SOUTH AFRICAN ASSOCIATION. 19 



won some of its most glorious triumphs, in Africa that the spade of the 

 archaeologist has in our day, by uncovering great Roman towns with noble 

 public buildings and efficient irrigation systems, provided impressive 

 evidence of the magnitude of the achievement of Roman Imperialism. 

 But Rome failed to conquer Africa for civilisation, and left the challenge 

 to those who were to follow after. She failed chiefly for two reasons : 

 the might of African barbarism and the defiant resistance of African 

 nature. We in our day, confronted by the same challenge, still have 

 the same enemies, hitherto victorious, to contend against. But we 

 meet them with the advantage of having resources at our disposal which 

 our Roman predecessors lacked. It is to use those resources efEectively 

 that Africa challenges Science. 



In dealing with African barbarism we have weapons such as Rome 

 could never dream of, and not the least valuable are those provided 

 by the scientific investigation of the native peoples of Africa. The way 

 to the solution of the problems presented by African barbarism is to be 

 sought in an understanding of the character and mentality of primitive 

 peoples, in the exploration of those regions in their social Kfe where are 

 to be found the factors that determine their reaction to diverse methods 

 of administration. The study of African languages and of African 

 Anthropology is therefore fundamental to the development of the 

 continent. For that work Africa possesses special advantages, and one 

 can but hope that the facilities now being built up in our South African 

 Universities will be recognised in Britain and elsewhere, and become an 

 important factor in the response of Science to the challenge of Africa. 



Not less formidable is the conquest of African nature, for the achieve- 

 ment of which also we in our day are far better placed than were the 

 Romans. It is modern Science which gives us that advantage. Three 

 great tasks confront Science in the conquest of African nature. First, 

 Science must make Africa safe for the white man to live in. I have spoken 

 of the opportunities which Africa offers for the study of tropical diseases 

 as likely to yield results of significance for Science in general. But 

 primarily will those results be of significance for the development of 

 Africa ? This part of the challenge of Africa is not lightly to be taken up. 

 Africa has taken heavy toll of Science. The recent deaths in Nigeria of 

 Stokes, Young, and Noguchi, worthy followers in the tradition of Lazear 

 and Myers, are a reaffirmation of the gravity and insistence of that 

 challenge. The importance for the cause of civilisation of a successful 

 response to that challenge cannot be illustrated better than by the story 



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