234 ^^^^ University of California Magazine. 



to the main questions involved. It is hoped that this precious 

 record will be deposited in the library of the Universitj', 



It was Le Conte through whom the University of California 

 first became known to the outside world as a school and center 

 of science on the western border of the continent; and for a 

 number of years he almost alone kept it in view of the world 

 of science. His presence and connection with the University 

 was largely instrumental in attracting to it other men who 

 otherwise would have hesitated to emigrate from their Eastern 

 homes to what was then the outskirts of civilization; and his 

 ceaseless scientific activity acted as a strong stimulus both to 

 his colleagues and to the students coming under his instruc- 

 tion, whose affection and esteem remained with him through 

 life. He preferred this kind of activity to the more ambitious 

 prospects that were many times open to him; he shrank from 

 anything that would force him from the ideal world in which 

 he lived, into active contact with executive or administrative 

 functions. His modesty and simplicity survived, unscathed, 

 the applause and laudations bestowed upon him, and his 

 strong will and cheerful disposition carried him up to a ma- 

 ture age in undiminished mental vigor, despite an apparently 

 frail body. 



His death brings heavy loss to the University and to the 

 world of thought at large. His place cannot be filled, and 

 the statement that no attempt will be made to do so, is but a 

 natural expression of the high and exceptional position he oc- 

 cupied in the world of science. 



