THE president's ADDRESS. 17 5 



occasion I had the honour to address you, we placed some of these 

 elements of scientific strength and weakness side by side ; and in 

 particular I singled out the confession of the father of the healing 

 art, who, in the interests of medical science, thought it his duty to 

 make admission of an error. In like manner I pointed to the very 

 similar conduct of other leaders in science, both past and present. 

 With such splendid examples of generous conduct before us, I hold 

 that a perfect reciprocity should characterise the dealings of all 

 scientific associations, as well as individuals; for certainly, whatever 

 mental endowments our generalised anthropomorphic ancestors dis- 

 played, a monkey-like selfishness lies at the bottom of all untruth- 

 fulness. Mental littleness so ill consorts with the pursuit of 

 science, that where it exists it renders its unfortunate possessor one 

 of the most unlovely objects it is possible to contemplate. 



It must be clear to you that the attainment of high excellence in 

 any walk of life is necessarily reserved for the few. Men having 

 eight or nine feet of physical stature are not more rare than intel- 

 lectual giants of the Shakespearian or Newtonian type. So long, 

 however, as we aim at the highest improvements attainable under 

 the varied conditions in which we are severally placed, we have no 

 right to be dissatisfied with an elevation which may be extremely 

 low when contrasted with that acquired by others more favourably 

 placed. Think for a moment what a multitude of circumstances 

 must combhie in a man's favour to make him really eminent. The 

 patronage of the great and wealthy will not accomplish it. Dis- 

 tinctions allotted by their capricious favour will only receive 

 endorsement from an immediate and very limited posterity. The 

 more enduring credit rests upon a securer basis. Even the com- 

 paratively dwarfed intellect may by the exercise of perseverance and 

 its best powers secure a better future record than is likely to be 

 obtained by the more fortune-favoured man of undoubted ability. 

 If any one present be tempted to murmur at his narrow chances in 

 this relation, I pray him reflect upon the thousandfold more limited 

 opportunities of certain of his fellow men. I do not refer to the 

 strangely conditioned inhabitants of remote geographical areas ; but 

 I simply allude to the uneducated peasantry of our own loved 

 island, who, whatever may be their natural capacities, have not the 

 vestige of a chance of rising above a level which many of us would, 

 if we had to occupy it, think degrading. Yet we might descend 

 much lower. I, for one, cannot doubt that amongst our myriads of 



