,little   ,journeys   ,to the ,homes of 
,great ,scientists     ,elbert ,hubbard 
,memorial ,edition       ,printed and   
made into a ,book by   ,the             
,roycrofters1 who are in ,east          
,aurora1 ,erie ,county1 ,new ,york      
,wm4 ,h4 ,wise  ,co4   ,new ,york       
,copyright1 #aiaf1   ,by ,the           
,roycrofters       ,,contents     ,,sir 
,,isaac ,,newton                        
#i    ,,galileo                         
#de    ,,copernicus                     
#he    ,,humboldt                       
#aba    ,,william ,,herschel            
#afc    ,,charles ,,darwin              
#aig    ,,haeckel                       
#bce    ,,linn,,us                      
#bfc    ,,thomas ,h4 ,,huxley           
#cjc    ,,john ,,tyndall                
#ccc    ,,alfred ,,russel ,,wallace     
#cfe    ,,john ,,fiske                  
#cie     ,illustration3 ,,sir ,,isaac   
,,newton  ,,sir ,,isaac ,,newton        
,when you come into any fresh company1  
observe their humours4 ,suit      your  

own carriage thereto1 by which          
insinuation you will make their         
converse more free and open4 ,let your  
discourse be more in querys      and    
doubtings than peremptory assertions or 
disputings1 it being      the designe of
 travelers to learne1 not to teach4     
,besides1 it will      persuade your    
acquaintance that you have the greater  
esteem of      them1 and soe make them  
more ready to communicate what they know
 to      you2 whereas nothing sooner    
occasions disrespect and quarrels than  
peremptorinesse4 ,you will find little  
or no advantage in seeming      wiser1  
or much more ignorant than your company4
 ,seldom discommend      anything though
 never so bad1 or doe it but moderately1
 lest you      bee unexpectedly forced  
to an unhansom retraction4 ,it is safer 
to      commend any thing more than is  
due1 than to discommend a thing soe     
much as it deserves2 for commendations  
meet not soe often with                 
oppositions1 or1 at least1 are not      

usually soe ill resented by men         
that think otherwise1 as                
discommendations2 and you will insinuate
      into men's favour by nothing      
sooner than seeming to approve and      
commend what they like2 but beware of   
doing it by a comparison4       --,sir  
,isaac ,newton to one of his pupils     
,,sir ,,isaac ,,newton  ,an honest      
farmer1 neither rich nor poor1 was      
,isaac ,newton4 ,he was married to      
,harriet ,ayscough in ,february1        
,sixteen ,hundred ,forty-two4  ,both    
were strong1 intelligent and full of    
hope4 ,neither had any education to     
speak of2 they belonged to ,england's   
middle class--that oft-despised and much
 ridiculed middle class which is the    
hope of the world4 ,accounts still in   
existence show that their income was    
thirty pounds a year4 ,it was for them  
to toil all the week1 go to church on   
,sunday1 and twice or thrice in a year  
attend the village fairs or indulge in a
 holiday where hard cider played an     

important part4  ,isaac had served his  
two years in the army1 taken a turn at  
sea1 and got his discharge-papers4 ,now 
he had married the lass of his choice1  
and settled down in the little house on 
an estate in ,lincolnshire where his    
father was born and died4  ,spring came 
and the roses clambered over the stone  
walls2 the bobolinks played             
hide-and-seek in the waving grass of the
 meadows2 the skylarks sang and poised  
and soared2 the hedgerows grew white    
with hawthorn-blossoms and musical with 
the chirp of sparrows2 the cattle ranged
 through the fragrant clover knee-deep  
in ,june4  ,oftentimes the young wife   
worked with her husband in the fields1  
or went with him to market4 ,great plans
 were laid as to what they would do next
 year1 and the year after1 and how they 
would provide for coming age and grow   
old together1 here among the oaks and   
the peace and plenty of ,lincolnshire4  
,in such a country1 with such a climate1
 it seems as if one could almost make   

repair equal waste1 and thus keep death 
indefinitely at bay4 ,but all men1 even 
the strongest1 are living under a death 
sentence1 with but an indefinite        
reprieve4 ,and even yet1 with all of our
 science and health1 we can not fully   
account for those diseases which        
seemingly pick the very best flower of  
sinew and strength4  ,isaac ,newton1 the
 strong and rugged farmer1 sickened and 
died in a week4 ,the result of a cold   
caught when sweaty and standing in a    
draft1 the surgeon explained4 ,the act  
of ,god to warn us all of the vanity of 
life4 ,acute pneumonia1 perhaps1 is what
 we would call it--a fever that burned  
out the bellows in a week4  ,in such    
cases the very strength of the man seems
 to supply fuel for the flames4 ,and so 
just as the ,autumn came with changing  
leaves1 the young wife was left to fight
 the battle of life alone--alone1 save  
for the old1 old miracle that her life  
supported another4 ,a wife1 a widow1 a  
mother--all within a year6  ,on         

,christmas-,day the babe was born--born 
where most men die3 in obscurity4 ,he   
was so weak and frail that none but the 
mother believed he would live4  ,the    
doctor quoted a line from ,richard the  
,third1 ,sent before my time into this  
breathing world scarce half made up1 and
 gave the infant into the keeping of an 
old nurse with an ominous shake of the  
head1 and went his way1 absolved4 ,his  
time was too valuable to waste on such a
 useless human mite4  ,the persistent   
words of the mother that the child      
should not1 must not die1 possibly had  
something to do with keeping the breath 
of life in the puny man-child4 ,the fond
 mother had given him the name of his   
father1 even before birth6 ,he was to   
live to do the work that the man now    
dead had hoped to do2 that is1 live a   
long and honest life1 and leave the fair
 acres more valuable than he found them4
  ,such was the inauspicious beginning  
of what ,herbert ,spencer declared was  
the greatest life since ,aristotle      

studied the starry universe4         99 
99       99       99       99  ,outside 
of ,india the lot of widows is not      
especially to be pitied4 ,a widow has   
beautiful dreams1 while the married     
woman copes with the stern reality4     
,then1 no phase of life is really       
difficult when you accept it2 and the   
memory of a great love lost is always a 
blessing and a benediction to the one   
who endures the first cruel shock4  ,the
 young widow looked after her little    
estate1 and with perhaps some small     
assistance from her parents1 lived      
comfortably and as happily as one has a 
right to in this vale of tears4 ,her    
baby boy had grown strong and well3 by  
the time he was two years old he was    
quite the equal of most babies--and his 
mother thought1 beyond them4  ,it is    
quite often stoutly declared by callow  
folks that mother-love is the strongest 
and most enduring love in the world1 but
 the wise waste no words on such an idle
 proposition4 ,mother-love retires into 

the shadow when the other kind appears4 
,when the ,reverend ,barnabas ,smith    
began1 unconsciously1 to make eyes at   
the ,widow ,newton over his prayer-book1
 the good old dames whose business it is
 to look after these things1 and perform
 them vicariously1 made prophecies on   
the way home from church as to how soon 
the wedding would occur4  ,people go to 
church to watch and pray1 but a man ,i  
know says that women go to church to    
watch4 ,young clergymen fall an easy    
prey to designing widows1 he avers4 ,i  
can discover no proof1 however1 that the
 ,widow ,newton made any original       
designs2 she was below the young        
clergyman in social standing1 and when  
the good man began to pay special       
attentions to her baby boy she never    
imagined that the sundry pats and       
caresses were meant for her4  ,little   
,isaac ,newton was just three years old 
when the wedding occurred1 and was not  
troubled about it4 ,the bride went to   
live with her husband at the rectory1 a 

mile away1 and the little boy in        
dresses1 with long yellow curls1 was    
taken to the home of his grandmother4   
,the ,reverend ,barnabas ,smith didn't  
like babies as well as he had at first  
thought4 ,grandparents are inclined to  
be lax in their discipline4 ,and anyway 
it is no particular difference if they  
are3 a scarcity of discipline is better 
than too much4 ,more boys have been     
ruined by the rod than saved by it--love
 is a good substitute for a             
cat-'o-nine-tails4  ,there were several 
children born to the ,reverend ,barnabas
 ,smith and his wife1 and all were      
disciplined for their own good4 ,isaac1 
a few miles away1 snuggled in the arms  
of his old grandmother when he was bad  
and went scot-free4  ,many years after1 
,sir ,isaac ,newton1 in an address on   
education at ,cambridge1 playfully      
referred to the fact that in his boyhood
 he did not have to prevaricate to      
escape punishment1 his grandmother being
 always willing to lie for him4 ,his    

grandmother was his first teacher and   
his best friend as long as she lived4   
,when he was twelve years old he was    
sent to the village school at ,grantham1
 eight miles away4 ,there he boarded    
with a family by the name of ,clark1 and
 at odd times helped in the             
apothecary-shop of ,mr4 ,clark1 cleaning
 bottles and making pills4 ,he himself  
has told us that the working with mortar
 and pestle1 cutting the pills in exact 
cubes1 and then rolling one in each hand
 between thumb and finger1 did him a lot
 of good1 whether the patients were     
benefited or not4  ,the genial          
apothecary also explained that pills    
were for those who made and sold them1  
and that if they did no harm to those   
who swallowed them1 the whole           
transaction was then one of benefit4    
,all of which proves to us that men had 
the essence of wisdom two hundred years 
ago1 quite as much as now4  ,the master 
of the school at ,grantham was one ,mr4 
,stokes1 a man of genuine insight and   

tact--two things rather rare in the     
pedagogic equipment at that time4 ,the  
,newton boy was small and stood low in  
his class1 perhaps because book-learning
 had not been the bent of his           
grandmother4 ,the fact that ,isaac was  
neither strong nor smart1 nor even      
smartly dressed1 caused him to serve in 
the capacity of a butt for the bullies4 
,one big boy in particular made it his  
business to punch1 kick and cuff him on 
all occasions1 in class or out4 ,this   
continued for a month1 when one day the 
little boy invited the big one out into 
the churchyard and there fell upon him  
tooth and claw4 ,the big boy had        
strength1 but the little one had right  
on his side4  ,the schoolmaster looked  
over the wall and shouted1 ,thrice armed
 is he who knows his cause is just6 ,in 
two minutes the bully was beaten1 but   
the schoolmaster's son1 who stood by as 
master of ceremonies1 suggested that the
 big boy have his nose rubbed against   
the wall of the church for luck4 ,this  

was accordingly done1 not o'er-gently1  
and when ,isaac returned to the         
schoolroom1 the master1 who was supposed
 to know nothing officially of the      
fighting1 prophesied1 ,young ,mr4       
,newton will yet beat any boy in this   
school in his studies4  ,it has been    
suggested that this prophecy was made   
after its fulfilment1 but even so1 we   
know that ,mr4 ,stokes lived long enough
 to take great pride in the ,newton boy1
 and to grow reminiscent concerning his 
great achievements4  ,our hearts surely 
go out to the late ,mr4 ,stokes1        
schoolmaster at ,grantham4         99   
99       99       99       99  ,there is
 surely something in that old idea of   
,indians that when they killed an enemy 
the strength of the fallen adversary    
entered into themselves4  ,this         
encounter of little ,isaac with the     
school bully was a pivotal point in his 
career4 ,he had vanquished the rogue    
physically1 and he now set to work to do
 as much mentally for the whole school4 

,he had it in him--it was just a matter 
of application4  ,once1 in after-life1  
in speaking of those who had benefited  
him most1 he placed this unnamed        
chucklehead first1 and added with a     
smile1 ,our enemies are quite as        
necessary to us as our friends4  ,in a  
few months ,isaac stood at the head of  
the class4 ,in mathematics he especially
 excelled1 and the ,master1 who prided  
himself on being able to give problems  
no one could solve but himself1 found   
that he was put to the strait of giving 
a problem nobody could solve4 ,he was   
somewhat taken aback when little ,isaac 
declined to work on it1 and coolly      
pointed out the fallacy involved4 ,the  
only thing for the teacher to do was to 
say he had purposely given the          
proposition to see if any one would     
detect the fallacy4 ,this he gracefully 
did1 and again made a prophecy to the   
effect that ,isaac ,newton would some   
day take his own place and be master of 
,grantham ,school4  ,in the year        

,sixteen ,hundred ,fifty-six the        
schooldays of ,isaac ,newton were cut   
short by the death of his stepfather4   
,his mother1 twice a widow1 moved back  
to ,woolsthorpe1 a big name for a very  
small estate4 ,isaac was made the man of
 the house4 ,the ambition of his mother 
was that he should become a farmer and  
stock-raiser4  ,it seems that the boy   
entered upon his farm duties with an    
alacrity that was not to last4 ,his     
heart was not in the work1 but the      
desire to please his mother spurred him 
forward4  ,on one occasion1 being sent  
with a load of produce to ,grantham1 he 
stopped to visit his old school1 and    
during his call struck a bargain with   
one of the boys for a copy of           
,descartes' ,geometry4 ,the purchase    
exhausted his finances1 so that he was  
unable to buy the articles his mother   
had sent him for1 but when he got home  
he explained that one might get along   
without such luxuries as clothing1 but a
 good ,geometry was a family necessity4 

