10 SCIENCE AM) CULTURE. 



of the arts and manufactures. They were of opinion 

 that science is speculative rubbish ; that theory and prac- 

 tice have nothing to do with one another ; and that the 

 scientific habit of mind is an impediment, rather than an 

 aid, in the conduct of ordinary affairs. 



I have used the past tense in speaking of the prac- 

 tical men for although they were very formidable thirty 

 years ago, I am not sure that the pure species has not 

 been extirpated. In fact, so far as mere argument goes, 

 they have been subjected to such & feu d'enfer that it 

 is a miracle if any have escaped. But I have remarked 

 that your typical practical man has an unexpected re- 

 semblance to one of Milton's angels. His spiritual 

 wounds, such as are inflicted by logical weapons, may 

 be as deep as a well and as wide as a church door, but 

 beyond shedding a few drops of ichor, celestial or other- 

 wise, he is no whit the worse. So, if any of these op- 

 ponents be left, I will not waste time in vain repetition 

 of the demonstrative evidence of the practical value of 

 science; but knowing that a parable will sometimes 

 penetrate where syllogisms fail to effect an entrance, I 

 will offer a story for their consideration. 



Once upon a time, a boy, with nothing to depend 

 upon but his own vigorous nature, was thrown into the 

 thick of the struggle for existence in the midst of a 

 great manufacturing population. He seems to have had 

 a hard fight, inasmuch as, by the time he was thirty 

 years of age, his total disposable funds amounted to 

 twenty pounds. Nevertheless, middle life found him 



