44 HERBERT SPENCER

talk with those in whom I feel no mtorent," And
thus, though far from being a recluse, he lived his life
of thought quietly.

In 1871 Spencer was nominated for the office of
Lord Rector at the University of St Andrews, but
he declined the honour for the sake of hia work, lie
also declined the honorary degree of Doctor uf Laws
from the same University, and sub.Heqwtnidy, .similar
honours, chiefly on the ground *' that tint' sutviuu'e of
thought will be most furthered, when the only hcmourc
to be acquired by authors are those spontaneously
yielded to them by a public which is left to estimate
their merits as well m it can,"

The first (synthetic) volume of the new edition of
the Psychology begun in 1867 wts finished in 1870,
the second, (analytic) volume begun in 1870 wa«
completed in the end of 1872. Having become much
interested in the well-known *' International ScicruiHe
Series," Spencer contributed to it in 1873 the volume
known as The Study of &r«»%)?» which hag done
much in Britain and America to secure the position
of Sociology as a workable science. It was unusually
successful for a book of its kind, and brought Bjpeneer
about £1500.

Sociology,—-From 1867 onwards Spencer had been
collecting Sociological Data to serve as a banix for
generalised interpretation. With the help of Mr
David Duncan, Mr James Collier, and Dr Srheppig,
this big piece of work made steady progress, and its
publication began to be discussed in 1871* It win
hoped that the plan of "exhibiting sociological
phenomena in such wise that comparisons ©f them in
their co-existences and sequences, is occurring amongnot care to, attracted partly by the fact