NATURE 



Oct. 7, 1880] 



the mountain, subterranean noises succeeded each other almost 

 constantly on July 28. . , , j 



Intelligence received at Lloyd's from Chnst.ama, dated 

 October I, states that the Neptune steamer, Capt Rasmus^en, 

 vvhich ai-rived at Vardo, previous to September 25, from the Obi, 

 reports Ihat on September 19, in Jugor Straits, she fell m with 

 the Siberiakofs expedition proceedmg eastward. 



There is a useful article in the last number of Z,r Nature on 

 French Guiana and its forest produce, by Dr. J. Ilarmand. 



545 



SCIENCE AND CULTURE^ 

 CIX years ago, as some of my present hearers may remember, 

 *5 I had the privilege of addressing a large assemblage of the 

 inhabitants of this city, who had gathered together to do honour 

 to the memory of their famous townsman, Joseph 1 riestley , and, 

 if any satisfaction attaches to posthumous glory, we may Hope 

 that the manes of the burnt-out philosopher were then hnally 



^^No man, however, who is endowed with a fair share of common 

 sense and not more than a fair share of vaijity, will identity 

 either contemporary or posthumous fame with the lughest good ; 

 and Priestley's life leaves no doubt that he, at any rate, set a 

 much hio-her value upon the advancement of knowledge and the 

 promotion of that freedom of thought which is at once the cause 

 and the consequence of intellectual progress. 



Hence I am disposed to think that, if Priestley c?"la be 

 amono-st us to-day, the occasion of our meeting would afford him 

 even gi-eater pleasure than the proceedings which celebrated the 

 centenary of his chief discovery. The kindly heart would be 

 moved, the high sense of social duty would be satisfied, by the 

 spectacle of well-earned wealth, neither squandered in tawdry 

 luxury and vain-glorious show ; nor scattered with the careless 

 charity which blesses neither him that gives nor him that takes ; 

 but expended in the execution of a well-considered plan for the 

 aid of present and future generations of those who are willing to 

 help themselves. . . ,£ , ^ 



We shall all be of one mind thus far. But it is needful to 

 share Priestley's keen interest in physical science ; to have 

 learned, as he had learned, the value of scientific training m 

 fields of inqniry apparently far remote from physical science ; to 

 appreciate, as he would have appreciated, the value of the noble 

 gift which Sir Josiah Mason h s bestowed upon the inhabitants 

 of the Midland district. 



For us children of the nineteenth century, however, the esta- 

 blishment of a college under the conditions of Sir Josiah Mason s 

 Trust, has a significance apart from any which it could have 

 possessed a hundred years ago. It appears to be an indication 

 that we are reaching the crisis of the battle, or rather of the long 

 series of battles, which hnve been fought over education in a 

 campaign which began long before Priestley's time, and will 

 probably not be finished just yet. 



In the last century, the combatants were the champions of 

 ancient literature, on the one side, and those of modern literature 

 on the other ; but, some thirty years ago, the contest became 

 complicated by the appearance of a third army, ranged round 

 the banner of Physical Science. 



I am not aware that any one has authority to speak in the 

 name of this new host. For it must be admitted to be somewhat 

 of a nuerilla force, composed largely of irregulars, each of whom 

 fights pretty much for his own hand. But the impressions of a 

 full private, who has seen a good deal of service in the ranks, 

 respecting the present position of affairs and the conditions of a 

 permanent peace, may not be devoid of interest ; and I do not 

 know that 1 could make a better use of the present opportunity 

 than by laying them before you. 



From the time that the first suggestion to introduce physical 

 science into ordinary education was timidly whispered, until 

 now, the advocates of scientific education have met with oppo- 

 sition of two kinds. On the one hand they have been pooh- 

 poohed by the men of business who pride themselves on being 

 tlie representatives of practicality ; while on tlic other hand 

 they have been excommunicated by the classical scholars, in 

 their capacity of Levites in charge of the ark of culture and 

 monopolists of liberal education 



J An Address delivered on the Decision of the opening of Sir Josiah 

 Mason's Science College, at Birmingham, on October i, by Thomas H. 

 Huxley, F.R.S. 



The practical men believed that the idol whom they worship 

 —rule of thumb— has been the source of the past prosperity, 

 and will suffice for the future welfare of the arts and manufac- 

 tures. They were of opinion that science is speculative rubbish ; 

 that theory and practice have nothing to do witli 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 practical 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 

 iifeud'a!ferW\!i.t it is a miracle if any have escaped. But I 

 have remarked that your typical practical man has an unexpected 

 resemblance 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 otherwise, he is no whit the worse. 

 So if any of these opponents 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 tlieir consideration. 



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

 his own vigorous nature, 'was thrown into the thick of the 

 stru'Tcrle 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 giving proof of his comprehension of the practical problems 

 he had been roughly called upon to solve, by a career ol 

 remarkable prosoerity. 



Finally, having reached old age with its well-earned surround- 

 ings of " honour, troops of friends," tlie hero of my story 

 bethou dit himself of those who were making a like start in lite, 

 and how he could stretch out a helping hand to them. 



After long and anxious reflection this successful practical 

 man of business could devise nothing better than to provide 

 them with the means of obtaining "sound, extensive, and piac- 

 tical scientific knowledge. " And he devoted a large part of his 

 wealth and five years of incessant work to this end. ,. , , 



I need not point the moral of a tale which, as the solid and 

 spacious fabric of the Scientific College assures us is no fable, 

 nor can anything which I could say intensify the force of this 

 practical answer to practical objections. 



We may take it for granted then, that, in the opinion of those 

 best qualified to judge, the diffusion of thorough scientific educa- 

 tion is an absolutely essential condition of industrial progress, 

 and that tlie College opened to-day will confer an inestimable 

 boon upon those whose livelihood is to be gained by the practice 

 of the arts and manufactures of the district. 



The only question worth discussion is, whether the conditions, 

 under which the work of the College is to be carried out, are 

 such as to give it the best possible chance of achieving permanent 



^"s^fTosiah Mason, without doubt most wisely, has left very 

 lar'^e freedom of action to the trustees, to whom he proposes 

 ulthnately to commit the administration of the College, so that 

 thev may be able to adjust its arrangements m accordance with 

 he chan-ing conditions of the future. Bui, with respect to 

 three points, he has laid most explicit injunctions upon both 

 administrators and teachers. • j c „ui,o,- 



Party politics are forbidden to enter into the minds of either, 

 so fir as the work of the College is concerned; theology is as 

 sternly banished from its precincts ; and finally, it is efliecially 

 declared that the College shall make no provision for mere 

 literary instruction and education." ., c * * 



It does not concern me at present to dwell upon the first two 

 injunctions any longer than may be needful to express my full 

 collection of their wisdom. But the third prohibition brings us 

 face to face with those other opponents of scientific education 

 wlio are by no means in the moribund condition of the practical 

 man, but alive, alert, and formidable. 



It is not imi^ossible that we shall hear this express exclusion 

 of "literary instruction and education" from a College which, 

 nevertheless, professes to give a high and eflicient education 

 sharply criticised. Certainly the time was that tl^e Levites of 

 culture would have sounded their trumpets against its walls as 

 aeainst an educational Jericho. , . 3 e i,„ •„! 



^How often have we not been told that the study of physical 



