregoing pages. It has also been remarked[27] +that "practically, endowment of research comes to the creation of positions +where there is payment without corresponding labour." "In England above all +countries in the world, there will always be plenty of {173} amateurs ready +and willing to assist in research, and it is notorious that in England, +almost without exception, all the great advances in science have been made +by such amateurs. Therefore I do not think it at all desirable that the +British tax-payer should be required to put his hand in his pocket to +provide salaries for gentlemen who might be working rightly or wrongly. He +could not control them, and while there are such a body of amateurs in the +country, I think the researches may be very well left to them." + +The first of these statements is not correct; the endowment of research +does not amount to "payment without corresponding labour." Scientific +discoverers have always been distinguished as a body of men intensely +devoted to their labours, and willing to perform much work for small +payment. Most of the great advances in science also in England, have been +made not by "amateurs," but by men of great experience, such as Newton, +Herschel, Priestley, Davy, Faraday, Graham, and many others. Endowment of +research is not desired for wealthy amateurs, but for investigators of +proved ability and small pecuniary means and who require assistance. Such +men, although not infallible, are the least likely to "work wrongly," and +much less likely to do so than amateurs. Many scientific investigators also +of repute, object to give their services wholly to a wealthy nation, +because they cannot afford to do so, and because it is only just that the +nation should make them some pecuniary return for their skill and labour. +The great evils {174} in this country requiring new knowledge to remedy +them[28] also prove that there are not "plenty of amateurs ready and +willing to assist in research here," or that "the researches may be very +well left to them." + +Whilst some investigators have had abundant means to carry on research, and +have excelled in that occupation, many of the most eminent have been +persons of limited circumstances; and their insufficient pecuniary means +has often restricted their degree of success. The argument also that +insufficiency of means stimulates research, is only employed by persons who +are not making investigations under such a condition. + +The President of the Royal Society, Dr. Spottiswoode, in his recent +address[29] also remarked:--"The question has been raised whether it be +wise, even in the interests of science, to encourage any one not yet of +independent income, to interrupt the main business of his life. It is too +often assumed that a profession or a business may be worked at half speed, +or may be laid down and taken up again, whenever we like. But this is not +so, and a profession temporarily, or even partially laid aside, may prove +irrecoverable, and the temptation to diverge from the dull and laborious +path of business may prove to have been a snare." Each of these remarks +appears to be made upon the assumption that it is still a doubtful question +whether persons qualified for research should be encouraged or not to +abandon occupations they reluctantly follow, and for which they are less +fitted, in order to become scientific {175} discoverers. As it is a fact +that the welfare of this country is suffering through deficiency of +encouragement of research, it is certainly desirable to encourage, by every +proper means, qualified persons to occupy themselves in such labour. Some +of the greatest discoveries have been made by men "not yet of independent +income," for instance, those made by Scheele, Priestley, Dalton, Faraday, +W. Herschel, and many others. + +The late Astronomer Royal, also,[30] who has made many researches, and was +a scientific official paid by the State, says:--"I think that successful +researches have in nearly every instance originated with private persons, +or with persons whose positions were so nearly private that the +investigators acted under private influence, without incurring the danger +attending connection with the State. Certainly I do not consider a +Government is justified in endeavouring to force, at public expense, +investigations of undefined character, and, at best, of doubtful utility; +and I think it probable that any such attempt will lead to consequences +disreputable to science. The very utmost, in my opinion, to which the State +should be expected to contribute, is exhibited in the large grants +intrusted to the Royal Society. The world, I think, is not unanimous in +believing that they have been useful." He then enumerates what he considers +"the proper foundations of claims upon the State," which he illustrates, +and substantially includes in and {176} limits by, the kinds of scientific +research done under his direction at the Royal Observatory. He further +adds--"The Royal Observatory was founded expressly for a definite +utilitarian purpose (the promotion of navigation) necessarily connected +with the highest science. And this utilitarian purpose has been steadily +kept in view for two centuries, and is now followed with greater vigour +than ever before. To its original plan have also been added--but still in +the utilitarian sense--the publication of time, the broader observation of +terrestrial magnetism, and local meteorology." His views therefore appear +to be, that State aid to research should be limited to utilitarian objects; +and that it is with propriety given to his own department, which is +connected with the State. It has however been abundantly proved that nearly +all the great scientific utilities of every-day life, had their origin in +the pursuit, not of utilities, but of pure truth, and that immediate +usefulness is neither the most successful nor the highest motive in +scientific research, nor should research be limited by so narrow a +condition. The investigations also made by the aid of Government Grants +possess the usual degree of definiteness and of utility of such labours, +and it cannot be reasonably expected that the world would be unanimous +respecting any measure, especially respecting a subject so little +understood by the public as the Endowment of Research. + +If investigators were to limit their researches to utilities, or what +appeared to be such, scarcely any {177} essentially new experiments or new +discoveries of importance would be made. No attempts would be made to +discover essentially novel facts, nor would many trials be made to test +fundamental abstract questions which affect the very basis of scientific +knowledge. The principles of electro-magnetism, of magneto-electric action, +and of the magnetic rotation of polarized light, were each discovered by +means of perfectly novel experiments, in which immediate utility was not +the motive. + +It is worthy of notice that of the very small proportion of scientific +investigators who disapprove of State aid to Research, nearly every one +already possesses sufficient pecuniary means to carry on investigations, +and therefore cannot adequately appreciate the position and necessities of +investigators having only small incomes. In some cases also the objections +to aid investigators come from scientific men who have attempted to make +discoveries but have not succeeded. + +Dr. Robinson of Armagh, a well-known investigator, has very properly +pointed out[31] what has been done in this country towards giving +assistance to those engaged in the pursuit of science, and mentions the +Observatories maintained by the Universities and by the Nation. He says +also that if anything more were to be done in increasing the amount of +grants of money to assist scientific work, he thinks "it might be best +applied in establishing in the great commercial {178} centres of the realm, +physical and chemical laboratories such as that which the Duke of +Devonshire has established at Cambridge, provided with the most refined +apparatus, and accessible to all who are considered privileged by a +competent tribunal." He also says "when there is found a man so far +surpassing his fellows in any department of science that he may be expected +to do work beyond their power, he ought to be made independent of any other +pursuit, so that none of his time and energy may be lost, such a case is +exceptional, and when it occurs it should be exceptionally provided for." + +Original research will for a long time to come, be opposed by a large +section of the non-scientific public:--by the numerous persons whose source +of income depends upon the ignorance of their fellow-men:--by those who are +deficient of faith in demonstrable truth, and fear that their most +cherished beliefs are endangered by it:--and by many of those who are +insufficiently acquainted with it to perceive its great value to mankind. + +With regard to the fears of many objectors that the Endowment of Research +would lead to jobbery and abuses, and thus retard the progress of discovery +instead of promoting it; it is evident that such a risk is an inseparable +concomitant of every remunerated office and is not peculiar to that of +research, and must therefore be accepted as unavoidable and be provided +against in the usual ways. It does not however appear probable that the +risk in this respect is at all greater {179} than that already existing and +provided against in