10 SCIENCE AND CULTURE. [LECT. 



I find myself wholly unable to admit that either 

 nations or individuals will really advance, if their 

 common outfit draws nothing from the stores of 

 physical science. I should say that an army, without 

 weapons of precision and with no particular base of 

 operations, might more hopefully enter upon a cam- 

 paign on the Ehine, than a man, devoid of a know- 

 ledge of what physical science has done in the last 

 century, upon a criticism of life, 



When a biologist meets with an anomaly, he in- 

 stinctively turns to the study of development to clear 

 it up. The rationale of contradictory opinions may 

 with equal confidence be sought in history. 



It is, happily, no new thing that Englishmen 

 should employ their wealth in building and endowing 

 institutions for educational purposes. But, five or 

 six hundred years ago, deeds of foundation expressed 

 or implied conditions as nearly as possible contrary 

 to those which have been thought expedient by Sir 

 Josiah Mason. That is to say, physical science was 

 practically ignored, while a certain literary training 

 was enjoined as a means to the acquirement of know- 

 ledge which was essentially theological. 



The reason of this singular contradiction between 

 the actions of men alike animated by a strong and 

 disinterested desire to promote the welfare of their 

 fellows, is easily discovered. 



At that time, in fact, if any one desired knowledge 

 beyond such as could be obtained by his own observa- 

 tion, or by common conversation, his first necessity 



