i879«] 
British Association. 
693 
which one of the royal commissioners happened to be read- 
ing, and, lastly, that the morals of Greek scholars, and of 
clergymen who had read Plato at college, were not obviously 
degraded below those of other people. On the other hand, 
witnesses would depose that a knowledge of Plato was of 
no consequence to a student of philosophy; that if it were, 
the text was in so corrupt a condition that no two scholars 
agreed as to a single chapter, and that, after all, philosophy 
was of no practical use, least of ail to clergymen. Others 
would affirm that though they had never read a line of him, 
they knew that his style was as vicious as his sentiments ; 
and perhaps some cross-grained scholar might be found 
who, having once edited a play of Euripides, would declare 
that all studies in Greek literature ought to be restricted to 
the tragedians, and that for his part he had never opened 
any other authors, and had never felt the want of them. At 
last the commission would report that there was no ques- 
tion of the value of the works of Plato, that it would be 
mischievous and impracticable to prohibit their study, and 
that there was no evidence that schoolmasters habitually 
chose the least edifying passages as lessons for boys. Then 
what is called a compromise would be made. It would be 
enaCted that Plato might be read, but only in colleges 
annually licensed for that purpose ; that every one wishing 
to read must have a general certificate signed by certain 
professors, and setting forth his objeCt, also to be renewed 
every year ; and that special certificates might be severally 
obtained for reading certain excepted dialogues, for copying 
from them, for publishing them, or, in rare cases, for trans- 
lating them. However reasonably such a system might be 
administered, who can doubt the result would be a diminu- 
tion of the number of scholars, and a check to the progress 
of learning ? Now this is what legislation has done for 
physiological experiments. The Act (39 and 40 Victoria) 
was hastily drawn and hurriedly discussed; for noble lords 
and honourable gentlemen who had been taught from child- 
hood to viviseCt for unscientific purposes were eager to hurry 
off to their own merry vivisections, for which they were ready 
provided with licence and certificates. And it works as might 
be expected. Some shrink from seeing their names figure 
in disreputable newspapers, and receiving more or less 
savagely abusive anonymous letters. Others have no labo- 
ratories, and find difficulty in licensing their houses. Others 
are refused the certificates they require. In one case two 
thoroughly qualified men were anxious to carry out an im- 
portant investigation on the treatment of snake-bites. They 