,about this time he made a water-clock1 
and also that sundial which can be seen 
today1 carved into the stone on the     
corner of the house4 ,he still continued
 his making of kites which had been     
begun at ,grantham2 and gave the        
superstitious neighbors a thrill by     
flying kites at night with lighted      
lanterns made from paper1 attached to   
the tails4 ,he made water-wheels and    
windmills1 and once constructed a       
miniature mill that he ran by placing a 
mouse in a treadmill inside4  ,in the   
meantime the cows got into the corn1 and
 the weeds in the garden improved each  
shining hour4 ,the fond mother was now  
sorely disappointed in her boy1 and made
 remarks to the effect that if she had  
looked after his bringing up instead of 
entrusting him to an indulgent          
grandmother1 affairs at this time would 
not be in their present state4 ,parents 
are apt to be fussy3 they can not wait4 
,matters reached a climax when the sheep
 that ,isaac had been sent to watch1    

overran the garden and demolished       
everything but the purslane and ragweed1
 while all the time the young man was   
under the hedge working out mathematical
 problems from his ,descartes4  ,at this
 stage the mother called in her brother1
 the ,reverend ,mr4 ,ayscough1 and he   
advised that a boy who was so bound to  
study should be allowed to study4  ,and 
the good man offered to pay the wages of
 a man to take ,isaac's place on the    
farm4  ,so1 greatly to the surprise and 
pleasure of ,mr4 ,stokes of ,grantham1  
,isaac one fine day returned with his   
books1 just as if he had only been gone 
a day instead of a year4  ,at the home  
of the apothecary the lad was thrice    
welcome4 ,he had endeared himself to the
 women of the household especially4 ,he 
did not play with other boys--their     
games and sports were absolutely outside
 of his orbit4 ,he was silent and so    
self-contained that he won from his     
schoolfellows the sobriquet of ,old     
,coldfeet4 ,nothing surprised him2 he   

never lost his temper2 he laughed so    
seldom that the incident was noted and  
told to the neighbors2 his attitude was 
one of abstraction1 and when he spoke it
 was like a judge charging a jury with  
soda-water4  ,all his spare time was    
given up to whittling1 pounding1 sawing1
 and making mathematical calculations4  
,not all of his inventions were toys1   
for among other things he constructed a 
horseless carriage which was run by a   
crank and pumping device1 by the        
occupants4  ,the idea of the horseless  
carriage is a matter that has long been 
in the minds of inventors4  ,several    
men1 supremely great1 have tried their  
hands and head at it4 ,leibnitz worked  
at it2 ,swedenborg prophesied the       
automobile1 and made a carriage1 placing
 the horse inside1 and did not give up  
the scheme until the horse ran away with
 himself and demolished a year's work4  
,the government here interfered and     
placed an injunction against the making 
of any more such diabolical contrivances

 for the disturbance of the public      
peace4 ,all of which makes us believe   
that if either ,edison or ,marconi had  
lived two hundred years ago1 the        
bailiffs would have looked after them   
with the butt end of the law for the    
regulation of wizards and               
witches--wizards at ,menlo ,park being  
as bad as witches at ,salem4  ,newton's 
horseless carriage later came to grief  
in a similar way to ,swedenborg's       
invention--it worked so well and so fast
 that it turned a complete somersault   
into a ditch1 and its manipulation was  
declared to be a pastime more dangerous 
than football4  ,not all the things     
produced by ,isaac about this time were 
failures4 ,for instance1 among other    
things he made a table1 a chair and a   
cupboard for a young woman who was a    
fellow-boarder at the apothecary's4 ,the
 excellence of young ,newton's handiwork
 was shown in that the articles just    
mentioned outlasted both owner and      
maker4         99       99       99     

99       99  ,much of the reminiscence  
concerning the ,grantham days of ,sir   
,isaac ,newton comes from the fortunate 
owner of that historic old table1 chair 
and cupboard4 ,this was ,mary ,story1   
who was later ,mrs4 ,vincent4  ,miss    
,story was the same age as ,isaac4 ,she 
was just eighteen when the furniture was
 made roycroftie--she was a young lady1 
grown1 and wore a dress with a train2   
moreover1 she had been to ,london and   
had been courted by a widower1 while    
,isaac ,newton was only a lad in        
roundabouts4  ,age counts for little--it
 is experience and temperament that     
weigh in the scale4 ,isaac was only a   
little boy1 and ,mary ,story treated him
 like one4 ,and here seems a good place 
to quote what ,doctor ,charcot said1 ,in
 arranging the formula for a great man1 
make sure you delay adolescence3        
rareripes rot early4  ,isaac and ,mary  
became very good chums1 and used to     
ramble the woods together hand in hand1 
in a way that must have frightened them 

both had they been on the same psychic  
plane4 ,isaac had about the same regard 
for her that he might have had for a    
dear maiden aunt who would mend his old 
socks and listen patiently1 pretending  
to be interested when he talked of      
parallelograms and prismatic spectra4   
,but evidently ,mary ,story thought of  
him with a thrill1 for she stoutly      
resented the boys calling him ,coldfeet4
  ,in due time ,isaac gravitated to     
,cambridge4 ,mary mooed a wee1 but soon 
consoled herself with a sure-enough     
lover1 and was married to ,mr4 ,vincent1
 a worthy man and true1 but one who had 
not sufficient soul-caloric to make her 
forget her ,isaac4  ,this friendship    
with ,mary ,story is often spoken of as 
the one love-affair in the life of ,sir 
,isaac ,newton4 ,it was all prosily     
,platonic on his part1 but as ,mary     
lived out her life at ,grantham1 and    
,sir ,isaac ,newton used to go there    
occasionally1 and when he did1 always   
called upon her1 the relationship was   

certainly noteworthy4  ,the only break  
in that lifelong friendship occurred    
when each was past fifty4  ,sir ,isaac  
,newton was paying his little yearly    
call at ,grantham2 and was seated in a  
rustic arbor by the side of ,mrs4       
,vincent1 now grown gray1 and the mother
 of a goodly brood1 well grown up4 ,as  
they thus sat talking of days agone1 his
 thoughts wandered off upon quadratic   
equations1 and to aid his mind in       
following the thread1 he absent-mindedly
 lighted his pipe1 and smoked in        
silence4 ,as the tobacco died low1 he   
gazed about for a convenient utensil to 
use in pushing the ashes down in the    
bowl of his pipe4 ,looking down he saw  
the lady's hand resting upon his knee1  
and he straightway utilized the         
forefinger of his vis-a-vis4 ,a         
suppressed feminine screech followed1   
but the fires of friendship were not    
quenched by so slight an incident1 which
 ,mrs4 ,vincent knew grew out of        
temperament1 and not from wrong intent4 

,she lived to be eighty-five1 and to the
 day of her death caressed the scar--the
 cicatrice of a love-wound4 ,all of     
which seems to prove that old women can 
be quite as absurd as young             
ones--goodness me6         99       99  
99       99       99  ,when ,isaac was  
eighteen1 ,master ,stokes was so well   
impressed with his star scholar that he 
called in the young lad's uncle1 the    
,reverend ,mr4 ,ayscough1 and insisted  
that the boy be sent to ,cambridge4 ,the
 uncle being a ,cambridge man himself   
thought this the proper thing to do4    
,on ,june ,fifth1 ,sixteen ,hundred     
,sixty-one1 ,isaac presented his        
credentials from his uncle and ,mr4     
,stokes1 and was duly entered in        
,trinity ,college as a subsizar1 which  
means that he was admitted on suspicion4
 ,a part of the duties of a subsizar was
 to clean boots1 scrub floors and       
perform various other delightful tasks  
which everybody else evaded4  ,to be at 
,trinity ,college in any capacity was   

paradise for this boy4 ,he thirsted for 
knowledge3 to know1 to do1 to           
perform--these things were his desire4  
,he had been brought up to work1 anyway1
 and to a country boy toil is no        
punishment4 ,i knew that if worse came  
to worst ,i could get work in the town  
making furniture and earn a man's wage1 
he said4  ,in a month he had passed his 
first examinations and was made a sizar4
 ,before this he had been fag to        
everybody1 but now he was fag to the    
,seniors only4 ,he not only made their  
beds and cleaned their rooms1 but also  
worked their examples in mathematics1   
and thus commanded their respect4       
,once1 being called upon in class to    
recite from ,euclid1 he declined and    
shocked the professor by saying1 ,it is 
a trifling book--,i have mastered it and
 thrown it aside4 ,and it was no idle   
boast--he knew the book as the professor
 did not4 ,when he arrived at           
,cambridge1 he carried in his box a copy
 of ,sanderson's ,logic presented to him

 by his uncle--the uncle having no use  
for it4 ,it happened to be one of the   
textbooks in use at ,trinity4 ,when     
,isaac heard lectures on ,sanderson he  
found he knew the book a deal better    
than the tutor1 a thing the tutor       
shortly acknowledged before the class4  
,this caused young ,mr4 ,newton to stand
 out as a prodigy4 ,usually students    
have to rap for admittance to the higher
 classes1 but now the teachers came and 
sought him out4 ,one professor told him 
he was about to take up ,kepler's       
,optics with some post-graduate         
students--would young ,mr4 ,newton come 
in8 ,isaac begged to be excused until he
 could examine the book4 ,the volume was
 loaned to him4 ,he tore the vitals out 
of it and digested them4 ,when the      
lectures began1 he declined to go       
because he had mastered the subject as  
far as ,kepler carried it4  ,genius     
seems to consist in the ability to      
concentrate your rays and focus them on 
one point4 ,isaac ,newton could do it4  

,on a ,winter day ,i took a small glass 
and so centered the sun's rays that ,i  
burned a hole in my coat1 he wrote in   
his subsizar journal4  ,the youth       
possessed an imperturbable coolness3 he 
talked little1 but when he spoke it was 
very frankly and honestly4 ,from any    
other his words would have had a        
presumptuous and boastful sound4 ,as it 
was he was respected and beloved4 ,at   
,cambridge his face and features        
commended him3 he looked like another   
,cambridge man1 one ,milton--,john      
,milton--only his face was a little more
 stern in its expression than that of   
the author of ,paradise ,lost4  ,in two 
years' time ,isaac ,newton was a scholar
 of whom all ,cambridge knew4 ,he had   
prepared able essays on the squaring of 
curved and crooked lines1 on errors in  
grinding lenses and the methods of      
rectifying them1 and in the extraction  
of roots where the cubes were imperfect3
 he had done things never before        
attempted by his teachers4 ,when they   

called upon him to recite1 it was only  
for the purpose of explaining truths    
which they had not mastered4  ,in       
,sixteen ,hundred ,sixty-four1 being in 
his twenty-second year1 ,isaac ,newton  
was voted a free scholarship1 which     
provided for board1 books and tuition4  
,on this occasion he was examined in    
,euclid by ,doctor ,barrow1 the ,head   
,master of ,trinity4  ,newton could     
solve every problem1 but could not      
explain why or how4 ,his methods were   
empirical--those of his own4  ,many men 
with a modicum of mathematical genius   
work in this way1 and in practical life 
the plan may serve all right4 ,but now  
it was shown to ,newton that a schoolman
 must not only know how to work out     
great problems1 but also why he goes at 
it in a certain way2 otherwise1 colleges
 are vain--we must be able to pass our  
knowledge along4 ,the really great man  
is one who knows the rules and then     
forgets them1 just as the painter of    
supreme merit must be a realist before  

he evolves into an impressionist4       
,newton now acknowledged his mistake in 
reference to ,euclid1 and set to work to
 master the rules4 ,this graciousness in
 accepting advice1 and the willingness  
to admit his lapse1 if he had been      
hasty1 won for him not only the         
scholarship1 but also the love of his   
superiors4 ,milton was a radical who    
made enemies1 but ,newton was a radical 
who made friends4 ,he avoided           
iconoclasm1 left all matters of theology
 to the specialists1 and accepted the   
,church as a necessary part of society4 
,his care not to offend fixed his place 
in ,cambridge for life4  ,it was        
,cambridge that fostered and encouraged 
his first budding experiments2 it was   
there he was sustained in his mightiest 
hazards2 and it was within her walls    
that the ripe fruit of his genius was   
garnered and gathered4 ,when his fame   
had become national and he was called to
 higher offices than ,cambridge         
supplied1 ,cambridge watched his career 

with the loving interest of a mother1   
and the debt of love he fully paid1 for 
it was very largely through his name and
 fame that ,cambridge first took her    
place as one of the great schools of the
 world4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,newton took his degree of 
,bachelor of ,arts at ,cambridge1 in    
,january1 in the year ,sixteen ,hundred 
,sixty-five4 ,the faculty of ,trinity   
would not even consider his leaving the 
college3 he was as valuable to them as  
he would be now if he were a famous     
football-player4 ,besides the           
scholarship1 there were ways provided so
 he could earn money by private tutoring
 and giving lectures in the absence of  
the professors4  ,he had written his    
essay on fluxions1 described their      
application to fluents and tangents1 and
 devised a plan for finding the radius  
of curvity in crooked lines4 ,in ,august
 of the same year that ,newton was given
 his degree1 the college was dismissed  
on account of an epidemic1 and ,newton  

went home to ,woolsthorpe to kill time4 
,in ,september1 ,sixteen ,hundred       
,sixty-five1 he then being twenty-three1
 while seated in his mother's garden1   
,newton saw that storied apple fall4    
,what pulled it down8 ,some force       
tugging at it1 surely6  ,galileo had    
experimented with falling bodies1 and   
had proved that the weight and size of a
 falling body had nothing to do with its
 velocity1 save as its size and shape   
might be affected by the friction of the
 atmosphere4 ,the first person to put   
into print the story of the falling     
apple was ,voltaire1 whose sketch of    
,newton is a little classic which the   
world could ill afford to lose4 ,adam1  
,william ,tell and ,isaac ,newton each  
had his little affair with an apple1 but
 with different results4  ,the falling  
apple suggested to ,newton that there   
was some power in the ground that was   
constantly pulling things toward the    
center of the earth4  ,this power       
extended straight down into the         

earth--he knew it--he had dropped a     
stone into a mine1 and had also dropped 
things from steeples4 ,he dropped apples
 from kites by an ingenious device of   
two strings1 and he concluded that an   
apple taken a hundred miles up in the   
air would return to earth4  ,he then    
began to speculate as to just what a    
body would do a thousand or ten thousand
 miles from the earth4 ,so high as we   
could go1 or as deep as we could dig1   
this drawing power was always present4  
,the ,law of ,gravitation6  ,if a       
cannon-ball was fired in a straight line
 at a distant target1 the gunner had to 
elevate the aim if he would hit the     
target1 for the ball described a curve  
and would keep dropping to the earth    
until it struck the ground4 ,something  
was pulling it down3 what was it8 ,the  
,law of ,gravitation6  ,the moon was    
attracted toward us and would surely    
fall into us1 but for the fact that     
there were other attractions drawing her
 toward them4 ,the movements of the     

