the essentials of his philosophy. I will quote four of these: "I. Man is the interpreter of nature, Science the right interpretation. . . . VIII. The Sensations are the objective, the Ideas are the subjective part of every act of perception or knowledge. XI. Observed facts are connected so as to produce new truths by superinducing upon them an Idea; and such truths are obtained by Induction. XII. Truths once obtained by legitimate Induction are Facts; these facts may be again connected so as to produce higher truths; and thus we advance to successive Generalizations." On the title page of his later books you may find a picture of a hand transmitting a torch to another hand, with a motto of four Greek words underneath. The words are from Plato, who in allusion to an Athenian ceremony says: "Holding torches they will pass them on one to another." Whewell adopted the picture for his coat of arms with the motto lampada tradam.
Page:Lectures on Ten British Physicists of the Nineteenth Century.djvu/99
WILLIAM WHEWELL
93
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Lectures_on_Ten_British_Physicists_of_the_Nineteenth_Century.djvu/page99-1024px-Lectures_on_Ten_British_Physicists_of_the_Nineteenth_Century.djvu.jpg)