a history of science-1-第6章

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ways　asking；　Why？　and；　childlike；　he　demanded　an　explicit　answer。　If　the　forces　of　nature　seemed　to　combat　him；　if　wind　and　rain　opposed　his　progress　and　thunder　and　lightning　seemed　to　menace　his　existence；　he　was　led　irrevocably　to　think　of　those　human　foes　who　warred　with　him；　and　to　see；　back　of　the　warfare　of　the　elements；　an　inscrutable　malevolent　intelligence　which　took　this　method　to　express　its　displeasure。　But　every　other　line　of　scientific　observation　leads　equally；　following　back　a　sequence　of　events；　to　seemingly　causeless　beginnings。　Modern　science　can　explain　the　lightning；　as　it　can　explain　a　great　number　of　the　mysteries　which　the　primeval　intelligence　could　not　penetrate。　But　the　primordial　man　could　not　wait　for　the　revelations　of　scientific　investigation：　he　must　vault　at　once　to　a　final　solution　of　all　scientific　problems。　He　found　his　solution　by　peopling　the　world　with　invisible　forces；　anthropomorphic　in　their　conception；　like　himself　in　their　thought　and　action；　differing　only　in　the　limitations　of　their　powers。　His　own　dream　existence　gave　him　seeming　proof　of　the　existence　of　an　alter　ego；　a　spiritual　portion　of　himself　that　could　dissever　itself　from　his　body　and　wander　at　will；　his　scientific　inductions　seemed　to　tell　him　of　a　world　of　invisible　beings；　capable　of　influencing　him　for　good　or　ill。　From　the　scientific　exercise　of　his　faculties　he　evolved　the　all…encompassing　generalizations　of　invisible　and　all…powerful　causes　back　of　the　phenomena　of　nature。　These　generalizations；　early　developed　and　seemingly　supported　by　the　observations　of　countless　generations；　came　to　be　among　the　most　firmly　established　scientific　inductions　of　our　primeval　ancestor。　They　obtained　a　hold　upon　the　mentality　of　our　race　that　led　subsequent　generations　to　think　of　them；　sometimes　to　speak　of　them；　as　〃innate〃　ideas。　The　observations　upon　which　they　were　based　are　now；　for　the　most　part；　susceptible　of　other　interpretations；　but　the　old　interpretations　have　precedent　and　prejudice　back　of　them；　and　they　represent　ideas　that　are　more　difficult　than　almost　any　others　to　eradicate。　Always；　and　everywhere；　superstitions　based　upon　unwarranted　early　scientific　deductions　have　been　the　most　implacable　foes　to　the　progress　of　science。　Men　have　built　systems　of　philosophy　around　their　conception　of　anthropomorphic　deities；　they　have　linked　to　these　systems　of　philosophy　the　allied　conception　of　the　immutability　of　man's　spirit；　and　they　have　asked　that　scientific　progress　should　stop　short　at　the　brink　of　these　systems　of　philosophy　and　accept　their　dictates　as　final。　Yet　there　is　not　to…day　in　existence；　and　there　never　has　been；　one　jot　of　scientific　evidence　for　the　existence　of　these　intangible　anthropomorphic　powers　back　of　nature　that　is　not　susceptible　of　scientific　challenge　and　of　more　logical　interpretation。　In　despite　of　which　the　superstitious　beliefs　are　still　as　firmly　fixed　in　the　minds　of　a　large　majority　of　our　race　as　they　were　in　the　mind　of　our　prehistoric　ancestor。　The　fact　of　this　baleful　heritage　must　not　be　forgotten　in　estimating　the　debt　of　gratitude　which　historic　man　owes　to　his　barbaric　predecessor。