planets were owing to the fact that they
 were obeying attractions4 ,they were   
moving in curves1 just like cannon-balls
 in motion4 ,they had two movements1    
also1 like the cannon-ball4  ,newton had
 noticed that the stars within a certain
 territory all moved in similar         
directions1 and so must be acted upon by
 the same influences4 ,the ,law of      
,gravitation6  ,it is held by many      
people in ,east ,aurora and elsewhere   
that ,newton's invention is a devilish  
device originated for the benefit of    
surgeons and crockery-dealers4 ,but this
 is not wholly true4  ,without this ,law
 of ,gravitation the ,earth could not   
retain her spherical shape3 only through
 this constant drawing in toward the    
center could she exist4  ,the other     
planets1 too1 must be round or they     
could not exist1 and so they also had   
this same quality of gravity in common  
with the ,earth--a drawing in of        
everything toward the center4 ,here was 
clearly a positive discovery--this      

similarity of the heavenly bodies6      
,every one of the heavenly bodies was   
exerting a constant attraction toward   
all other heavenly bodies1 and this     
attractive power must be in proportion  
to the distance they were from the      
object acted upon4 ,thus were their     
movements and orbits accounted for4  ,at
 this time ,newton was perfectly        
familiar with ,kepler's ,law1 that the  
squares of the periodic times of a      
planet were as the cubes of its distance
 from the sun4 ,and from this1 he       
inferred that the attraction varied as  
the square of the planet's distance from
 the sun4  ,here he was working on      
territory that had never been surveyed4 
,at first1 in his exuberance1 he thought
 to figure out the size and weight of   
each planet quickly by measuring its    
attractive power4 ,he did not realize   
that he had cut out for himself work    
that would require many men and several 
centuries to cover1 but surely he was on
 the right scent--a finite man keen upon

 the secrets of the ,infinite6  ,he was 
still at his mother's old home in the   
country1 without scientific apparatus or
 the stimulus of colleagues1 when we    
find by a record in his journal that    
antique groan because there were only   
twenty-four hours in a day1 and that    
eight were required for sleep and eight 
more for recreation6  ,a subject a      
little nearer home than planetary       
attraction had now switched him off from
 measuring and weighing the stars4 ,he  
was hard at work in his mother's little 
sitting-room1 with the windows darkened1
 much to that good woman's perplexity4  
,by shutting out all light from the     
windows and allowing the sun's rays to  
enter by a little1 circular aperture1 he
 had gotten the sunlight captured and   
tamed where he could study it4 ,this ray
 of light he examined with a small      
hand-glass he himself had made4 ,in     
looking at the ray1 quite accidentally1 
he found it could be deflected and sent 
off at will in various directions4 ,when

 thrown on the wall1 instead of being   
simply white light it had seven distinct
 colors beginning with violet and       
running down to red4 ,so white light was
 not a single element3 it was made up of
 various rays which had to be united in 
order to give us sunlight4  ,eureka6 ,he
 had found the secret of the            
rainbow--the sun's rays broken up and   
separated by the refracting agency of   
clouds6  ,well does ,darwin declare that
 the separation of sunlight into its    
component parts1 and the invention of   
the spectrum1 have marked an advance in 
man's achievement such as the world had 
not seen since the time of              
wonder-working ,archimedes4         99  
99       99       99       99  ,the     
,cambridge ,university was closed until 
,october1 year of ,sixteen ,hundred     
,sixty-seven4 ,most of the intervening  
time ,newton spent at the home of his   
mother1 but from accounts of his we can 
see that the ,college people kept their 
eagle-eye upon him1 for they sent       

remittances to him regularly for        
commons4  ,when he returned to          
,cambridge he was assigned to the       
spiritual chamber1 which was a room next
 to the chapel1 that had formerly been  
reserved as a guest-room for visiting   
dignitaries4  ,in ,march1 ,sixteen      
,hundred ,sixty-eight1 he was given the 
degree of ,master of ,arts4 ,his studies
 now were of a very varied kind4 ,he was
 required to give one lecture a week on 
any subject of his own choosing4        
,needless to say his themes were all    
mathematical or scientific4 ,just what  
they were can best be inferred by       
consulting his cashbook1 since the      
lectures themselves were not written out
 and all memoranda concerning them have 
disappeared4 ,this account-book shows   
that his expenditures were for a        
,gunter's ,book 7he who invented the    
,gunter's ,chain71 a magnet and a       
compass1 glue1 bulbs1 putty1 antimony1  
vinegar1 white lead1 salts of tartar1   
and lenses4  ,and in addition there are 

a few interesting items such as one sees
 in the ,diary of ,george ,washington3  
,lost at cards1 five shillings4         
,treating at tavern1 ten shillings4     
,binding my ,bible1 three shillings4    
,spent on my cousin1 one pound1 two4    
,expenses for wetting my degree1 sixteen
 shillings4  ,the last item shows that  
times have changed but little3 this     
scientist and philosopher par excellence
 had to moisten his diploma at the      
tavern for the benefit of good fellows  
who little guessed with whom they drank4
  ,he also had poor relations come to   
visit him2 and it is significant that   
while there are various items showing   
where he lost money at cards1 there are 
no references to any money won at the   
same business1 from which we infer that 
while there was no one at ,cambridge who
 could follow him in his studies1 there 
yet were those who could deal themselves
 better hands when it came to the       
pasteboards4  ,evidently he got         
discouraged at playing cards1 for after 

the year ,sixteen ,hundred ,sixty-eight1
 there are no more items of treating at 
the tavern or lost at cards4 ,the boys  
had tried to educate him1 but had not   
succeeded4 ,in card exploitations he    
fell a victim of arrested development4  
,i suppose it will not cause any one a  
shock to be told that the greatest      
thinker of all time was not exactly a   
perfect man4  ,so let the truth be known
 that throughout his life ,newton had a 
well-defined strain of superstitious    
belief running through his character4   
,he never quite relinquished the idea of
 transmutation of metals1 and at times  
astrology was quite as interesting to   
him as astronomy4  ,in writing to a     
friend who was about to pay a long visit
 to the mines of ,hungary1 he says1     
,examine most carefully and ascertain   
just how and under what conditions      
,nature transforms iron into copper and 
copper into silver and gold4  ,in his   
laboratory he had specimens of iron ore 
that contained copper1 and also samples 

of copper ore that contained gold1 and  
from this he argued that these metals   
were transmutable1 and really in the act
 of transmutation when the process was  
interfered with by the miner's pick4    
,he had transformed a liquid into a mass
 of solid crystals instantly1 and all of
 the changes possible in light1 which he
 had discovered1 had enlarged his faith 
to a point where he declared1 ,nothing  
is impossible4  ,it is somewhat curious 
that ,isaac ,newton1 who had no soft    
sex-sentiment in his nature1 quite      
unlike ,galileo1 still believed in      
alchemy and astrology1 while ,galileo's 
cold intellect at once perceived the    
fallacy of these things4  ,galileo also 
saw at once that for the sun to stand   
still at ,joshua's command would really 
mean that the ,earth must cease her     
motion1 since the object desired was to 
prolong the day4 ,sir ,isaac ,newton1   
who discovered the ,law of ,gravitation1
 yet believed that at the command of a  
barbaric chieftain1 this ,law was       

arrested1 and that all planetary        
attraction was made to cease while he   
fought the ,philistines for the         
possession of pasture-land to which he  
had no title4  ,galileo did not know as 
much as ,newton about planetary         
attraction1 but very early in his career
 he perceived that the ,bible was not a 
book that could be relied upon          
technically4  ,with ,newton the ,bible  
presented no difficulties4 ,he regularly
 attended church and took part in the   
ritual4 ,religion was one thing and his 
daily work another4 ,he kept his        
religion as completely separate from his
 life as did ,gladstone1 who believed   
the ,mosaic account of ,creation was    
literally true1 and yet had a clear1    
cool1 calculating head for facts4  ,the 
greatest financial exploiter in ,america
 today is an ,orthodox ,christian1      
taking an active part in missionary work
 and the spread of the ,gospel4  ,in his
 family he is gentle1 kind and tender2  
he is a good neighbor1 a punctilious    

churchgoer1 a leader in ,sunday-,school1
 and a considerate teacher of little    
children4  ,in business relations he is 
as conscienceless as ,tamerlane1 who    
built a mountain of skulls as a monument
 to himself4 ,he is cold1 calculating1  
and if opposed1 vindictive4 ,on occasion
 he is absolutely without heart3        
compassion1 mercy or generosity are not 
then in his make-up4  ,the best lawyers 
procurable are paid princely sums to    
study for him the penal code1 and       
legislatures have even revised it for   
his benefit4 ,eviction1 destruction1    
suicide and insanity have even trod in  
his train4 ,a picture of him makes you  
think of that dark and gloomy canvas    
where ,csar1 ,alexander and ,napoleon   
ride slowly side by side through a sea  
of stiffened corpses4 ,bribery1         
coercion1 violence and even murder have 
been this man's weapons4 ,he is the     
richest man in ,america4 ,and yet1 as ,i
 said in the beginning1 all this        
represents only one side of his nature3 

he reads his chapter in the ,bible each 
evening by his family fireside1 and     
tenderly kisses his grandchildren       
good-night4  ,the individual who        
imagines that embezzlers are all riotous
 in nature1 and by habit are            
spendthrifts1 does not know humanity4   
,the embezzler is one man2 the model    
citizen another1 and yet both souls     
reside in the one body4  ,nero had a    
passion for pet pigeons1 and the birds  
used to come at his call1 perch on his  
shoulder and take dainty crumbs from his
 lips4  ,the natures of some men are    
divided up into water-tight             
compartments4 ,sir ,isaac ,newton kept  
his religion in one compartment1 and his
 science in another--they never got     
together4  ,voltaire has said1 ,when    
,sir ,isaac ,newton discovered the ,law 
of ,gravitation he excited the envy of  
the learned men of the world2 but they  
more than got even with him when he     
wrote a book on the prophecies of the   
,bible4         99       99       99    

99       99  ,when ,newton was only     
twenty-seven years old he was elected   
the ,lucasian ,professor of ,mathematics
 at ,trinity1 an office that carried    
with it a goodly salary and also very   
much honor4 ,never before had so young a
 man held this chair4  ,newton was a    
pioneer in announcing the physical      
properties of light4  ,every village    
photographer now fully understands this1
 but when ,newton first proclaimed it he
 created a whirlwind of disapproval4    
,when a man at that time put forth an   
unusual thought1 it was regarded as a   
challenge4 ,teachers and professors all 
over ,great ,britain1 and also in       
,germany and ,france1 at once set about 
to show the fallacy of ,newton's        
conclusions4  ,newton had issued a      
pamphlet with diagrams showing how to   
study light1 and the apparatus was so   
simple and cheap that the ,newton       
experiments were tried everywhere in    
schoolrooms4  ,people always combat a   
new idea when first presented1 and so   

,newton found himself overwhelmed with  
correspondence4  ,cheap arguments were  
fired into ,cambridge in volleys4 ,these
 were backed up by quibbling men--,pro  
,bono ,publico1 ,veritas and ,old       
,subscriber--men incapable of following 
,newton's scientific mind4 ,in his great
 good-nature and patience ,newton       
replied to his opponents at length4     
,his explanations were construed into   
proof that he was not sure of his       
ground4 ,one man challenged him to      
debate the matter publicly1 and we hear 
of his going up to ,london1 king that he
 was1 to argue with a commoner4  ,such  
terms as falsifier1 upstart1 pretender1 
were freely used1 and poor ,newton for a
 time was almost in despair4  ,he had   
thought that the world was anxious for  
truth6 ,some of his fellow-professors   
now touched their foreheads and shook   
their heads ominously as he passed4 ,he 
had gone so far beyond them that the    
cries of whoa6 were unnoticed4  ,it is  
here worth noting that the universal    

fame of ,sir ,isaac ,newton was brought 
about by his rancorous enemies1 and not 
by his loving friends4 ,gentle1 honest1 
simple and direct as was his nature1 he 
experienced notoriety before he knew    
fame4  ,to the world at large he was a  
wizard and a juggler before he was      
acknowledged a teacher of truth--a man  
of science4  ,when the dust of conflict 
concerning ,newton's announcement of the
 qualities of light had somewhat        
subsided1 he turned to his former       
discovery1 the ,law of ,gravitation1 and
 bent his mighty mind upon it4 ,the     
influence of the moon upon the ,earth1  
the tilt of the ,earth1 the flattening  
of the poles1 the recurring tides1 the  
size1 weight and distance of the        
planets1 now occupied ,newton's         
attention4 ,and to study these phenomena
 properly1 he had to construct special  
and peculiar apparatus4  ,in ,sixteen   
,hundred ,eighty-seven the results of   
his discoveries were brought together in
 one great book1 the ,principia4 ,newton

 was forty-five years old then4  ,he was
 still the ,cambridge professor1 but was
 well known in political circles in     
,london on account of having been sent  
there at various times to represent the 
,university in a legal way4  ,his       
diplomatic success led to his being     
elected a member of ,parliament4 ,among 
other great men whom he met in ,london  
was ,samuel ,pepys1 who kept a diary and
 therein recorded various important     
nothings about ,mr4 ,isaac ,newton of   
,cambridge--a schoolteacher of degree1  
with a great dignity of manner and      
pleasing ,countenance4 ,it seems ,newton
 thought so well of ,pepys that he wrote
 him several letters1 from which ,samuel
 gives us quotations4 ,pepys really     
claimed the honor of introducing ,newton
 into good society4  ,among others with 
whom ,newton made friends in ,parliament
 was ,mr4 ,montague1 who shortly        
afterward became ,secretary of the      
,exchequer4 ,montague made his friend   
,newton a ,warden of the ,mint1 with pay

 about double that which he had received
 while at ,cambridge4  ,in this public  
work ,newton brought such talent and    
diligence to bear that in ,sixteen      
,hundred ,ninety-seven he was made      
,master of the ,mint1 at a salary of    
fifteen hundred pounds a year--a        
princely sum in those days4  ,there is  
no doubt that the fact that ,newton was 
a devout ,churchman and an upholder of  
the ,established ,order was a great1    
although perhaps unconscious1 diplomatic
 move4  ,his delightful                 
personality--gracious1 suave1 dignified 
and silent--won for him admiration      
wherever he would go4 ,in argument his  
fine reserve and excellent temper were  
most convincing4 ,had he turned his     
attention to the law he would have      
become ,chief ,justice of ,england4  ,in
 ,seventeen ,hundred ,three he was      
elected ,president of the ,royal        
,society1 an office he held continuously
 for twenty-five years1 and which tenure
 was only terminated by his death4  ,in 

