338 JACOB BIGELOW. 



problems quietly resting a little out of sight, — certainly not aggres- 

 sively thrust forward, — in a receptacle like that in which Time puts 

 alms for oblivion. I should form this opinion with regard to Dr. 

 Bigelow, chiefly from the habit of his mind, which was that of explor- 

 ing Thomas rather than of visionary Paul ; for I never knew him 

 wanting in reverence, and I have known him to manifest impatience 

 at what he thought was a want of it. 



The last great movement in which Dr. Bigelow took an active part 

 was that in favor of a change in the educational system by which the 

 classical languages should cease to be the exclusive or chief tests of a 

 liberal training. Professor W. P. Atkinson had recently called atten- 

 tion to the state of education, especially as it regarded the classics 

 and scientific studies in the great schools of England. Dr. Bigelow 

 referred to this as a convincing exposition of the state of education in 

 those institutions, and, following his usual direct method of proceeding, 

 made a practical application of the facts there given, illustrated with 

 a good sense and epigrammatic force all his own, to the condition of 

 things among ourselves. His two papers bearing on this subject, " On 

 the Limits of Education" (I860), and "On Classical and Utilitarian 

 Studies" (18G6), were published with other essays in a volume en- 

 titled "Modern Inquiries" (18G7). 



After a record like this, it seems almost trivial to refer to the literary 

 diversions in which from time to time, generally without attaching his 

 name to them, he was in the habit of indulging. I think it probable 

 that he wrote moVe frequently in the papers than any of his friends 

 were aware ; for I remember more than one article of his, the author- 

 ship of which was not generally known. His jeux d'esprit could 

 hardly help betraying themselves, in some instances at least. One of 

 the most famous was the poem written on the occasion of the trans- 

 plantation of the gingko-tree from the garden of Mr. Gardiner Green 

 to Boston Common. Another of his happiest efforts was the Latin 

 song written for the Harvard Centennial in 1836. It deserves every 

 epithet Cicero bestowed on the oration which he called concinnam, 

 distinctam, ornatam, festivam. The little volume of playful parodies 

 called " Eolopoesis" has always been attributed to him, without having 

 its authorship disputed. These productions were the mere overflow 

 of a mind full of wit as well as wisdom. 



Dr. Bigelow has done more than adorn all that he has touched : 

 he has illuminated and enriched, as well as embellished, a range of 

 subjects so wide that it becomes a wonder how he could embrace them 

 all. Eew citizens of the republic, certainly no member of the medical 



