The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1885-11-25
THE AGE OF DISCOVERY.


At no time since men have dwclt up
on the earth have their notions about
tho universe undergone so wrcat a
change aS in the century of which We
Nro now app"oachin" the end. Never
before has know,cu - Increased so rap
idly; never before has philosophical
| speculatioi been So c;irely conduct
| cd, or its results SOW :drly diilu<r,l. 1t
Is u characteristic If or .tnic evolution
that numerous progressive tonlrrcioI.
Tor long time inConSn :ci!o,ls, now and
then unite To bring ain | II siriKing
anu apparently Sui'"a caHngc; or Il
set of i"rccS, quietly "crumu!aiin- in
one direction, III i,n.ih unlock some
now reservoir oil iO;cr, and abruptly
lnauguratc new series Of phenomena,
as when watcr rises in 4 tank until its
overflow sets whiring system of
toothcd wheels. 1t may bu that Nature
makes no leaps. bu: in this way she
now and then makes very lon rites.
1t is in this way that the course of or
ganic development is marked here and
there by memorable cpochs, which
sccm 10 open new chapters in the his
tory Of the universe. There was such an
epoch when tho common ancestor of
ascidian and amphioxus first showed
rudimcntary traces of Il vertobrai col
umn. There was SUCH au epoch when
the air-bladdcr of early amphibans be-.
gan TO do duty rs y lung. Greatest of
all. since the epoch, still hidden from
our ken, when organic life began upon
tho surface Of tho globe, was the birth
of that now era when, through d won
drous change in the direction OF tho
| working of natural selection, Humani-
ty appeared upon tho scene. In tho
career of tho human race we can like
wise point to periods in which it has
become apparent that an immense
stride was taken. Such period marks
| the dawning OF human history, when
after countless ages of dcsultory tribal
warfare, men succeeded in uniting into
comparatively stable political societies,
| and through tho medium OF written
terity the record Of their thoughts and
deeds. Since that morning twilight of
history there has been no era so strong
| ly marked, no change so swift or so
far-rcaching in the conditions of hu-
man life, us that which began with the
great maritime discoveries of tho tiff
teenth century, and is approachin its
elimination to-day. In its earlier
stages this modern era was si.nulized
| by sporadic achievements of the human
intellect, great in themselves, and lead
| ing to such stupendous results rs the
| boldest dared not dream of. Sucn
| achievements were the invention of
| printing, tho telescope and microscope
the geometry Of Dcsclrtcs, tho astron-
omy of Newton. tho physics of Huy-
| ghcns, tho physiology OF Harvey.
Mans senses were thus indefinitely en-
largcd as his means of registration
were perfected; he uccame capable OF
extending physical infcrcnces from tho
| earth to the heavens; and ho made his
| first acquaintance with that luminifcr-
Gus ether which was by and by 10 re-
| veal tho intimate structure Of matter
| in regions far UeyOnd the power Of the
microscope To penetrate.
1t Is only with tho present century
| that the vastncSs OF the changes thus
| beginning to be wrought has become
| apparent. The scientific achievements
| OF the human Intellect no longer occur
sporadicallv; they follow one upon an
| other, like tho organized and svstemat-
ic conquest OF rcsist!uss army. Each
| new discovery becomes ut once II pow
Crful implement in the hands of innu-
| merablc workers, and each year wins
| over fresh rcgious OF The universe from
| tho unknown 10 the known. Our own
| generation has become so wontcd to
this unrcsting march OF discovery that
wo already tako it rs u matter of
course. Our minds become easily
dcadeucd to its rcal import, and tho
examples we cite in illustration OF it
have an air Of trilcncss. We scarcely
need to be reminded that all the udvan-
cos made in locomotion, from tho DAYS
| OF Ncnm2h&dme%z.;r 10 those of Andrew
Jackson. were rs nothing compared to
tho change that has Dccn wrought
within II few years by the introduction
of railroads. In thcso times. when
Puck has fulfilled his boast and put q
| girdlo about tho earth in forty minutes.
we are not yet, perhaps, in danger of
forgetting that n century has not
elapsed since no who caught tho light
ming upon his kite was laid in the
| grave. Yet the lesson OF the facts, as
we'll as Of tho grandmothcr's spinning
wheel that stands by tho parlor liresido,
| is well to bear in mind. The change
thorcin eXcmplilicd since Penelope
piled her distaff is far less than that
which has occurred within tho memory
| OF living mon. Tho development Of
machinery, which has worked such
wonders, have greatly altered tho po-
litical conditions of human society. so
that hugo republic like tho United
States is now as snug and compact and
easily manageable rs was the tiny re-
public of Switzerland in tho eighteenth
century. The number of men that can
1.-Two upon given area of the earth 8
surface has bcon multiplied manifold,
and while the mass OF human life has
thus increased, its value has boon at
the samo time enhanced. Fiske
in AOUenter atlantic.