many other appointments. + +Many persons, not clearly perceiving the difference between pure research +and other scientific occupations, suppose that because science is +encouraged in various ways in this country; and because sums of money are +occasionally given to scientific institutions, and some scientific men are +evidently receiving good incomes, that discoverers are remunerated, but +this is a great mistake; there is probably not a scientific man in the +kingdom who is wholly employed in such work in abstract physics or +chemistry, and paid for his entire skill, time, and labour. Wherever +payment is made for scientific labour, it is nearly always for that +performed with a view to some immediate practical application. Inventors +and expositors are remunerated, but discoverers are not. + +At the present time in this country scientific men are paid for teaching, +lecturing, writing popular scientific articles, compiling scientific books, +editing scientific journals, making chemical analyses and experiments for +manufacturers, companies, and others, for practical purposes, or to obtain +evidence for legal cases, giving evidence on scientific subjects in courts +of law, with consultations and advice to manufacturers and others, +superintending scientific commercial undertakings, &c. Some also +unfortunately obtain an income and cheap publicity by the empirical +contrivance of selling to tradesmen, their scientific opinions in the form +of testimonials which are extensively {180} advertised at the cost of the +purchasers. But not one of these occupations constitutes pure research, or +is an immediate source of new discoveries. Payment is made for all kinds of +scientific labour which will immediately benefit individuals or +corporations, but very little for pure investigation, and nearly every +inducement exists to attract men of science from pursuing such labour. + +It might be supposed that investigators would patent or sell their +discoveries; but discoveries in pure science cannot usually be patented or +sold, because they have not been converted by invention into commercial +commodities. New scientific truth is utterly unsaleable; no one will +purchase it. Whilst the real or intrinsic value of it is great, its +extrinsic value is small and is the sum of money it will sell for in the +market. No one would have purchased Oersted's great discovery of +electro-magnetism. It would also be less to public advantage if +investigators were to neglect discovering new knowledge in order to apply +that knowledge to practical uses. It requires a different training of +mental power to discover new truths, than to utilize them by means of +invention, teaching or lecturing; and men who can invent and instruct are +far more numerous than those who are able to discover. Discoveries are also +generally much more valuable than inventions, because a single discovery +(that of gutta percha for example) not unfrequently forms the basis of many +inventions. Discoverers not unfrequently meet with new facts {181} which +they perceive might be applied to valuable technical uses, but they +hesitate to patent them because the process of invention, taking out a +patent, seeking a manufacturer to work it, and protecting their patent from +piracy, would occupy a large portion of their time, and take them away from +research. Sir D. Brewster got no money by patenting his kaleidoscope +because the patent was instantly pirated in all directions. + +Some persons have suggested that scientific men should keep their +discoveries secret, but this would usually be a greater disadvantage to the +investigator even than publishing them, and no one would then derive any +benefit; discoveries also, being often capable of numerous applications, +and not being in a saleable shape, cannot usually be monopolised by any +one. New scientific knowledge is like a powerful light, it cannot be +hidden. Discoveries are eminently national knowledge, and research should +therefore be national employment. + +Other persons suppose that investigators should be satisfied with the fame +of their discoveries, and not require any payment; but this is a most +unfair supposition, because no man can live without means, and every useful +person deserves to be paid for his labour. Ought the late Duke of +Wellington to have been satisfied with the fame alone of his exploits, +without being paid any salary? Ought a Bishop to be content with the renown +of his eloquence, without receiving any payment for his services? Genius +alone is {182} appropriately rewarded by fame, but time, unusual skill, +labour and expenditure, should be repaid by money. + +It has been suggested that an investigator, if he is a man of practical +ability, is very often put into an office, the duties of which he can +efficiently discharge, and yet have leisure for original research, as in +the case of the late Dr. Graham, the eminent Master of the Mint,[32] our +Astronomers Royal, &c., and thus obtain his reward. But this is a very +imperfect plan, because research is very difficult, and to be carried out +effectually, requires the whole of a man's time and attention; the +investigator would also be taken from more important work to do that which +is of less value to the nation, and which might be performed by a more +suitable person; appointments also of the kind referred to are much too few +in number. Such a plan as this, of relegating important national work to +odd hours spared from official duties, is a makeshift, and quite unworthy +of this nation. Entire occupation in research, combined with efficient +publication of the results, is the only satisfactory plan of procedure. + +Probably one of the most satisfactory ways of rewarding scientific +discoverers and serving national interests at the same time, would be to +create salaried professorships of original research, and appoint +discoverers of repute to fill them. + +The time is near at hand when this nation will be compelled by the +injurious consequences arising from its neglect of scientific research, to +acquire a {183} knowledge of the relations of science to national existence +and welfare, and to adopt some means of encouraging discovery. The greatest +difficulty, probably, which has to be overcome, is not so much how to +obtain funds for the purpose, as how to employ them successfully, and +especially how to prevent their getting into the hands of unsuitable +persons. But, as methods have been found of remunerating all other classes +of persons, ways may be devised of remunerating scientific investigators. +It is only because the case is novel that it seems difficult; it is +probably no more intrinsically difficult to establish a professorship of +research than to found an ecclesiastical benefice. + +The great difficulty of determining from what source discoverers should be +paid for their labours, arises from the fact that all classes of the +community share in the benefit. It is evident they should in some measure +be paid from a source towards which all classes either directly or +indirectly contribute, and therefore from some public fund. The persons who +first use scientific knowledge are the compilers of scientific books, and +teachers of science; but these only disseminate the knowledge, and do not +derive from it any great pecuniary advantage, they are only the agents for +supplying the knowledge to others. The persons who first convert such +knowledge into valuable commercial commodities are inventors and +manufacturers who have received scientific education or advice; but those +who derive the greatest pecuniary benefit from it, and who should therefore +either {184} directly or indirectly pay in the largest degree for it, are +the great manufacturers, capitalists, and landowners. Whilst the question +is being settled as to what class of persons shall primarily bear the +expense of research, discoverers themselves are suffering great injustice, +and our manufactures and commerce are passing into the hands of foreign +nations. What the amount of loss and disadvantage suffered by this nation, +through want of encouragement of scientific enquiry is, cannot be +estimated, but it is certainly enormous. Had even a very moderate amount of +payment been made for such labour, and the expenses out of pocket paid in +full, the amount of research performed would have been greatly increased. + +Under present circumstances, many promising young men, fitted to become +good investigators, have been driven out of science altogether. I have +found by long experience and persistent enquiry, that there are many young +men distributed over this country, who are very desirous of engaging in +scientific research, and likely to make good investigators, but are +entirely prevented by the non-remunerative character of the labour, every +one wishes to know "what will it lead to"? Even amongst our most able +discoverers, scarcely one who has not possessed private means has continued +research beyond the middle age of life, because such labour enables no +provision to be made for old age; and all those who have left have devoted +themselves to less important but more lucrative occupations. Most of these +gentlemen have been {185} obliged to abandon research at a period of life +when their faculties were in the most perfect state for continuing it. + +Where one young beginner in science meets with the fortunate circumstance +of a helping hand, as Scheele did in Bergmann, and Faraday in Davy, many +are crushed out. The want of encouragement to scientific discovery in this +country is so very great that extremely few men are able to struggle +through it, and this is one reason why we have had so few discoveries. Some +persons have argued that the very difficulties and discouragements offered +are an advantage to science by producing only men of the very highest +eminence in discovery; but it is manifest that however great the amount of +ability may be that is developed by discouragement, that amount would +probably be still greater by judicious assistance. Moreover, progress in +the developement of the national scientific intellect is not so much to be +reckoned by the few great successes which have occurred in spite of all +obstacles, but rather by the much more numerous ones which would have +resulted from proper encouragement. The advocates of such an argument can +have no idea of the heart-sickening feeling of long deferred hope +experienced by the young beginner in science; or the disgust gradually +engendered in his mind at the injustice of other men taking all the profits +of his labours and leaving him without means of support; or they would +never adduce it. In this country the success of the few {186} eminent men +of science has resulted from the accidental combination of a few more or +less fortuitous circumstances, and their own great natural determination, +and not from legitimate and just support. How many investigators we have +lost from the above causes it is impossible to tell. The encouragement also +of unusual ability should not be left to accident. + +As scientific research has proved itself to be of such great value to this +nation, the question naturally arises, how can it best be promoted? A +number of plans have been proposed. Amongst these may be mentioned. _1st._ +By founding State Laboratories, in which discoverers of established repute, +supplied with every aid and appliance, should be wholly engaged in research +in their respective subjects, and be paid by the State. _2nd._ By founding +colleges or Professorships of original research in each of the +Universities, and appointing professors similarly. _3rd._ By founding +provincial colleges or Professorships of research, the funds being raised +locally by means of subscriptions, donations, and endowments, with or +without State assistance. _4th._ By State or Local aid, in the form of +additional salary, to Professors in colleges, to enable them to pursue +research. _5th._ By an extension of the present Government grants +distributed by the Royal Society. _6th._ By making it a condition at each +of our Universities that every student entering for a degree in science, +should previously make an original research. _7th._ By the formation by +learned societies, of Endowment of {187} Research Funds, and making grants +of money therefrom to recognised investigators. _8th._ By aid to local +scientific investigators by Municipal bodies out of the rates. And _9th._ +The support of Institutes of Scientific Research by private munificence. +Aid to research, in Germany, has been chiefly been made by the State, by +affording means to the Professors in the Universities; in America, more by +munificence of wealthy individuals; and in this country, chiefly in the +form of Government grants of money to investigators. The greatest +difficulty to be surmounted in carrying out any of these schemes, is the +very general ignorance in this country of the value and necessity of +research; and this can only be overcome by scientific men themselves +performing their duty of enlightening the public on the subject. + +_1st._ _By founding State Laboratories._ One of the first duties of a +Government is to protect its subjects in the enjoyment of their property; +but as no law reserves to discoverers the fruits of their ability, it is +clearly a duty of the State to protect them in other ways. It is believed +to be a duty of the State to provide and pay for pure scientific research, +for the following reasons:--because research is eminently national work; +because the results of such labour are indispensable to national welfare +and progress, and are of immense value to the nation, and especially to the +Government; because nearly the whole pecuniary benefit of it goes to the +nation, and scarcely any to the discoverer; because research is not +sufficiently {188} provided for by means of voluntary effort, nor can its +benefits be restricted to a locality; and because there appears to be +scarcely any other way (except by application of University revenues) in +which discoverers can be satisfactorily recompenced for their labour. Also +"Government should for its own sake honour the men who do honour and +service to the country." (Faraday.) + +The founding of State laboratories for original research was proposed and +advocated by the late Lieutenant-Colonel Strange, F.R.S., in communications +read before the British Association, and in evidence given before the Royal +Commissioners.[33] As the erection and maintenance of State laboratories +would require a large sum of money, and as all classes of the community +would share in the benefit, it is reasonable to suggest that the money +should come from some source towards which all classes of the community, +either directly or indirectly contribute, and therefore from some national +fund. + +In national improvements, expense is quite a secondary consideration; the +funds however for providing State laboratories already exist; the sum of +nearly L600,000 has accumulated in the form of fees received by Government +for the granting of patents for inventions; and as the discoveries made by +scientific men form the materials by means of which those inventions were +made, the money thus accumulated may be justly claimed by scientific +discoverers as a suitable {189} source from which their labours should be +remunerated by the State. + +Strong arguments might be adduced both against and in favour of the +application of this money for the purpose. Inventors are a great +wealth-producing class of the community; they are at present very highly +taxed, and receive but little advantage in return; to tax them without +giving them equivalent advantages, strikes very near to the root of +commercial prosperity, by diminishing improvements in arts and +manufactures. If an inventor is poor and his patent is valuable, he is also +frequently harassed out of it by litigation. Inventors are usually poor, +and but little able to pay taxes on patents at all; their pecuniary +position in this country is not greatly better than that of discoverers; +they are largely at the mercy of manufacturers and capitalists; and the +injustice to which they are sometimes subjected is notorious and +disgraceful. On the other hand, the fund already exists; inventors also +receive an equivalent from investigators, discovery is the indispensable +basis of nearly all invention; patented inventions are formed by means of +the knowledge obtained by pure scientific research. The poverty of a man +does not justify his taking the fruits of the labours of another man +without paying for them. If also the patent fees were thus applied, the +cost of research would then be paid for by all classes of the community, +somewhat in proportion to the benefit derived, because the cost of patents +in general ultimately falls upon the public at {190} large, in the shape of +an increased price put upon the commodity, in order to pay the cost of the +patent, like the grower of wheat is paid by the consumers of bread, through +the medium of the baker, the miller, and corn merchant. + +Whilst the benefits derived from the labours of discoverers, flows chiefly +in the form of money into the hands of wealthy manufacturers, and finally +gets locked up in the possession of capitalists and landowners, it is +hardly to be expected that the Government will be in possession of funds +necessary to promote research unless some such plan as this is adopted. +Should the wealthy and governing classes however become sufficiently +acquainted with the value of research, and of the essential and permanent +dependence of their material prosperity upon it, there will then be some +hope that they will be willing to contribute in a more direct manner their +just share towards paying the expenses. There is, however, but little +prospect of this whilst the influence of wealth so depresses the scientific +education of those classes at the Universities. + +The fundamental object in founding State laboratories should be to keep a +staff of the most competent men wholly engaged in original research in pure +science, and a secondary object might be to train assistants to become +investigators. Such laboratories would doubtless be located in London, and +be on a scale of magnitude creditable to science and the nation. They might +very suitably include {191} departments for the simpler pure sciences and +even for biology. + +It is manifest that the arguments which support the proposition for +professorships of original research in those sciences apply in a greater or +less degree to other sciences; and it has been stated that "there is no +ground upon which the scheme can be limited to the subject of natural +philosophy." In reference to this remark, (which, like most objections, +contains some truth), it must be remembered that there is a natural order +of dependence of the sciences upon each other, in which order also they are +being evolved. It