,seventeen ,hundred ,five the ,queen    
visited ,cambridge1 and there with much 
pageantry bestowed the honor of         
,knighthood which changed ,professor    
,newton into ,sir ,isaac ,newton4  ,but 
the man himself was still the simple1   
modest gentleman4 ,the title did not    
spoil him--he was a noble man from      
boyhood4  ,his duties as ,master of the 
,mint did not interfere with his studies
 and scientific investigations4 ,he     
revised and rewrote his ,principia1 and 
in ,seventeen ,hundred ,thirteen the new
 edition was issued4 ,one copy was most 
sumptuously bound1 and ,sir ,isaac1 who 
was a special favorite at ,court1       
presented it in person to the ,queen4   
,those who are interested in such things
 may1 by applying to the ,curator of the
 ,british ,museum1 see and turn the     
leaves of this book1 reading the        
gracious inscription of the author1     
while a solemn man in brass buttons     
stands behind4  ,newton died ,march     
,twentieth1 ,seventeen ,hundred         

,twenty-seven1 at the age of            
eighty-five1 and was buried in          
,westminster ,abbey4  ,the verdict of   
humanity concerning ,sir ,isaac ,newton 
has been summed up for us thus by       
,laplace3 ,his work was pre-eminent     
above all other products of the human   
intellect4     ,illustration3 ,,galileo 
,,galileo        ,i am inclined to      
believe that the intention of the       
,sacred      ,scriptures is to give to  
mankind the information necessary for   
their salvation4       ,but ,i do not   
hold it necessary to believe that the   
same ,god who has      endowed us with  
senses1 with speech1 with intellect1    
intended that      we should neglect the
 use of these1 and seek by other means  
for      knowledge which these are      
sufficient to procure for us2 especially
      in a science like astronomy1 of   
which so little notice is taken by      
the ,scriptures that none of the        
planets1 except the sun and moon        
and once or twice only ,venus1 by the   

name of ,lucifer1 are so much      as   
named at all4       ,this therefore     
being granted1 methinks that in the     
discussion of      natural problems we  
ought not to begin at the authority of  
texts of      ,scriptures but at        
sensible experiments and necessary      
demonstrations4       --,galileo        
,,galileo  ,with the history of ,galileo
 and ,copernicus1 there is connected a  
man of such stern and withal striking   
individuality that the story of the rise
 and evolution of astronomy can not be  
told and this man's name left out4      
,giordano ,bruno was born in ,fifteen   
,hundred ,forty-eight4 ,his parents were
 obscure people1 and his childhood and  
early education are enveloped in        
mystery4 ,occasional passages in his    
writings refer to his sympathy for      
outcast children1 and he quotes the     
saying of ,jesus1 ,suffer little        
children to come unto me1 and forbid    
them not1 for of such is the ,kingdom of
 ,heaven4 ,he then refers to himself as 

having been a waif and robbed of the    
love that was his due1 the lawful1 legal
 heritage of every child1 sent without  
its consent into a world of struggle and
 strife1 where only love makes existence
 possible4  ,evidently1 the early life  
of ,bruno was a symbol and shadow of    
what ,fate held in store for him4  ,the 
first authentic knowledge we have of    
,bruno was when he was twenty-two years 
old4 ,he was then a ,dominican monk1 and
 he is brought to our attention because 
he distinguished himself by incurring   
the displeasure of his superiors4 ,his  
particular offense was that he had      
declared1 ,the infallibility of the     
,pope is only in matters spiritual1 and 
does not apply to the science of        
material things4  ,strangely enough1    
these words of ,bruno are almost        
identical with words recently expressed 
by ,cardinal ,satolli4  ,the difference 
in their reception is owing to a mere   
matter of a few hundred years4 ,truth is
 a question of time and place4 ,bruno   

was banished for his temerity1 and      
,satolli wears the red hat4 ,verily1    
yesterday's heresy is today's orthodoxy4
         99       99       99       99  
99  ,the attitude of the ,church toward 
the teachings of ,copernicus1 after the 
death of the man1 was one of patronizing
 pity4  ,instead of putting his great   
book1 ,revolutions of the ,heavenly     
,bodies1 on the ,index1 the wiser plan  
was adopted of paying no attention to   
it4 ,occasionally1 however1 the subject 
was broached by some incautious         
novitiate1 and then the custom was to   
treat the ,copernican ,theory as a mere 
hypothesis1 and its author as a mental  
defective4  ,bruno would not have it so4
 ,to him it was a very important matter 
whether the sun revolved around the     
earth as the priests taught1 or the     
earth revolved around the sun as set    
forth in the work of ,copernicus4 ,he   
came to the conclusion that ,copernicus 
was right1 and said so4  ,it was ordered
 that he should cease lecturing on the  

subject of astronomy and apply himself  
to spiritual matters4 ,he argued that he
 should be allowed to think and speak   
what he pleased about the stars1 since  
the whole matter was one of opinion1 and
 even the ,pope did not know1           
positively1 the final facts of          
astronomy1 and if the ,copernican       
,theory was a hypothesis1 so also was   
the ,ptolemaic ,theory held by the      
,church4  ,it will be seen that         
,copernicus and ,bruno were very        
different in temperament3 one was       
gentle1 diplomatic1 cautious2 the other 
was headstrong1 firm and full of        
argument4  ,bruno was given his choice3 
to cease the study of astronomy or to   
lay aside the ,dominican frock4 ,the    
hardihood of the young man was seen in  
that he unfrocked himself1 thinking that
 once outside of the order he was not   
responsible to a superior and could     
teach what he pleased1 so long as it was
 not heresy4  ,heresy is treason to the 
,church1 but ,bruno could not see how   

spiritual dogma could cover the facts of
 ,physical ,science1 since new facts    
were constantly being discovered1 and   
the material universe could only be     
understood by being studied4 ,he was too
 innocent to comprehend that a vast     
majority of the people believed that    
popes1 cardinals and priests knew       
everything1 and that when any branch of 
knowledge was questioned it placed the  
priests in doubt4 ,certainly the ,church
 has not opposed ,science--she has only 
opposed heresy4 ,but the curious fact is
 that advancing ,science has usually    
been to the ,church heretical4 ,when    
,bruno opposed anything that the priests
 taught1 he opposed the ,church4 ,he was
 warned to leave ,rome--his life was in 
danger4 ,he fled to ,geneva1 the home of
 ,calvin4  ,here he thought1 surely1 he 
could speak and write as he chose4 ,but 
alas6 ,protestantism cared even less    
about ,science than did the monks1 and  
heresy to ,john ,calvin was quite as    
serious a matter as it was to ,calvin's 

competitor1 the ,pope of ,rome4  ,the   
,protestants of ,geneva gave ,bruno     
scant attention2 they had never heard of
 ,copernicus1 and the movements of the  
stars were as nothing to them1 since the
 world was soon to come to an end4  ,the
 learned men were even then making      
mathematical calculations1 based on the 
prophecies of the ,old ,testament1 as to
 how soon the general destruction would 
take place4  ,bruno sought to argue them
 out of their childishness1 with the    
result that he got himself marked as an 
infidel and a dangerous man4  ,from     
,geneva he went to ,lyons1 then to      
,paris1 where his personality made      
itself felt1 and he was given a hearing 
at the ,university4 ,here he remained   
for several years1 when he went to      
,england1 arriving there in ,fifteen    
,hundred ,eighty-four1 the same year    
that a rustic by the name of ,william   
,shakespeare1 from ,stratford1 reached  
,london4 ,whether they ever met is      
doubtful4  ,bruno spoke five languages1 

and his polite accomplishments afforded 
him an immediate entry into the best    
circles of society4 ,he was entertained 
at the home of ,sir ,philip ,sidney1 and
 afterward carried on an extensive      
correspondence with this prince of      
gentlemen4 ,greville presented ,bruno to
 ,queen ,elizabeth1 who invited him to  
lecture at the ,court on his favorite   
theme4  ,this he did1 and it is quite   
probable that the noble lords and ladies
 left calls so they could be awakened   
when the lecture was over and           
congratulate the speaker of the evening 
on his effort4  ,at ,oxford there were  
disputations where ,bruno's faultless   
,latin impressed the pedants much more  
than did his argument1 so they offered  
him a position as ,professor of         
,languages1 but this he smilingly       
declined1 excusing himself on the       
grounds that he had important business  
on the ,continent3 and he had4 ,already 
they were collecting fagots for his     
benefit4  ,he returned to ,paris and    

began his lecturing on ,science4 ,his   
arguments had convinced one person at   
least1 and that was himself1 that as the
 ,church knew nothing of ,physical      
,science1 why1 possibly it stood in a   
like position regarding spiritual truth4
 ,that is to say1 the so-called sacred  
truths were mere assumptions piled up to
 satisfy the people1 and the ignorance  
and superstition of the many marked high
 water for the teaching of the priests4 
,the business of the ,church was to     
satisfy the people1 and not enlighten   
them1 for if the people became          
enlightened enough they would see that  
they did not need the ,church1 and then 
where were the honors and the riches and
 the red hats6  ,bruno cleared his mind 
of its cobwebs by expression1 just as we
 all do--that is what expression is for4
  ,the people really dictate to the     
priests what they shall teach2 moreover1
 the people absolutely refuse to listen 
to anything in which they do not        
believe1 and decline to pay for         

preaching that is not done to their own 
dictation4 ,the business1 then1 of the  
,church is to study carefully the       
ignorance of the people and conform to  
it4 ,on this one thing does its         
stability depend4 ,therefore it must1 as
 a matter of self-preservation1 suppress
 any chance intellect that is ahead of  
its time1 lest this man honeycomb the   
whole structure of churchly dogma4      
,bruno said that1 just as the world     
seemed to stand still and the stars move
 around us1 so did the ,church seem to  
most people a fixed fact4 ,but exactly  
the opposite was true2 the ,church moves
 as the people move1 and unless men     
outside of the ,church educate the      
people1 or the people educate           
themselves1 they will forever remain in 
darkness4  ,bruno offered to debate the 
question publicly with the ,bishop of   
,paris4 ,that worthy was no match for   
,bruno in point of oratory1 but when we 
can not answer a man's reasons1 all is  
not lost1 for we can at least call him  

vile names1 and this is often quite as  
effectual as logic4  ,the ,bishop       
launched a fusillade of theological     
lyddite at ,bruno1 declaring that any   
,churchman who would so much as hold    
converse with such a wretch was         
disgraced forever1 and that the         
propositions ,bruno wished to argue were
 unthinkable to a self-respecting man4  
,he declared that it was only the mercy 
of ,god that kept the lightning from    
striking ,bruno dead as he wrote his    
heresies4  ,matters were getting        
strained1 and the authorities1 fearing  
insurrection1 acted upon the advice of  
the good ,bishop and expelled ,bruno    
from ,france4 ,he went to ,wittenberg1  
in his innocence1 intending to tack on  
the church-door there his theses4 ,but  
,wittenberg had no use for ,bruno--he   
believed too much1 or too little1       
,luther could not tell which4  ,the     
,university of ,zurich now offered to   
let the exile come there and teach what 
he wished4 ,thither he journeyed and    

there his restless mind seemed for the  
first time to find a home4 ,his writings
 were slowly making head1 and around him
 there clustered a goodly group of      
students who believed in him and loved  
him4  ,in the midst of this oasis in a  
troubled life1 word came from some of   
the old-time friends he had known in    
,rome4 ,they were now in ,venice1 and   
wished to have him come there and       
lecture4 ,bruno thought that his little 
leaven was leavening the whole lump--he 
was not without ambition--he was        
flattered by the invitation4 ,he        
accepted it and went to ,venice4  ,it   
was simply a ruse to get the man within 
striking distance4 ,very soon after his 
arrival in ,venice he was arrested by   
agents of the ,inquisition and secretly 
taken to ,rome4 ,he was lodged in a     
dungeon of the ,castle ,saint ,angelo4  
,just what his experience was there we  
can not say--the horrors of it all are  
not ours1 for no friend of ,bruno's was 
allowed to approach1 and what he there  

wrote was destroyed4  ,we do know1      
however1 that he was asked to recant1   
and we know he refused4 ,we also know   
that he repeated his heresies and hurled
 back into the teeth of his accusers the
 invective they heaped upon him4        
,bribery1 persuasion1 threat and torture
 were tried in turn1 but all in vain1   
for ,bruno would not swerve4 ,unlike    
,savonarola his quivering flesh could   
not wring from his heart an apology4    
,he scorned the rack and thumbscrew1    
declaring they could not reach his soul4
 ,he knew that death would be the end2  
he prayed for it1 and even thought to   
hasten it by an aggravating manner and  
harshness of speech toward his captors1 
seemingly quite unnecessary4  ,for seven
 long years he was in prison4 ,he was   
burned alive on the ,seventh of         
,february1 ,sixteen ,hundred1 aged      
fifty-two4  ,when bound to the stake he 
turned his face from the crucifix that  
was held before him1 and sought to kiss 
the fagots4 ,his ashes were thrown to   

