November 28, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



843 



that its relative dimensions are very much 

 distorted. But cutting myself loose as 

 much as possible from the ties of my pro- 

 fession, it does seem to me that the funda- 

 mental data of chemistry are especially 

 useful as elements in the foundations of a 

 liberal training. In other words, the lib- 

 erally educated man ought to know some- 

 thing of the composition of the earth on 

 Avhich he lives, of the minerals and precious 

 stones which it yields, of the water which 

 covers its surface, permeates its atmos- 

 phere and gathers in clouds above his 

 head; of the plants which grow upon the 

 soil and the elements which compose them ; 

 of the food which comes upon his table 

 and the principles of nutrition ; of the num- 

 ber of elementary substances known and 

 some of their general properties; of the 

 principles of physical chemistry which 

 unite chemistry with physics ; of some of 

 the teclmical operations in which the sci- 

 ence of chemistry is a controlling factor, 

 such as the manufacture of starch and 

 sugar, of steel and iron, of leather and 

 fertilizers, of dye-stuffs and textile fabrics, 

 and many other similar processes. Why, 

 may I ask, should we expect a liberally 

 educated man to be acquainted with all 

 the heathen mythologies and to be on 

 speaking terms with all the mythical gods 

 and goddesses who inhabit Olympus or 

 Walhalla, -and to be absolutely ignorant of 

 the composition of the air he breathes and 

 the water he drinks? 



No one can accuse me of belittling the 

 claims of classical and historical education 

 in molding character and developing intel- 

 lect. All of my life I have been a strong 

 advocate of the old system of classical in- 

 struction. I have seen with regret the bat- 

 tlements of classical learning broken down 

 under the heavy fire of scientific assailants, 

 and through the embrasures thus made I 

 have seen the heights taken by storm and 

 in many instances destroyed. But while 



I fully realize the immense value of all 

 such studies in general education, I cannot 

 be brought to the belief that a liberally 

 educated man should be practically igno- 

 rant of the physical and biological sciences. 



It is not necessary in order to have this 

 general knowledge that he should be a 

 specialist in any sense of the word. Our 

 scientific and popular magazines teem with 

 articles written by specialists which bring 

 within easy access of the intelligent reader 

 all the data of which I have spoken. He 

 can know the principles of astronomy with- 

 out being a Newcomb; he can know the 

 fundamental data of chemistry without 

 being a Gibbs ; he can comprehend the con- 

 ditions of existence and the evolution of 

 organic life without being a Darwin; he 

 can grasp the practical points of botany 

 without being a Gray. It seems to me, 

 therefore, that one of the great functions 

 of chemistry in university education is to 

 teach to the liberally educated youth the 

 principal data of chemical science, even if 

 it does not attempt to make him a profes- 

 sional chemist. 



I think it may, therefore, be taken for 

 granted that what is known as a liberal 

 education should consist in part of a knowl- 

 edge of the data of chemistry to which 

 allusion has been made. 



It perhaps might be pertinent to this 

 subject to discuss the period of higher edu- 

 cation which should be devoted to the study 

 of chemistry, and to determine the position 

 in the course of physical studies which 

 chemistry should have. Such a discussion, 

 however, would lead to endless differences 

 of opinion and would probably result only 

 in adding one additional opinion to the 

 many already in vogue. That there is 

 a natural sequence in the study of phys- 

 ical sciences will probably be admitted, 

 but that that sequence is always in- 

 variable is a matter of some doubt. The 

 final purpose in view will doubtless have 



