20 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



ADDRESS OF DR. ARTHUR SCHUSTER 



Secretary of the Royal Society of London 

 ON 



" International Cooperation in Research " 



Dr. SCHUSTER: Mr. President, and Ladies and Gentlemen: 

 The intellectual activity of the world, scientific, literary or 

 emotional, passes alternately through fertile and through barren 

 periods. Each fertile period has its characteristic peculiarities 

 and though any one generation may not be competent to form a 

 just estimate of its powers and effects, it is able to compare the 

 fruits of its own labors with the harvest of its predecessors. You 

 will probably agree with me that our age is distinguished by 

 having disclosed a vast array of facts which take us nearer to the 

 infinitesimal structure of matter and which reach further into 

 the infinite design of the universe than the boldest flight of 

 imagination could have foreseen half a century ago. But we do 

 not flatter ourselves that the intellect of our time, judged by the 

 power of individuals, is exceptionally great. No doubt, men 

 of commanding genius are still with us, but they are not more 

 numerous or more original than in former times. What then 

 is the peculiarity that has produced such great results? In my 

 opinion what has been accomplished is due in great part to the 

 spread of higher education, which has evolved an army of 

 competent investigators possessing enthusiasm for research 

 which now, for the first time, is led into useful paths by the 

 few great minds, whose powers thus receive a wider range and 

 become more productive. It is in this that our great strength 

 lies. 



The functions of an organization devoted to research are to 

 take full advantage of all available mental resources. Intellect 

 can not be artificially created nor can originality be taught, but 

 whatever intellect and originality exists may be directed into 



