44 



8CIE]^CE. 



[Vol. VIII., No. 179 



Even professional soliools have been initiated 

 where the fees of the pupils have been the only 

 criteria of success. We should lend our influence 

 as scholars to enlarging the resources of the 

 universities which are strong, and to discouraging 

 new fovmdations unless there is a positive guar- 

 anty that they are also to be strong. There are 

 half a dozen or more ]>laces which could be named 

 where a million of dollars would be more fruitfid 

 than thrice that sum in any new establishment. 

 No greater service could be rendered at this time 

 than a rigid enforcement of the scrii)tural rule, 

 " For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and 

 he shall have more abundance : but whosoever 

 hath not, from him shall be taken away even that 

 he hath." 



There is another danger to which I must call 

 attention, — the danger of an incorrect conception 

 of the purposes which should influence young men 

 in pursuing university courses beyond a college 

 curriculum. Those who have watched the ten- 

 dencies of graduated students must have observed 

 with a good deal of alarm the disposition wliich 

 they sometimes show to concentrate attention 

 upon very special subjects. Unfortunately many 

 of these same persons are entirely dependent for 

 their support on the salaries which they may 

 earn. Now, instead of bringing to the educa- 

 tional exchange qualities which are always in 

 demand, and which always receive remuneration, 

 they come forward as doctors of philosoj)hy with 

 special attainments in some limited field, and are 

 saddened to find that there is no demand for the 

 acquisitions which they offer. I do not hesitate 

 to say that if the drift of university work in this 

 country is toward premature and excessive spe- 

 cialization, many a mariner is doomed to ship- 

 wreck on that rock. Even in Germany, where 

 specialization has been favored, the cry is heard, 

 too many sijecialists, too many university candi- 

 dates. It would be a misfortune to this country, 

 if we should find in the course of a few years a 

 superabundance of men with rare acquisitions of 

 a kind for which there is no demand. It would 

 then be rightly said that our universities did not 

 produce the fruit which had been expected. On 

 the other hand, if residence in a university, beyond 

 the college course, is found to widen the student's 

 capacities as it increases his knowledge ; if he 

 learns the art of imparting what he knows ; if 

 he acquires the sense of proportion, and sees the 

 subjects which he studies with the right perspec- 

 tive ; if he strengthens the foundations as he 

 carries upward the obelisk, — then he will gain, and 

 not lose, by prolonged preparation for the duties 

 of life. For every individual who may with wis- 

 dom be encouraged to devote himself to a very 



limited domain, there are scores who may be bid- 

 den to widen their culture. I do not now refer to 

 those upon whom fortune has smiled, and who 

 have the means to do as they please in preparing 

 for life ; but I have in mind many a struggling 

 aspirant for the scholar's fame, who would be a 

 happier and a more useful man if he had not set 

 his face so resolutely against those studies which 

 adorn the intellectual character, and give grace, 

 dignity, and acceptability to their possessor. The 

 first business of every man is to win his bread ; 

 if he is sure of that, he may wander at his own 

 sweet will through meadows and woods. 



In all the difficulties which are encountered by 

 those who are endeavoring to advance the institu- 

 tions of this country to their highest usefulness, 

 great encouragement may be derived from a study 

 of the results secured in other countries and in 

 other ages. It is only by the review of long 

 periods of time that the most instructive lessons 

 can be learned. The history of European univer- 

 sities is yet to be written by one who has the 

 requisite vision, and who can estimate with an 

 accurate judgment the various forces by which 

 they have been moulded, and the various services 

 they have rendered to humanity. But there 

 are many histories of famous foundations, many 

 biographies of illustrious teachers, many surveys 

 of literature, science, and education, many elab- 

 orate schemes of organization, and many pro- 

 jjosals of reform. The mind of a master is 

 indeed needed to co-ordinate what is thus re- 

 corded , — to be the interpreter of the house 

 called beautiful. But the American scholar 

 need not wait for such a comprehensive work ; 

 the American philanthropist need not delay his 

 benefactions until more experience is secured. 

 The centuries speak with many voices, but they 

 are all harmonious. From the revival of letters 

 until now, from the days of Gerson, the great 

 chancellor of the University of Paris, five hundred 

 years ago, every advance in civilization has been 

 dependent upon the influences which have pro- 

 ceeded from the seats of learning. Their light 

 has illuminated the foremost nations of Christen- 

 dom. In days to come, more than in days that 

 are past, thek power for good will be felt upon 

 the interests of mankind. Let us hope and be- 

 lieve, let us labor and pray, that the American 

 universities when they are fully organized may 

 be worth allies of the strongest and best founda- 

 tions, — steady promoters of knowledge, virtue, 

 and faith. 



The sixty-ninth annual meeting of the Swiss 

 society of natural science will be held at Geneva 

 Aug. 9-13. 



