EDINBURGH. 1860-1901 



In 1860 the Chair of Natural Philosophy in Edinburgh University 

 became vacant owing to the retirement of James David Forbes, and Tail 

 offered himself as a candidate. The other candidates were Professor Fuller, 

 King's College, Aberdeen ; the Rev. Cosmo Reid Gordon, Manchester ; Pro- 

 fessor Clerk Maxwell, Marischal College, Aberdeen ; E. J. Routh, Peterhouse, 

 Cambridge ; Edward Sang, Edinburgh ; and Professor Swan, St Andrews. 

 There is no difficulty now about placing these men in their appropriate 

 niches in the Temple of Fame; but in 1860, when the best work of most 

 of them was still to do, it could not have been an easy matter to discriminate 

 among them. In the Edinburgh Courant of the day we find a remarkably sane 

 and prescient discussion of the choice which the Curators had made. Some of 

 the sentences are well worth quoting as showing that even in these days the 

 characteristics of some of the men had been clearly diagnosed. After noting 

 the distinction already gained by Fuller and Routh as eminently successful 

 teachers, the writer disposes of their claims in comparison with those of 

 Maxwell and Tail by the remark that neither " had as yet acquired a reputa- 

 tion for powers of original scientific investigation." With regard to Maxwell 

 and Tait the writer continues 



"it will be no disrespect to the warmest friends of the successful candidate, 

 and we do not mean to dispute the decision of the curators, by saying, that in 

 Professor Maxwell the curators would have had the opportunity of associating with the 

 University one who is already acknowledged to be one of the remarkable men known 

 to the scientific world. His original investigations on the nature of colours, on the 

 mechanical condition of stability of Saturn's Rings, and many similar subjects, have 

 well established his name among scientific men ; while the almost intuitive accuracy 

 of his ideas would give his connection with a chair of natural philosophy one 

 advantage, namely, that of a sure and valuable guide to those who came with 

 partial knowledge requiring direction and precision. But there is another power 

 which is desirable in a professor of a University with a system like ours, and that 

 is, the power of oral exposition proceeding upon the supposition of a previous 

 imperfect knowledge, or even total ignorance, of the study on the part of pupils. 

 We little doubt that it was the deficiency of this power in Professor Maxwell 



principally that made the curators prefer Mr Tait With a clear understanding, 



and talents only second in order to genius, cultivated by persevering industry, he 



