president's address. 15 



the other the natural object in three dimensions made up of entirely 

 different materials and showing an infinite variety of detail and appear- 

 ance. By itself alone either a mere photographic reproduction, or a 

 geometrical arrangement of colour and line, leaves most of us cold; 

 though both have their own particular beauty, the art consists in bring- 

 ing them into connexion. Bearing in mind the aesthetic value of the 

 relationship of the work of our brain or hand to external facts or 

 appearances, it might easily be shown that what has been said of 

 science equally applies to other studies, such as history or literature. 

 We may even go further, and say. that any occupation whatever, from 

 which we can derive an intellectual pleasure, must possess to a greater 

 or smaller degree the elements of combining the useful with the 

 beautiful. 



In order to trace in detail the part played by purely emotional 

 instincts in directing the course of our lives, we should have to study 

 the causes which influence a cliild, free to select his future pro- 

 fession. Having eliminated secondary effects, such as early associations, 

 or the personal influence of an inspiring teacher, we should probably 

 be brought to a standstill by the dearth of material at our disposal, or 

 led into error by taking our own individual recollections as typical. 

 Nevertheless it is only through the record of each man's experience 

 that we may hope to arrive at a result. If every man who has reached 

 a certain recognized position in his own subject — it need not be pre- 

 eminence — would write down his recollections of what led him to 

 make the choice of his profession, we might hope to obtain facts on 

 \\hich a useful psychological study might be based. Scientific men 

 as a class are not modest, but they share with other classes the re- 

 luctance to speak of their early life, owing to a certain shyness to 

 disclose early ambitions which have not been realized. It requires 

 courage to overcome that shyness, but I think that we need feel no 

 shame in revealing the dreams of our childhood and holding fast to them 

 despite the bondage of our weakness, despite the strife ending so often 

 in defeat, despite all the obstacles which the struggle for existence has 

 placed in our path. In some form they should persist throughout our 

 lives and sustain us in our old age. 



But the account of our early life should be simple, detached from 

 any motives of self-depreciation or self-assertion, and free from any 

 desire to push any particular moral or psychological theory. We want to 

 trace the dawn of ambition, the first glimmering in the child's mind 

 that there is something that he can do better than his fellows, and 

 reminiscences of early likes and dislikes which, though apparently 

 disconnected from maturer tendencies, may serve as indications of a 

 deep-seated purpose in life. It may be difficult to resist the temptation 



