APRIL 11, 1884.] 
book, ‘ Schlaf und Traum,’ and keeping a record of 
his dreams, whenever he had a dim idea that he had 
seen an object or had a thought before, he generally 
found that his dreams had contained something like 
it. But he overlooks the consideration that the 
dream, as well as the feeling, might have been a case 
of inherited recollection. Crit.’ I. 
Baltimore, March 24. 
The reproduction of Clathrulina elegans. 
An article with this title (Science, iii. 8308), by Dr. 
Stokes, contains two errors, to which his attention is 
courteously directed, and which are evidently founded 
upon an incorrect abstract of Miss Foulke’s paper. 
Dr. Stokes says Miss Foulke’s statements are “ ap- 
parently confined chiefly to a process by quadruple 
subdivision of the body into uniflagellate organisms 
as observed by herself, with allusions to three addi- 
tional processes as observed by others.’’ Of the 
four processes described by the writer, three were 
first described by her, the fourth being that described 
by Cienkowski. Again: in the last paragraph is an 
error resulting from the position of the quotation- 
marks, which would seem to classify one of the writ- 
er’s observations with those of Dr. Stokes. Colonies 
are also formed by the Actinophrys form of young, and 
the dissemination of the species is carried on as well 
by the uniflagellate as by the bi-flagellate organisms. 
These observations should teach us how varied may 
be the forms assumed by one animal. 
SARA GWENDOLEN FOULKE. 
WHAT IS A LIBERAL EDUCATION? 
I po not intend, in the present paper, to 
enter upon the disputed question between the 
advocates of classical culture on the one hand, 
and those of scientific training on the other ; 
because it seems to me that the line on which 
the two parties divide is not that which really 
divides the thought of the day. If we look 
closely into the case, we shall see that the 
objects of a higher education may be divided 
into three classes, instead of the two familiar 
ones of liberal and professional. In fact, what 
we commonly call a liberal education should, 
I think, have two separate objects. With 
the idea of a professional education we are 
all familiar: it is that which enables the pos- 
sessor to pursue with advantage some wealth- 
producing specialty. Although, in accordance 
with well-known economic principles, it is de- 
signed to make the individual useful to his 
fellow-men, the ultimate object in view is the 
gaining of a livelihood by the individual him- 
self. On the other hand, the object had in 
view in what is commonly known as culture, is 
not the mere gaining of a livelihood, but the 
acquisition of those ideas, and the training of 
those powers, which conduce to the happiness 
of the individual. From this point of view, 
culture may be considered an end unto itself. 
The third object which we have to. consider 
is only beginning to receive recognition in the 
SCIENCE. 
435 
eyes of the public. It is the general useful- 
ness of the individual, not merely to himself 
and to those with whom he stands in business 
relations, but to society at large. Modern 
thought and investigation lead to the conclu- 
sion, that man himself, the institutions under 
which he lives, and the conditions which sur- 
round him, are subject to slow, progressive 
changes; and that it depends very largely on 
the policy of each generation of mankind 
whether these changes shall be in the way of 
improvement or retrogression. During the 
next fifty years all of us will have passed from 
the stage of active life, and the course of 
events will be very largely directed by men 
who are still unborn. The happiness of those 
men is, from the widest philanthropic point of 
view, just as important as the happiness of 
those who now inhabit the earth; and, in the 
light of modern science, we now see that that 
happiness depends very largely upon our own 
actions. We thus have opened out to us an 
interest and a field of solicitude in which we 
need the best thought of the time. The ques- 
tion is, what form of education and training 
will best fit the now rising generation for the 
duty of improving the condition of the genera- 
tion to follow it? 
Let it be understood that we are now speak- 
ing, not of the education of the masses, but 
of that higher education which is necessarily 
confined to a small minority. So far as I am 
aware, that fraction of the male population 
which receives a college education is not far 
from one per cent. To that comparatively 
small body we must look for the power which is 
to direct the society of the future, and by their 
acts to promote the well or ill being of the com- 
ing generation. Our duty to that generation is 
to so use and train this select body as to be of 
most benefit to the men of the future. What 
is the training required? I reply by saying 
that I know nothing better for this end than 
a wide and liberal training in the scientific 
spirit and the scientific method. ‘The techni- 
calities of science are not the first object ; and, 
so far as they are introduced, it is only as media 
through which we may imbue the mind with 
certain general and abstract ideas. If called 
upon to define the scientific spirit, I should say 
that it was the love of truth for its own sake. 
This definition carries with it the idea of a love 
of exactitude, — the more exact we are, the 
nearer we are to the truth. It carries with it 
a certain independence of authority ; because, 
although an adherence to authoritative propo- 
sitions taught us by our ancestors, and which 
we regard as true, may, in a certain sense, be 
