EAST AND WEST 163 



From the point of view of experimental science, especially in its 

 present stage of development, the opposition between East and 

 West seems extreme. However — and this is the burden of my essay 

 — we must bear in mind two things. 



The first is that the seeds of science, including the experimental 

 method and mathematics, in fact, the seeds of all the forms of 

 science, came from the East; and that during the Middle Ages 

 they were largely developed by Eastern people. Thus, in a large 

 sense, experimental science is a child not only of the West, but 

 also of the East; the East was its mother, the West was its father. 



In the second place, I am fully convinced that the West still 

 needs the East to-day, as much as the East needs the West. As 

 soon as the Eastern peoples have unlearned their scholastic and 

 argumentative methods, as we did in the sixteenth century, as 

 soon as they are truly inspired with the experimental spirit, there 

 is no telling what they may be able to do for us, or (heaven for- 

 bid!) against us. To be sure, as far as scientific research is con- 

 cerned they could only work with us, but their applications of it 

 might be very different. We must not make the same mistake as 

 the Greeks who thought for centuries that their spirit was the only 

 one, who ignored altogether the Semitic spirit and considered 

 foreign people barbarians; their ultimate fall was as deep as their 

 triumph had been high. Remember the rhythm between East and 

 West; many times already has our inspiration come from the East; 

 why should that never happen again? The chances are that great 

 ideas will still reach us from the East and we must be ready to 

 welcome them. 



The men who assume a truculent attitude against the East and 

 make the most extravagant claims for the Western civilization, 

 are not likely to be scientists. Most of them have neither knowl- 

 edge nor understanding of science; that is, they do not in the least 

 deserve the superiority of which they boast so much and which 

 their incoherent desires would soon extinguish, if they were left 

 to themselves. 



We are justly proud of our American civilization, but its rec- 