the four winds4 ,thus perished ,bruno4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,in the year ,fifteen ,hundred          
,sixty-four1 ,galileo ,galilei was born2
 consequently1 he was thirty-six years  
old when ,bruno was executed4 ,he had   
known ,bruno1 had attended many of his  
lectures1 and had followed his career   
with interest2 and while he agreed with 
him concerning the ,copernican theory of
 the earth's revolution1 he took        
exceptions to ,bruno's arbitrary ways of
 presenting the matter1 and also to his 
scathing criticisms of theology4 ,at    
this time ,galileo could not see that   
the extravagant words of ,bruno were    
largely forced from him by the violence 
of the opposition he had encountered4   
,galileo fully believed that ,bruno had 
been put to death for treason to the    
,church1 and not on account of his      
astronomical teachings4  ,these men had 
come up from totally different stations 
in life4 ,bruno was a man of the        
people--a self-made man--who bore upon  

his person the marks of the hammer4     
,galileo was of noble blood1 and traced 
an ancestry to a ,gonfalonier of        
,florence4 ,from early infancy he had   
enjoyed association with polite persons1
 and had sat on the knees of greatness4 
,when eighteen he was graduated from the
 ,university of ,pisa2 and at that early
 age his family and friends were        
comparing him1 not without reason1 to a 
,genius who had come out of ,tuscany    
some years before1 ,leonardo da ,vinci4 
,parents either exaggerate the talents  
of their children or else belittle them4
 ,the woman who bore ,george ,gordon    
called him that lame brat2 but we call  
him ,the ,poet ,byron4  ,benjamin       
,franklin ran away from home1 and his   
family thought themselves disgraced by  
his printed utterances4 ,george         
,washington's mother1 after being told  
that her son had been made              
,commander-in-,chief1 laughed knowingly 
and said1 ,they don't know him as well  
as ,i do6 ,voltaire's father posted his 

son as irresponsible1 tied up a legacy  
so the scapegrace could not waste it1   
invested good money in daily prayers to 
be said for the scapegrace's salvation1 
and then died of a broken heart1 just as
 play-actors do on the stage1 only this 
man died sure enough4 ,alfred ,tennyson 
at thirteen wrote a poem addressed to   
his grandfather2 the old gentleman gave 
him a guinea for it1 and then wrote     
these words3 ,this is the first and last
 penny you will ever receive for writing
 poetry4 ,the father of ,shelley        
misquoted ,job1 and said1 ,oh1 to be    
brought down to the grave in grief      
through the follies of an ungrateful    
child6 ,and ,labouchere says that one of
 the four brothers of ,shakespeare used 
to explain that he wasn't the play-actor
 who wrote ,hamlet and ,othello1 lest1  
mayhap1 his name should be smirched4    
,galileo's mother had that beautiful    
dream which ,i believe all good mothers 
have3 that her son might be the savior  
of the world4 ,as he grew to manhood1   

her faith in him did not relax4  ,in    
childhood ,galileo showed great skill in
 invention4 ,he made curious toys with  
cogs and wheels and eccentrics2 whittled
 out violins1 and transformed simple    
reeds into lutes1 upon which he played  
music of his own composition4 ,in fact1 
so great was his skill in music that at 
twenty they wished to make him official 
organist and choirmaster of the         
,cathedral4 ,his personal taste1        
however1 ran more to painting2 for some 
months he worked at his canvases with an
 ardor too great to last long4 ,if ever 
a man was touched by the ,spirit of the 
,renaissance1 it was surely young       
,galileo4 ,the ,archbishop of ,pisa     
said1 ,upon him has fallen the mantle of
 ,michelangelo4  ,he gave lectures on   
,art1 and taught ,painting by actual    
example4 ,one of his pupils1 and a great
 artist1 ,lodovico ,cigoli1 always      
maintained that it was to the           
inspiration and counsel of ,galileo that
 he owed his success4  ,there are really

 only two things to see at ,pisa3 one is
 the ,leaning ,tower1 from which        
,galileo with his line and plummet made 
some of his most interesting            
experiments2 and the other is the       
,cathedral where the visitor beholds the
 great bronze lamp that is suspended    
from the vaulted ceiling4 ,when he was  
about twenty-one1 sitting in the silence
 of this church 7which the passing years
 have only made more beautiful71 he     
noticed that there was a slight swinging
 motion to this lamp--it was never      
still4 ,galileo set to work timing and  
measuring these oscillations1 and he    
found that they were always done in     
exact measure and in perfect rhythm4    
,this led1 some years later1 to         
perfecting an astronomical clock for    
measuring movements of the stars4 ,and  
from this was originated the            
pendulum-clock1 where before we had     
depended on sundials4  ,the endeavor of 
,galileo's parents had been to keep him 
ignorant of mathematics and practical   

life1 that he might blossom forth as a  
saint who would sing and play and make  
pictures like those of ,leonardo1 and   
carve statues like ,michelangelo1 only  
better4  ,but parents plan1 and ,fate   
disposes4  ,in ,fifteen ,hundred        
,eighty-three1 ,ostilio ,ricci1 the     
famous mathematician1 chanced to be in  
,pisa1 on his way from ,rome to ,milan1 
and gave a lecture at the ,court1 on    
,geometry4  ,galileo was not interested 
in the theme1 but he was in the speaker1
 and so he attended the lecture4  ,this 
action proved one of the pivotal points 
in his life4  ,whether other people     
really teach us anything1 is a question1
 says ,stanley ,hall2 but they do       
sometimes give us impulses1 and make us 
find out for ourselves4  ,ricci made    
,galileo find out for himself4  ,he     
turned to ,archimedes from ,plato4      
,geometry became a passion1 and a very  
wise man has told us that we never      
accomplish anything1 either good or bad1
 without passion4 ,passion means one    

hundred pounds of steam on the boiler1  
with love sitting on the safety-valve1  
when the blow-off is set for fifty4  ,it
 surely is risky business1 ,i will      
admit2 accidents will occur occasionally
 and explosions sometimes happen1 but   
everything is risky1 even life1 since   
few get out of it alive4  ,and so1 to   
drop back to the original proposition1  
nothing great and sublime is ever done  
without passion4  ,galileo had his      
mechanical whooping-cough1 musical      
mumps1 artistic measles1 and now the    
hectic flush of mathematics burned on   
his cheeks4 ,he talked and dreamed      
mathematics4  ,euclid was in the saddle4
  ,ricci became interested in the       
talented young scholar and remained     
longer at ,pisa than he had intended1   
that they might sit up all night and    
surprise the rising sun1 discussing     
beauties of dimensions and the wonders  
of dynamics4  ,together they went to    
,florence1 where ,ricci introduced his  
pupil as a pedagogic sample of the      

goods1 just as ,booker ,washington      
usually takes with him on his travels a 
few ebony homo bricks as his specimens  
from ,tuskegee4  ,the beauty and the    
grace of ,galileo's speech and presence 
put the abstract ,ricci in the shadow4  
,the right man can make anything        
interesting1 just as ,dean ,swift could 
write an entrancing essay with the      
broomstick as a central theme4 ,the     
man's the thing1 ,hamlet to the         
contrary1 notwithstanding4  ,galileo    
knew the ,florentine heart1 and so he   
gave lectures on a ,florentine3 one     
,dante1 who loved a girl named          
,beatrice4  ,the young ,pisan drew      
diagrams of ,dante's ,inferno--and      
surely it was nobody's else4 ,he gave   
its size1 height1 weight1 and told how  
to reach it4  ,he gave lectures on the  
,hydrostatic ,balance and the ,centers  
of ,gravity1 and then published them as 
serials4  ,the ,florentines crowned him 
with bay and enthusiastically proclaimed
 him1 ,the ,modern ,archimedes4         

99       99       99       99       99  
,pisa now put forth efforts to have her 
gifted son come home4 ,there was always 
rivalry between ,pisa and ,florence4    
,pisa could not afford to supply        
,florence her men of genius--let her    
depend upon production from home1 or go 
without4  ,galileo became ,professor of 
,mathematics at the ,university of      
,pisa1 a life position1 or at least one 
he could hold during good behavior4     
,one of the time-honored dictums of the 
day was that falling bodies fell with a 
velocity proportioned to their weight4  
,the question was first thrashed out in 
the classroom2 and after ,galileo had   
slyly gotten all of these scientific    
wiseacres to commit themselves1 he      
invited them1 with their students1 to   
the ,leaning ,tower4  ,then he proved by
 ocular demonstrations that they were   
positively wrong4  ,it is very beautiful
 to teach ,truth1 but error should not  
be corrected with too much eclat4 ,if   
the love of ,truth1 alone1 was the      

guiding impulse of ,galileo1 he might   
have secretly explained his theory to   
one of the wiseacres1 and this wiseacre 
could have casually demonstrated it1 so 
all the rest could have said1 ,that is  
what we always knew and taught4         
,instead of this1 ,galileo compelled the
 entire faculty to back water and dine  
on fricasseed crow4  ,they got even by  
calling him a scientific bastardino1 and
 at his next lecture he was roundly     
hissed4 ,soon after he was bluntly      
informed that his office was to teach   
the young1 and not to undo the old4     
,and that is the way the troubles of    
,galileo began4  ,he might then have    
apologized1 and slipped back into peace 
and obscurity and later been tucked in  
by kind oblivion4 ,but he had tasted    
blood1 and the rabies of setting        
straight the scientific world1 for its  
own good1 was upon him4  ,that he was   
wrong in the correction of his elders1  
he would not for a moment admit2 and he 
was even guilty of saying1 ,antiquity   

can not sanctify that which is wrong in 
reason and false in principle4 ,soon    
after he committed another forepaugh by 
showing that a wonderful boat invented  
by ,giovanni de ,medici for the purpose 
of fighting hostile ships1 would not    
work1 since there were no men on board  
to guide it1 and its automatic steering 
apparatus would as likely run its nose  
into land1 as into the hull of the      
enemy4  ,he also decorated his argument 
with a few subtle touches as to the     
beauty of fighting battles without going
 to war and risking life and limb4  ,men
 who are not kind to the faults of      
royalty can hope for small favor in a   
monarchy1 though the monarchy be a      
republic4 ,galileo was cut off the      
,standard ,oil payroll1 and forced to   
apply to a teachers' agency1 that he    
might find employment4  ,he did not wait
 long2 the rival ,university of ,padua  
tendered him a position on a silver     
platter2 and the ,paduans made much dole
 about how unfortunate it was that men  

could not teach ,truth in ,italy1 save  
at ,padua--alas6 ,the ,governing ,board 
of ,padua made a great stroke in        
securing ,galileo1 and ,pisa fell back  
on her ,leaning ,tower as her chief     
attraction4  ,from a position of        
mediocrity1 the ,university of ,padua   
gradually rose to one of worldwide      
celebrity4 ,galileo remained at ,padua  
from ,fifteen ,hundred ,ninety-two to   
,sixteen ,hundred ,ten1 which years are 
famous not alone through the wonderful  
inventions of ,galileo1 but because in  
that same interval of time1 at least    
thirty of ,shakespeare's thirty-seven   
plays were written4 ,surely1 ,god was   
smiling on the planet ,earth6           
,galileo's salary was raised every year1
 starting at two hundred florins1 until 
it reached over one thousand florins1   
not to mention the numerous gifts from  
grateful pupils1 old and young4         
,students came to ,padua from all over  
the world to hear ,galileo's lectures4  
,starting with only a common classroom1 

the audience increased so fast that a   
special auditorium was required that    
would seat two thousand persons4 ,it was
 during this time that ,galileo invented
 the proportional compasses1 an         
instrument now in use everywhere1       
without the slightest change having been
 made in it4  ,he also invented the     
thermometer2 but greatest1 best and most
 wonderful of all1 he produced an       
instrument through which he could view  
the stars1 and see them much magnified4 
,with this instrument1 he saw heavenly  
bodies that had never been seen before2 
he beheld that ,jupiter had satellites  
which moved in orbits1 and that ,venus  
revolved1 showing different sides at    
different times1 thus proving that which
 ,copernicus declared was true1 but     
which1 for lack of apparatus1 he could  
not prove4  ,galileo ,galilei was       
getting to be more than a professor of  
mathematics--he was becoming a power in 
the world4  ,the lever of his mighty    
mind was indeed finding a fulcrum4      

