SCIENCE AND LITBEATUEE 65 



on the gases of the scientist in his laboratory; the 

 air of hill and field alone suffices. 



The life of the hut is of more interest to litera- 

 ture than the life of the palace, except so far as the 

 same Nature has her way in both. Get rid of the 

 artificial, the complex, and let in the primitive and 

 the simple. Art and poetry never tire of the plow, 

 the scythe, the axe, the hoe, the flail, the oar; but 

 the pride and glory of the agricultural warehouse, — 

 can that be sung? The machine that talks and 

 walks and suffers and loves is still the best. Arti- 

 fice, the more artifice there is thrust between us and 

 Nature, the more appliances, conductors, fenders, the 

 less freely her virtue passes. The direct rays of 

 the open fire are better even for roasting a potato 

 than conducted heat. 



What we owe to science, as tending to foster a 

 disinterested love of truth, as tending to clarify the 

 mental vision, or sharpen curiosity, or cultivating 

 the spirit of fearless inquiry, or stimulating the 

 desire to see and know things as they really are, 

 would not be easy to determine. A great deal, no 

 doubt. But the value of the modern spirit, the 

 modern emancipation, as a factor in the production 

 of a great literature, remains to be seen. 



Science will no doubt draw off, and has already 

 drawn off, a vast deal of force and thought that has 

 heretofore found an outlet in other pursuits, perhaps 

 in law, criticism, or historical inquiries; but is it 

 probable that it will nip in the bud any great poets, 

 painters, romancers, musicians, orators? Certain 



