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- 3 Nov. 1859 (Creation)
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3 pp
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The Home Office - GCL has read Professor Forbes' [James D. Forbes] book on the Alps and is acquainted with his glacier theory, and 'will not fail to bear in mind what you say of the character of Prof. Forbes as a man of science'. GCL will be happy to read WW's Platonic translation [Plato's 'Republic', 1861]. WW should add a 'full exposition of the theory of experiment' to his Philosophy of Induction. When he wrote his work on Political Method ['A Dialogue on the Best Form of Government]'] he was unable to find any satisfactory account 'of the nature and limits of experiment. It is commonly assumed that all the physical sciences are experimental whereas it is only a few of them which admit of experiment' - the majority are of observation: 'Even the Political and moral sciences admit of experiment to a greater extent than many, if not most, of the physical science'.