238 [Assembly 



lay his discoveries before the. worid, and abide the storm of abuse 

 that is sure to fall upon his head. 



' ' He who ascends to mountain tops shall find 



The loftiest peaks most wrapt with clouds and anow ; 

 He who surpasses or subdues mankindj 



Must look down on the hate of thoee beluw, 

 Though high above the sua of glory glow, 



And far beneath the earth and ocean spread, 

 Round are icy rocks, and loudly blow 



Contending tempesta on hia naked head, 

 And thus reward the toila which to those sunimitji led.'' 



The history of scientific men most painfully impresses us with 

 the truth of these lines. Gallileo, Harvey, Jenner, and Scheele, 

 all suffered persecutions severe, in direct ratio to the importance 

 of their discoveries ; and the day is not yet come when persecu- 

 tion for doing good shall cease. 



It is true of the great men I have just named, that the world 

 ultimately did justice to their discoveries, though not during their 

 lifetime. We now know that Watt discovered the composition 

 of water ; but it was not until 66 years after his death that the 

 honor of this discovery was awarded to him by the instrumenta 

 lity of the researches of Arago and Dumas, who were sent to 

 England to learn all the particulars of his scientific career, for 

 the purpose of preparing his eulogy for the Academy of Sciences 

 of France. 



Every attempt was made to rob our own Franklin of the honor 

 of the discovery of the identity of lightning and electricity, and 

 of that of cjiscovering the means of protecting our ships and 

 dwellings from the thunderbolt ; but, in time, the award was 

 made to him by the unanimous consent of the scientific world, 

 and the words '^ Eripuif fulmiyia calo, sceptrumque tyrannis,''^ re- 

 cord his services to science and his country 1 



I need not say more of injustice done to scientific men. The 

 subject is a painful, and the facts are discreditable to our race. 

 It is better that we should set about the work of preventing the 

 repetition of them in our own land, and of rescuing mankind 

 from the crimes brought on by selfish ambition, unprincipled 

 avarice, and hateful envy 