99       99       99       99       99  
,the year ,sixteen ,hundred ,nine is    
forever fixed in history1 through the   
fact that in that year ,galileo invented
 the telescope4  ,every good thing is an
 evolution4 ,specilla1 or helps to read1
 had been made1 and sold privately and  
mysteriously1 as early as the year      
,fourteen ,hundred4 ,these first        
magnifying-glasses were associated with 
magic1 or wonder-working2 the words     
magnify and magic having a common source
 and a similar meaning4 ,magicians wore 
big square glasses1 and by their aid1   
some of them claimed to see things at a 
great distance2 and also to perceive    
things stolen1 hidden or lost4          
,occasionally1 the magician would       
persuade his customer to try on the     
glasses1 and then even common men could 
see for themselves that there was       
something in the scheme--goodness me6   
,the use of spectacles was at first     
confined entirely to these              
wonder-workers--or men who magnified    

things forever4 ,during the ,fifteenth  
,century1 public readers and            
occasionally priests wore spectacles4   
,to read was a miracle to most people1  
and a book was a mysterious and sacred  
thing--or else a diabolical thing4 ,the 
populace would watch the man put on his 
specillum1 and the idea was everywhere  
abroad that the magic glasses gave an   
ability to read2 and that anybody who   
was inspired by angels1 or devils1 who  
could get hold of spectacles1 could at  
once read from a book4  ,we hear of one 
magician who1 about the year ,fifteen   
,hundred1 made a box with a glass cover 
that magnified the contents4 ,this great
 man would catch a flea and show it to  
the people4 ,then he would place the    
flea in the box and show it to them1 and
 they would see that it had grown       
enormously in an instant4 ,the man could
 make it big or little1 by just taking  
off and putting on the cover of the box6
  ,this individual worked wonders for a 
consideration1 but ,fate overtook him   

and he was smothered under a feather bed
 for having too much wizard in his      
cosmos4 ,a wizard1 be it known1 is a    
male witch1 and the ,bible says1 ,thou  
shalt not suffer a witch to live1       
although it does not say anything about 
wizards4  ,but please note this3 the    
wizard who had that magic box and flea  
had really the first microscope4        
,galileo bought a pair of magic glasses1
 or spectacles1 about the year ,sixteen 
,hundred ,seven2 and his action1 in so  
doing1 was freely criticized4  ,on a    
visit to ,venice1 where glass had been  
manufactured since long before the      
,flood1 ,galileo was looking through one
 of the glass-factories1 just as        
visitors do now1 and one of the workmen 
showed him a peculiar piece of glass    
which magnified the hairs on the back of
 his hand many times4  ,in a very few   
days after this1 ,galileo heard that a  
,dutch spectacle-maker had placed       
certain queer-shaped pieces of glass in 
a tube1 and offered to sell this tube to

 the ,government1 so by its use1        
soldiers could see the movements of an  
enemy many miles away4  ,that night     
,galileo did not close his eyes in      
sleep4 ,he thought out a plan by which  
he could place pieces of glass in a     
tube1 and bring the stars close to the  
earth4 ,by daylight the whole plan was  
clear in his mind1 and he hastened to   
the shop of the glassmakers4  ,there1   
two lenses were made1 one plano-convex1 
and the other plano-concave1 and these  
were placed in a tube made of sheet     
copper4 ,it was tested on distant       
objects2 and behold6 they were magnified
 by three4 ,would this tube show the    
stars magnified8 ,galileo knew of no    
reason why it should not1 but he paced  
his room in hot impatience1 waiting for 
the night to come with its twinkling    
wonders1 that he might verify his       
convictions4 ,when the first yellow star
 appeared in the ,west1 ,galileo turned 
his tube upon it1 and behold6 instead of
 twinkling points of light1 he saw a    

round mass--a world--moving through     
space1 and not a scintillating object   
with five points4 ,the twinkling spikes1
 or points1 were merely an optical      
illusion of the unaided senses4         
,galileo made no secret of his          
invention4 ,it was called ,galileo's    
,tube1 but some of the priests called it
 ,galileo's ,magic ,tube4  ,yet it      
marked an era in the scientific world4  
,galileo endeavored constantly to       
improve his instrument2 and from a      
threefold magnifying power1 he finally  
made one that magnified thirty-two      
times4  ,galileo made hundreds of       
telescopes1 and sold them at moderate   
prices to any one who would buy4 ,he    
explained minutely the construction of  
the instrument1 showing clearly how it  
was made in accordance with the natural 
laws of optics4 ,his desire was to      
dissipate the superstition that there   
was something diabolical or supernatural
 about the ,magic ,tube--that1 in fact1 
it was not magic1 and the operator had  

no peculiar powers2 you had simply to   
comply with the laws of ,nature1 and any
 one could see for himself4  ,it is hard
 for us1 at this day1 to understand the 
opposition that sprang up against the   
telescope4 ,we must remember that at    
this time belief in witchcraft1 fairies1
 sprites1 ghosts1 hobgoblins1 magic and 
supernatural powers was common4 ,men who
 believe in miracles make rather poor   
scientists4  ,there were books about    
,magic1 written by so-called scientific 
men1 whose standing in the world was    
quite as high as that of ,galileo4  ,in 
,sixteen ,hundred ,ten1 ,galileo        
published his book entitled1 ,sidera    
,medicea1 wherein he described the      
wonders that could be seen in the       
heavens by the aid of the telescope4    
,among other things1 he said the ,milky 
,way was not a great streak of light1   
but was composed of a multitude of      
stars2 and he made a map of the stars   
that could be seen only with the aid of 
the telescope4  ,there resided in       

,venice at this time a scientific man by
 the name of ,porta1 who was much more  
popular than ,galileo4 ,he was a priest1
 whose piety and learning was           
unimpeached4  ,the year after ,galileo  
issued his book1 ,porta put out a work  
much more pretentious1 called ,natural  
,magic4 ,in this book ,porta does not   
claim that magicians all have           
supernatural powers2 but he goes on to  
prove how they deceive the world by the 
use of their peculiar apparatus1 and    
intimates that they sometimes sell their
 souls to the ,devil1 and then are      
positively dangerous4 ,he dives deep    
into science1 history and his own       
imagination to prove things4  ,the man  
was no fool--he constructed a           
kaleidoscope that showed an absolute1   
geometrical symmetry1 where in fact     
there was only confusion4 ,he showed    
how1 by the use of mirrors1 things could
 be made big1 small1 tall1 short1 wide1 
crooked or distorted4 ,he told of how   
magicians1 by the use of ,galileo's     

,tube1 could show seven stars where     
there was only one2 and he even made    
such a tube of his own and called the   
priests together to look through it4 ,he
 painted stars on the glass1 and had men
 look at the heavens4 ,he even stuck a  
louse on the lens and located the beast 
in the heavens1 for the benefit of a    
doubting ,cardinal4 ,it was all a joke1 
but at the time no sober1 sincere man of
 ,science could argue him down4 ,he     
owned bum telescopes that proved all    
kinds of things1 to the great amusement 
of the enemies of ,galileo4 ,the intent 
of ,porta was to expose the frauds and  
fallacies of ,galileo4 ,porta also      
claimed that he had seen telescopes by  
which you could look over a hill and    
around a corner1 but he did not         
recommend them1 since by their use      
things are often perceived that were not
 there4 ,and so we see why the priests  
positively refused to look through      
,galileo's ,tube1 or to believe anything
 he said4 ,porta1 and a few others like 

him1 showed a deal more than ,galileo   
could and offered to locate stars       
anywhere on order4 ,galileo had much    
offended these priests by his statements
 that the ,bible did not contain the    
final facts of ,science1 and now they   
were getting even with a vengeance4 ,it 
was all very much like the theological  
guffaw that swept over ,christendom when
 ,darwin issued his ,origin of ,species1
 and ,talmage and ,spurgeon set their   
congregations in a roar by gently       
sarcastic references to monkey ancestry4
         99       99       99       99  
99  ,amid the general popping of        
theological small-arms1 ,galileo moved  
steadily forward4 ,if he had many       
enemies he surely had a few friends4 ,as
 he once had proved more than ,pisa     
could digest1 so now he was bringing to 
the surface of things more truth than   
,padua could assimilate4  ,venice too   
was getting uncomfortable4 ,even the    
,doge said1 in reply to an enthusiastic 
admirer of ,galileo1 ,your master is not

 famous3 he is merely notorious4  ,it   
was discovered that ,galileo had been   
living with a woman by the name of      
,marina ,gamba1 at ,venice1 even while  
he held the professorship at ,padua1 and
 that they had a son1 ,vincenzo ,gamba1 
and two daughters4 ,one of the enemy    
drew a map of the heavens1 showing      
,galileo as the sun1 ,marina ,gamba as  
the moon1 and around them circulated    
numerous little satellites1 which were  
supposed to be their children4 ,the     
picture had so great a vogue that the   
,doge issued an order that all copies of
 it be destroyed4  ,of ,marina ,gamba we
 know very little2 but the fact that she
 made entries in ,galileo's journal and 
kept his accounts proves that she was a 
person of considerable intelligence2 and
 this1 too1 was at a time when          
semi-oriental ideas prevailed and       
education was supposedly beyond the     
feminine grasp4  ,galileo did not marry1
 for the reason that he was practically 
a priest1 a teacher in a religious      

school1 living with and looking after   
the pupils2 and the custom then was that
 whoever was engaged in such an         
occupation should not wed4  ,the stormy 
opposition to ,galileo was not without  
its advantages4 ,we are advertised no   
less by our rabid enemies than by our   
loving friends4 ,cosimo the ,second1    
,grand ,duke of ,tuscany1 had intimated 
that ,florence would give the great     
astronomer a welcome4 ,galileo moved to 
,florence under the protection of       
,cosimo1 intending to devote all his    
time to ,science4  ,in giving up        
schoolteaching and popular lecturing1   
,galileo really made a virtue of        
necessity4 ,no orthodox lyceum course   
would tolerate him2 he was neither an   
impersonator nor an entertainer2 the    
stereopticon and the melodramatic were  
out of his line1 and his passion for    
truth made him impossible to the many4  
,he was treading the path of ,bruno3 the
 accusations1 the taunts and jeers1 the 
denials and denunciations1 were urging  

him on to an unseemly earnestness4      
,father ,clavius said that ,galileo     
never saw the satellites of ,jupiter    
until he had made an instrument that    
would create them2 and if ,god had      
intended that men should see strange    
things in the heavens1 ,he would have   
supplied them sufficient eyesight4 ,the 
telescope was really a devil's          
instrument4  ,still another man declared
 that if the earth moved1 acorns falling
 from a high tree would all fall behind 
the tree and not directly under it4     
,father ,brini said that if the earth   
revolved1 we would all fall off of it   
into the air when it was upside down2   
moreover1 its whirling through space    
would create a wind that would sweep it 
bald4  ,father ,caccini preached a      
sermon from the text1 ,ye men of        
,galilee1 why stand ye gazing up into   
heaven8 ,only he changed the word       
,galilee to ,galileo1 claiming it was   
the same thing1 only different1 and as  
reward for his wit he was made a bishop4

  ,cardinal ,bellarmine1 a man of great 
energy1 earnest1 zealous1 sincere1      
learned--the ,doctor ,buckley of his    
day--showed how that3 if the ,copernican
 ,theory should prevail1 it would be the
 absolute undoing of the ,bible1 and the
 destruction of the ,church1 rendering  
the death of ,christ futile4 ,if the    
earth is only one of many planets1 and  
not the center of the universe1 and the 
other planets are inhabited1 the whole  
plan of salvation fails1 since the      
inhabitants of the other spheres are    
without the ,bible1 and ,christ did not 
die for them4 ,this was the argument of 
,father ,lecazre1 and many others who   
took their cue from him4  ,galileo was  
denounced as atheist and                
infidel--epithets that do not frighten  
us much now1 since they have been       
applied to most of the really great and 
good men who have ever lived4 ,but then 
such words set fire to masses of        
inflammable prejudices1 and there were  
conflagrations of wrath and hate against

 which it was vain to argue4  ,the      
,archbishop of ,pisa especially felt it 
incumbent upon him to bring ,galileo to 
justice4  ,galileo was born at ,pisa1   
educated there1 taught in the           
,university2 and now he had disgraced   
the place and brought it into disrepute4
  ,galileo was still in communication   
with teachers at ,pisa1 and the         
,archbishop made it his business to have
 letters written to ,galileo asking     
certain specific questions4 ,one man1   
,castelli1 declined to be used for the  
purpose of entrapping ,galileo1 but     
others there were who loaned themselves 
to the plan4  ,in ,sixteen ,hundred     
,sixteen1 ,galileo received a formal    
summons from ,pope ,paul the ,fifth to  
come to ,rome and purge himself of      
heresies that he had expressed in       
letters which were then in the hands of 
the ,inquisition4  ,galileo appealed to 
his friends at ,florence1 but they were 
powerless4 ,when the ,pope issued an    
order1 it could not be waived4 ,the     

greatest thinker of his time journeyed  
to ,rome and faced the greatest         
theologian of his day1 ,cardinal        
,bellarmine4  ,the ,cardinal firmly and 
clearly showed ,galileo the error of his
 way4 ,galileo offered to prove for the 
,cardinal by astronomical observations  
that the ,copernican ,theory was true4  
,cardinal ,bellarmine said that there   
was only one truth and that was         
spiritual truth4 ,that the ,bible was   
true1 or it was not4 ,if not1 then was  
religion a fallacy and our hope of      
,heaven a delusion4  ,galileo contended 
that the death of ,christ had nothing to
 do with the truth1 so ,science and     
these things should not be shuffled and 
confused4  ,this attitude of mind       
greatly shocked the ,inquisitors1 and   
they made haste to inform the ,pope1 who
 at once issued an order that the       
astronomer should be placed in a dungeon
 until he saw fit to disavow that the   
sun was the center of the universe1 and 
the earth moves4  ,a sort of compromise1

 it seems1 was here effected by         
,galileo's promise not to further teach 
that the earth revolves4  ,he was kept  
at ,rome under strict surveillance for  
some months1 but was finally allowed to 
return to ,florence1 and cautioned that 
he must cease all public teaching1      
speaking and writing on the subject of  
astronomy4 ,on ,march ,fifth1 ,sixteen  
,hundred ,sixteen1 the consulting       
theologians of the ,holy ,office        
reiterated that the propositions of     
,galileo1 that the sun is the center of 
the universe1 and that the earth has a  
rotary motion1 were absurd in           
philosophy1 heretical1 and also contrary
 to ,scripture4  ,the works of          
,copernicus were then placed upon the   
,index1 and ,pope ,paul issued a special
 decree1 warning all ,churchmen to      
abjure1 shun and forever abstain from   
giving encouragement1 support1 succor or
 friendship to any one who believed or  
taught that the earth revolves4  ,the   
name of ,copernicus was not removed from

 the ,index until the year ,eighteen    
,hundred ,eighteen4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,galileo made his 
way back to ,florence1 defeated and     
disappointed4 ,he had not been tortured1
 except mentally1 but he had heard the  
dungeon-key turned in the big lock and  
felt the humiliation of being made a    
captive4 ,the instruments of torture had
 been shown to him1 and he had heard the
 cries of the condemned4  ,the cell that
 ,bruno had occupied was his1 and he was
 also taken to the spot where ,bruno was
 burned3 the place was there1 but where 
was ,bruno6  ,he realized how utterly   
impossible it was to teach truth to     
those who did not desire truth1 and the 
vanity of replying to men for whom a pun
 answered the purposes of fact4  ,as he 
could neither teach nor lecture at      
,florence1 his services to the ,court   
were valueless4 ,he was a disgraced and 
silenced man4  ,he retired to a village 
a few miles from the city1 and in secret
 continued his studies and observations4

