APPENDIX A LV 



Greeks appreciated this, Empodocles says, "but in the strong recess 

 of Harmony estabhshed firm abides the perfect sphere." 



The scientific spirit which actuated research in the British Empire 

 was largely idealistic until the recent great crisis of humanity forced 

 it to give way to a purely material purpose. It was the times of peace 

 and prosperity that supplied the leisure for intellectual pursuits and 

 created the atmosphere for scientific growth from the bottom, for the 

 accumulation of those scientific fundamentals that enabled us in the 

 defence of the Empire to forestall and excel the enemy in the applica- 

 tions of science. 



Now that we are entering upon a new era of peace, should we 

 not endeavour to encourage at least a portion of scientific eiifort to seek 

 other gods than those of immediate utility ? Are we not beating the 

 utilitarian drum too loudly in our university halls? The very life 

 blood of the scientific departments in a university is the pursuit of 

 science for the advancement of truth. Nevertheless we must not forget 

 that the compelling events of recent years call most emphatically 

 for its material application as well. The two objectives are not 

 incompatible; they can be recognized in the same university with 

 advantage to both, but one cannot help feeling there is a danger of the 

 essential function being less developed than the subsidiary function. 

 Should the universities not aim to develop the sciences in such a way 

 as to bring about that very combination of aesthetic satisfaction and 

 useful achievement which Poincairé has so well described ? 



The high privilege of the universities is the preservation of real 

 knowledge, not only to see that such knowledge once acquired should 

 not be lost, and to play the role of a vestal virgin in "guarding the 

 torch kindled by others," but also to extend the boundaries of human 

 knowledge. Research and the development of initiative in scientific 

 investigation among students distinguish the university from the mere 

 college, and capacity for research is the valuable product the country 

 expects from its universities. 



Just as the universities have duties to perform to the country, so 

 have countries duties to perform to the civilized world. It is the 

 duty of every country to participate in the discovery of the laws of 

 nature, to enhance the powers of man and widen the range of his 

 vision. The cultivation of the fields of pure science yields products 

 which are of world-wide necessity and more lasting than the pyramids. 

 Other human achievements wear out and disintegrate with time. 

 The harvest of science persists and increases in value with every 

 generation of workers. The International Research Council stands 

 for co-operative efïort among the men of all nations to extend the field 



Proc, Sig. 5 



