Людина-невидимка
Certain First Principles
"Nodoubt,toyou,but—"Kemplaughed.
"Well,yes;tomeitseemedwonderfulatfirst,nodoubt.Butnow,greatGod!...Butwewilldogreatthingsyet!IcameonthestufffirstatChesilstowe."
"Chesilstowe?"
"IwentthereafterIleftLondon. YouknowIdroppedmedicineandtookupphysics?No;well,Idid.Lightfascinatedme."
"Ah!"
"Opticaldensity!Thewholesubjectisanetworkofriddles—anetworkwithsolutionsglimmeringelusivelythrough. Andbeingbuttwo-and-twentyandfullofenthusiasm,Isaid,'Iwilldevotemylifetothis.Thisisworthwhile.'Youknowwhatfoolsweareattwo-and-twenty?"
"Foolsthenorfoolsnow,"saidKemp.
"Asthoughknowingcouldbeanysatisfactiontoaman!
"ButIwenttowork—likeaslave. AndIhadhardlyworkedandthoughtaboutthemattersixmonthsbeforelightcamethroughoneofthemeshessuddenly—blindingly! Ifoundageneralprincipleofpigmentsandrefraction—aformula,ageometricalexpressioninvolvingfourdimensions. Fools,commonmen,evencommonmathematicians,donotknowanythingofwhatsomegeneralexpressionmaymeantothestudentofmolecularphysics. Inthebooks—thebooksthattramphashidden—therearemarvels,miracles! Butthiswasnotamethod,itwasanidea,thatmightleadtoamethodbywhichitwouldbepossible,withoutchanginganyotherpropertyofmatter—except,insomeinstancescolours—tolowertherefractiveindexofasubstance,solidorliquid,tothatofair—sofarasallpracticalpurposesareconcerned."
