October 24, 1890.] 



SCIENCE. 



233 



qualities of the human intellect which have made the flrst 

 possible should not be allowed to remain idle while an intel- 

 ligent public is striving to attain the last. That men of sci- 

 ence have not, thus far, made their full contribution to the 

 solution of some of these great problems, is due to the fact 

 that many have exhibited an inexcusable apathy towards 

 every thing relating to the public welfare, while others have 

 not approached the subject with that breadth of preparation 

 in the close study of human affairs which is necessary to 

 establish the authenticity of their equations of condition. 

 As already intimated, we do not seem to be getting on in 

 this direction. Our own early history and the history of 

 other nations are full of examples of eminent scientific men 

 who were no less distinguished as publicists and statesmen. 

 The name of Franklin is imperishable alike in the history of 

 science and of politics. On many questions relating to ex- 

 act science, the Adamses spoke with confidence. Thomas 

 Jefiferson was a philosopher, and, on assuming the duties of 

 the highest ofSce in the gift of the people, counted his op- 

 portunities for association with men of science as one of its 

 chiefest rewards. Other illustrations might be selected from 

 the pages of the history of our own country; while in Eu- 

 rope, where science has been longer cultivated and under 

 more favorable conditions, they are much more common. 

 This is notably so in France, whose roll of scientific men 

 who have distinguished themselves and their country during 

 the past century, includes many names prominent alike for 

 the importance of their performance in her various crises of 

 peace and war. The present president of the French Re- 

 public, himself an engineer, bears a name made famous in 

 the history of science by the rich contributions of his ances- 

 tors, one of whom voted for the execution of Louis XVI., 

 and was a member of the Committee of Public Safety. It 

 would be difficult to overestimate the value to science, as 

 well as to the public, of the presence in the halls of legisla- 

 tion of even a very small number of men who might stand 

 as exponents of the methods of science and as competent 

 authorities on the results of their application. Our national 

 Congress, especially, is almost constantly dealing with ques- 

 tions of great moment to the people, which can only be 

 thoroughly understood and wisely dealt with by scientific 

 men ; and the presence of one or two such in each branch of 

 that body would be of decided advantage to the whole coun- 

 try. In the nature of things, opportunities for such repre- 

 sentation will be rare; but when they occur, they must not 

 be suffered to escape. 



Finally, if the conclusions reached in the foregoing should 

 be thought wise, and should any young man at the threshold 

 of his scientific career determine to be guided by them in 

 establishing his relations with the general public, he will 

 find splendid examples among the distinguished leaders of 

 all departments of science. Should he desire to present the 

 results of his labors in such a way that they may be under- 

 stood by intelligent people, he may imitate Franklin, whose 

 literary style, as to simplicity and clearness, commanded the 

 highest praise from literary men ; or Faraday, who was able 

 to give expression to the most involved conceptions in simple 

 English; or Tyndall, the appearance of whose "Heat con- 

 sidered as a Mode of Motion" was an epoch in the history of 

 physical science, in its relation to an intelligent constitu- 

 ency, without which it cannot thrive. He will learn that 



there is no discredit in "popularizing" science; that popu- 

 larizing what is not science is the thing that is to be shunned 

 and prevented. The arrogance of genius is not less disa- 

 greeable than that of riches, although it is less common. 



Should he wish to cultivate modesty in estimating his own 

 attainments, he need only follow Newton, Darwin, and, 

 in fact, the whole list of distinguished men of science down 

 to the present time, with a few rare and unexplainable ex- 

 ceptions, the existence of which serves, like a whistling 

 buoy, to point out what should be avoided. 



Should he aspire to be of some use to the world and to 

 leave it better because of his life, he will be encouraged by 

 the fact, already considered, that in the long-run those dis- 

 coveries are most highly esteemed, and justly so, which are 

 the most potent in their influence upon civilization and so- 

 ciety by ameliorating the condition of the people, or by en- 

 larging their opportunities, and that all really great men of 

 science have not lost sight of this fact; that "science for the 

 sake of science" does not represent the highest ideal, nor can 

 the "almighty dollar" ever be bartered for the "Divine 

 Afflatus." 



All of these questions will serve to enlarge his interest in 

 public affairs, because he will come to recognize that he is 

 himself but a part of the public. He will remember the de- 

 light of Faraday, when near the end of his life he saw a 

 huge dynamo illuminating the tower of a lighthouse. That 

 which he had given to the world as an infant, in his splen- 

 did discovery of induction, had, through the fostering care 

 of others, grown to a brilliant manhood ; and he experi- 

 enced exquisite pleasure in the reflection that it might be 

 the means of saving the lives of his fellowmen. The 

 ideal of duty which ought to be present in the mind of 

 every man of science may well be higher than that growing 

 out of mere selfish pleasure in the acquisition and possession 

 of knowledge. 



Perhaps it is hardly becoming in me, at this time and in 

 some sense representing this large body of scientific men, to 

 make even a simple remark in criticism of the general pub- 

 lic, the party of the second part in the question which we 

 have considered to-night. T venture to suggest, however, 

 that, whenever the public is disposed to consider its obliga- 

 tions to Science and her votaries, the/e are some things 

 which must not be forgotten, — things so important and so 

 numerous, indeed, that many volumes would be inadequate 

 to their enumeration. Prove this by comparing the world 

 with science, with the world icithout science. Take as an 

 illustration that which less than two hundred years ago was 

 but a spark — a faint spark — exhibited on rare occasions by 

 the scientific man of that time. With this spark, thanks to 

 science, the whole world is now aflame. Time and space 

 are practically annihilated; night is turned into day; social 

 life is almost revolutionized; and scores of things which 

 only a few years ago would have been pronounced impossi- 

 ble, are being accomplished daily. Many millions of dollai-s 

 of capital and many thousands of men are engaged in the 

 development of this agent, so purely a creation of science 

 that the Supreme Court of the land has already decided that 

 it has no material existence. Surely science, which has 

 brought us all these blessings, together with thousands be- 

 sides, is worthy of every care and consideration at the hands 

 of a genei'ous and appreciative public. 



