TRANSACTIONS 



OF THE 



CLIFTON COLLEGE SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 



At the Introductory Meeting of the Society, the following 

 Inaugural Address was delivered by the Rev. Canon Kings- 

 ley, Eector of Eversley, and Chaplain in Ordinary to Her 



Majesty : — 



I SHALL tell you to-day what I think you may do for a 

 museum, and how you may improve yourselves by doing it 

 without interfering with your regular work. Of course that 

 miist never be interfered with ; you are sent here to work. 

 All of you here, I suppose, depend for your success in life on 

 your own exertions. None of you are born (luckily for you) 

 with a silver spoon in your mouth, to eat at other people's 

 expense and live in luxury and idleness. Work you must, 

 and I don't doubt that work you will, and let nothing inter- 

 fere with your work ; but I do not think that l\elping the 

 museum need do that, and I will tell you why. 



The first thing for a boy to learn after obedience and 

 morality is a habit of observation, — a habit of using his eyes ; 

 it matters little what you use them on, provided you do use 

 them. 



They say knowledge is power — and so it is — but only the 

 knowledge you get by observation. Many a man is very 

 learned in books, and has read for years and years, and yet 

 he is useless. When you set him to do work he makes a 

 mess of it. He knows about all sorts of things, but he can't 

 do them. He is what is called a pedant, because he has not 

 used his eyes and ears. He has lived in books. He knows 

 nothing of the world about him, or of men and their ways, 



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