Suchisthecoursetobepursuedwithallthesciences，andespeciallywiththemoralandpoliticalsciences。Toconsiderinturneachdistinctprovinceofhumanactivity，todecomposetheleadingnotionsoutofwhichweformourconceptions，thoseofreligion，societyandgovernment，thoseofutility，wealthandexchange，thoseofjustice，rightandduty。Toreverttomanifestfacts，tofirstexperiences，tothesimplecircumstancesinwhichtheelementsofourideasareincluded；toextricatefromthesethepreciouslodewithoutomissionormixture；torecomposeourideawiththese，todefineitsmeaninganddetermineitsvalue；tosubstituteforthevagueandvulgarnotionwithwhichwestartedouttheprecisescientificdefinitionwearriveat，andfortheimpuremetalwereceivedtherefinedmetalwerecovered，constitutedtheprevalentmethodtaughtbythephilosophersunderthenameofanalysis，andwhichsumsupthewholeprogressofthecentury。—Uptothispoint，andnotfarther，theyareright；truth，everytruth，isfoundinobservablethings，andonlyfromthesecanitbederived；thereisnootherpathwayleadingtodiscovery。—Theoperation，undoubtedly，isproductiveonlywhentheveinisrich，andwepossessthemeansofextractingtheore。Toobtainajustnotionofgovernment，ofreligion，ofright，ofwealth，amanmustbeahistorianbeforehand，ajurisconsultandeconomist，andhavegatheredupmyriadoffacts；and，besidesallthis，hemustpossessavasterudition，anexperiencedandprofessionalperspicacity。Iftheseconditionsareonlypartiallycompliedwith，theresultwillonlybeahalffinishedproductoradoubtfulalloy，afewroughdraftsofthesciences，therudimentsofpedagogyaswithRousseau，ofpoliticaleconomywithQuesnay，Smith，andTurgot，oflinguisticswithDesBrosses，andofarithmeticalmoralsandcriminallegislationwithBentham。Finally，ifnoneoftheseconditionsarecompliedwith，thesameeffortswill，inthehandsofphilosophicalamateursandoratoricalcharlatans，undoubtedlyonlyproducemischievouscompoundsanddestructiveexplosions。—Neverthelessgoodprocedureremainsgoodevenwhenignorantandtheimpetuousmenmakeabaduseofit；andifweoftodayresumetheabortiveeffortoftheeighteenthcentury，itshouldbewithintheguidelinestheysetout。
Notes:
[1]。\"Philosophi？naturalisprincipia，\"1687；\"Optics，\"1704。
[2]SeeconcerningthisdevelopmentComte’s\"PhilosophiePositive，\"
vol。I。—Atthebeginningoftheeighteenthcentury，mathematicalinstrumentsarecarriedtosuchperfectionastowarrantthebeliefthatallphysicalphenomenamaybeanalyzed，light，electricity，sound，crystallization，heat，elasticity，cohesionandothereffectsofmolecularforces。—See\"Whewell’sHistoryoftheInductiveSciences。II。，III。