not have advanced as it has had there not been countless
generations of culture back of it. The new principles of science
could not have been evolved had there not been great basal
principles which ages of unconscious experiment had impressed
upon the mind of our race. Due meed of praise must be given,
then, to our primitive ancestor for his scientific
accomplishments; but justice demands that we should look a little
farther and consider the reverse side of the picture. We have had
to do, thus far, chiefly with the positive side of
accomplishment. We have pointed out what our primitive ancestor
knew, intimating, perhaps, the limitations of his knowledge; but
we have had little to say of one all-important feature of his
scientific theorizing. The feature in question is based on the
highly scientific desire and propensity to find explanations for
the phenomena of nature. Without such desire no progress could be
made. It is, as we have seen, the generalizing from experience
that constitutes real scientific progress; and yet, just as most
other good things can be overdone, this scientific propensity may
be carried to a disastrous excess.

Primeval man did not escape this danger. He observed, he
reasoned, he found explanations; but he did not always
discriminate as to the logicality of his reasonings. He failed to
recognize the limitations of his knowledge. The observed
uniformity in the sequence of certain events impressed on his
mind the idea of cause and effect. Proximate causes known, he
sought remoter causes; childlike, his inquiring mind was always
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