316 | ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1944 
of our present unrest. With a sense of allegiance to the group in the 
spirit of that larger self-interest which realizes that the greatest good 
for the individual is inextricably bound up with the good of the 
group, there need be no fear of enforced regimentation. Unlike the 
strait-jacketed insect civilization, such realization of individual re- 
sponsibility permits us freedom to pass from stratum to stratum as 
the cast of the genes may decide, and leaves us the stimulus of in- 
dividual initiative. The specializations of society without a sense of 
responsibility lead to the limited privilege of an unbridled, cancerous 
growth; specialization with a sense of the common good leads to the 
harmony of a well-ordered body. 
As I come to the end of my remarks let me mention once again 
my thoughts at the close of the academic year, my interest in the trees 
of fact and the woods of significance. I have, as you see, directed 
your attention to but a few examples. First among them was the 
very soul of science, the sense of security which scientific facts con- 
vey. Second was the influence of what may appear to be purely phys- 
ical principles upon the liberation of man from the bonds of religious 
ignorance; third, the significance of the facts of evolution as a guid- 
ing light upon our way and finally the significance of the individual’s 
obligation to the group. I have discussed them because with all the 
inimediately practical applications of fact that can be made, which 
are truly many and important, such applications alone are not suf- 
ficient. The instructor in science has not completely fulfilled his re- 
sponsibility to those who come to him for guidance unless he has 
pointed out the wider significances. These broader applications 
which carry us into the realm of ideas are required to satisfy fully 
that age-long quest which Sir William Dampier has so richly clothed 
in these words: 
At first men try with magic But Nature smiles—a Sphinx-like 
charm smile— 
To fertilize the earth, Watching their little day 
To keep their flocks and herds She waits in patience for a 
from harm 
And bring new young to birth. 
Then to capricious gods they turn 
To save from fire or flood; 
Their smoking sacrifices burn 
On altars red with blood. 
Next bold philosopher and sage 
A settled plan decree, 
And prove by thought or sacred 
page 
What Nature ought to be. 
while— 
Their plans dissolve away. 
Then come those humbler men of 
heart 
With no completed scheme, 
Content to play a modest part, 
To test, observe, and dream. 
Till out of chaos come in sight 
Clear fragments of a Whole; 
Man, learning Nature’s ways 
aright, 
Obeying, can control. 
