474 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



THE I^^FLUE^TE OF INVEXTIOXS UPOX CIYILI- 



ZATIOK 



By CIIAUNCEY SMITH. 



IN "Westminster Abbey, that place where England honors her great 

 men with burial, and records their names and achievements, there 

 stands a monument bearing this inscription from the pen of Lord 

 Brougham, who esteemed it one of the greatest honors of his life that 

 he was called upon to record the nation's appreciation of the man in 

 whose honor the monument was erected : 



" Not to perpetuate a name 



"Which mu^t endure wliile the peaceful arts flourish, 



But to show 



That mankind have learned to honor those 



Who best deserve their gratitude, 



The King, 



His Ministers, and many of the Kobles 



And Commoners of the Realm, 



Raised tliis monument to 



James Watt, 



"Who, directing the force of an original Genius 



Early exercised in Philosophic research, 



To the improvement of 



The steam-engine, 



Enlarged the Resources of his Country, 



Increased the Power of Man, 



And rose to an eminent i)lace 



Among the most illustrious followers of Science 



And the real Benefactors of the "World." 



The world has always paid homage to its distinguished warriors, 

 statesmen, orators, poets, philanthropists, artists, historians, travelers, 

 and to all who have left the impress of their works upon the history 

 of mankind. 



It is not until recently, however, that inventors have received a 

 large share of these honors. As a class, they hardly had an existence 

 till within a hundred years. Within that time they have risen to the 

 highest place among those who, in the language of the eulogy I have 

 just quoted, best deserve the gratitude of mankind, and by their works 

 they have made greater changes in the face of society, and in the re- 

 lations of civilized man to the physical world, than all the warriors 

 and statesmen who have flourished since the commencement of the 

 Christian era. 



T am not unmindful, in making this statement, of the great changes 

 that followed the introduction of the Christian religion, or the advent 



