We are least objective about ourselves and that is why we can never decide what is our own merit and achievement. For while the ambition to excel is both justifiable and desirable, the true mirror of success must be the eyes of others. Geniuses are really exceeding rare, yet every man is inclined at some period or other of his existence to think himself one, and a fool continues to think so. On the whole, we do not deserve more praise than we get, the world's estimate being reasonably fair; and in fact it is incorrect to talk of deserts since each man carves for himself his slice out of the cake of his own baking. Perhaps the happiest stand we can take is to lose consciousness of self, to think of results but not of our part in them, to come to comprehend that our subject and the sunlit world outside of us is much more engrossing than ourselves. From the philosophical side this attitude may be incorrect. But a new philosophy is gradually forging ahead, that men do not contain the whole universe in their minds, that phenomena are not wholly subjective, but that nature is one great unit of which we are only inconspicuous morsels. This is certainly the philosophy of biology. It places us in a truer perspective, and aids us to be more objective and therefore happier. Fortune is a fickle goddess who keeps beyond those who seek her, to touch those who made their work their grail. Thus what we accomplish, and how we have done it, is a matter to be decided by other men and usually by other men of a later generation. When we try to boost our own reputations they will surely receive a great fall. Therefore let us try to forget ourselves and not be troubled about our scientific levels. This will also save that waste of time and good paper given to polemics. When some one overlooks our writings or misrepresents them, we are apt to feel we should go him one better, which may force us into such extremes that we think we can not in honor back out. A published polemic is noisome, an airing of one's dirty linen, and springs from a condition of megalocephaly. Our work is with us, our repute with others. By being true to our work we may attain a dignity never to be reached by self pushing. Science is not a business market.
In any scientific inquiry he rightly receives the most credit who presents a definite and positive solution. Such was the case with Pasteur, in many ways the master mind of the nineteenth century; what he undertook he definitely settled. Most men attain to only conjectures, but we should seek indisputable decisions. And a good method is that of Darwin, to formulate a working hypothesis and then try honestly to disprove it. Darwin gave as full and fair hearing to the objections made against the theory of natural selection as to the evidence for it. We may approximate this by using every check and control. For we do not want the elusive possible or probable, rather the decisive actual.
