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than the diffusion of knowledge to strive for here, and that is 

 the increase of knowledge. The old idea of a Museum was 

 a show-room ; the modern idea makes it a workshop, as well. 

 If this institution is to hold high rank in Science, as we hope, 

 it will not be in consequence of the spacious halls before us, 

 crowded though they be with the rarest of Nature's products : 

 but, rather, it will come through the small workrooms in 

 the attic, where the naturalist, with microscope or scalpel, 

 has patiently worked out discoveries that add to the sum of 

 human knowledge. This Museum will fail of its highest good, 

 fail even to achieve more than a local influence, unless the 

 workrooms above are made the most important feature of the 

 whole. These vast collections will spread the elements of 

 Natural Science among the people of New York, and the 

 surrounding region ; but the quiet workers in the attic, who 

 pursue Science for its own sake, will bring the Museum 

 renown throughout the world. 



There is yet a more important reason for making this insti- 

 tution a center for original research. The science of to-day 

 stands face to face with great problems. The antiquity of 

 Man ; the origin of the human race ; and even the origin of 

 Life itself, are among the questions which the present age sub- 

 mits to science, and to which it demands an answer. If these 

 problems are to be solved by Science, America must do her 

 full share of the work, for the materials are here. In all that 

 pertains to ancient life, the Western Continent possesses count- 

 less treasures, unknown in other lands. These, as I believe, 

 are to unlock many mysteries in Biology, and render import- 

 ant aid toward the solution of the profounder questions I have 

 named. American Science can thus repay its debt to the Old 

 World, where science began, and gathering new facts, from 

 broader and richer fields within her own borders, carry 

 forward, with the vigor and enthusiasm of youth, the 

 never-ending search for Truth. 



If the American Museum of Natural History, opened to- 

 day under such favorable auspices, does not take a prominent 

 part in this great work, it will not do justice to its founders, 

 or to its opportunities. But with such a foundation as we have 



