56 SCIENCE AND THE STATE 



in a short time hardly one will remain to be explored 

 or exploited. But there is a realm of inexhaustible 

 extent, which actually grows larger with every step 

 taken forward in its exploration. It is the realm 

 of ignorance beyond the world of knowledge and 

 completely surrounding it. As the known world 

 expands, the boundaries between the known and 

 the unknown lengthen, jumping-off places for the 

 pioneer into the unknown become more and more 

 numerous, and the pace of progress increases and 

 ever must increase. This world of ignorance is 

 the El Dorado of the future, limitless and inex- 

 haustible so long as the spirit of divine curiosity 

 to know haunts the earth. 



To be the first human being to make a discovery 

 of incalculable and, possibly, never-ending con- 

 sequence to humanity, is in itself no mean reward 

 for an investigator, without honour, glory and 

 power being added. The million others, who never 

 make discoveries, can never know the mental 

 exaltation and satisfaction, far above the worth of 

 rubies, that the discoverer in any walk of life ex- 

 periences. Nevertheless, if science is to be of 

 practical benefit to the million and the means of 

 raising the universal standard of life, it is a simple 

 business proposition to make sure that the scientific 

 investigator is provided with the means necessary 

 for the pursuit of his proper work. The harvest 

 is great but the workers are few, and, hitherto, they 

 have been recruited mainly from among those who 

 have possessed, in addition to the requisite enthusiasm 

 and knowledge, private means of support sufficing 

 for their everyday needs. For in pure scientific 

 research, as distinct from applied science, there is, 

 apart from its costliness altogether, not even the 

 means of earning a bare subsistence. 



