14  COMPARATIVE  RELIGION  [chap,  i

the  laws  which  hnk  these  facts  together,  and  which  demon-
strate that  they  are  in  reahty  integral  parts  of  a  coherent
whole.  The  facts,  of  course,  are  simply  indispensable :
without  them,  one  could  not  advance  a  single  step.  But
the  hinges  of  these  facts,  the  in\dsible  joints  which  unite
them  together,  the  fundamental  principles  which  underlie
them,  are  for  the  Expert  quite  as  important  as  the  facts
themselves.  Until,  therefore,  these  hidden  laws — or  at  least
some  of  them — have  been  discovered,  one  is  not  warranted
in  affirming  concerning  any  department  of  inquiry  that  it
has  successfully  attained  the  standard  of  a  Science.
A  Tentative  Beginning. — It  is  quite  plain,  therefore,
that  no  Science  was  ever  launched  upon  its  career  fully
equipped,  and  ready  at  once  to  enter  upon  its  mission  as
the  benefactor  and  enlightener  of  men.  The  fable  of
Minerva,  who  as  the  Goddess  of  Wisdom  steps  forth
directly  from  the  brow  of  Jove,  finds  no  historical  counter-
part here.  On  the  contrary,  every  Science  is  a  growth.
It  advances  slowly  from  stage  to  stage.  Even  in  those
few  cases  in  which  its  progress  has  been  relatively  rapid,
it  has  still  had  a  chequered  experience, — acquainted  often
with  defeat,  and  occasionally  with  positive  retrogression.
