DE CANDOLLE ON MEN OF SCIENCE. 45 



tory, in law, or in moral, natural, or other science, is out of his place in a 

 political assembly. He would hardly go there except from motives of 

 patriotism, or under a transitory, enthusiastic impulse, and would very 

 soon find out that he did not belong there. How could he lend him- 

 self to the manoeuvres of politicians ? How, for example, could he 

 trade off a principle against a railroad, a charitable foundation for an 

 election ? How could he consent to transactions between truth and 

 falsehood, to the barter of opinions which is the rule in political affairs ? 

 Men of science are sometimes found in considerable numbers in politi- 

 cal assemblies, but the others always do their best to make them ridicu- 

 lous, and kill them off by giving them bad names. "As a rule," M. de 

 Candolle adds, " governments too much confound teaching with progress 

 in science. Many of them believe they have done everything when 

 they have created schools and universities. They do not comprehend 

 that they often do more harm than good by restricting these institutions 

 in their methods, or in the choice of teachers. They do not know to 

 what degree science lives on liberty and on the individual work of 

 masters and pupils outside of the lessons. Sometimes they over- 

 charge the professors with courses, examinations, or administrative 

 details which deprive those who wish to work of the time to do so.* 

 They pay but little attention to the encouragement of original publica- 

 tions, the sale of which at the book-stores is far from being remunera- 

 tive, and even when they do anything in that way, it is awkwardly, 

 and to poor purpose. 



" The idea of constructing expensive buildings for universities, lab- 

 oratories, etc., is now very much in vogue. Such munificence furthers 

 some works and gives means of obtaining greater precision in experi- 

 ments, but it discourages isolated investigators who have not the same 

 resources, while researches at home are usually the best thought out and 

 the most original." f 



Absolute sovereigns have sometimes invited distinguished men to 

 their capitals and bestowed their favors upon them. But this, after 

 all, was only a way of changing the place of scientific culture, not of 

 creating it. Generally, emigrations of savants have been useful to 



* " At the moment of writing this phrase, I have before me letters of French, German, 

 and Italian professors, lamenting that they can not work for science, because they are 

 charged with hundreds of examinations which could be attended to just as well by per- 

 sons whose time is less valuable." 



f Haeckel has gone so far as to say that the scientific work of institutions and the 

 intrinsic value of their publications stand in an inverse ratio to the magnitude of the 

 buildings and the splendid appearance of their volumes. " I need only refer," he adds, 

 " to the small and miserable institutes and the meager resources with which Baer in 

 Konigsberg, Schleiden in Jena, Johannes Miiller in Berlin, Liebig in Giesscn, Yirchow in 

 Wiirzburg, Gcgenbaur in Jena, have not only each advanced their special science most 

 extensively, but have actually created new spheres for them. Compare with these the 

 colossal expenditures and the luxurious apparatus in the grand institutes of Cambridge, 

 Leipsic, and other so-called great universities what have they produced in proportion to 

 their means ? " 