is a general truth that the physical sciences of light +and heat are based upon mechanical conditions of the particles of matter; +that the science of chemistry is founded upon physics; that biological +phenomena are dependent upon physical and chemical conditions; that +psychological subjects are based upon biology; and that biological science +cannot progress excepting in proportion to the advance of the sciences on +which it is based. In addition to this general order of precedence of +evolution in point of time, the various sciences are so mutually related +that all must advance together, the simple ones taking the lead, and the +concrete and more complex sciences, with their attendant arts, following +behind. + +As this natural order of dependence and development of the sciences is a +great fact of nature, over which we have little or no control, and as a +scheme for the simultaneous establishment of professorships of research in +all the sciences, simple, complex, and {192} concrete, would probably be +too great an undertaking, the most proper course would be to commence with +the simpler ones, such as those of mathematics, mechanics, physics, and +chemistry, and perhaps biology. If it be argued that it would be +unadvisable to commence with the simple and purely experimental sciences, +it would be still more unadvisable to commence with the concrete subjects +of "natural history, medicine, civil history, law, and theology," or with +the arts which also depend upon science. + +The number of investigators in such an institution would not be large, +because few of high repute could be obtained, many of our ablest ones +abandon research for remunerative pursuits. In order to make the plan +succeed, the conditions of the appointments should be such as to limit the +election to the most competent persons. In the selection of such gentlemen, +the verdict of opinion of scientific men generally, upon the published +researches of the candidates, would have previously determined who were +qualified for the office. Any man who had published reliable papers in the +Transactions of the Royal Society, might very properly be considered a fit +candidate, and the selection and appointment might be made by the +Government, with the advice of the Council of the Royal Society. + +Probably there exists no class of persons upon whom the country might more +rely for industry in office than eminent investigators, because they have +pursued truth for its good effects alone. Men who had {193} previously +exercised the degree of self-sacrifice necessary to make a number of long +and difficult experimental researches, with only very limited pecuniary +means, must necessarily be possessed of great enthusiasm in their calling, +and would therefore be extremely unlikely persons to become idle by being +supplied with a sufficiency only of means to carry on their labours. +Further, such men might at present obtain a much larger income than they +would receive in such a post, by abandoning research and devoting +themselves to the various profitable engagements which are open to every +man of scientific ability who is willing to devote himself to applied +science. The actual work of research is much too arduous and difficult to +permit such an office to become an object of desire to a place-seeking or +idle person. But in order to exclude with certainty those who might devote +themselves to research solely or primarily for the purpose of subsequently +obtaining a well paid appointment, (as persons sometimes devote themselves +to learning, with the object of getting an "idle Fellowship,") and to +ensure in all cases a reasonable continuance of industry, it would be +necessary, that whilst the salaries paid should be sufficient to render the +professors free from care, if expended with a reasonable degree of economy, +they should not be so large as to conduce to idleness. The professors +should undertake not to engage in any other remunerative employment, and +provision should be made, that in case a professor persistently failed to +make, complete, or publish his {194} researches, or devoted less than the +stipulated amount of time to such labour in the Institution, without +reasonable cause, he should be removed. + +Many persons fancy that "it must be very nice to be always making +experiments," and that they "should be delighted with such an occupation" +if they "could only spare the time." But such an idea is only another +illustration of the general ignorance of the subject, and it is only +expressed by those who have never made a laborious and difficult research. +Pure research is by far the most difficult of all scientific occupations, +and this is another chief reason why discoverers are few, and why they will +probably remain so. + +To succeed in research, a man must set aside all human pride, and approach +the subject with perfect humility; and this is not an easy task, men cannot +so readily abandon preconceived and cherished notions. Many researches are +moreover extremely dangerous. Thilorier was killed by the explosion of a +vessel of liquefied carbonic anhydride; Dulong lost an eye and finger, and +Sir Humphrey Davy was wounded by an explosion of chloride of nitrogen. +Faraday was near being blinded by an experiment with oxygen. Nickles of +Nancy, and Louyet of Brussels, lost their lives, and two other chemists +were seriously injured in health by exposure to the excessively dangerous +fumes of hydrofluoric acid. Bunsen lost the sight of an eye and was nearly +poisoned by an explosion whilst analysing cyanide of cacodyl.[34] Hennel +was killed by an {195} explosion of fulminate of silver, and Chapman by one +of nitrate of methyl; and nearly every chemical investigator could tell of +some narrow escape of life in his own experience. Any one who wishes to +know whether it is "very nice to be always making experiments" should +attempt the isolation of fluorine, the chemical examination of some +offensive substance, or the determination of some difficult physical, or +chemical problem. + +That a professorship of original research would "involve substantial work" +does not admit of doubt, and therefore "there would be some security that +it would be worthily bestowed." It would not become an "ornamental +sinecure," in which "there is pay but no work," unless, by assigning to it +too large a stipend, inducement was held out to that numerous class of +persons whose love of money is stronger than their love of truth, to seek +the office; to say the utmost, it could hardly become so largely a sinecure +as many offices now held by ecclesiastics. Jobbery and abuse of patronage +would be still further prevented by making the duties sufficiently heavy. + +The appointment, and remuneration by salary, of professor of research, +would not lessen the independence of scientific men if the office was not +placed under the superintendence of active and interfering officials +ignorant of science. Although the professors might not be highly paid, the +appointment would increase their independence because it would be one of +the most honourable to which scientific men could {196} attain, and because +they would thereby be put into a sphere in which they could exercise their +talents to the fullest extent, and render the greatest service and honour +to the nation. If also the salaries offered were not too great, those +persons only would become candidates who at present have insufficient means +to defray the considerable cost of experiments. + +It would be necessary to appoint only persons who would undertake to devote +their time solely to the discovery of new facts and principles in science, +and the determination of purely scientific questions, and not to the making +of inventions; because discovery is of far greater national value than +invention; and because inventions would immediately on their publication be +seized, modified, and patented by individuals for their own personal +benefit. Discoveries, on the other hand, would require a large additional +amount of labour expended upon them by inventors before they could be +converted into saleable commodities. + +Each professor should be allowed perfect freedom to choose his own special +subjects of research in the sciences he had been accustomed to study, +because each investigator is usually the best judge of what researches are +the most likely to yield him important results. No discoverer of repute +would be very likely to trespass on another man's sphere of research, +because he would usually have an abundance of good subjects of his own; and +every honourable man would purposely avoid doing so; and we find this +practically to be the case at the present time. Separate sets of {197} +rooms would be necessary for each investigator in order to keep the +researches private and distinct. + +The whole of the new knowledge obtained by research should be treated as +national property, and all of it worthy of publication should be made known +without the least reserve, it would also be desirable to publish the +results at reasonable intervals of time. The publication might take place, +as at present, in the journals of the learned Societies, or in the leading +scientific magazines, and the value of the work would be largely guaranteed +by such a mode of publication. The professors should also engage not to +sell, patent, or prematurely disclose any of the knowledge obtained. By +electing to such offices only discoverers of repute, the