406 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLII. No. 1082 



methods, if the moving spring of his action 

 is identical with that of the artist, how 

 much truer is this of the man of science 

 who tries by well-designed experiments to 

 reveal the hidden harmonies of nature? 

 Nor would it be difficult, I think, to trace 

 the gratification inherent in the successful 

 accomplishments of other intellectual pur- 

 suits to the same source. 



Though Poincare was, I believe, the first 

 to lay stress on the connection between the 

 search for the beautiful and the achieve- 

 ment of the useful, the esthetic value of 

 the study of science had previously been 

 pointed out, and well illustrated, by Karl 

 Pearson in his ' ' Grammar of Science. ' ' As 

 expressed by him: "it is this continual 

 gratification of the esthetic judgment which 

 is one of the chief delights of pure sci- 

 ence." Before we advance, however, any 

 special claim for the pursuit of science 

 based on these considerations, we must 

 pause to think whether they do not equally 

 apply to other studies or occupations. 

 For this purpose, the nature of the esthetic 

 enjoyment involved must be remembered. 

 We do not mean by it, the pleasure we feel 

 in the mere contemplation of an impres- 

 sive landscape or natural beauty, but it re- 

 sembles more the enjoyment experienced on 

 looking at a picture where, apart from the 

 sensual pleasure, we are affected by the re- 

 lation between the result of the representa- 

 tion and that which is represented. The 

 picture, quite apart from what it may 

 be trying to imitate, has a certain beauty 

 due to its contrast of colors or well-bal- 

 anced arrangement. We have in one case 

 a number of pigments covering a space of 

 two dimensions, and in the other the nat- 

 ural object in three dimensions made up of 

 entirely different materials and showing an 

 infinite variety of detail and appearance. 

 By itself alone either a mere photographic 

 representation or a geometrical arrange- 



ment of color and line, leaves most of us 

 cold; though both have their own particu- 

 lar beauty, the art consists in bringing them 

 into connection. Bearing in mind the 

 esthetic value of the relationship of the 

 work of our brain or hand to external facts 

 or appearances, it might easily be shown 

 that what has been said of science equally 

 applies to other studies, such as history or 

 literature. We may even go further, and 

 say that any occupation whatever, from 

 which we can derive an intellectual pleas- 

 ure, must possess to a greater or smaller 

 degree the elements of combining the useful 

 with the beautiful. 



In order to trace in detail the part played 

 by purely emotional instincts in directing 

 the course of our lives, we should have to 

 study the causes which influence a child, 

 free to select his future profession. Hav- 

 ing eliminated secondary effects, such as 

 early associations, or the personal influence 

 of an inspiring teacher, we should prob- 

 ably be brought to a standstill by the 

 dearth of material at our disposal, or led 

 into error by taking our own individual 

 recollections as typical. Nevertheless it is 

 only through the record of each man's ex- 

 perience that we may hope to arrive at a 

 result. If every man who has reached a 

 certain recognized position in his own sub- 

 ject — it need not be preeminence — would 

 write down his own recollections of what 

 led him to make the choice of his profession, 

 we might hope to obtain facts on which a 

 useful psychological study might be based. 

 Scientific men as a class are not modest, but 

 they share with other classes the reluctance 

 to speak of their early life, owing to a cer- 

 tain shyness to disclose early ambitions 

 which have not been realized. It requires 

 courage to overcome that shyness, but I 

 think that we need feel no shame in reveal- 

 ing the dreams of our childhood and hold- 

 ing fast to them despite the bondage of our 



