of phenomena, as when Astronomy is called the ’theory of the heavens.’  Between hypothesis and theory in the former sense no distinct line can be drawn; for the complete proof of any speculation may take a long time, and meanwhile the gradually accumulating evidence produces in different minds very different degrees of satisfaction; so that the sanguine begin to talk of ‘the theory,’ whilst the circumspect continue to call it ‘the hypothesis.’

An Hypothesis may be made concerning (1) an Agent, such as the ether; or (2) a Collocation, such as the plan of our solar system—­whether geocentric or heliocentric; or (3) a Law of an agent’s operation, as that light is transmitted by a wave motion of such lengths or of such rates of vibration.

The received explanation of light involves both an agent, the ether, as an all-pervading elastic fluid, and also the law of its operation, as transmitting light in waves of definite form and length, with definite velocity.  The agreement between the calculated results of this complex hypothesis and the observed phenomena of light is the chief part of the verification; which has now been so successfully accomplished that we generally hear of the ‘Undulatory Theory.’  Sometimes a new agent only is proposed; as the planet Neptune was at first assumed to exist in order to account for perturbations in the movements of Uranus, influencing it according to the already established law of gravitation.  Sometimes the agents are known, and only the law of their operation is hypothetical, as was at first the case with the law of gravitation itself.  For the agents, namely, Earth, falling bodies on the Earth, Moon, Sun, and planets were manifest; and the hypothesis was that their motions might be due to their attracting one another with a force inversely proportional to the squares of the distances between them.  In the Ptolemaic Astronomy, again, there was an hypothesis as to the collocation of the heavenly bodies (namely, that our Earth was the centre of the universe, and that Moon, Sun, planets and stars revolved around her):  in the early form of the system there was also an hypothesis concerning agents upon which this arrangement depended (namely, the crystalline spheres in which the heavenly bodies were fixed, though these were afterwards declared to be imaginary); and an hypothesis concerning the law of operation (namely, that circular motion is the most perfect and eternal, and therefore proper to celestial things).

Hypotheses are by no means confined to the physical sciences:  we all make them freely in private life.  In searching for anything, we guess where it may be before going to look for it:  the search for the North Pole was likewise guided by hypotheses how best to get there.  In estimating the characters or explaining the conduct of acquaintances or of public men, we frame hypotheses as to their dispositions and principles.  ‘That we should not impute motives’ is a peculiarly absurd maxim, as there is no other