nation might +reasonably depend for the results upon the known ability and industry of +the men. That the results obtained would, many of them, be highly valuable, +does not admit of doubt, because long experience has uniformly proved it; +but no discoverer can tell beforehand what results he will obtain, +otherwise research would hardly be needed. + +An objection has been made that no one can tell how long it will be after a +discovery is made before the nation will derive the chief benefit. The +length of time which elapses between the publication of discoveries and +their practical fruits is very variable. Usually benefit commences at once +and gradually widens; directly discoveries are published they begin to be +used by compilers of scientific books, and by teachers and lecturers in +science, and are thus diffused {198} amongst the public in general, and +begin to produce beneficial effects. Inventors, manufacturers, medical men, +and others, also begin to apply them to their respective purposes. In some +cases striking applications are immediately made of them, and public +attention is thus directed to the useful result; but in many cases the +beneficial effects are small, numerous, and indirect, and it is difficult +to trace and describe them. The objection also is deficient in force, +because expenditure in any other occupation, and receipt of the profit upon +it, are rarely simultaneous. Many of the wisest reforms in this country +have been a long time in producing their results. We must therefore be +content, as in all ordinary cases of investment, with the conviction that +the expenditure will be profitable, and we must wait patiently for the +certain harvest. In research, as in many other human enterprises, a man who +will not move until he is absolutely certain that what he intends to do +will at at once succeed, must sit still and perish. + +Suggestions have also been made to appoint a Government Committee, or +Council, whose function should be to value scientific discoveries, and make +corresponding amounts of reward to the discoverers. But this appears to be +a less feasible plan, because no man can, at the period of discovery, +determine what amount of practical result a discovery will ultimately +produce. Who could have foretold with certainty at the date of Oersted's +discovery of electro-magnetism, that this discovery would result in {199} +the expenditure of hundreds of millions of pounds upon telegraphs +alone?[35] + +Objections have been made to definite payment for labour in research, on +the ground of indefiniteness of the results, and the impossibility of +measuring their value. Can we expect to buy new scientific knowledge at so +much a pound, or to retail discovery by the pint? The work of discoverers +is as definite as that of many other persons who are paid. Who can measure +the value of the cure of souls, of the duties of a judge, or of those of a +field-marshal? Instead of paying for the labour of research in a definite +way, we have adopted unsatisfactory makeshifts. Exceptional gifts, and +semi-charitable pensions, have been with difficulty obtained in a few cases +for scientific men; most often for those who applied scientific knowledge +to practical uses than for those who discovered that knowledge. In this +country, neither lawyers, medical men, military persons, nor clergymen are +paid definitely by results, but by time and labour, in accordance with the +reputation of the man, and there is no sufficient reason why investigators +should not be similarly remunerated. The differences in the cases are only +ones of degree. + +The time has arrived when this great evil should be made known and +remedied, and men of science should press upon our Government, as a matter +of justice to themselves, and necessary for the nation's welfare, that the +accumulated fees from patents should be applied to the establishment of a +Scientific {200} department of the State, the erection of State +laboratories, and the payment of discoverers for the national work of +research. + +_2nd._ _Professorships of Research at the Universities._ Most of the +remarks already made respecting the appointment and maintenance of +professors of research in State laboratories, would apply equally to those +proposed in connection with the Universities. Amongst the reasons which may +be adduced in favour of the establishment of such professorships the +following may be selected. Because the advancement of learning is +peculiarly the function of a University, and one of the chief objects for +which such institutions were founded. The word University implies a seat of +universal knowledge, and it is reasonable to assume that Universities +should act as fountains of new theoretical knowledge, as well as perform +the function of diffusing it; such an addition would also raise their +intellectual position, and make them much more respected, both at home and +abroad. + +With regard to such professorships, the "Association for the Organization +of Academical Study," consisting of a number of learned men belonging to +the Universities, the Royal Society, and other learned bodies, adopted the +following resolutions:-- + +"That the chief end to be kept in view in any redistribution of the +revenues of Oxford and Cambridge is the adequate maintenance of Mature +Study and Scientific Research, as well for their own sake as with the view +of bringing the higher education within the {201} reach of all who are +desirous of profiting by it." "That to have a class of men whose lives are +devoted to research is a national object." "That it is desirable, in the +interest of national progress and education, that Professorships and +special institutions shall be founded in the Universities for the promotion +of Scientific Research." "That the present mode of awarding Fellowships as +prizes, has been unsuccessful as a means of promoting Mature Study and +Original Research, and that it is therefore desirable that it should be +discontinued." + +With regard to the funds necessary:--It has been estimated that the money +paid in the form of sinecure fellowships or retiring pensions, to young men +in Oxford alone now amounts to about L80,000 or L90,000 a year; and it has +been suggested that this money be applied to the purpose. These funds were +originally intended for promoting knowledge, but vested interests prevent +their being used for discovering new truths. + +The chief object of such professorships would be the same as that in the +proposed State laboratories, viz.--to keep a staff of the most competent +men wholly engaged upon research in pure science. The professors of +physical and chemical research might be selected in accordance with the +suggestions already made, and be appointed by the Senate or other governing +body, with the advice of the Council of the Royal Society. All the +precautions which have been already suggested under the head of "State +laboratories," would {202} have to be taken in order to exclude unsuitable +persons, and to secure industry in the professors. The remarks also, +already made respecting the limitation of the duties of the professors to +research in pure science, the exclusion of invention, the publication of +results, the class of sciences with which a commencement might best be +made, etc., apply equally in this case. I do not however mean by these +remarks to suggest the disendowment of research in the more complex or +concrete subjects, in order to make a commencement with the simpler +sciences. + +The existence within the Universities of offices in which the faculties of +scientific men might be developed to their fullest extent, would induce +those engaged in the work of scientific instruction in those institutions +to devote more time to research, in order that they might improve their +scientific talents, and in their turn become fitted to occupy such posts. + +It has been suggested that discoverers should teach as well as investigate; +but this would be an imperfect plan, and would largely convert the position +of a professor into that of one at an ordinary college. Every person who +has had much experience in experimental investigation also knows, that to +carry it out effectually, requires the whole of his time and attention. If, +therefore, teaching or lecturing constitutes a part of the duties, a +portion of the professor's time must be taken from the more important +occupation of research, and the fundamental object of the institution will +be frustrated. Research evolves new knowledge; {203} teaching simply +distributes it. The labours of a scientific teacher or lecturer consist +essentially of a continued series of repetitions of other men's +discoveries. For each single man who can discover, there exist many who can +teach. With teaching in addition to research, all the usual educational +machinery, lecture theatres and apparatus, diagrams, audiences, pupils, +registration of students, receipt of fees, examinations, marking of papers, +valuing of answers, attending annual meetings, etc., would be brought into +requisition, and the result would probably be, as it is at present, the +duties of teaching would, in nearly all cases, swallow up the time, and +prevent the freedom from interruption necessary for successful research +Under present circumstances, it is the testimony of nearly every teacher +and lecturer in science, that he "has no time for research." If teaching is +also carried on, the Research laboratories will