and the great captains of industry were the first agents 

 in bringing about the modern era. But the more care- 

 ful inquirer will see that the work of these men was 

 possible only through a knowledge of the laws of 

 nature, which had been gained by men whose work 

 took precedence of theirs in logical order, and that 

 success in invention has been measured by complete- 

 ness in such knowledge. While giving all due honor 

 to the great inventors, let us remember that the first 

 place is that of the great investigators, whose forceful 

 intellects opened the way to secrets previously hidden 

 from men. Let it be an honor and not a reproach to 

 these men that they were not actuated by the love of 

 gain, and did not keep utilitarian ends in view in the 

 pursuit of their researches. If it seems that in 

 neglecting such ends they were leaving undone the 

 most important part of their work, let us remember 

 that nature turns a forbidding face to those who pay 

 her court with the hope of gain, and is responsive only 

 to those suitors whose love for her is pure and unde- 

 filed. Not only is the special genius required in the 

 investigator not that generally best adapted to applying 

 the discoveries which he makes, but the result of his 

 having sordid ends in view would be to narrow the 

 field of his efforts, and exercise a depressing effect 

 upon his activities. The true man of science has no 

 such expression in his vocabulary as ' * useful knowl- 

 edge." His domain is as wide as nature itself, and he 

 best fulfills his mission when he leaves to others the task 

 of applying the knowledge he gives to the world. 



We have here the explanation of the well-known 

 fact that the functions of the investigator of the laws of 



6 



