The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-01-27

SUGGESTIONS Of proof brought fnall
to complete demonstration, and also q
assisting the mind in grasping abst.ac
relations, 1t reasons It's way to conclusion
BY 9 series OF steps, each Of which Is
positive certainty; but In doing so th
student has no alternative to blind &C
ceptance or rejection ot his premises. L
the emergencies OF life, however, facts ar
constantly presented whose truth or ialsit,
cannot be Immediately determined, AMI
for the exercise oil proper Judgment unde
such circumstances the mathematician
training has not In the least qualified him
On the other hand the study of the phys.
ical sciences appeals directly to the reason
involving As 1t does closeness OF observa-
tion and accuracy Of perception, with thu
utmost care In comparison. Exhibiting
loo, the facts OF nature by actual demon.
stration TO the senses, It begets a desirt
for personal inspection OF causes, anC
induces a feeling Of sell reliance
which Is In marked contrast to the
enteeblement Of individual judgment
frequently consequent upon the accept.
ance alone OF textual or tutorial author
ity. One OF the profoundest philosophers
and scholars Of our own or any Other
time has said ITO suppose that deciding
whether mathematical or classical
education Is the best, Is deciding what Is
the proper curriculum, Is much the same
thing as TO suppose that the whole oI
otetetics lies in ascertaining whether OF
not bread is more nutritiVe than pota.
toes." That progress in science Is the
cause OF Intellectual and material prog.
ress in a nation is proposition which no
one who has carefully examined the
question will deny. Increased knowledge
and skill IN the practice Of medicine Is
dependent upon the progress made in the
science OF physiology, or an accurate
knowledge OF the human frame and the
precise functions Of It's component parts,
Equally important to this end is q CORE.
spending advance in the science Of path
ology, or the correct diagnosis and treat.
ment Of disease, while these two render
necessary greater familiarity with chem
tstry, the interaction Of organic and inor-
ganic substances with the human econo.
my. A wider diffusion, too, Of popular
knowledge in this department OF science
not only promotes health directly, by en-.
suring more general compliance with its
laws, but also indirectly by depriving oil
their employment the empires and char.
latans who infest all non. scientific CON-
munities sympathetic advance in the
mode OF governing the nation, in the
method Of administering It's laws.
and the determination Of legal con.
troversles, must inevitably follow
progress in the other portions OF the
social fabric. The theory Of law Is es-
sentially unprogressive. Occupied with
the treatment OF the social relations sub
sisting among men, modified only as the
changed conditions Of customs and man
ners compels, 1t necessarily lsgs in the
march OF Improvement. AS evidence oil
this ! need only refer TO the fact that the
wager Of law" and the "ordeal of trial
BY battle" which formed the prominent
feature of European Jurisprudence in the
tenth and eleventh centuries, although
virtually abolished for hundreds OF years,
were not formally expunged from the let
ter Of the English law until the present
century.
And to practitioners OF law themselves,
scientific knowledge is of special value,
as tending 10 correct one OF the inherent
defects Of their professional education.
Their studies lead them to attach great
weight to the opinions of antiquated au-
thorities, while they are but rarely tempt.
ed to make radical inquiry as to the exact
causes that led to their decisions. So
much may reverence Tor ancient tradi-
tions warp the Judgment of the non .scien.
tiflc mind, that in 1854, only two hun
dred years ago, two women in Suffolk,
England, were hung for witchcraft by sen.
tence ol Sir Matthew Hale.
II further proof oil the expansive power
exerted on all forms oil intellectual activ.
ity by the progress Of science be wanted,
1t needs but to point 10 the vast stride in
material wealth caused by the industrial
arts IN the present century. Nor can there
be any doubt OF the fact that the future
greatness of nations will be determined
by the cultivation each bestows upon
science AS the pre.eminence OF France
under the first empire was chiefly due to
the immense advance In science achieved
during the latter half Of the eighteenth
century, so her recent humiliation at the
hands oi intellectual and scientific Ger
many Is largely attributable to its relative
decline. Science reVolutioniSed the sys-
tenn Of modern warfare, but In doing so
reacted upon itself by necessitating still
further employment Of its resources to
meet the demand thus created. AS the
advance in optics indicated by Galileo's
adaptation Of tho telescope increased our
knowledge OF astronomy, 80 the enlarge.
ment OF the latter field Of inquiry render.
cd necessary improvements In optics, to
facilitate its continued pursuit. And in
like manner the invention OF riaed cannon
stimulated science 10 the production OF
iron clad ships oil war, which In their
turn taxed the fertility Of invention, and
Armstrong and Whitworth guns were the
result.
And now word as 10 the practical
outcome Of experimental science. 1t may
be asked what results are we to obtain
from the acquisition oil scientific knowl.
edge. To this we answer that time alone
can tell. Faradsy had similar question
propounded to him once. He replied by
asking "what Is the practical use Of an in.
iants' The obvious answer being that
some dsy It may become q man. scien.
tifc associations are the nurseries Of that
thought which will work out the prob
lens Of the future. Cultivate the aoil and
plant the fruit.bearing tree and the fruit
will surely follow, Nor Is the impulse
this gives to an esthetic taste an unimpor.
tant consideration. To him who posses.
ses no knowledge Of nature, she presents
no charms. She Is to him a sealed book,
uninteresting and commonplace, because
not understood. The apparently most In.
significant phenomenon when rightly
viewed 10 found to be replete with beauty.
Ho who has not learned to thus apprecl-
ate her Is deprived OF her choicest theme
for meditation; while to the student Of