compete with educational +institutions, established and carried on by private enterprize, and place +them at a disadvantage, and thus discourage voluntary effort in the +diffusion of science; but by limiting the functions of the professors +entirely to pure research, there will be no competition with any private +interests, because no persons gain a livelihood entirely by means of such +occupation. + +That the practice of teaching is however of very great use in preparing the +mind of a scientific man for research is quite certain, because it compels +him to study all parts of his subject, and whilst doing so, many questions +for investigation occur to his mind. {204} Many of our most eminent +discoverers have also been teachers. But teaching is not a necessary +condition of success in research, nor even a necessary preparation for it; +the examples of various able discoverers prove this. In some cases +discoverers have devoted themselves to teaching, only after having attained +high repute in research; in others they have not been teachers at all. +Original research itself usually suggests plenty of new subjects of +investigation, without the additional ones suggested by teaching. + +In order that self improvement in a man of science might never stagnate, +there should exist a continuous and complete series of steps of preferment, +by which the merest beginners in scientific knowledge, might be enabled to +attain to the highest scientific position; and finally become wholly +occupied in that kind of labour by which their scientific faculties would +be developed to their fullest extent, but this last step is wanting. By the +proposed plan however a student would become a teacher; the teacher +develope into a professor; and a professor might employ for a period a +portion of his time in research, and thus become qualified for entire +devotion to original investigation and discovery. + +After a scientific teacher has acquired a thorough knowledge of his +subjects, and a high position in his profession, his occupation becomes to +him a species of intellectual routine, in which he is continually going +through the same courses of lectures and examinations over and over again, +and his personal improvement stagnates. But if there was remuneration for +research, {205} or there existed some post or employment, to which those +who had acquired the ability to investigate might be appointed, there would +be an inducement to continued intellectual improvement, and a sphere in +which the most valuable faculties of scientific men might be developed for +national benefit to their fullest extent. + +_3rd._ _Provincial Colleges of Research._--The success of this plan would +depend essentially upon the diffusion of a knowledge of the importance of +scientific research amongst the richer classes. There are at present a very +few wealthy persons in this country who perceive to some extent the value +of such research, and the dependence of their wealth upon it, who would be +willing to contribute to a fund for the purpose; and there are many more +who would assist if the importance of the subject was properly explained to +them. The chief argument in favour of provincial colleges of research is, +that it is a duty of wealthy persons to aid research, because they have +derived, and are continually deriving great benefits from it, for which +they make no payment. The ways in which some of those benefits have been +derived have been already briefly stated. As the large manufacturers and +capitalists are generally the persons who derive great pecuniary benefit +from the progress of science, it might be reasonably urged that they should +contribute freely towards its advancement. + +Such an institution might be located in each of the {206} largest centres +of industry. The objects of the institution; the branches of science to be +investigated in it; the number of professors, the mode of selecting them, +and of excluding unsuitable candidates for the office; the means by which +industry might be secured and jobbery prevented; the exclusion of +invention, and of teaching and lecturing; the publication of results, +removal of professors, etc., have already been treated of under the head of +"State laboratories." The chief difficulties to be overcome in this, as in +all other plans of aiding research, are to find a sufficient number of +influential persons acquainted with the subject to practically carry out +the plan; to secure investigators of high ability; and to prevent the +offices being filled by incompetent persons. + +_4th._ _Aid to Professors of Science in Colleges._--Another way by which +research might be promoted, would be by giving assistance in the form of a +definite amount of additional salary, for the purpose of pure research, to +professors and teachers in colleges and institutions; the money being +supplied by the State or from the funds of the Institution. In carrying out +this plan, it would be necessary to assist only those persons who had +already published a good research, and thus proved their ability; and who +would engage to devote a definite portion of their time to the labour as a +part of their duty. The selection of suitable men might be made with the +advice of the Council of the Royal Society. {207} The additional salary +should be entirely in the form of remuneration for labour, time, and +materials, etc., expended upon research in pure science, and not in +effecting inventions. The knowledge obtained should be treated as public +property, and be published in the usual manner, and the investigator should +not be permitted to sell or patent it. It would be necessary to provide +that in case the investigator failed to make or publish a reasonable amount +of good research, the additional salary should cease. Publication in the +journals of the Royal Society, or in a leading scientific magazine, might +be considered a sufficient proof of the satisfactory quality of the labour. + +It is very desirable that all the higher teachers and professors of science +in our educational institution should devote a portion of their time to +original research. It would make their lectures more reliable, because +research yields experience in the detection of error; whilst there is +usually only one way of succeeding in making an experiment, there are +always many ways of failing, and in the directions given in books, the +latter are usually omitted. It would also induce the students to take a +greater interest in the subject, and feel more respect for the teacher. The +special excellence of the German system of teaching consists in the union +of teaching and original research. This plan of aiding research would +induce some of our teachers of science who have not yet made researches, to +attempt such labour, it would also develope a superior class of scientific +teachers generally; and produce a supply of candidates for professorships +of research. {208} + +A great obstacle to the carrying out of this plan lies in the fact that in +consequence of the ignorance of the value of original research by the +founders of such Institutions, no definite provision usually exists in the +Trust deeds to authorise the Trustees to devote any of the funds to such a +purpose. + +_5th._ _Extension of the Government Grant System._--During a number of +years the British Government has entrusted to the Royal Society the annual +sum of L1,000 for the purpose of aiding science; and that sum has been +given in varying portions to different investigators who have applied for +grants in aid of their expenses in making investigations. + +Although the total amount to be disbursed annually was not large, very few +persons, qualified to make good researches, usually applied for its +assistance, and it was difficult to dispose of the whole. The chief causes +of this difficulty were:--a grant from the fund was an unprofitable gift to +accept, because it was only sufficient to partly pay the expenses out of +pocket for chemicals and apparatus, and allowed nothing for the skill, +time, or labour, nor for payments made to assistants. Further, "By order of +the Council, all instruments, apparatus, and drawings, made or obtained by +aid of the Government Grants, shall, after serving the purpose for which +they were procured, and in the absence of any specific understanding to the +contrary, be delivered into the custody of the Royal Society." + +By far the greater part of the expense of an investigation in physics or +chemistry is the exceedingly large {209} amount of time it occupies. Many +necessary preliminary experiments have to be made, which yield either +negative, unsuccessful, or incomplete results, and make the undertaking +expensive. A good investigation in chemistry also not unfrequently costs +the investigator a sovereign a day if he is wholly employed upon it. In +some cases, for each L100 received as a grant, at least a L1,000, was +directly and indirectly expended. Any person therefore who undertook a +research became a loser, and aid from the Government Grant fund did not +entirely cover his loss. Only scientific men who had other sources of +income were able to avail themselves of the grants. The existence of the +grants also was not widely known. The advantages of the plan were, it +diminished the loss to the investigator, and the fact of being allotted a +sum from the fund was considered highly creditable to the recipient. + +In consequence largely of the evidence collected from eminent