XL 



ON THE STUDY OF PHYSICS* 



I HOLD in my hand an uncorrected proof of the sylla- 

 bus of this course of lectures, and the title of 

 the present lecture is there stated to be * On the Import- 

 ance of the Study of Physics as a Means of Education.' 

 The corrected proof, however, contains the title : ' On 

 the Importance of the Study of Physics as a Branch 

 of Education.' Small as this editorial alteration may 

 seem, the two words suggest two radically distinct 

 modes of viewing the subject before us. The term 

 Education is sometimes applied to a single faculty or 

 organ, and if we know wherein the education of a 

 single faculty consists, this will help us to clearer 

 notions regarding the education of the sum of all the 

 faculties, or of the mind. When, for example, we speak 

 of the education of the voice, what do we mean? 

 There are certain membranes at the top of the 

 windpipe which throw into vibration the air forced 

 between them from the lungs, thus producing musical 

 sounds. These membranes are, to some extent, under 

 the control of the will, and it is found that they can be 

 so modified by exercise as to produce notes of a clearer 

 and more melodious character. This exercise we call 

 the education of the voice. We may choose for our 



1 From a lecture delivered in the Boyal Institution of Great 

 Britain in the Spring of 1854. 



