170 THE LIFE OF SCIENCE 



Indeed such accurate and systematic work is slow, tedious, 

 difficult and austere; also expensive, though in the long run it is 

 far more economical than fast and inaccurate work, which is un- 

 reliable and ephemeral. 



The establishment of the history of science as I understand it, 

 is a secular undertaking; it cannot be realized except by the co- 

 operation of successive generations of disciplined scholars work- 

 ing together quietly, humbly, without undue haste but without 

 cease. To illustrate, consider two other secular undertakings. The 

 Jesuits, Heribert Rosweyde (d. 1629) and John Bolland (d.1665) 

 organized the study of hagiology. The first volume of the Acta 

 sanctorum appeared in 1643; the work has been continued ever 

 since by a devoted band of scholars called Bollandists; it is not yet 

 completed. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Dom An- 

 toine Rivet de la Grange and other Benedictines of the Congrega- 

 tion of St. Maur undertook to write the history of French lit- 

 erature on a scientific basis. The first volume appeared in 1733; 

 in 1807 the work was continued by the Academie des Inscrip- 

 tions; they have now reached the fourteenth century. 



The work I have undertaken, the writing of the history of 

 science and learning, the history of the development of objective 

 knowledge of every kind in every country at every time, is much 

 broader in scope than either of these two examples. Its comple- 

 tion will be far more difficult, and will involve the cooperation 

 of many generations of scholars. Our main task is to train the 

 first group of scholars and to establish sound traditions. 



Need of an Institute — It is because this project is secular that 

 an Institute is needed. As it is beyond the grasp of a single scholar, 

 or of a single generation, its organization must be intrusted to a 

 body of scholars, in order that the work may be continued and 

 indefinitely perfected. I hope that at the time of its Fourth Cen- 

 tenary, Harvard University may find within its orbit an Institute 

 of the History of Science and Learning in full swing, continuing 

 its immense task with extreme care and reasonable speed. By 

 that time it may already have produced a few standard works, and 