men of +science from all parts of Great Britain, and the recommendations based upon +it, by the Royal Commission for the Advancement of Science, the Grant +system has been extended; our Government recently placed an additional +amount of L4,000 a year, for five years, to be distributed in sums at the +recommendation of the Royal Society to suitable applicants, and the five +years have now elapsed. + +This extension of the Grant system has been an {210} improvement. It has +resulted both in a large increase in the number of applicants and of +researches; and has shown that there exists in this country a large amount +of scientific ability in need of encouragement. The amounts granted were +increased in magnitude so as to cover in some cases payments made to +assistants and the entire outlay made for experiments, also a small payment +for a portion of the time occupied in actual research. The plan of awarding +the grants has been for work proposed by the applicants to be done, and not +for that already performed. How far a retrospective method might be worthy +of trial, is difficult to decide. It has been objected to it that the +claims of scientific investigators for researches already made, would be so +great and so convincing that it would be impossible to resist them, and the +funds required to satisfy those claims would be so large as to render the +plan quite impracticable; if however the retrospective period was limited +to a short time, a year for example, the difficulty would be lessened. +There would still however remain the great difficulty of valuing the +results. This might probably be overcome by regulating the money payment +according to the time, labour, pecuniary expenditure, and scientific status +of the particular investigator, and leaving genius to be rewarded by the +fame and honour of the results. + +No system of aid however can place scientific investigation in a +satisfactory position in this country, which does not include certain +remuneration for time, {211} money and labour expended; and no sound +argument can be adduced why investigators should not be adequately +recompenced. The genius alone of a discoverer should be rewarded by fame, +and his time, labour, and expenditure, in accordance with his professional +reputation, be repaid by money, as in all other intellectual occupations. +The same amount of time and labour expended in any ordinary profession, +requiring an equal, or even less amount of preparatory education and +experience, and less rare ability, would yield an income of several +thousand pounds a year. Although the lives of a few eminent discoverers +have proved that it has been possible for them to do a considerable amount +of research under the conditions which have existed, that is no reason why +they should not be remunerated. Previous success in research has been due +to the unusually great perseverance, industry, and self-denial of the men, +and but little to any pecuniary encouragement received. The fewness of such +men, supports this view of the case. The plan of aiding research by grants +which include no certain payment for time or labour, is quite +incommensurate with the importance of the subject and entirely unworthy of +the reputation of a great nation. + +_6th._ _Students pursuing Research at the Universities._ In the German +Universities each student is required to make an original research before +he can obtain a degree in Science, and the plan has worked successfully; +also in the Victoria University, Manchester, {212} several Fellowships have +recently been established for the encouragement of students in original +investigation. + +If this plan could be carried out in our old Universities it would produce +most valuable results, because the governing, wealthy, and influential +classes of this nation are chiefly educated at those institutions, and they +would then acquire habits of more accurate scientific thought, and some +knowledge of the nature and importance of scientific research, and of the +essential dependence of national welfare upon it. + +But a great and probably insuperable obstacle exists to the carrying out of +such a plan, viz., the wealth possessed by the parents of students. An +original research cannot be made without considerable industry, and the +greatest opponent of industry, especially with young men, is the possession +or expectation of wealth. According to college tutors at our old +Universities, there is no large class of industrious students at those +institutions. The greatest cause of the idleness of the students is +parental neglect and the habits of wealthy society. Many parents allow +their sons too much money, and over-look too readily their idleness and +frivolity; the young men also know their parents are rich, and act +accordingly. Many persons send their sons to those places chiefly to form +aristocratic acquaintances, and for other purposes than those of +educational discipline and learning. The college authorities have also +largely acquiesced in the wishes of the parents and students. And in this +way {213} scientific research has been almost entirely excluded from our +old Universities. If the present tutors and governing bodies of those +Institutions cannot induce students generally to be industrious, by what +means can it be expected that these young men can be persuaded to exercise +the still greater degree of industry and intelligence requisite to +prosecute research, whilst they are decoyed from it by the attractions of +wealth? In Germany the conditions are very different, the students in the +Universities of that country have much less money at their disposal. Nearly +the whole of the educational courses also at the Grammar schools and other +educational institutions in this country, are formed upon the plan of +sending all the superior scholars to our Universities, and thus the +defective state of scientific training at the Universities operates through +our whole scholastic system, and depresses the entire scientific +instruction of the nation. It is evident that in this way the undue wealth +of this country largely retards national progress. + +_7th._ _Local Endowment of Research Funds._ In addition to the foregoing +means, local efforts might be made to encourage research in each great +centre of industry; through the medium of the local scientific societies. +Nearly as early as the year 1660, Cowley in a treatise, proposed a +Philosophical Society to be established near London, with liberal salaries +to learned men to make experiments; but he could not get the money raised. +A plan of this kind is in operation in Birmingham and carried out by the +{214} Council of the Birmingham Philosophical Society in accordance with +the following:-- + + "SCHEME FOR ESTABLISHING AND ADMINISTERING A FUND FOR THE ENDOWMENT OF + RESEARCH IN BIRMINGHAM." + +"The Council are of opinion that this Society would be omitting a principal +means of the advancement of Science--the end for which all such +associations exist--if it neglected the question of the Endowment of +Research. To maintain a successful investigator in his labours, even though +no results of immediate or obvious utility can be shown to spring out of +them, is of interest to the community at large. Indeed, it is just because +the practical usefulness of such work is not immediate or obvious that it +becomes necessary to give it special support, for otherwise it would have +its own market value, and endowment would be superfluous. But the proper +and effectual administration of an Endowment Fund is perceived to be so +beset with difficulty, as often to deter even those who recognise the +principle from advocating it in practice. Most of the dangers usually +foreseen would, however, as a rule be avoided, simply by the distribution +of such funds from local centres, under such a scheme as is now proposed. +The Council, are therefore, anxious to establish a Fund, in connection at +once with the Society and the Town, for the direct Endowment of Scientific +Research."[36] + +{215} + +_8th._ _Local Laboratories of Research._ Another plan would be for local +scientific societies to raise money by soliciting subscriptions and +donations for the support of local laboratories; a prospectus of the +following kind being issued:-- + + PROPOSAL TO FOUND A LABORATORY OF PURE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN ----. + +"As the manufacturers, merchants, capitalists, land-owners, and the public +generally, of this town and district, have derived and are still deriving +great pecuniary and other benefits from the discovery of new knowledge by +means of pure research in the sciences of Physics and Chemistry; and as in +consequence of the great neglect of such research in this country, and the +increased cultivation of it in other lands, our commerce is suffering, and +a great many evils in manufacturing and other operations, in sanitary and +many other matters dependant upon physical and chemical conditions, remain +unremedied; it is proposed to found a Local Laboratory of original research +in those sciences, with every suitable appliance in it; and to employ one +or more investigators of repute, with assistants, who shall be wholly +engaged in such labour in their respective sciences." + +As it is largely the custom in this country to effect great objects by +means of individual liberality and corporate enterprise, instead of +trusting to State assistance, it is not improbable that when the