November 13, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



697 



"Etiology of Puerperal Fever," in which lie 

 divides honors with the great Hungarian ob- 

 stetrician, Semelweiss. It is said of Goethe 

 that he might have been the greatest scientist 

 of his age had he not chosen to be the greatest 

 poet. The man who made the greatest con- 

 tribution to medicine in the nineteenth cen- 

 tury, Pasteur, was not a physician, but a 

 chemist. Elihu Burritt with his knowledge 

 of many languages was a blacksmith. Vir- 

 chow, the father of cellular pathology, was a 

 socialistic-democrat, a member of the Beich- 

 ,stag and a vigorous opponent of Bismarck. 



Permit me to briefly summarize my chief 

 themes : Education is the modification of be- 

 havior through experience. The mechanism 

 of learning consists of the nervous system 

 with its sense receptors, conductors, centers 

 and effectors. Education is secured by open- 

 ing up neural pathways to the brain; this re- 

 quires effort, but a frequently traveled path 

 becomes smooth and easy. The course of 

 learning does not show a constant ascent, but 

 has occasional plateaus. Special pathways 

 are needed for the acquisition of special 

 knowledge. A fundamental education should 

 include language, mathematics, history and 

 science. No education can be symmetrical 

 without training in all these. Upon these 

 as foundation stones, the tower of special 

 knowledge may be carried as high as the 

 builder can. 



Accuracy and promptness in formulating 

 judgment are the ends sought in education; 

 correctness first, and readiness next. When 

 these qualifications are accompanied by the 

 ability to be both prompt and effective in ac- 

 tion the individual becomes of highest serv- 

 ice to himself and his fellows. 



I am aware of the fact that the advice of 

 age does not meet a ready reception in the 

 mind of youth. The old frequently envy 

 youth its opportunities and wish that they 

 were again young. This is idle and besides 

 is not desirable. My generation has enjoyed 

 great privileges. It has been my personal 

 good fortune to know in the prime of life that 

 great Englishman, the founder of antiseptic 

 surgery, Joseph Lister, to sit at the feet of that 



great German, the discoverer of the tubercle 

 bacillus, Robert Koch, and to look into the 

 face of that greatest of Frenchmen, the man 

 who laid the foundations of preventive medi- 

 cine, Louis Pasteur. Were the price offered 

 eternal youth, I would not tear from memory's 

 book one page of its golden lessons, and I ask 

 no higher immortality than that there shotJd 

 be found among my students those who have 

 been inspired by my words and works, to 

 carry forward the torch of science to light 

 their fellow-men on their way to wider knowl- 

 edge and its beneficent rewards. 



Man has already accomplished much, but 

 the greater tasks lie ahead. The productivity 

 of the soil must be increased a hundredfold. 

 Grains and fruits, yet unknown, must be 

 grown. The heavy burdens that still oppress 

 -the shoulders of labor must be transferred to 

 the tireless muscles of machinery. The litera- 

 ture of the higher civilization is, as yet, un- 

 written. Laws for which no precedents can be 

 found must be framed and administered. 

 The giant strength of intra-molecular energy 

 must be harnessed into the service of man. 

 A broader morality must govern our be- 

 havior, one to another, and a loftier religion 

 must enthuse the common aspirations of ihe 

 race. All this and much more must be 

 achieved before man fully develops his high- 

 est potential greatness. 



The world of effort is before you, young 

 men and women. The road ad astra lies per 

 aspera, but bruised heels and aching limbs 

 count for naught when the way leads upward 

 toward the mountain tops of human growth 

 and perfection. Keep to this road, doing what 

 you can to lift yourself and your fellows to a 

 more rational life, and Michigan will have 

 done well in bestowing upon you her richest 

 gift, an education. 



Victor 0. Vaughaij 



University op Michigan 



THE USES FOB MATHEMATICS 



Mathematics has been termed the hand- 

 maiden of the sciences. Whether or not the 

 mathematician himself accepts this as a truth- 

 ful representation of his beloved science de- 



