§ 44

Trade is much but not everything; it is noble when honestly pursued, but may be entirely the reverse. Trade is for the provision of food, clothing, warmth and sanitation. The service of Science is to protect Health, to soften suffering, to add to our knowledge of the wonders of the world we live in, to use its genius for construction, not destruction, to, if possible, prolong life, not destroy it, to make it happier, not sadder, to reveal the mysteries of Movement, of Light, of Force, to tell us, however little, of the Heavens and the Treasures still concealed in the little globe on which we stand. This is much, and would seem to be enough to occupy Science day and night. But there is another side to Science which is deplorable.

To invent engines, gasses, and substitutes for nature’s products from poisonous chemicals, is to abuse her genius, to fructify misery and accelerate pain. When doing these things Science brutalizes herself, distorts herself and renders herself a nuisance. By inventing engines to destroy, Science encourages mankind’s worst instincts, and by doing so is not advancing but delaying progress. Science can be every bit as harmful as beneficial; she can be as great a curse as a blessing. If the Great War did not teach that it has failed to teach one of its profoundest lessons.