PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 461 



the pure specialist, however useful he may be to society in his own way, is not 

 as a rule a man of wide sympathies; whereas the student of mankind in the 

 concrete must bring to his task, before all else, an intelligence steeped in sym- 

 pathy <and imagination. His soul, in fact, must be as many-sided as that 

 complex soul-life of humanity which it is his ultimate business to understand. 



Suppose_ it granted, then, that the anthropological studies of a University 

 must be united in a single School, how is this to be done ? In this examination- 

 ridden land, the all-important first step is that Anthropology be admitted to an 

 independent place in the examination-system of the Univ«rsity concerned. 

 Wliether such a principle would hold good of other countries, as, for instance, 

 of the United States, I am not sure. In America, indeed, the simplest way to 

 start a subject would seem to be to get a millionaire to endow it. But here let 

 it suffice to deal with the conditions most familiar to us ; amongst which alas ! 

 millionaires are hardly to be reckoned. Now, much depends, of course, on what 

 sort of place the subject is accorded ; for there are higher and lower seats at 

 the feast of reason which a British University in its examinatorial capacity 

 provides for its hungry children. It is largely a question of the form of dis- 

 tinction — the degree or other badge of honour — with which success is rewarded. 

 Thus the examination in Anthropology may be made an avenue to the Bachelor's 

 degree, to eome higher degree such as that of Master, or to some special certifi- 

 cate or diploma. Further, ambition will be stimulated accordingly as classes or 

 other grades of achievement are recognised within the examination itself. But 

 these are matters of occasion and circumstance, such as must be left to the 

 discretion of the gc7iius loci. The essential requirement is that Anthropology 

 should figure in the examination-system with a substantive position of its own. 



If there is to be an examination in Anthropology, some official body must exist 

 in order to arrange and administer it. It is possible, indeed, to hand over such 

 a function to an organisation already saddled with other duties. In that case 

 it is extremely improbable that the new and, as it were, intrusive subject will 

 be given its fair chance. Preferably, then, Anthropology should be committed 

 to the charge of a special Board. The members of such a Board need not one 

 and all be professionally concerned with the teaching of Anthropology; though, 

 as soon as a teaching staff comes into being, its leading members will naturally 

 be included. On the contrary, it is advisable that representatives of a goodly 

 number of those disciplines which take, or ought to take, an interest in human 

 origins should participate in the deliberations of such a governing body. Biology, 

 Human Anatomy, A'rchseology, Geology, Geography, Psychology, Philology, His- 

 tory, Law, Economics, Ethics, Theology — here are a round dozen of organised 

 interests from which to select advisers. To be effective, of course, an organising 

 committee must not be too large ; and it may be necessary, if the Board of 

 Anthropological Studies be constituted on the wide basis here suggested, that it 

 should depute its executive functions to a Sub-Committee, merely retaining a 

 right of general superintendence. But the principle that Anthropology is a 

 blend or harmony of various special studies is so important that its many- 

 sidedness must somehow be represented in the constitution of the central 

 authority which controls the destinies of the subject. 



Lest I seem to dwell too long on questions of mere machinery, I do not 

 propose to deal at length with the activities which such a Board is bound to 

 develop. When we come to consider presently how the subject of Anthropology 

 needs to be conceived with due regard alike to its multiplicity and to its unity, 

 we shall in effect be discussing the chief function of a Board of Studies, which 

 is to prescribe, for examination purposes, an ordered scheme of topics based 

 on an accurate survey of the ground to be covered. Everything turns on pro- 

 viding an adequate curriculum at the outset. The teaching arrangements will 

 inevitably conform thereto; and, unless the division of labour correspond to a 

 sound and scientific articulation of the subject, chaos will ensue. For the rest, 

 the powers granted to such a Board can hardly be too wide. Thus at Oxford 

 the experiment has answered very well of constituting a Committee of Anthro- 

 pology which not only examines, prescribes the programme of studies, and 

 arranges courses of instruction, but is likewise authorised, to manage its own 

 finances, to organise anthropological expeditions, to make grants for research, 

 and, generally, to advance the interests of Anthropology in whatever way may 

 seem to it good and feasible. So mnch for what is, indeed, the obvious principle 



