THE HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL. 41 



themselves." More fully, it was, "to study nature." 

 He says: "We should make nature our text-book;"and 

 finally, disparaging text-books as generally mere 

 compilations of useless and untrue materials, he as- 

 serts, again and again, that "we invariably return to 

 the study of the things themselves, whenever we 

 wish to make any real progress." Nobly did he prac- 

 tice his own teachings. 



Athough the name of Agassiz will be handed down 

 in history as the leader in scientific thought in the 

 nineteenth century, it is yet certain that the Master 

 of Penikese was neither afraid nor ashamed to ac- 

 knowledge that to another was due the idea of estab- 

 lishing a school, after the manner in which his own 

 classes were taught, but on a larger scale. In a let- 

 ter to Mr. Anderson he says: "I have long cherish- 

 ed the thought of a summer school like the one pro- 

 posed, and I have at various times in my life tried it 

 with small classes, and for a few days or weeks at a 

 time. The idea of establishing one at Nantucket, on 

 a larger scale, was suggested by a young friend, Pro- 

 fessor N. S. Shaler, who had a special taste for and 

 no little experience in this kind of teaching;" but gen- 

 erosity was a failing with Professor Agassiz. He 

 showed it again in relation to the name of the propos- 

 ed school, when he wrote to Mr. Anderson: "As to 

 its name, I hope you will allow the school to be nam- 

 ed for you;" and, "my name it cannot bear with any 

 propriety;" and still again, "To name it after you is, 

 therefore, the simple and appropriate way of settling 

 the question." Mr. Anderson, with equal generosity 

 wrote: "I learn from Mr. Girod that you have ex- 

 pressed a wish to mark your appreciation of my gift 

 of Penikese, for the purpose of the institution, by 

 naming the latter after me. I feel necessarily deep- 

 ly flattered by this offer, and can only say in refer- 

 ence to it that I leave that part of the question entire- 

 ly in your hands, simply suggesting whether an insti- 

 tution, the initiation of which has been wholly the 

 result of your own industry, and which must depend 