 ,the ,grand ,duke supplied him a small 
pension and suggested that it would be  
increased if ,galileo would give        
lectures on ,poetry and ,rhetoric1 which
 were not forbidden themes1 and try to  
make himself either commonplace or      
amusing4  ,we can imagine the           
reply--,galileo had but one theme1 the  
wonders of the heavens above4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,so the years went by1 and ,galileo1    
sixty-seven years old1 was impoverished 
and forgotten1 yet in his proud heart   
burned the embers of ambition4 ,he      
believed in himself2 he believed in the 
sacredness of his one mission4 ,pope    
,paul had gone on his long journey1 for 
even infallible popes die4 ,cardinal    
,barberini had become ,pope ,urban the  
,eighth4 ,years before1 ,galileo and    
,barberini had taught together at       
,padua1 and when ,galileo was silenced1 
a long letter of sympathy had come from 
his old colleague1 and occasionally     
since they had exchanged friendly       

letters4 ,galileo thought that ,urban   
was his friend1 and he knew that ,urban1
 in his heart1 believed in the theory of
 ,copernicus4  ,galileo then emerged    
from his seclusion and began teaching   
and speaking in ,florence4 ,he also     
fitted up an observatory and invited the
 scholars to make use of his telescope4 
,father ,melchior hereupon put forth a  
general denunciation1 aimed especially  
at ,galileo1 without mentioning his     
name1 to this effect3 ,the opinion of   
the earth's motion is1 of all heresies1 
the most abominable1 the most           
pernicious1 the most scandalous3 the    
immovability of the earth is thrice     
sacred4  ,an argument against the       
existence of ,god and the immortality of
 the soul would be sooner tolerated than
 the idea that the earth moves4  ,in    
reply to this fusillade1 in ,sixteen    
,hundred ,thirty-two ,galileo put forth 
his book entitled1 ,the ,dialogue1 which
 was intended to place the ideas of     
,copernicus in popular form4  ,galileo  

had endeavored to communicate with      
,urban1 but the ,pope had chosen to     
ignore him--to consider him as one dead4
 ,galileo misconstrued the silence1     
thinking it meant that he could do and  
say what he wished and that there would 
be no interference4  ,a copy of         
,galileo's book reaching the ,pope1 his 
silence was at once broken4 ,the book   
was condemned and all copies found were 
ordered to be burned by the hangman in  
the public streets4 ,but the book had   
met with a wide sale and many copies had
 been carried to ,germany1 ,england and 
,france1 and in these countries the work
 was reprinted and sent back to ,italy4 
,urban ordered ,galileo to present      
himself at ,rome forthwith4 ,a score of 
years had passed since ,galileo's former
 visit--he had not forgotten it4  ,he   
wrote to the ,pope and apologized for   
having broken the silence imposed upon  
him by ,pope ,paul2 he offered to go    
into retirement again2 stated that he   
was old1 infirm1 without funds1 and     

excused himself from obeying the order  
to go to ,rome4  ,but excuses and       
apologies were unavailing4  ,a          
preventory order was issued and sent to 
the ,papal ,nuncio at ,florence4  ,this 
was equivalent to an arrest4 ,galileo   
must go to ,rome and answer for having  
broken the promises he had made to the  
,inquisition4 ,if he would not go       
willingly1 he should go in chains4      
,arriving at ,rome1 he had several      
audiences with the ,pope1 who said      
nothing would answer but a specific     
recantation4  ,what ,barberini had once 
believed was one thing1 and what the    
,pope must do was another4 ,galileo     
should recant in order to keep the      
people from thinking ,pope ,urban would 
allow what his predecessors would not4  
,the matter had become a public scandal4
  ,galileo tried to argue the question  
and asked for time to consider it4  ,an 
order was issued that he should be      
imprisoned4 ,it was done4  ,galileo     
asked for pens and paper that he might  

prepare his defense4 ,these were        
refused1 and an order of torture was    
issued4 ,it was not a trial1 defense was
 useless4 ,again he was asked to        
recant--the matter was all written      
out--he had but to sign his name4 ,he   
refused4 ,he was brought to the         
torture-chamber4  ,legend and fact      
separate here4  ,there are denials from 
,churchmen that ,galileo was so much as 
imprisoned4 ,one writer has even tried  
to show that ,galileo was a guest of the
 ,pope and dined daily at his table4    
,the other side has told us that        
,galileo was thrust into a dungeon1 his 
eyes put out1 and his old broken-down   
form tortured on the wheel4  ,recent    
careful researches reveal that neither  
side told the truth4 ,we have official  
record of the case written out at the   
time for the ,vatican archives4 ,galileo
 was imprisoned and the order of torture
 issued1 but it was never enforced4     
,perhaps it was not the intention to    
enforce it3 it may have been only a war 

measure4  ,galileo was alternately taken
 from dungeon to palace that he might   
realize which course was best for him to
 pursue--oppose the ,church or uphold   
it4  ,thus we see that there was some   
truth in the statement that he dined    
daily with the ,pope4  ,that the man was
 subjected to much indignity1 all the   
world now knows4 ,the official records  
are in the ,vatican1 and the attempt to 
conceal them longer is out of the       
question4 ,wise ,churchmen no longer    
deny the blunders of the past1 but they 
say with ,cardinal ,satolli1 ,the       
enemies of the ,church have ever been   
o'er-zealous ,churchmen4  ,on bended    
knees1 ,galileo1 a man of threescore and
 ten1 broken in health1 with spirit     
crushed1 repeated after a priest these  
words3 ,i1 ,galileo ,galilei1 being in  
my seventieth year1 a prisoner1 on my   
knees before your ,eminences1 the       
,cardinals of the ,holy ,see1 having    
before mine eyes the ,holy ,bible1 which
 ,i touch with my hands and kiss with my

 lips1 do abjure1 curse and detest the  
error and heresy of the movement of the 
earth4  ,he also was made to sign the   
recantation4 ,on arising from his knees1
 legend declares that he said1 ,yet the 
earth does move6  ,it is hardly probable
 that the words reached his lips1       
although they may have been in his mind4
 ,but we must remember the man's heart  
was broken1 and he was in a mental      
condition where nothing really mattered4
 ,to complete his dishonor1 all of his  
writings were placed on the ,index1 and 
he was made to swear that he would      
inform the ,inquisition of any man whom 
he should hear or discover supporting   
the heresy of the motion of the earth4  
,the old man was then released1 a       
prisoner on parole1 and allowed to make 
his way home to ,florence1 which he did 
by easy stages1 helped along the way by 
friendly monks who discussed with him   
all questions but those of astronomy4   
,galileo's eldest daughter1 a nun1 whose
 home was near his1 was so affected by  

the humiliation of her father that she  
fell into a nervous decline and died    
very soon after he reached home4        
,between these two there had been a     
close bond of love and tender sympathy1 
and her death seemed almost the crowning
 calamity4  ,but once back in his       
village home at ,arcetri1 ,galileo again
 went to work with his telescope1       
mapping the heavens4  ,a goodly degree  
of health and animation came back to    
him1 but his eyesight1 so long misused1 
now failed him and he became blind4     
,thus ,john ,milton found him in        
,sixteen ,hundred ,thirty-eight4        
,castelli1 his lifelong friend1 wrote to
 another1 ,the noblest eye that ,god    
ever made is darkened3 the eye so       
privileged that it may in truth be said 
to have seen more wonderful things and  
made others to see more wonderful       
things1 than were ever seen before4 ,but
 blindness could not subdue him any more
 than it could ,john ,milton4 ,he had   
others look through the telescope and   

tell him what they saw and then he would
 foretell what they would see next4     
,the policy of the ,pope was that       
,galileo should not be disturbed so long
 as he kept to his village home and     
taught merely the few scholars or       
servants1 as they called themselves1 who
 often came to him2 but these were to be
 taught mathematics1 not astronomy4     
,that he was even at the last under     
suspicion is shown that concealed in the
 mattress of the bed upon which he died 
were records of his latest discoveries  
concerning the revolution of the        
planets4 ,legal opposition was made as  
to his right to make a will1 the claim  
being that he was a prisoner of the     
,inquisition at his death4 ,for the same
 reason his body was not allowed to be  
buried in consecrated ground4 ,the ,pope
 overruled the objection and he was     
buried in an obscure corner of the      
little cemetery of ,saint ,croce1 the   
grave unmarked4  ,so the last few years 
of ,galileo's life were years of        

comparative peace and quiet4 ,he needed 
but little1 and this little his few     
faithful1 loving friends supplied4 ,his 
death came painlessly1 and his last     
moments were sustained by the faith that
 he would soon be free from the trammels
 of the flesh--free to visit some of the
 worlds that his telescope had brought  
so near to him4  ,galileo was born the  
day that ,michelangelo died2 the year of
 his death was the year that ,sir ,isaac
 ,newton1 the discoverer of the law of  
gravitation1 was born4                  
,illustration3 ,,copernicus             
,,copernicus        ,to know the mighty 
works of ,god2 to comprehend ,his wisdom
 and      majesty and power2 to         
appreciate1 in degree1 the wonderful    
working      of ,his laws1 surely all   
this must be a pleasing and acceptable  
mode      of worship to the ,most ,high1
 to whom ignorance can not be more      
grateful than knowledge4                
--,copernicus   ,,copernicus  ,when a   
prominent member of ,congress1 of       

slightly convivial turn1 went to sleep  
on the floor of the ,house of           
,representatives and suddenly awakening1
 convulsed the assemblage by demanding  
in a loud voice1 ,where am ,i at8 he    
propounded an inquiry that is           
indisputably a classic4  ,with the very 
first glimmering of intelligence1 and as
 far back as history goes1 man has      
always asked that question1 also three  
others3  ,where am ,i8  ,who am ,i8     
,what am ,i here for8  ,where am ,i     
going8  ,a question implies an answer   
and so1 coeval with the questioner1 we  
find a class of ,volunteers springing   
into being1 who have taken upon         
themselves the business of answering the
 interrogations4  ,and as partial       
payment for answering these questions1  
the man who answered has exacted a      
living from the man who asked1 also     
titles1 honors1 gauds1 jewels and       
obsequies4  ,further than this1 the     
,volunteer who answered has declared    
himself exempt from all useful labor4   

,this ,volunteer is our theologian4     
,walt ,whitman has said3    ,i think ,i 
could turn and live with animals1 they  
are so placid     and self-contained1   
,i stand and look at them long and long4
   ,they do not sweat and whine about   
their condition1   ,they do not lie     
awake in the dark and weep for their    
sins1   ,they do not make me sick       
discussing their duty to ,god1   ,not   
one is dissatisfied1 not one is demented
 with the mania of     owning things1   
,not one kneels to another1 nor to his  
kind that lived thousands     of years  
ago1   ,not one is respectable or       
unhappy over the whole earth4  ,but we  
should note this fact3 ,whitman merely  
wanted to live with animals--he did not 
desire to become one4 ,he wasn't willing
 to forfeit knowledge2 and a part of    
that knowledge was that man has some    
things yet to learn from the patient    
brute4 ,much of man's misery has come   
from his persistent questioning4  ,the  
book of ,genesis is certainly right when

 it tells us that man's troubles came   
from a desire to know4 ,the fruit of the
 tree of knowledge is bitter1 and man's 
digestive apparatus is ill-conditioned  
to digest it4 ,but still we are         
grateful1 and good men never forget that
 it was woman who gave the fruit to     
man--men learn nothing alone4 ,in the   
,garden of ,eden1 with everything       
supplied1 man was an animal1 but when he
 was turned out and had to work1 strive1
 struggle and suffer1 he began to grow4 
,the ,volunteers of the ,far ,east have 
told us that man's deliverance from the 
evils of life must come through killing 
desire2 we will reach                   
,nirvana--rest--through nothingness4    
,but within a decade it has been borne  
in upon a vast number of the thinking   
men of the world that deliverance from  
sorrow and discontent was to be had not 
through ceasing to ask questions1 but by
 asking one question more4 ,the question
 is this1 ,what can ,i do8  ,when man   
went to work1 action removed the doubt  

that theory could not solve4  ,the      
rushing winds purify the air2 only      
running water is pure2 and the holy man1
 if there be such1 is the one who loses 
himself in persistent1 useful effort4   
,by working for all1 we secure the best 
results for self1 and when we truly work
 for self1 we work for all4  ,in that   
thoughtful essay by ,brooks ,adams1 ,the
 ,law of ,civilization and ,decay1 the  
author says1 ,thought is one of the     
manifestations of human energy1 and     
among the earlier and simpler phases of 
thought1 two stand conspicuous--,fear   
and ,greed3 ,fear1 which1 by stimulating
 the imagination1 creates a belief in an
 invisible world1 and ultimately        
develops a priesthood4  ,the priestly   
class evolves naturally into being      
everywhere as man awakens and asks      
questions4 ,only the ,unknown is        
terrible1 says ,victor ,hugo4 ,we can   
cope with the known1 and at the worst we
 can overcome the unknown by accepting  
it4 ,verestchagin1 the great painter who

 knew the psychology of war as few have 
known1 and went down to his death       
gloriously1 as he should1 on a sinking  
battleship1 once said1 ,in modern       
warfare1 when man does not see his      
enemy1 the poetry of the battle is gone1
 and man is rendered by the ,unknown    
into a quaking coward4  ,but when       
enveloped in the fog of ignorance every 
phenomenon of ,nature causes man to     
quake and tremble--he wants to know6    
,fear prompts him to ask1 and           
,greed--greed for power1 place and      
pelf--answers4  ,to succeed beyond the  
average is to realize a weakness in     
humanity and then bank on it4 ,the      
priest who pacifies is as natural as the
 fear he seeks to assuage--as natural as
 man himself4  ,so first1 man is in     
bondage to his fear1 and this bondage he
 exchanges for bondage to a priest4     
,first1 he fears the unknown2 second1 he
 fears the priest who has power with the
 unknown4  ,soon the priest becomes a   
slave to the answers he has conjured    