great +importance of scientific research and its claims {216} to encouragement +have become more generally known, that aid which has hitherto been +with-held from it will be rendered by private generosity; and local +institutions, wholly for the purpose of original scientific research will +be established and supported by public-spirited wealthy persons. An +institution of this kind upon a small scale, and called "The Institute of +Scientific Research" has already been established in Birmingham, (see Note +p. 40). By founding local institutions of this kind there exist +opportunities for wealthy persons to do great good to mankind, and acquire +renown as philanthropists by the action. + +And _9th_. In consequence of the great benefit derived from scientific +research by the inhabitants of each locality, it has become a duty of each +large community to promote it, and local Town Councils might with advantage +and perfect justice to the public, devote a portion of municipal funds to +the purpose of aiding local scientific research. To this plan it may be +objected, that as the results of research are cosmopolitan, diffusing +themselves everywhere, and this diffusion cannot be prevented; the benefits +arising from research cannot be restricted even to a large community. In +reply to this:--As knowledge and its advantages are cosmopolitan, the duty +of promoting research must be equally extensive. There is also a real +return received by the public for expenditure of money in research, in the +free liberty to use all new knowledge developed everywhere by such labour, +and although the money expended by a {217} community upon particular +researches or upon an individual investigator, does not directly produce an +immediate return; practically an immediate and direct benefit is received +by that community, because new scientific knowledge for the use of teachers +and popular lecturers, and new inventions based upon it, of local value to +that society, continually become public. Every civilized community has also +received beforehand such benefits to an enormous extent; and each +investigator may reasonably claim public support on the ground that he +contributes to the general stock of new knowledge. Some persons however, +who have not fully considered the subject, wish to receive not only the +advantages accruing from the common stock of knowledge, but also to reserve +to themselves the entire benefit arising from their own special +contributions. + +Experience alone will prove which of the foregoing schemes is the most +suitable in this country, or in particular cases. At present the plan +largest in operation is the system of Government Grants, next in magnitude +are the other funds distributed by the Royal Society, the British +Association, the Chemical Society, the Royal Institution, the Birmingham +Philosophical Society, and those provided by the munificence of private +individuals. It is greatly to be hoped that the liberal spirit of private +individuals will yet further remove the great blot which lies upon the +reputation of the wealthy manufacturers, capitalists, and land-owners, who +have derived such great profits from {218} scientific research and have +scarcely aided it at all in return. It is also to be desired that the +Corporations of manufacturing towns will recognise the value of original +scientific enquiry to their fellow townsmen, and will undertake the +responsibility of voting money from municipal funds to promote it. + + * * * * * + + +Notes + +[1] See p.p. 165 to 167. + +[2] Essays and Addresses, Owen's College, 1874, pp. 172-182. + +[3] See Chapter 2, Section B. + +[4] In the year 1870, a gentleman of the name of Davis bequeathed L2,000 to +the Royal Institution, London, to aid original scientific research. + +[5] As a notable exception to the above statement:--"Scientific research +has now an Institute of its own in Birmingham, without being indebted to +the public funds. A fund has already been collected for carrying on the +work. The building is called 'The Institute of Scientific Research.'" See +_Nature_, January 7th, 1881, p. 366; the _Athenaeum_, February 5th, 1881, p. +204; the _English Mechanic_, p. 537, February 11th, 1881. + +[6] Professor Bache left 50,000 dollars, and Smithson bequeathed 541,000 +dollars to this Institution. + +[7] Respecting the Members of our Houses of Legislature, a former +Postmaster-General remarked to me, that a dose of scientific research would +be too much for them. + +[8] The Victoria University has recently become a partial exception to this +statement. + +[9] See "Royal Society Catalogue of Scientific Papers," vol. 5, pp. 719 and +890; and vol. 8, p. 1,010. + +[10] See _Nature_, April 24th and May 1st, 1873, pp. 485 and 13; also _Work +and Wages_, by Brassey, pp. 170 and 178. + +[11] NOTE.--See "Work and Wages," by Brassey, p.p. 15-131 and 132; also the +"Laboratory," vol. 1, p.p. 313-316, 378 and 380. + +[12] NOTE.--The whole of this chapter, especially the Moral Section, is +capable of great amplification and much more copious illustration. + +[13] NOTE.--See also p. 95. + +[14] NOTE.--Athenaeum, Aug. 3, 1877. p. 242. + +[15] "Wish and Will," by L. Turner, M.A. + +[16] "The Mutual Relations of Physical Science and Religious Faith." + +[17] Port Royal Logic, Discourse 1. + +[18] See p. 91-92. + +[19] See "Waste Products and Undeveloped Substances," by P. W. Simmonds. + +[20] See "Barometer Cycles," by Balfour Stewart, F.R.S.--_Nature_, Jan. 13, +1881, p. 237. + +[21] See p. 165, et seq. + +[22] It would I consider be an improvement in our educational arrangements, +if a Professorial chair, solely devoted to teaching those laws and +principles, existed in each Scientific College. + +[23] See vols. 1 (1872) 2 (1874) of the Reports of that Commission. + +[24] See pages 100 and 101. + +[25] "_Nature_," April 3rd, 1873. p. 431. + +[26] Sir Edmund Beckett, "_English Mechanic_", 1881, No. 830, p. 560. + +[27] The Earl of Craufurd, "_English Mechanic_," 1881, No. 830, p. 560. + +[28] See page 68, et seq. p. 134. + +[29] See "_Nature_," Dec. 2nd, 1880, p. 112. + +[30] "_English Mechanic_," 1881, No. 831, pp. 586, 587. + +[31] "_English Mechanic_," August 17th, 1881, p. 83. + +[32] The Mastership of the Mint is no longer given to scientific men. + +[33] See Reports of Royal Commission on Scientific Instruction and +Advancement of Science, Vol 2, pp. 75-92. + +[34] See "_Nature_" No. 600, p. 597, April 28th, 1881. + +[35] A fleet of thirty ships, varying in size from 500 to 5000 tons each, +is employed in laying and repairing telegraph cables, and 25 millions of +pounds have already been invested in submarine cable enterprises. + +[36] See "_Nature_," vol. XXII, page 203. + + * * * * * + + +Changes made against printed original. + +Page 11. "our knowledge of the substance": 'knowwledge' in original. + +Page 24. "Nearly every manufacturer": 'ever' in original. + +Page 32. "Persons in general can easily understand": 'ean easily' in +original. + +Page 39. "wealthy persons who have devoted themselves": 'themselver' in +original. + +Page 62. "also all terrestrial forces": 'terrestial' in original. + +Page 81. "better systems of hygiene": 'hygeine' in original. + +Page 114. "course in which the throng is densest": 'the' repeated across +line break in original. + +Ibid. "thousands of different chemical compounds": 'compouuds' in original. + +Page 116. "emits and absorbs": 'aborbs' in original. + +Page 119. "In every genuine volition": 'volitition' in original. + +Page 126. "purely physical and chemical conditions.": 'physicial' in +original. + +Page 127. "the judicial detection of truth": 'judical' in original. + +Ibid. "completely converted into acquired tendencies": 'completly ... +tendences' in original. + +Page 134. "the present state of civilization": 'civilzation' in original. + +Ibid. "to withhold truth from ignorant patients": 'withold' in original. + +Ibid. "lists of our moral deficiencies": 'deficiences' in original. + +Page 135. "there exist no royal roads to happiness": 'their exist' in +original. + +Page 151. "a diminution of waste": 'dimunition' in original. + +Page 152. "twenty millions of pounds annually": 'anually' in original. + +Ibid. "Photography is also largely used in our gaols": 'in our goals' in +original. + +Page 158. "acting under the same conditions": 'conitions' in original. + +Ibid. "every phenomenon requires time": 'requiries' in original. + +Page 182. "to be carried out effectually": 'effectualy' in original. + +Page 184. "been driven out of science altogether": 'althogether' in +original. + +Page 186. "more or less fortuitous circumstances": 'fortuitious' in +original. + +Page 189. "their labours should be remunerated by the State.": 'remuerated' +in original. + +Page 199. "should not be similarly remunerated": 'similarily' in original. + +Page 203. "consist essentially of a continued series of repetitions": +'esssentially' in original. + +Page 217. "of local value to that society": 'of' repeated across line break +in original. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Scientific Basis of National +Progress, by George Gore + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS *** + +***** This file should be named 34771.txt or 34771.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/7/7/34771/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Keith Edkins and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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