L. COUTURAT. CHAPTER V THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE TO SCIENCE Whilst the preceding chapters have sufficiently demonstrated that the construction of an artificial international language is not only possible, but already in all probability fixed as regards its fundamental principles, it will be desirable here to give some account of the inner relations between science and the auxiliary language. Without doubt one of the most important conditions to be satisfied by an artificial international language is, that it should be capable of being employed in science. Considering the leading part which science plays to-day in the life of nations, the system which this intellectual Great Power will adopt cannot be a matter of indifference; indeed, its capability of serving the needs of science might well be regarded as the test of an artificial language. It is, for example, conceivable that a particular system, although unsuitable for the purposes of science, might work quite well so far as commercial relations are concerned. Before we examine the relationship between science and auxiliary language the question may be asked whether an international language is at all necessary in science, and whether it is likely to be introduced therein. We may consider that this question has been settled by the discussions contained in the previous chapters. The general question of the introduction of an artificial auxiliary language having been answered in the affirmative, the further question may be raised as to why, in spite of the existence of different artificial auxiliary languages, such as Volapük, Esperanto, Neutral Idiom, Novilatin, Universal, etc., science has not long ago adopted and introduced one of them. Quite apart from the actual circumstances which have prevented this, a perfectly precise answer may be given to the above question. There have not been wanting experiments in this direction. Already in the Volapük period endeavours were made to translate scientific works into Volapük in order to prove that this language could also be of service to science. In particular the translations of Dr. Miess's _Craniology_, Dr. Winkler's _Petrification of Fishes_, and the _Eastern Travels_ of the Crown Prince Rudolph were boasted of by the Volapükists. Esperanto has gone further, and is, as a matter of fact, more capable of development in this direction. There appears a periodical, _Scienca Revuo_, which in popular form conveys the most important results of different sciences to Esperanto readers. Fechner's little book on life after death and some others have also been translated. All these attempts possess an extraordinary interest for the great experiment in language on which mankind has been engaged during the last twenty years, and the greatest thanks are due to their authors. It is only, indeed, after many attempts that an experiment can be successfully carried through.