452 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, 
On the whole, except as giving practical expression to the 
growing opinion that a liberal education without Latin is a possibility,* 
it is difficult to see the raison d’étre of the B.Sc. degree, and one is 
tempted to ask whether it was worth while to get an extension of the 
Charter for such a result, and whether it would not have answered 
all purposes to arrange the B.A. course in such a way as to give the 
option of a mainly literary or a mainly scientific curriculum. 
It seems to me that the best way to remedy this very anomalous 
state of things would be (a) to arrange a more definite curriculum for 
the Arts course; and (b) to abandon the plan at present adopted of 
making the standard of all subjects the same for both degrees. One- 
sided culture should be as studiously avoided in the one course as in 
the other: it is most desirable that an Arts man should know some- 
‘thing of the methods and aims of science, and that a Science man 
should not be wholly ignorant of language and literature. But 
considering that life is short and that a perfect course of study is 
hardly attainable in an average University career, would it not be 
advisable so to arrange the examinations for the two degrees that the 
standard of literary subjects should be higher for B.A., and that of 
science subjects for B.Sc.? For instance, I cannot but think that an 
Arts student would be distinctly benefitted by going through the 
“General Biology” part of the Natural History course, even without 
following it up by Botany, Zoology, or Geology; and that a Science 
man would find a somewhat smaller proportion of Latin than is 
required for B.A. of great service to him. I yield to no one in my 
horror of superficial knowledge, but I certainly think that when a 
man knows one or two things thoroughly, he may learn a little of 
many others, not only without any harm, but with the result of 
considerably extending his intellectual horizon. 
Passing now to the Honours Examination, one is met at once 
with a serious anomaly which is enough of itself to deter the better 
class of students from choosing the Science course. An Arts man 
who passes in Honours becomes, ipso facto, M.A., a Science man, 
passing iz the same subject remains a Bachelor. More than this, a 
B.A. who is unable to get through the whole of the Honours work in 
one year, may take the same examination—under the name of the 
M.A. examination—at any subsequent time, and by passing it qualify 
for the higher degree. A Science man under the same circumstances 
is debarred from ever taking the examination, and can therefore never 
get beyond the grade of a Pass-man, unless he is able to proceed to 
D.Sc., which very few of our students are likely to do, since the 
qualifications for that degree should be such as would fit the holder of 
it for a University lectureship in his special subject. 
On the other hand the graduate in Arts is under a disadvantage 
in having no degree corresponding to D.Sc., by taking which he can 
show himself to have acquired high proficiency in the subject he has 
chosen as his specialty: he can in fact, unless he chooses to take up 
either Law or Music, never get Aeyond M.A.—a degree which a 
student of good abilities should be able to take in his fourth year. 
*Nore.—The Regulations for Matriculation have been altered, French or German 
being compulsory instead of Latin for candidates intending to proceed to a degree in 
Science. 
