298 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



international harmony and peace, simply because science will make war 

 too dangerous and too costly. 



The influence of the sciences in bringing men of different national- 

 ities into harmony is great. This is done largely by the common lan- 

 guages that are formed in each science. In mathematics the language 

 i& so well formed and generally adopted that mathematicians all over 

 the world have no trouble in understanding one another. It may be 

 difficult to read Kussian, but every one can read the formulas of Tche- 

 bitchef and Lobaschewsky. In astronomy the common language is 

 nearly as well established, so that there is little difficulty in under- 

 standing the astronomy of different nations. A similar process is 

 going on in chemistry, botany and in the other sciences. When men 

 are striving for the discovery of truth in its various manifestations, 

 they learn that is is by correcting the mistakes of preceding investi- 

 gators that progress is made, and they have charity for criticism. 

 Hence persecution for difference of opinion becomes an absurdity. The 

 labors of scientific men are forming a great body of doctrine that can 

 be appealed to with confidence in all countries. Such labors bring peo- 

 ple together, and tend to break down national barriers and restrictions. 

 The scientific creed is constantly growing and expanding, and we have 

 no fears, but rejoice at its growth. We need no consistory of bishops, 

 nor synod of ministers, to tell us what to believe. Everything is open 

 to investigation and criticism. 



In our country we have one of the greatest theaters for national 

 life that the world has ever seen. Stretching three thousand miles from 

 ocean to ocean, and covering the rich valleys of the great rivers, we 

 have a land of immense resources. Here is a vast field for scientific 

 work of various kinds. No doubt the men of the future will be com- 

 petent to solve the problems that will arise. Let us hope that our 

 national character will be just and humane, and that we may depart 

 from the old custom of robbing and devouring weak peoples. Any one 

 who saw the confusion and waste in this city in 1862 might well have 

 despaired of the Republic; and he who saw the armies of Grant and 

 Sherman pass through the city in 1865 felt that he need fear no foreign 

 foe: neither French emperor, nor English nobleman nor the sneers of 

 Carl vie. To destroy a democracy by external force the blows must be 

 quick and hard, because its power of recuperation is great. The 

 danger will come from internal forces produced by false political and 

 social theories, since we offer such a great field for the action of 

 charlatans. Our schools and colleges send forth every year many edu- 

 cated people, and it is sometimes disheartening to see how little 

 influence these people have in public life. Those who are trained in 

 the humanities and churches ought to be humane in dealing with other 

 people, ready to meet great emergencies and powerful to control bad 



