102 FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE 



fire that flashes along the line ? This, I am bound to say, 

 was done by two men, the one a dweller in Italy, 1 the 

 other a dweller in England," who never in their inquiries 

 consciously set a practical object before them whose only 

 stimulus was the fascination which draws the climber to a 

 never-trodden peak, and would have made Caesar quit his 

 victories for the sources of the Nile. That the knowledge 

 brought to us by those prophets, priests, and kings of sci- 

 ence, is what the world calls "useful knowledge," the 

 triumphant application of their discoveries proves. But 

 science has another function to fulfil, in the storing and 

 the training of the human mind; and I would base my ap- 

 peal to you on the specimen which has this evening been 

 brought before you, whether any system of education at 

 the present day can be deemed even approximately com- 

 plete, in which the knowledge of Nature is neglected or 

 ignored. 



1 Volta. 3 Faradaj. 



