Abstract
A FAVOURITE simile likens the growth of modern science to the rise of a great edifice which, in its different parts, presents to the world a variously incomplete appearance. The broad foundations have long since been laid, and immense pillars already stand erect upon them, whilst there are sites where excavation has not yet laid bare unyielding rock, and places where surveyors have condemned an unsound structure. It is an inspiring picture, but the architects and the masons need something more than inspiration. Their work cannot be based on impressions; it requires plans, records, specifications, quantities, and the clerks and draughtsmen in an obscure office contribute in full measure to the success of the enterprise. The picture is incomplete unless it exposes the weakness of what appears to be strong and discloses the content of what might be taken for hollow space; moreover, if it has regard for truth, it must give due prominence to the dust of time which lies heavily on the joints and conceals their true relation to the frame. Only the written records reveal the exact condition and the manner of construction of the building, and the written record affords, after all, the essential preparation for every scientific expedition.
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