THE UNITY OF KNOWLEDGE 91 



2. The Unity of Knowledge 



There was another side of the Exposition plan which suggested a 

 stronger topic. The World's Fair was not only an historical memorial 

 work, and was not only a show of the practical tools of technical civil- 

 ization; its deepest aim was after all the effort to bring the energies of 

 our time into inner relation. The peoples of the whole globe, sepa- 

 rated by oceans and mountains, by language and custom, by politics 

 and prejudice, were here to come in contact and to be brought into 

 correlation by better mutual understanding of the best features of 

 their respective cultures. The various industries and arts, the most 

 antagonistic efforts of commerce and production, separated by the 

 rivalry of the market and by the diversity of economic interests 

 were here to be brought together in harmony, were to be correlated 

 for the eye of the spectator. It was a near-lying thought to choose 

 correlation as the controlling thought of a scientific World's Congress 

 too. That was the topic which was finally agreed upon: the inner 

 relation of the sciences of our day. 



The fitness and the external advantages of such a scheme are 

 evident. First of all, the danger of disconnectedness now disappears 

 completely. If the sciences are to examine what binds them together, 

 their usual isolation must be given up for the time being and a con- 

 certed effort must control the day. The bringing together of scholars 

 of all scientific specialties is then no longer a doubtful accidental fea- 

 ture, but becomes a condition of the whole undertaking. More than 

 that, such a topic, with all that it involves, makes it a matter of course 

 that the call goes out to the really leading scholars of the time. To 

 aim at a correlation of sciences means to seek for the fundamental 

 principles in each territory of knowledge and to look with far-seeing 

 eye beyond the limits of its field; but just this excludes from the 

 outset those who like to be the self-appointed speakers in routine 

 gatherings. It excludes from the first the narrow specialist who does 

 not care for anything but for his latest research, and ought to exclude 

 not less the vague spirits who generalize about facts of which they 

 have no concrete substantial knowledge, as their suggestions towards 

 correlation would lack inner productiveness and outer authority. 

 Such a plan has room only for those men who stand high enough to 

 see the whole field and who have yet the full authority of the special- 

 istic investigator; they must combine the concentration on specialized 

 productive work with the inspiration that comes from looking over 

 vast regions. With such a topic the usual question does not come up 

 whether one or another strong man would feel attracted to take part 

 in the gathering, but it would be justified and necessary to confine the 

 active participation from the outset to those who are leaders, and 

 thus to guarantee from the beginning a representation of science 



