Such indeed is the respect paid to science, that the
most absurd opinions may become current, provided they are expressed
in language, the sound of which recals some well-known scientific
phrase. If society is thus prepared to receive all kinds of
scientific doctrines, it is our part to provide for the diffusion and
cultivation, not only of true scientific principles, but of a spirit
of sound criticism, founded on an examination of the evidences on
which statements apparently scientific depend.
When we shall be able to employ in scientific education, not only the
trained attention of the student, and his familiarity with symbols,
but the keenness of his eye, the quickness of his ear, the delicacy of
his touch, and the adroitness of his fingers, we shall not only extend
our influence over a class of men who are not fond of cold
abstractions, but, by opening at once all the gateways of knowledge,
we shall ensure the association of the doctrines of science with those
elementary sensations which form the obscure background of all our
conscious thoughts, and which lend a vividness and relief to ideas,
which, when presented as mere abstract terms, are apt to fade entirely
from the memory.
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