ELECTRICAL AND MAGNETIC DISCOVERIES OF FARADAY 651 



he trusts to the combined efforts of mankind, shown in the steady prog- 

 ress of science, to finally arrive at a solution. 



The devotee of applied science, the so-called practical man, looks 

 upon the forces of nature as his servants, and strives to become their 

 master. The world must move, its work must be accomplished. We 

 are not satisfied to live as our fathers have done, and we must have 

 luxuries unknown to them. Our thoughts must fly to the farthest parts 

 of the earth in an instant, at our bidding, and we must pass from point 

 to point on the wings of the wind, for flesh and blood is too slow for us. 

 To accomplish this, the engineer harnesses the forces of nature and 

 compels them to work for him. He takes the discoveries of the phil- 

 osopher and uses them for the practical needs of daily life. His motto 

 is, " Science is power." As he ministers more directly to the present 

 generation of mankind than to the generations to come, as does the phil- 

 osopher, so he often reaps his reward in the present, and retains some 

 of that wealth which his inventions bring into the world. For the 

 source of the wealth of the world is labor, and the labor of the forces 

 of nature, in our behalf, surpasses very many fold that of human flesh 

 and blood. He who adds but the slightest to our power over these 

 forces enriches the world, and is entitled to its practical, as well as its 

 sentimental gratitude, be he philosopher or engineer. The great ques- 

 tion which we should ask ourselves is how our science can best be fur- 

 thered. The philosopher must precede the engineer. To have the ap- 

 plications of electricity, there must be a science of electricity. This 

 science cannot depend for its existence on practical men whose minds 

 are engrossed with other than theoretical problems. It nuist exist in 

 minds like Faraday, which are specially adapted to its reception and 

 advancement men who are willing to devote their lives to it, and who 

 have the ability to further it. We cannot create such men, but we can 

 give them our practical as well as our sentimental sympathy, when 

 found. The philosopher is made of flesh and blood as well as other 

 men. He must live and have his tastes gratified as well as others. 

 His place in the world as at present constituted is usually that of a pro- 

 fessor in our universities and colleges. Are only men like Faraday 

 chosen for these positions? Of the four hundred or more, how many 

 choose their professors on account of their eminence in theoretical 

 science? Are there a dozen? I doubt it. Furthermore, what facilities 

 and encouragement would they have in these institutions to do work? 

 Too far away from each other to be a mutual help, they have but an 

 incomplete scientific life. Faraday could not have been himself in 



