PRACTICAL VALUE OF PURE SCIENCE 243 



pose; the former are copyists and the latter creators. 'Now, what could 

 the technicians do without the composers? Appliers are dependent 

 upon fertile creators in general education as in music and other mat- 

 ters. It is pure science by which a man can advance his subject a little 

 and arouse his students to do the same. 



It may seem a sweeping statement, but I am inclined to believe that 

 any advance in pure science helps to better our race, whether all of it 

 can be practically applied or not. For so many practical uses have 

 been made from what seemed unjjromising theories, that we may confi- 

 dently expect still more applications in the future. That is one side 

 of the subject. The other and the more important is the growth of 

 the method of science, to never rest content, but to seek to explain 

 more and more. This means a continuous expansion of the field of 

 thought and will prevent crystallization and stagnation. Just because 

 human progress is to such great extent mental, creative thought should 

 be held an important ideal, and this is the essence of science. Thus 

 the mere pursuit of science, whether it be of direct material advantage 

 or not, is by no means worthless to us, for it is a powerful factor in the 

 progress of the human mind. I do not believe in the argument of 

 the schoolmen, that a subject is to be studied for the mental training; 

 life is too short for duties of that kind; what we need is the introduc- 

 tion of more subjects that enlarge our interests, and teach that there 

 is a great deal under the sun that is new and inspiring. My particular 

 argument may seem to many rather specious, yet I think that just in 

 this point is pure science of great value. Men ask for quick, tangible 

 results, for early harvesting of the crops. But that which is easiest 

 and quickest need not be best. What influence each of us most deeply 

 in our personal lives are intangible matters, feelings and desires that 

 are hard to define and that are set apart from the daily occupation. 

 Just so it is with our progress from generation to generation; it is the 

 clarifying and ennobling thought rather than the dollar that gives the 

 most enduring satisfaction whether we are ready to admit it or not. 

 And if you ask proof for this statement, you may find it in any national 

 biography where you discover the names of thinkers, not those of mere 

 money-getters. 



Our advance in civilization consists to large extent in the perfecting 

 of the social state, and herein lies the important task of sociology. 

 Numerous have been the proposals for bettering social conditions, and 

 as great the clash of view, for such questions press on all of us. All 

 admit the imperfection and injustice of present conditions, yet there 

 is no general remedy in promise. The most we seem able to do is to 

 mitigate here and there a few of the most urgent evils. It would seem 

 that economists have dealt with only parts of the problem; they have 

 spent much time in definitions, but so far have missed giving a scientific 



