A SKETCH OF HIS LIFE 9 



attributes from the whole of his personality, I come to many that 

 arrest and enchain my attention. 



It is interesting to consider his practice and advice to beginners 

 in the study of Nature. It was to start out, not from a general 

 principle, but from some phenomenon that had caught the- eye 

 and become a nucleus for thought. Continued, persistent obser- 

 vation and reflection circling round such a center would yield, 

 he held, solid results in the shape of new facts and would sooner 

 or later lead one into living contact with great questions. This 

 method of work was eminently characteristic of his independent, 

 individualistic temperament. 



The serenity of Dr. Brooks impressed every one. In a mind so 

 strong, active, and keen, calm temperateness was doubly notice- 

 able. This peace of mind must have been due in part to the fact 

 that his critical insight was unobscured by self-seeking. A firm 

 gaze fixed on the distant goal held the immediately advantageous 

 in its proper place, and gave him a confidence, a quiet boldness 

 that we all recognized. 



Brooks frequently said that he tried always to be a reasonable 

 man. And in dealing with men and their ways I am convinced 

 that reasoning did guide him in remarkable degree. His log- 

 ical habit of thought came in, however, for more congenial exer- 

 cise in professional work. Do we not all remember the pleasure 

 he had in the skillful disengagement of the idea from the mass of 

 details, and in its portrayal, language and drawing mutually con- 

 tributing to clearness? 



I recall also his strong and helpful faith in the value of labor 

 spent in searching out the order of the universe, the way things 

 happen in nature. For, as he often said, such knowledge both 

 makes the conscious life of man fuller and nobler, and is the 

 basis on which rests all our control of natural phenomena. 



The machinery of Professor Brooks' department, the lectures, 

 set tasks and routine, was simple. Experience has shown, how- 

 ever, that it was not inadequate, on the contrary, that it was well 

 adapted to the purpose in view. Brooks' underlying assumptions 

 were that graduate students had come to stay some time, would 

 work as hard as they could, and that they had enough independence 



