Januaky 13, 1905.] 



SCIENCE. 



45 



in the intellectual world at large. We are, 

 so to spealc, in a state of unstable equilib- 

 rium, wherein mental repose can be pur- 

 chased only at the price of mental somno- 

 lence. Great as have been the enlargement 

 and the appreciation of educational and 

 professional opportunities during the past 

 three or four decades, we may confidently 

 anticipate still wider enlargement and ap- 

 preciation in the future. New divisions 

 of knowledge may be expected to arise, and 

 old divisions may be expected to undergo 

 marked expansion, redistribution or 

 emendation. The so-called humanities, 

 especially, must be broadened, purified and 

 elevated if possible to the intellectual level 

 of the more highly developed sciences. It 

 is clear, indeed, that in any revision of the 

 humanities some matters may be redis- 

 tributed, if not discarded, with advantage. 

 The reckless amours and the clandestine 

 peccadilloes of ancient and modern royalty, 

 for example, should be transferred from 

 the historian and the novelist to the anthro- 

 pologist, the alienist and the pathologist. 

 Such humanities, and many others of like 

 kind, can hardly stand in comparison with 

 the constancy of the stars and the beauties 

 of harmonic analysis. 



All these matters of controversy, how- 

 ever, belong rather to the lower than to 

 the higher life of a university. How a 

 student acquires elementary training is an 

 academic question in the narrower sense of 

 the word. The world cares little for edu- 

 cational ways and means unless they can 

 commend themselves by results. Attain- 

 ments must be tested by achievements and 

 proficiency must be proved by progress. 

 To rise to this standard of excellence is 

 the ideal of the higher life of a university. 

 It is only by the pursuit of, and in the real- 

 ization of, this ideal, that instructors and 

 students may keep pace with and contribute 

 adequately to the advancement of modern 

 knowledge. Those who would separate 



theory from practice, those who would 

 draw lines of invidious distinction between 

 pure and applied science, along with those 

 who would mistake a part of archeology 

 for the whole of education, are all alike 

 inimical to the trend of current progress. 



It is the highest function of a university 

 to cherish this ideal and to promote espe- 

 cially the arduous labors essential to fruit- 

 ful original research. Those who can add 

 somewhat to the sum and substance of per- 

 manent know'ledge by the establishment of 

 a physical, a social, an esthetic or an 

 ethical principle, are the greatest benefac- 

 tors of our race. Of the many who feel 

 drawn to this high calling, however, few 

 are destined for fame. Only those who 

 prefer the turmoil of conflicting thoughts 

 to the tranquility of inherited opinions, 

 who can bear alike the remorseless dis- 

 cipline of repeated failure and the pros- 

 perity of partial success, may hope to 

 attain renown. But, as those serve also 

 who stand resolutely and toil patiently at 

 their allotted tasks, so is there room in the 

 grand aggregate of human achievement for 

 the humblest as well as for the noblest of 

 investigators. 



The ideals, then, of a modern university, 

 like the ideals of the intellectual world at 

 large, contemplate achievement and prog- 

 ress in all grades of work from the lowest 

 to the highest. They demand endless 

 patience and unflagging industry from all 

 who seek to rise above the dead level of 

 mediocrity. The opportunities now af- 

 forded for the pursuit of, for the acquire- 

 ment of, and for the advancement of, learn- 

 ing are greater than ever before. We are 

 the heirs of the ages. But along with an 

 increasing heritage there come increasing 

 duties and increasing responsibilities. It 

 rests with us to show that we are worthy of 

 this heritage and able to meet these duties 

 and responsibilities. This is the line of 

 endeavor we resume to-day, and the spirit 



