644 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXV. No. 643 



mental and private laboratories must be 

 recruited, and upon the universities rests 

 the responsibility not only of adding 

 directly to the world's stock of knowledge, 

 but also of supplying men capable of 

 grappling worthily with the problems 

 which may confront them and imbued 

 with a proper sense of the dignity of 

 science and of the obligations it imposes 

 upon its devotees. The task of the uni- 

 versity is, therefore, a double one and 

 doubly serious, and it may not be amiss 

 to enquire into some of the conditions 

 necessary for the accomplishment of its 

 task. 



The prime necessiity, the selection of 

 men for positions on the staff who are 

 competent as both investigators and teach- 

 ers, need hardly be considered. It follows 

 from what has already been said. But this 

 much may be added, that a competent 

 investigator, even though he be but a 

 mediocre teacher, will do more to fulfil the 

 ideal for which a university should stand, 

 than will a competent teacher who does 

 not investigate. Men there have been, 

 like the late Sir Michael Foster, whose 

 death we all deplore, who while taking 

 but little part in actual investigation, 

 have nevertheless by the healthful stimulus 

 of their teaching created a school of ardent 

 and brilliant investigators. But such men 

 are rarce aves and the zealous investigator 

 by his enthusiasm and example will, as a 

 rule, do more to raise the standard of 

 scientific scholarship than will a non-in- 

 vestigating teacher. And, I believe that 

 as a general rule the investigator wiU 

 prove a more capable teacher than the 

 non-investigator for the simple reason that 

 he will be more apt to keep abreast with 

 the progress of his studies and inclined 

 to rely upon original sources for the in- 

 formation he imparts rather than to seek 

 it in the more accessible text-books. 



But, after all, this is a matter which 



does not require special comment. The 

 governing bodies of our universities are 

 coming to recognize more and more the 

 necessities in the case and the standards 

 of fitness for staff appointments are rapidly 

 rising. More serious is the failure of the 

 authorities to perceive the conditions 

 necessary for the full fruition of scholar- 

 ship. It is a sad comment upon the ideals 

 of a governing body when it bases its esti- 

 mate of the value of a teacher upon the 

 number of hours he devotes to actual class 

 work and to service upon various academic 

 committees. And yet how many of us have 

 heard such a standard of efficiency ad- 

 vanced in all seriousness. A high grade 

 of scholarship can not be maintained, in- 

 vestigations of a high order can not be 

 carried on by men whose physical and 

 intellectual energy is exhausted by the 

 routine of the class-room and executive 

 cares. I would not for a moment contend 

 that even the most capable of investigators 

 should be entirely relieved of his duties as 

 a teacher, indeed, I am convinced that 

 from his teaching duties an investigator 

 may obtain much stimulation and inspira- 

 tion, but I do protest against a competent 

 man being so burdened with class-room 

 duties that he but half fulfils the respon- 

 sibilities of his position. It is neither good 

 business policy nor good ethics. It is the 

 office of the university not only to impart 

 knowledge but also to add to it, and the 

 one duty is as obligatory as the other. 



But the blame for the non-fulfilment of 

 both duties does not in all cases rest en- 

 tirely with the university authorities. 

 Frequently it rests with the teacher him- 

 self, who, in a desire, in itself a most 

 laudable desire, to make his teaching thor- 

 ough to the limits of his ability, over- 

 burdens himself with multifarious courses. 

 Such an one is proving false both to him- 

 self and to his university; he is failing to 

 fulfil his responsibilities. Far better were 