II。　EGYPTIAN　SCIENCE　In　the　previous　chapter　we　have　purposely　refrained　from　referring　to　any　particular　tribe　or　race　of　historical　man。　Now；　however；　we　are　at　the　beginnings　of　national　existence；　and　we　have　to　consider　the　accomplishments　of　an　individual　race；　or　rather；　perhaps；　of　two　or　more　races　that　occupied　successively　the　same　geographical　territory。　But　even　now　our　studies　must　for　a　time　remain　very　general；　we　shall　see　little　or　nothing　of　the　deeds　of　individual　scientists　in　the　course　of　our　study　of　Egyptian　culture。　We　are　still；　it　must　be　understood；　at　the　beginnings　of　history；　indeed；　we　must　first　bridge　over　the　gap　from　the　prehistoric　before　we　may　find　ourselves　fairly　on　the　line　of　march　of　historical　science。　At　the　very　outset　we　may　well　ask　what　constitutes　the　distinction　between　prehistoric　and　historic　epochs　a　distinction　which　has　been　constantly　implied　in　much　that　we　have　said。　The　reply　savors　somewhat　of　vagueness。　It　is　a　distinction　having　to　do；　not　so　much　with　facts　of　human　progress　as　with　our　interpretation　of　these　facts。　When　we　speak　of　the　dawn　of　history　we　must　not　be　understood　to　imply　that；　at　the　period　in　question；　there　was　any　sudden　change　in　the　intellectual　status　of　the　human　race　or　in　the　status　of　any　individual　tribe　or　nation　of　men。　What　we　mean　is　that　modern　knowledge　has　penetrated　the　mists　of　the　past　for　the　period　we　term　historical　with　something　more　of　clearness　and　precision　than　it　has　been　able　to　bring　to　bear　upon　yet　earlier　periods。　New　accessions　of　knowledge　may　thus　shift　from　time　to　time　the　bounds　of　the　so…called　historical　period。　The　clearest　illustration　of　this　is　furnished　by　our　interpretation　of　Egyptian　history。　Until　recently　the　biblical　records　of　the　Hebrew　captivity　or　service；　together　with　the　similar　account　of　Josephus；　furnished　about　all　that　was　known　of　Egyptian　history　even　of　so　comparatively　recent　a　time　as　that　of　Ramses　II。　（fifteenth　century　B。C。）；　and　from　that　period　on　there　was　almost　a　complete　gap　until　the　story　was　taken　up　by　the　Greek　historians　Herodotus　and　Diodorus。　It　is　true　that　the　king…lists　of　the　Alexandrian　historian；　Manetho；　were　all　along　accessible　in　somewhat　garbled　copies。　But　at　best　they　seemed　to　supply　unintelligible　lists　of　names　and　dates　which　no　one　was　disposed　to　take　seriously。　That　they　were；　broadly　speaking；　true　historical　records；　and　most　important　historical　records　at　that；　was　not　recognized　by　modern　scholars　until　fresh　light　had　been　thrown　on　the　subject　from　altogether　new　sources。　These　new　sources　of　knowledge　of　ancient　history　demand　a　moment's　consideration。　They　are　all…important　because　they　have　been　the　means　of　extending　the　historical　period　of　Egyptian　history　（using　the　word　history　in　the　way　just　explained）　by　three　or　four　thousand　years。　As　just　suggested；　that　historical　period　carried　the　scholarship　of　the　early　nineteenth　century　scarcely　beyond　the　fifteenth　century　B。C。；　but　to…day's　vision　extends　with　tolerable　clearness　to　about　the　middle　of　the　fifth　millennium　B。C。　This　change　has　been　brought　about　chiefly　through　study　of　the　Egyptian　hieroglyphics。　These　hieroglyphics　constitute；　as　we　now　know；　a　highly　developed　system　of　writing；　a　system　that　was　practised　for　some　thousands　of　years；　but　which　fell　utterly　into　disuse　in　the　later　Roman　period；　and　the　knowledge　of　which　passed　absolutely　from　the　mind　of　man。　For　about　two　thousand　years　no　one　was　able　to　read；　with　any　degree　of　explicitness；　a　single　character　of　this　strange　script；　and　the　idea　became　prevalent　that　it　did　not　constitute　a　real　system　of　writing；　but　only　a　more　or　less　barbaric　system　of　religious　symbolism。　The　falsity　of　this　view　was　shown　early　in　the　nineteenth　century　when　Dr。　Thomas　Young　was　led；　through　study　of　the　famous　trilingual　inscription　of　the　Rosetta　stone；　to　make　the　first　successful　attempt　at　clearing　up　the　mysteries　of　the　hieroglyphics。　This　is　not　the　place　to　tell　the　story　of