304 MEMORIAL OF JOSEPH HENRY. 



of an extraneous power of equivalent energy ; and we therefore do 

 not hesitate to say that all declarations of the discovery of a new 

 power which is to supersede the use of coal as a motive-power, have 

 their origin in ignorance or deception, and frequently in both. A 

 man of some ingenuity in combining mechanical elements, and hav- 

 ing some indefinite scientific knowledge, imagines it possible to ob- 

 tain a certain result by a given combination of principles, and by 

 long brooding over this subject previous to experiment, at length 

 convinces himself of the certainty of the anticipated result. Hav- 

 ing thus deceived himself by his sophisms, he calls upon his neigh- 

 bors to accept his conclusions as verified truths ; and soon acquires 

 the notoriety of having made a discovery which is to change the 

 civilization of the world. The shadowy reputation which he has 

 thus acquired, is too gratifying to his vanity to be at once relin- 

 quished by the announcement of his self-deception ; and in prefer- 

 ence he applies his ingenuity in devising means by which to continue 

 the deception of his friends and supporters, long after he himself 

 has been convinced of the fallacy of his first assumptions. In this 

 way what was commenced in folly, generally ends in fraud." * 



In looking back upon the struggles, conflicts, and obstructions of 

 the past, it really seems quite marvelous that so much should have 

 been accomplished, with so limited expenditure. These large re- 

 sults are partly due to the admirable method of the Secretary, his 

 clear presage of eifects, and his high power of systematic distribu- 

 tion and appliance; partly to the intelligent zeal and sympathetic 

 energy of the able assistants whom he had associated with him 

 almost from the organization of the institution ; and partly to the 

 personal magic of the man, to the surprising amount of voluntary 

 co-operation he was able to call forth in almost every direction, by 

 the sheer force of his own earnest industry, and the contagious influ- 

 ence of his own devotion to the cause of scientific advancement. 



Scientific Observatories. One of the objects very dear to Henry's 

 heart, was the establishment of a physical observatory (with a phys- 

 ical laboratory in connection) for the systematic observation and 

 record of important points in celestial and terrestrial physics. For 



* Smithsonian Report for 1875, pp. 39, 40. 



