the most powerful and elevated mindss-a fascination which will probably continue for men of Greek and Roman mould to the end of time.

In connection with this question of the emotions one very obvious danger besets many of the more earnest spirits of our day-the danger of haste in endeavoring to give the feelings repose. We are distracted by systems of theology and philosophy which were taught to us when young, and which now excite in us a hunger and a thirst for knowledge not proved to be attainable. There are periods when the judgment ought to remain in suspense, the data on which a decision might be based being absent. This discipline of suspending the judgment is a common one in science, but not so common as it ought to be elsewhere. I walked down Regent Street some time ago with a man of great gifts and acquirements, discussing with him various theological questions. I could not accept his views of the origin and destiny of the universe, nor was I prepared to enunciate any definite views of my own. He turned to me at length and said, "You surely must have a theory of the universe." That I should in one way or another have solved this mystery of mysteries seemed to my friend a matter of course. I have not even a theory of magnetism," was my reply. We ought to learn to wait, and pause before closing with the advances of those expounders of the ways of God to men, who offer us intellectual peace at the modest cost of intellectual life.

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The teachers of the world ought to be its best men, and for the present at all events such men must learn self-trust. They must learn more and more to do without external aid; save such aid as comes from the contemplation of a universe, which, though it baffles the intellect, can elevate the heart. But they must learn to feel the mystery of that universe without attempting to give it a rigid form, personal or otherwise. By the fulness and freshness of their

own lives and utterances they must awaken life in others. The position of science is already assured, but I think the poet also will have a great part to play in the future of the world. To him it is given for a long time to come to fill those shores which the recession of the theologic tide has left exposed; to him, when he rightly understands his mission, and does not flinch from the tonic discipline which it assuredly demands, we have a right to look for that heightening and brightening of life which so many of us need. He ought to be the interpreter of that power which as

"Jehovah, Jove, or Lord,"

has hitherto filled and strengthened the human heart.

Let me utter one practical word in conclusion-take care of your health. There have been men who by wise attention to this point might have risen to any eminencemight have made great discoveries, written great poems, commanded armies, or ruled states, but who by unwise neglect of this point have come to nothing. Imagine Hercules as oarsman in a rotten boat; what can he do there but by the very force of his stroke expedite the ruin of his craft. Take care then of the timbers of your boat, and avoid all practices likely to introduce either wet or dry rot among them. And this is not to be accomplished by desultory or intermittent efforts of the will, but by the formation of habits. The will no doubt has sometimes to put forth its strength in order to strangle or crush the special temptation. But the formation of right habits is essential to your permanent security. They diminish your chance of falling when assailed, and they augment your chance of recovery when overthrown.

6

VI.

SCOPE AND LIMIT OF SCIENTIFIC

MATERIALISM.

AN ADDRESS.

DELIVERED IN THE MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SECTION OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION IN NORWICH.

August 19, 1868.

"As I proceeded I found my philosopher altogether forsaking mind or any other principle of order, and having recourse to air and ether, and water, and other eccentricities. I might compare him to a person who began by maintaining generally that mind is the cause of the actions of Socrates, but who, when he endeavored to explain the cause of my several actions in detail, went on to show that I sit here because my body is made up of bones and muscles; and the bones he would say are hard and have ligaments which divide them, and the muscles are elastic, and they cover the bones, which have also a covering or environment of flesh and skin which contains them; and as the bones are lifted at their joints by the contraction or relaxation of the muscles, I am able to bend my limbs, and this is why I am sitting here in a curved posture; that is what he would say, and he would have a similar explanation of my talking to you, which he would attribute to sound, and air, and hearing, and he would assign ten thousand other causes of the same sort, forgetting to mention the true cause, which is that the Athenians have thought fit to condemn me, and accordingly I have thought it better and more right to remain here and undergo my sentence; for I am inclined to think that these muscles and bones of mine would have gone off to Megara or Boeotia-by the dog of Egypt they would, if they had been guided by their own idea of what was best, and if I had not chosen as the better and nobler part, instead of playing truant and running away, to undergo any punishment which the State inflicts.”—PLATO, Jowett's Translation.