104 LEADING AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE 



city, his father entertained me most hospitably at his house. I 

 think I would treat the young man as leniently as possible.' Jones 

 was not the young man's name, though I have allowed myself 

 to call him so. I do not recall what fate befel him as the result 

 of the vote on that afternoon. I think it not unlikely that I voted 

 on the unfavorable side. Very possibly, that side of the case was 

 the right and reasonable one to take. But it was not a matter of 

 infinite importance, and may well be forgotten after so long a 

 time. There was, however, given to us, on that day, a vision for 

 a moment of the kindly sentiment of a gracious gentleman, which 

 remains with me at this hour, and which I think may, if remem- 

 bered, have done more of good for all those to whom it was given, 

 than any mistaken vote could have done of injury to the well- 

 being of the academic community." 



No better proof can be given of Silliman's inspiring qualities as 

 a teacher than to note on the catalogue of Yale graduates during 

 the first half of the century, the names of those who became investi- 

 gators and teachers. The most illustrious was James Dwight 

 Dana, who came to Yale attracted by the fame of Silliman. Those 

 who became jurists, divines, statesmen and men of affairs could al- 

 ways be trusted, in their various vocations, to be the friends and 

 promoters of science, and this too at a period when many educated 

 persons regarded science as antagonistic to religion, and many 

 more believed that attention to science would be prejudicial to 

 the Humanities. 



As a colleague, Silliman was about as free from defects as a 

 man can be. He was especially distinguished by that considera- 

 tion for others which led him to appreciate and assist their en- 

 deavors, to keep free from jealousy and rivalry, and to think much 

 more of the general good than of personal preferment or the 

 attainment of gratitude or recognition. He was not merely the 

 occupant of a professor's chair, nor was he so absorbed by studies 

 and duties that he was indifferent to the doings of his colleagues 

 and the opportunities of his alma mater. 



In the establishment of a cabinet of minerals; the acquisition of 

 the Trumbull gallery; the purchase of the Clark telescope; the 

 foundation of the Medical School; and the initiation of the Sheffield 

 School of Science he is especially to be remembered. 



