at the Royal Institution, 1908-1916 731) 



upon in the past, especially by Carlyle ; at no time have his words of 

 warning been of greater import than at the present period of our 

 dire distress and peril. Of late years Science has fallen distinctly 

 from its high estate and we have not been sufficiently mindful of 

 the need of preserving it as an ai'istocracy — the work of artificers 

 has been too often appraised as that of artists ; there have been too 

 many " false gods " among us and unreasoned worship of formulae ; 

 a constrained mathematical habit of mind has been too prevalent : 

 unless care be taken we may easily lose the freedom that was so hard 

 to win and again fall a prey to a dogmatic " ecclesiasticism." Signs 

 are not wanting. " The Aristocracy of Venice hath admitted so 

 many abuses that the period of its duration seems to approach," 

 wrote Swift ; we must be on our guard, so that this may not be said 

 of the Aristocracy of Science. 



The spirit of the Royal Institution, the spirit of Davy and 

 Faraday, is in no way sufficiently appreciated by the public ; it is 

 one, however, that should be made known more widely, so that it may 

 be upheld and preserved at all costs. Feeling this as I do most 

 strongly, I have endeavoured to make this essay, in some measure, a 

 broad survey of the work accomplished during the tenure of the 

 present holder of the Fullerian Professorship. 



Sir James Dewar's inquiries, like those of his great predecessor, 

 have been in part chemical, in part physical ; they lie at the very 

 opposite poles of the scale of temperature but have been mainly in 

 borderland regions of the two sciences — hence their peculiar value. 

 Those who have watched its progress and are conversant with the results 

 agree in regarding the work as that of an artist gifted with exceptional 

 powers of imagination and extraordinary command of technique. 



Prior to his appointment in 1877, he had lectured on "The 

 Temperature of the Sun and the Work of Sunlight " (March 7, 1873) ; 

 also twice on the " Physiological Action of Light " (February 5, 

 1875 ; March 31, 1876). The second of these lectures is certainly 

 the most memorable Friday evening lecture, in my recollection, he 

 has delivered. I look back upon it as the most carefully considered 

 and masterly discourse he has given ; the model was then first dis- 

 played of the fascinating demonstrations to which Royal Institution 

 audiences are grown so accustomed and now take as a matter of 

 course — so much so, that few probably are aware how much is involved 

 in their preparation. 



Sir James Dewar's great predecessor was noted on account of his 

 lucid and captivating style. Sir James will be remembered on 

 account of his daring and of the infinite trouble he has taken to 

 demonstrate the intricacies of modern low-temperature research and 

 make the phenomena obvious to all : the degree of perfection to 

 which he has brought his art is marvellous. 



8 C 2 



