By George Henry Lewes IN THE STRUGGLE OF life with the facts of
existence, Science is the bringer of aid; in the struggle of the
soul with the mystery of existence, Science is the bringer of
light. As doctrine and discipline its beneficence is far-
reaching. Yet this latest-born of the three great agents of
civilisation—Religion, Common-Sense, and Science—is so little
appreciated by the world at large that even men of culture may
still be found who boast of their indifference to it, while
others regard it with a vague dread which expresses itself in a
dislike, sometimes sharpened into hatred. I shall be told,
perhaps, that the growing demand for popular expositions of
scientific results and the increasing diffusion of scientific
inquiry point to a different conclusion. It is true that there
never was a time when Science was so popular. It is true that
every year the attendance on lectures and the meetings of
scientific associations is larger. The tide is rising. The march
of Science is bit by bit conquering ev