552 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XL VII. No. 1223 



we must rely upon the endeavors of those 

 who are in touch not only with the common 

 man but also with the university, who from 

 their origin can sympathize with the one, 

 while by their training they can appreci- 

 ate the other. I refer to our college gradu- 

 ates. Let these men and women go forth 

 and teach that the benefits which science 

 confers are not only of a material but also 

 of a spiritual character, and that it only 

 remains for the common man to claim the 

 enjoyment of the second as he has already 

 appropriated the first to his use; further- 

 more that although these benefits are the 

 sole claim which the investigator has upon 

 the patronage of the common man, still these 

 benefits will suffer if made the sole object 

 of impatient search. 



It should also be made clear that in many 

 cases, I can not say how many, the value of 

 research is not only measured by what it 

 contributes to science but by what it con- 

 tributes to the investigator. The theses 

 which our undergraduate students write are 

 in many cases wholly untrustworthy. He 

 must repeat their work step by step before 

 the careful contributor dare present it to a 

 scientific periodical and yet who can doubt 

 the effectiveness of thesis writing as an edu- 

 cational exercise. It is the same with mem- 

 bers of a faculty. It is a hard saying, but I 

 believe it is true, that many of our produc- 

 tions achieved with care and accuracy are 

 too insignificant to justify the time ex- 

 pended on them were we to exclude their 

 benefits to the investigator. The patrons 

 need not feel obliged to support such re- 

 search unless it be performed by one who is 

 at the same time a teacher. In the laitter 

 case his researches may be regarded as a 

 most important preparation for his daily 

 task of instructing others. It is only when 

 one devotes his entire time to research that 

 the intrinsic value of those researches de- 



mands the serious attention of those con- 

 cerned with economical administration. 



Unfortunately for the spread of our gos- 

 pel of culture there is a large element in 

 our population which is not likely to be 

 touched by any of our appeals. People who 

 have not enough to eat or to wear, who 

 have been made stupid or angry through 

 economic pressure, do not wax enthusiastic 

 over the rings of Saturn, the origin of the 

 heart beat or the structure of snow crys- 

 tals. Before this class can become sympa- 

 thetic with the search for truth regardless 

 of its material usefulness, there must be a 

 considerable modification in the economic 

 structure of society. For such a modifica- 

 tion the extension of our ideals in this di- 

 rection must wait. If it be deprecatingly 

 asked if this is not a subtle endorsement of 

 the doctrine of economic determinism, it 

 may be replied that it means nothing more 

 nor less than the similar affirmation that 

 "Food will win the War." 



Having discussed at some length the pur- 

 suit of truth and the limitations which are 

 imposed upon it, let us turn from the ac- 

 tivity of the university to the second cate- 

 gory in which its ideals are manifested, 

 that is, as stated in the beginning of this 

 address, to the ideal attitude. The univer- 

 sity attitude is characterized by being criti- 

 cal or rather agnostic and universal, and 

 these we shall discuss in turn. 



The terms agnostic and agnosticism have 

 been used in so many ways that many per- 

 sons have entirely lost sight of their real 

 and original meanings. The word "agnos- 

 ticism" has been used in theology to desig- 

 nate the inability of finite man to compre- 

 hend an infinite God; it has been used in 

 philosophy to describe the impossibility of 

 the mind to know reality, the "Ding an 

 Sieh" ; it has been used by popular contro- 

 versialists as a synonym of infidelity. I 



