EVOLUTION OF THE HCIENTIFIC INVESTKJ ATOR. 223 



success in invonlion has hccii nicasin'cd \)\ coiuplclciicss in such knowl- 

 iHl<je. WhiU' ^ivin^- all <hw honor (o (he <ir('a( iiiNcnloi-s. h't us 

 ivmenilKM- (hat the first place is that of the «>reat invest i<rators, whoso 

 forceful intellects opened the way to seci'ets previously hidden from 

 men. Let it he an honor and not a I'eproach to these men that they 

 were not ai-tuated by the love of <2:ain, and did not keep utilitarian 

 ends in view in the pursuit of theii- reseaivhes. Tf it seems that in 

 neglectinii; such ends they were leavin<i- inidone the most im])oi-tant. 

 part of their work, let us remember that nature turns a forbiddiu": 

 face to those who pay her court with th(> lioi)e of iiain, and is respon- 

 sive only to those suitors whose love for her is pure and undefiled. 

 Not only is the special genius required in the i n vest i gator not that 

 generally best adapted to applying the discoveries which he makes, 

 but the result of his having sordid ends in view would be to narrow 

 the field of his efforts and exercise a depressing etl'ect upon his activi- 

 ties. The true man of science has no such expression in his vocabu- 

 lary as " useful knowledge." His domain is as wide as nature itself, 

 and he best fulfills his mission Avhen he leaves to others the task of 

 applying the knowledge he gives to the world. 



We have here the explanation of the well-known fact that the 

 functions of the investigator of the laws of nature and of the 

 inventor Avho applies these laws to utilitarian purposes are rarely 

 united in the same person. If the one conspicuous exception which 

 the past century presents to this rule is not unique, we should prob- 

 ably have to go back to "Watt to find another. 



From this viewpoint it is clear that the primary agent in the move- 

 ment AAhich has elevated man to the masterful position he now^ occu- 

 pies is the scientific investigator. He it is whose work has deprived 

 plague and pestilence of their terrors, alleviated human sufi'ering, 

 girdled the earth with the electric wire, bound the continent with the 

 iron Avay, and made neighbors of the most distant nations. As the first 

 agent which has made possible this meeting of his representatives, 

 let his evolution be this day our v.orthy theme. As Ave follow the 

 evolution of an organisni by studying the stages of its growth, so we 

 have to show how the work of the scientific investigator is related to 

 the ineffectual efforts of his predecessors. 



In our time we think of the process of development in nature as one 

 going continuously foi-v, ard through the combination of the opposite 

 processes of evolution and dissolution. The tendency of our thought 

 has been in the direction of banishing cataclysms to the theological 

 limbo and vi(Mving natin-e as a sleepless plodder, endowed with in- 

 finite patience, waiting through long ages for results. I do not con- 

 test the truth of the principle of continuity on which this view is 

 based. But it fails to make known to us the whole truth. The 

 building of a ship from the time that her keel is laid until she is making 



