38 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



which included the idea that blackness was a compound of all colors, 

 and that the ordinary theory, which had been propounded by Newton, 

 was an absurdity. So thoroughly did he become imbued with this con- 

 ception that it was in vain to attempt to convince him of its fallacy, 

 and he was irritated almost to madness when the name of Newton was 

 mentioned with commendation. 



In this connection we may mention as a somewhat singular coinci- 

 dence, that at the beginning of this Institution the author of this report 

 was called upon to examine a paper, presented for publication by a pro- 

 fessor in one of the most prominent universities of this country, in which 

 the author had adopted as an original suggestion the same hypothesis as 

 that of Goethe, and whose indignation on account of its rejection was 

 expressed in terms of little courtesy. Two persons of this class have 

 recently made a special journey to Washington, from distant parts of 

 the country, to demand justice from the Institution, in the way of 

 recognition of their claims to discoveries in science of great importance 

 to humanity, and each of them has made an appeal to his Representa- 

 tive in Congress to aid him in compelling the Institution to acknowledge 

 the merits of his speculations. 



Providence vindicates in such cases the equality of its justice in giving 

 to such persons an undue share of self-esteem, and an exaltation of confi- 

 dence in themselves, which in a great degree compensate for the want 

 of what they conceive to be the just appreciation of the public. Unless, 

 however, they are men of great benevolence of disposition, who can 

 look with pity on what they deem the ignorance and prejudice of lead- 

 ers of science, they are apt to indulge in a bitterness of denunciation 

 which might be injurious to the reputation of the Institution were their 

 effects not neutralized by the extravagance of the assertions themselves. 

 The representatives of this class of persons are increasing with the 

 increase of the diffusion of popular knowledge.. It must not be 

 understood that this remark is made to disparage the diffusion of 

 scientific knowledge, but simply to indicate that there are classes of 

 minds of a peculiar idiosyncrasy which tend to expend their power in 

 unconditioned and unfruitful speculation ; neither do we condemn sci- 

 entific speculation, for the discovery of all great principles of science is 

 the result of antecedent hypotheses or speculations, which are, however, 

 founded on definite analogies of the known, and finally adopted or 

 rejected by the test of the exact agreement of predictions based upon 

 them with the actual phenomena of nature. 



During the past year a number of communications have been received 

 in regard to the discovery of new motive-powers as to which extrava- 

 gant ideas have been entertained relative to superseding coal power 

 as an element for the propulsion of machinery. In regard to these, we 

 may say that science has established the great fact, without the possi- 

 bility of doubt, that what is called power, or that which produces 

 changes in matter, cannot be created by man, but exists in nature in a 



