30 TEE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



dealt with by scientific men, and the presence of one or two such 

 in each branch of that body would be of decided advantage to the 

 whole country. In the nature of things, opportunities for such 

 representation will be rare, but when they occur they must not be 

 suffered to escape. 



Finally, if the conclusions reached in the foregoing should be 

 thought wise, and should any young man at the threshold of his 

 scientific career determine to be guided by them in establishing 

 his relations with the general public, he will find splendid exam- 

 ples among the distinguished leaders of all departments of science. 

 Should he desire to present the results of his labors in such a way 

 that they may be understood by intelligent people, he may imitate 

 Franklin, whose literary style, as to simplicity and clearness, com- 

 manded the highest praise from literary men ; or Faraday, who 

 was able to give expression to the most involved conceptions in 

 simple English ; or Tyndall, the appearance of whose Heat con- 

 sidered as a Mode of Motion was an epoch in the history of phys- 

 ical science in its relation to an intelligent constituency, without 

 which it can not thrive. He will learn that there is no discredit in 

 " popularizing " science ; that popularizing what is not science is 

 the thing that is to be shunned and prevented. The arrogance of 

 genius is not less disagreeable than that of riches, although it is 

 less common. 



Should he wish to cultivate modesty in estimating his own at- 

 tainments, he need only follow NeAvton, Darwin, and, in fact, the 

 whole list of distinguished men of science down to the present 

 time, with a few rare and unexplainable exceptions, the existence 

 of which serves, like a whistling buoy, to point out what should 

 be avoided. 



Should he aspire to be of some use to the world and to leave it 

 better because of his life, he will be encouraged by the fact, 

 already considered, that in the long run those discoveries are most 

 highly esteemed, and justly so, which are the most potent in their 

 influence upon civilization and society by ameliorating the con- 

 dition of the people, or by enlarging their opportunities, and that 

 all really great men of science have not lost sight of this fact ; 

 that " science for the sake of science " does not represent the high- 

 est ideal, nor can the " almighty dollar " ever be bartered for the 

 " divine afflatus." 



All of these questions will serve to enlarge his interest in pub- 

 lic affairs, because be will come to recognize that he is himself 

 but a part of the public. He will remember the delight of Fara- 

 day, when near the end of his life he saw a huge dynamo illumi- 

 nating the tower of a lighthouse. That which he had given to 

 the world as an infant, in his splendid discovery of induction, had, 

 through the fostering care of others, grown to a brilliant man- 



