BENJAMIN SILLIMAN 101 



sions of these two men afforded a rich entertainment to Silliman 

 and a wide range of instruction, and his allusions to this igneous 

 and aqueous controversy formed an interesting chapter in his sub- 

 sequent American lectures. 



The teachers of Silliman were not the only men of mark whom 

 he met. He describes an interview with Dugald Stewart, then the 

 pride and ornament of Edinburgh. The conversation turned upon 

 American literature, for which the philosopher showed but little 

 appreciation. "When our poems were inquired for," says Silli- 

 man, "it was evident that the distinguished men around me had 

 not heard even the names of our poets, Dwight, Trumbull, Barlow, 

 Humphreys, and others." 



Sir David Brewster, Professor Leslie, the Earl of Buchan 

 (Washington's correspondent), and Anderson, the editor of the 

 British Poets, are among others whom he met, but with them his 

 relations were but brief. 



I have given so much space to this Edinburgh chapter, chiefly 

 because it shows the dawn of instruction in Chemistry, partly also 

 because of the famous men referred to, and partly because of the 

 influence exerted upon the young American professor. Looking 

 back, toward the end of his life, Silliman acknowledges his debt to 

 Edinburgh in these words: Upon its characteristics "I endeav- 

 ored to form my professional character, to imitate what I saw and 

 heard, and afterwards to introduce such improvements as I might 

 be able to hit upon or invent. It is obvious that, had I rested con- 

 tent with the Philadelphia standard, except what I learned from 

 my early friend, Robert Hare, the chemistry of Yale College would 

 have been comparatively an humble affair. In mineralogy, my 

 opportunities at home had been very limited. As to geology, the 

 science did not exist among us, except in the minds of a very few 

 individuals, and instruction was not attainable in any public 

 institution. In Edinburgh there were learned and eloquent 

 geologists and lecturers, and ardent and successful explorers; and 

 in that city the great geological conflict between the Wernerian 

 and Huttonian schools elicited a high order of talent and rich 

 resources both in theory and facts." 



