424 THE COURSE OF MATHEMATICAL STUDIES. 



but it would be found difficult to trace any precise and perma- 

 nent line of demarcation by which these might be separated 

 from the rest. In the progress of every science its methods tend 

 to become simpler ; and to refer especially to one of the subjects 

 mentioned in the query, namely, Electricity, I may remind the 

 Commissioners of the great simplification which the theory of 

 induced electricity has recently received. Professor William 

 Thomson's theory of electrical images has made, so to speak, 

 elementary, problems which previously required a " very refined 

 and laborious analysis." This theory, if electricity is to be 

 studied at all, would now almost of necessity form a portion of 

 the undergraduate course. It is, however, sometimes doubted 

 whether not only electricity but also the cognate theories of 

 heat, light, and magnetism ought not be excluded from the 

 degree examination. I confess to being unwilling that the ter- 

 minus of our mathematical studies should be made to recede, 

 and am disposed to believe that with the changes suggested in 

 the earlier part of these remarks, sufficient time would be found 

 for these subjects to be, up to a certain point, satisfactorily 

 studied. They now engage so much of the attention of scientific 

 men that it seems particularly desirable that the highest class 

 of Students should leave the University in a condition to follow 

 their progress and development. A young man will not wil- 

 lingly forget what he learned at Cambridge if he finds that it 

 enables him to understand the discoveries and researches which 

 are now going on; on the contrary, he will probably always 

 retain, at least, an interest in scientific matters. This advantage 

 would in many cases, perhaps in most, be lost if the subjects 

 in question were not studied until after the B.A. degree. Few 

 even of our best Students could then be induced to devote them- 

 selves to fresh mathematical studies, notwithstanding the influ- 

 ence of any system of prizes either for mere proficiency or for 

 original research. Of all such prizes* it may, I think, be said 

 that they could not be made to form a natural element of the 

 system of University education. 



I do by no meana deny, or even doubt of, their utility ; but 

 we must remember that a University may be considered in two 



* The remark does not apply to the Smith's Prizes, the examination for these 

 prizes being in effect a kind of sequel to the degree examination, and, therefore, 

 not requiring a distinct course of reading. 



