566 ETHNOLOGY 



pleasure and satisfaction. He should be able to recognize the artistic 

 impulse which from our point of view is a germ rather than a real- 

 ization, and thus discern what the people are striving after despite 

 uncouth and imperfect presentation. 



Finally, he should have sympathy. A great deal has been done 

 by energy and intelligence, but the finest ethnological work can be 

 accomplished only by that subtle quality that eludes definition. 

 All sorts and conditions of men will open out and reveal their 

 secrets and unveil their mysteries if approached in a spirit of 

 camaraderie, but it is permitted only to the sympathetic to enter 

 into the innermost shrine where are laid bare the hopes and fears, 

 the ideals and aspirations, of another's soul. The rude and the 

 rough, the cynic and the skeptic, cannot enter here. 



My plea, then, is for investigators, not for mere collectors; as 

 many of the former as possible and as few of the latter. There is 

 not much difficulty in finding men willing and competent to under- 

 take such investigations if funds were forthcoming. One point 

 is worth mentioning for their further encouragement: in most 

 branches of scientific inquiry, later investigations, owing to more 

 minute study, improved methods, or a new point of view, are apt 

 entirely to eclipse the earlier discoveries. Now this is not the case 

 with ethnological research in the field. The earlier the observa- 

 tions are, provided they are full and accurate, the more liable they 

 are to be of greater importance than the later ones. Students con- 

 tinually refer to the oldest books of travel, and they will always do 

 so. From this point of view it is evident that properly qualified 

 investigators should set to work without delay. Every year's delay 

 means that the work will be so much the less perfect. All who are 

 concerned in any field of work can have the satisfaction of feeling 

 that students of mankind in future ages will have to consult their 

 publications, and they have the tremendous responsibility that 

 what they write will have to be accepted as correct, as there will 

 be no means in the future of checking it. 



The work that requires to be done is of so extensive a nature 

 that no one institution, riot even one country, can hope to do more 

 than efficiently cover a small portion of the field. It appears to 

 me that this is one of those departments of science that require 

 coordination. Individual action can accomplish a good deal in 

 restricted areas, but would not systematic cooperation be more 

 efficacious in most cases? There are certain districts that need 

 more immediate attention than others, and an international body 

 should be in a better position to direct field-research towards the 

 most profitable districts and to facilitate the work of the investi- 

 gators than a private individual. 



