AMERICA'S INTELLECTUAL PRODUCT 199 



after the model of the English colleges, which, being intended for the 

 education of certain classes in the community, were long dominated by 

 medieval ideas and traditions, and made their main business the teach- 

 ing of the ancient languages, for, if we include what was then known 

 as " the mathematics " we find it to have been restricted to so much 

 mathematics as was known to the Greeks, as if man's brain had lain 

 dormant since their day. Such was the condition at the beginning of 

 the nineteenth century, and even much later in this country. During 

 this time, however, the modern sciences had arisen, and many of them 

 had obtained a great development, especially mathematics, which, by 

 the invention by Descartes of coordinate geometry, and by Newton and 

 Leibnitz of the Infinitesimal Calculus, had forever emerged from the 

 chrysalis in which the Greeks left it, and had become a thing of 

 marvelous power, fit to display the highest flights of the human 

 intellect. Were these triumphs of mathematics now exhibited to the 

 academic youth? Far from it, they were not even informed that such 

 existed. In fact, we have good reason to doubt whether their existence 

 was known to any one in the country. As far as colleges were con- 

 cerned, if we consult the diaries of students written a little over one 

 hundred years ago, we find that they were instructed in matters now 

 considered fit for the grammar school. A student at Harvard speaks 

 of running away from recitations and going out to work with a sur- 

 veyor's compass by way of diversion, but there is no suggestion that he 

 knew anything even of trigonometry, now considered a proper subject 

 for the high school. At the period in question the sciences of physics 

 and chemistry were beginning that marvelous development which has 

 continued to our day. Were the students of seventy years ago made 

 acquainted with the discoveries of Thomas Young and Fresnel in light, 

 of Oersted and Ampere in electricity? We must again return the 

 same negative answer. But come down to the period of forty years 

 ago, when the country was advanced enough to be in daily communica- 

 tion with Europe and to take an interest in intellectual matters, and 

 had by its successful termination of a great civil war put itself in a 

 place of respect among the great nations of the earth. It was then 

 possible, to be sure, to learn a little science in college, but as for the 

 advances that were being daily made in Europe, little enough was 

 known of them. In fact, we must confess that during this whole period 

 we remained in this country in the Eip van Winkle stage with regard to 

 knowledge merely of what was going on in scientific Europe. Did it 

 occur to any of our people that this country had anything to do in 

 connection with this great creative movement of knowledge ? That our 

 standing among the nations of the earth was in any way dependent on 

 the production of new knowledge on American soil, and that if we did 

 not expect forever to occupy a position of intellectual mediocrity, it 



