210 FIELDS, FACTORIES AND WORKSHOJ'S. 



present divorce between science and industry. On the 

 one side, we have men who are endowed with capacities 

 for invention, but have neither the necessary scientific 

 knowledge nor the means for experimenting during long 

 years; and, on the other side, we have men endowed 

 with knowledge and facilities for experimenting, but 

 devoid of inventive genius, owing to their education 

 and to the surroundings they live in not to speak of 

 the patent system, which divides and scatters the efforts 

 of the inventors instead of combining them. 



The flight of genius which has characterised the 

 workers at the outset of modern industry has been miss- 

 ing in our professional men of science. And they will 

 not recover it as long as they remain strangers to 

 the world, amidst their dusty bookshelves; as long as 

 they are not workers themselves, amidst other workers, 

 at the blaze of the iron furnace, at the machine in the 

 factory, at the turning-lathe in the engineering work- 

 shop ; sailors amidst sailors on the sea, and fishers 

 in the fishing boat, wood-cutters in the forest, tillers of 

 the soil in the field. Our teachers in art have re- 

 peatedly told us of late that we must not expect a 

 revival of art as long as handicraft remains what it is ; 

 they have shown how Greek and mediaeval art were 

 daughters of handicraft, how one was feeding the other. 

 The same is true with regard to handicraft and science ; 

 I heir separation is the decay of both. As to the grand 

 inspirations which unhappily have been so much ne- 

 glected in most of the recent discussions about art and 

 which are missing in science as well these can be ex- 

 pected only when humanity, breaking its present bonds, 

 shall make a new start in the higher principles of soli- 

 darity, doing away with the present duality of moral 

 sense and philosophy. 



It is evident, however, that all men and women cannot 

 equally enjoy the pursuit of scientific work. The variety 

 ^>f inclinations is such that some will find more pleasure 



