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Hereditary Genius
193
striking discovery, though they had not the luck to do so. Their work
is valuable, and remains, but the worker is forgotten. Nay, some
eminently scientific men have shown their original powers by little
more than a continuous flow of helpful suggestions and criticisms,
which were individually of too little importance to be remembered in
the history of Science, but which, in their aggregate, formed a notable
aid towards its progress. In the scanty history of the once well-known
“Lunar Society” of the Midland Counties—of which Watt, Boulton,
and Darwin were the chief notabilities—there is frequent allusion to a
man of whom nothing more than the name now remains, but who had
apparently very great influence on the thoughts of his
contemporaries—I mean Dr. Small. Or, to take a more recent case, I
suppose that Dr. Whewell would be generally ranked in the class G
of natural ability. His intellectual energy was prodigious, his writing
unceasing, and his conversational powers extraordinary. Also, few
will doubt that, although the range of his labours was exceedingly
wide and scattered, Science in one form or another was his chief
pursuit. His influence on the progress of Science during the earlier
years of his life was, I believe, considerable, but it is impossible to
specify the particulars of that influence, or so to justify our opinion
that posterity will be likely to pay regard to it. Biographers will seek in
vain for important discoveries in Science, with which Dr. Whewell's
name may hereafter be identified.
Owing to these considerations, the area of my choice is greatly
narrowed. I can only include those scientific men who have achieved
an enduring reputation, or who are otherwise well known to the
present generation. I have proceeded in my selection just as I did in
the case of the literary men—namely, I have taken the most
prominent names from ordinary biographical dictionaries.
I now annex my usual tables.
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