60 SPECIALIZATION IN NATURAL SCIENCE. 



straightening of a grin barrel ; in a few days he sees- 

 quite through all its features, in a few weeks he has at- 

 tained his maxim nm of expertness, and that is all of 

 mental zest there is to it. From that time forward it is 

 all a dreary plain of sameness ; mental stimulus is gone, 

 and the man has become a spiritless machine. 



Far different is it with the scientific specialist ; as he 

 attains a high degree of expertness he has only begun to 

 see and to enjoy ; at every step he is greeted, not by end- 

 less repetitions of the old, but by delightful revelations 

 of the new ; nor does he even necessarily reach, at any 

 definite period, the maximum level of expertness ; for 

 new situations are ever presenting themselves, demand- 

 ing new combinations of skillful handling. No amount 

 of magnifying power applied to natural objects reaches 

 the limit of revelations. The specialist is therefore al 

 ways penetrating unknown lands of discovery ; every 

 faculty is awake ; his soul is all alive with healthy zeal. 



I should not do justice to my subject if I should pass 

 over in silence the fact that there are some positive evils 

 in this attitude of modern science. The first of these 

 evils which I will mention is one which I think has at- 

 tracted but little attention. It is the fact that the devel- 

 opment of special studies in science has greatly increased 

 the difficulty of finding suitable teachers in natural sci- 

 ence for academic and collegiate classes. The facts in 

 this connection have been so generally overlooked by 

 scientists as to lead to unfortunate misunderstandings. 

 Men deservedly eminent as specialists are often disap- 

 pointed and chagrined when they are passed over in the 

 selections of instructors in desirable positions, because 

 they fail to discern the obvious reasons. Some per- 

 sons are naturally excellent teachers ; but many are not. 

 The mere possession of erudition does not make a good 

 teacher. There are certain principles which really con- 

 stitute a science of teaching. Specialists are under a. 



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