REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 1917 155 



11 Crystallization is a curious and wonderful operation of Nature's 

 geometry, and therefore worthy of being investigated with all the genius 

 of man and with the whole energy of the mind, not because of the pleasure 

 which always attends the knowledge of wonders, but because of its great 

 usefulness in natural science; for Nature here as it were discloses 

 herself, and having cast aside every veil, permits us to behold not merely 

 the results of her operation, but the very processes themselves." 



The century and three-quarters since the birth of Haiiy has been 

 marked by many crystallographic milestones. Deep cut on the 

 cornice of this Hall of Fame are the names of Weiss and Nauman, 

 of Miller, Mohs and Zippe; of Haidinger, Dana, Von Rath and 

 Goldschmidt; high priests of the altar of mathematical crystallo- 

 graphy, the fire of which was first kindled by that other priest whose 

 name we honor today. And beside these names I read the names 

 of those others no less illustrious, Bravais, Sohncke, Schonflies, 

 Von Fedorow, Barlow, Tutton and last and greatest, the elder and 

 the younger Bragg. 



Just as in the Mont Cenis tunnel the engineers of France and Italy 

 could hear each other's blows from the other side of the barrier of 

 rock, so today the advance guard of workers in organic and inorganic 

 sciences seem to hear rumors from the other side of that wall of the 

 unknown which hides the origin of life. Who can say but that 

 when the future has yielded up that supreme secret, biologist and 

 crystallographer may not reecho the words of Haiiy: 



" Tout est Trouve." 



