692 
British Association . 
iOcftober, 
endowment of research in biology, Dr. Pye-Smith confessed 
that he should be sorry to see it undertaken by Government 
funds. This country is not so poor, nor our countrymen so 
wanting in public spirit, that we need appeal to the national 
purse to supply every ascertained want. Great as is the 
national importance of science, the nation was more im- 
portant still ; and even if that were the alternative he 
would rather that we should indefinitely continue depen- 
dent on Germany for our knowledge than give up the local 
energy, the unofficial zeal which has made England what 
she is. Coming to Vivisection Dr. Pye-Smith referred to 
the reasons which animate much of the opposition to Vivi- 
section, many of which we have discussed in the “ Monthly 
Journal of Science.” With regard to the recent legislation 
ne said that a system of licenses and certificates, revocable 
at the will of a Minister who may, by the accidents of party, 
be at any time amenable to anti-scientific influences, adds 
serious difficulties to those already in the way of experi- 
ments. As an illustration, he asked his audience to sup- 
pose that certain persons opposed on various grounds to 
learning, and especially hostile to Greek, had attacked the 
study of Plato. They would point out the danger of modern 
ladies becoming as well read in his writings as was Lady 
Jane Grey. They would show that the laxity of modern 
manners was coincident with the popularity of the Sym- 
posium,” and that the notorious increase of infanticide was 
the result of the teaching of the “ Republic.” Associations 
for the total suppression of Plato would be formed, with 
hired advocates, and anonymous letters, and “ leaflets,” 
spreading a knowledge of his most objectionable passages. 
Scholars would be threatened with eternal punishment, and 
schoolmasters with the withdrawal of their pupils. Then a 
royal commission would be appointed — a great Latin scholar, 
a Whig and a Tory statesman (who, having taken a B.Sc. 
degree at Oxford would be impartially ignorant of Greek) 
the most intelligent despiser of Plato who could be found, 
the master of a grammar school on the modern side, and 
(perhaps the most efficient of all) a lawyer, who knew 
nothing about Greek but hated cant. This commission 
would take evidence that the Platonic writings were not 
all immoral, that they had been quoted with approval by 
Fathers of the Church, that they were of great importance 
to literature and philosophy, and even to the elucidation of 
the Sacred Writings. It would also be proved that the 
Platonic Dialogues were far less immoral than multitudes 
of other widely circulated books, or than a French novel 