forth4 ,he grows to believe what he at  
first pretended to know4 ,the punishment
 of every liar is that he eventually    
believes his lies4 ,the mind of man     
becomes tinted and subdued to what he   
works in1 like the dyer's hand4  ,so we 
have the formula3 ,man in bondage to    
fear4 ,man in bondage to a priest4 ,the 
priest in bondage to a creed4  ,then the
 priest and his institution become an   
integral part and parcel of the ,state1 
mixed in all its affairs4 ,the success  
of the ,state seems to lie in holding   
belief intact and stilling all further  
questions of the people1 transferring   
all doubts to this ,volunteer ,class    
which answers for a consideration4      
,naturally1 the man who does not accept 
the answers is regarded as an enemy of  
the ,state--that is1 the enemy of       
mankind4  ,to keep this questioner down 
has been the problem of every religion4 
,and the great problem of progress has  
been to smuggle the newly-discovered    
truth past ,cerberus1 the priest1 by    

preparing a sop that was to him         
palatable4  ,from every branch of       
,science the priest has been routed1    
save in ,sociology alone4 ,here he has  
stubbornly made his last stand1 and is  
saving himself alive by slowly accepting
 the situation and transforming himself 
into the ,promoter of a ,social ,club4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,the attempt to ascertain the truths of 
physical science outside of theology    
was1 in the early ages1 very seldom     
ventured4 ,when men wanted to know      
anything about anything1 they asked the 
priest4  ,questions that the priest     
could not answer he declared were       
forbidden of man to know2 and when men  
attempted to find out for themselves    
they were looked upon as heretics4  ,the
 early church regarded the earth as a   
flat surface with four corners4 ,and in 
proof of their position they quoted     
,saint ,paul1 who wanted the gospel     
carried to the ends of the earth4  ,in  
fact1 the universe was a house4 ,the    

upper story was ,heaven1 the lower story
 was the ,earth1 and the cellar was     
,hell4 ,god1 the angels and the saved   
lived in ,heaven1 man lived on ,earth1  
and the devils and the damned had ,hell 
to themselves4  ,and there shall be no  
night there1 and this was proven by the 
stars1 which were regarded as peepholes 
through which mortals could catch       
glimpses of the wondrous light of       
,heaven beyond4 ,hell was below1 as was 
clearly shown by volcanoes1 when the    
fierce fires occasionally forced        
themselves up through4 ,darkness to     
children is always terrible1 and the    
night is regarded by them as the time of
 evil4  ,later1 ,churchmen came to      
believe that the stars were jewels hung 
in the sky every night by angels whose  
business it was to look after them4     
,the word firmament means a solid dome  
or roof4 ,this firmament1 the sky1 was  
supposed to be the floor of ,heaven4    
,the firmament had four corners and     
rested on the mountains1 as the eye     

could plainly see4 ,when ,god's car was 
rolled across the floor we heard        
thunder1 and his movements were always  
accompanied by lightnings1 winds1 black 
clouds and rain--all this so ,he could  
not be too plainly seen4  ,heaven was   
only a little way off--a few miles at   
the most4 ,so there were attempts made  
at times by bad men to reach it4 ,the   
,greeks had a story about the ,aloid who
 piled mountain upon mountain2 the      
,bible story of the ,tower of ,babel is 
the same1 where the masons called1 ,more
 mort1 and those below sent up bricks4  
,there is also an ancient ,mexican      
legend of giants who built the ,pyramid 
of ,cholula1 and they would have been   
successful in their attempts if fire had
 not been thrown down upon them from    
,heaven4 ,in all ,holy ,writ we find    
accounts of ascensions1 translations1   
annunciations1 and mortals caught up    
into the clouds4 ,many people had       
actually seen angels ascending and      
descending4  ,messengers from on high   

and ,god's secretaries were constantly  
coming down on delicate errands4        
,everything that man did was noted and  
written down4 ,we were watched all the  
time by unseen beings4 ,the ,bible tells
 of how the ,earth was eventually to be 
destroyed1 and then there would be only 
,heaven and ,hell4 ,god1 ,his ,son and  
the angels were going to come down1 and 
for ages men watched the heavens to see 
them appear4  ,all sensitive children1  
born of orthodox ,christian parents1 who
 heard the ,bible read aloud1 looked    
fearfully into the sky for signs and    
wonders4 ,the ,bible tells in several   
places of devils breaking out of ,hell  
and roaming over the earth4 ,dante fully
 believed in this three-story-house     
idea1 and pictures with awful exactness 
the details1 which he gained from the   
preaching of the priests4 ,dante was    
never honored by having his books placed
 on the ,index4 ,on the contrary1 he got
 his vogue largely through the          
recommendation of the priests4 ,to them 

he was a true scientist1 for he         
corroborated their statements4  ,the    
,christian ,fathers ridiculed the idea  
of the earth being round1 because1 if   
this were so1 how could the people on   
the other side see the ,son of ,man when
 ,he came in the sky8 ,besides that1 if 
the earth were round and turned on its  
axis1 we would all fall off into space4 
,the idea that there was an ocean above 
the earth1 in the heavens1 was brought  
forward to show the goodness and wisdom 
of ,god4 ,without this there would be no
 rain and hence no vegetation1 and man  
would soon perish4 ,in ,genesis we read 
that ,god said1 ,let there be a         
firmament in the midst of the waters1   
and let it divide the waters from the   
waters1 ,and in ,psalms1 ,praise ,him1  
ye heavens of heavens and ye waters that
 be above the heavens4 ,then we hear1   
,the windows of ,heaven were opened4 ,so
 this thought of the waters above the   
earth was fully proved1 accepted and    
fixed1 and to pray for rain was quite a 

natural thing4  ,the ,english           
,prayer-,book contained such prayers up 
to within a very few years ago1 and in  
,eighteen ,hundred ,eighty-three the    
,governor of ,kansas set apart a day    
upon which the people were to pray that 
,god would open the windows of ,heaven  
and send them rain4 ,they also prayed to
 be delivered from grasshoppers1 just as
 in ,queen ,elizabeth's time the        
,prayer-,book had this1 ,from the ,turk 
and the ,comet1 good ,lord deliver us4  
,in the ,sixth ,century1 ,cosmos1 one of
 the ,saints1 wrote a complete          
explanation of the phenomena of the     
heavens4 ,to account for the movement of
 the sun1 he said ,god had ,his angels  
push it across the firmament and put it 
behind a mountain each night1 and the   
next morning it was brought out on the  
other side4 ,he met every objection by  
citations from ,job1 ,genesis1 ,ezekiel1
 ,ecclesiastes and the ,new ,testament1 
and wound up with an anathema upon any  
or all who doubted or questioned in this

 matter of astronomy4  ,the whole       
,christian idea of the ,universe was    
simple1 plain and plausible4 ,the       
child-mind could easily accept it1 and  
when backed up by the ,holy ,book1      
written at ,god's dictation1 word for   
word1 infallible and absolutely true in 
every part1 one does not wonder that    
progress was practically blocked for    
fourteen hundred years1 but the real    
miracle is that it was not blocked      
forever4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,thousands of years before 
,christ1 the ,chinese had mapped the    
heavens and knew the movements of the   
planets so well that they correctly     
prophesied the positions of the various 
constellations many years in advance4   
,twenty-five hundred years before our   
,christian era a ,chinese ,governor put 
to death the astronomers ,hi and ,ho    
because they had failed to foretell an  
eclipse1 quite according to the         
excellent ,celestial plan of killing the
 doctor when the patient dies4  ,sir    

,william ,hamilton points out the fact  
that the ,chinese1 five thousand years  
ago1 knew astronomy as well as we do1   
and that ,christian astrology grew out  
of ,chinese astronomy1 in an effort to  
foretell the fortunes of men4  ,fear    
wants to know the future1 and astrology 
and priesthood are synonymous terms1    
since the business of the priest has    
always been to prophesy1 a profession he
 has not yet discarded4 ,their          
prophecies are at present innocuous and 
lightly heeded4 ,they preach that       
perfect faith will move a mountain1 but 
energetic railroad-builders of today    
find it quicker and cheaper to tunnel4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,a certain type of man accepts a certain
 theory4  ,the ,christian view of       
creation was practically the conception 
of the ,greeks before ,thales4 ,this    
wise man1 in the ,sixth ,century before 
,christ1 taught that the earth was      
round1 and that certain stars were also 
worlds4 ,he showed that the earth was   

round and proved it by the disappearance
 of the ship as it sailed away4 ,he     
located the earth1 moon and sun so      
perfectly that he prophesied an eclipse1
 and when it took place it so terrified 
the ,medes and the ,lydians1 who were in
 battle with each other1 that they threw
 down their arms and made peace4 ,thales
 had explained that ,atlas carried the  
world on his shoulder1 but he didn't    
explain what ,atlas stood upon4         
,pythagoras1 one of the pupils of       
,thales1 following the idea still       
further1 showed that the moon derived   
its light from the sun2 that the earth  
was a globe and turned daily on its     
axis4  ,he held that the sun was the    
center of the universe and that the     
planets revolved around it4 ,anaxagoras 
followed a few years later than         
,pythagoras1 and became convinced that  
the sun was merely a ball of fire and   
therefore should not be worshiped2 that 
it follows a natural law1 that nothing  
ever happens by chance1 and that to pray

 for rain is absurd4  ,for his honesty  
in expressing what he thought was truth1
 the priests of ,athens had ,anaxagoras 
and his family exiled to perpetual      
banishment from ,athens and all of his  
books were burned4  ,plato touched on   
,astronomy1 for he touches on           
everything1 and fully believed that the 
earth was round4  ,his pupil1           
,aristotle1 taught all that ,anaxagoras 
taught1 and if he also had not been     
exiled1 but had been free to study1     
investigate and express himself1 he     
would have come very close to the truth4
  ,hipparchus1 a hundred years after    
,aristotle1 calculated the length of the
 year to within six minutes1 discovered 
the precession of equinoxes and counted 
all the stars he could see1 making a map
 of them4  ,seventy years after ,christ1
 ,ptolemy1 a ,greco-,egyptian1 but not  
of the royal line of ,ptolemies1        
published his great book1 ,the          
,almagest4 ,for over fourteen centuries 
it was the textbook for the best        

astronomers4  ,it taught that the earth 
was the center of the universe1 and that
 the sun and the planets revolve around 
it4 ,there were many absurdities1       
however1 that had to be explained1 and  
the priests practically rejected the    
whole book as pagan and taught an       
astronomy of their own1 founded entirely
 upon the ,bible4 ,they wanted an       
explanation that would be accepted by   
the common people4  ,this astronomy was 
not designed to be very scientific1     
exact or truthful--all they asked was1  
,is it plausible8 ,expediency1 to       
theology1 has always been much more     
important than truth4  ,besides1 said   
,saint ,basil1 what boots it concerning 
all this conjecture about the stars1    
since the earth is soon to come to an   
end1 as is shown by our ,holy           
,scriptures1 and man's business is to   
prepare his soul for eternity8  ,this   
was the general attitude of the         
,church--exact truth was a matter of    
indifference4 ,and if ,science tended to

 unseat men's faith in the ,bible1 and  
in ,god's most holy religion1 then so   
much the worse for ,science4  ,it will  
thus plainly be seen why the ,church    
felt compelled to fight ,science--the   
very life of the ,church was at stake4  
,the ,church was the vital thing--not   
truth4 ,if truth could be taught without
 unseating faith1 why1 all right1 but   
anything that made men doubt must be    
rooted out at any cost4 ,and that is why
 priests have opposed ,science1 not that
 they hate ,science less1 but that they 
love the ,church more4  ,from the time  
of ,ptolemy to that of                  
,copernicus--fourteen hundred           
years--theology practically dictated the
 learning of the world4 ,and to         
,copernicus must be given the credit of 
having really awakened the science of   
astronomy from her long and peaceful    
sleep4         99       99       99     
99       99  ,the little land that we   
know as ,poland has produced some of the
 finest and most acute intellects the   

world has ever known4  ,tragic and      
blood-stained is her history1 and this  
tragedy1 perhaps1 has been a prime      
factor in the evolution of her men of   
worth4 ,poland has been stamped upon and
 pushed apart2 and a persecuted people  
produce a pride of race that has its    
outcrop in occasional genius4  ,recently
 we heard of the great ,paderewski      
playing before the ,czar1 and ,his      
,majesty1 in a speech meant to be very  
complimentary1 congratulated the company
 that so great a genius as he was a     
citizen of ,russia4  ,your ,majesty1 ,i 
am not a ,russian--,i am a ,pole6 was   
the proud reply4  ,the ,czar replied1   
smiling1 ,there is no such country as   
,poland--now there is only ,russia6     
,and ,paderewski replied1 ,pardon my    
hasty remark--you speak but truth4 ,and 
then he played ,chopin's ,funeral       
,march1 a dirge not only to the great   
men of ,poland gone1 but to ,poland     
herself4  ,nicholas ,copernicus was born
 at the quaint old town of ,thorn1 in   

,poland1 ,february ,nineteen1 ,fourteen 
,hundred ,seventy-three4 ,the family    
name was ,koppernigk1 but ,nicholas     
latinized it when he became of age1 and 
seemingly separated from his immediate  
kinsmen forever4  ,his father was a     
merchant1 fairly prosperous1 and only in
 the line of money-making was he        
ambitious4 ,in the ,koppernigks ran a   
goodly strain of ,jewish blood1 but a   
generation before1 pressure and         
expediency seemed to combine1 so that   
the family1 as we first see them1 were  
,christians4 ,no soil can grow genius1  
no seed can produce it--it springs into 
being in spite of all laws and rules and
 regulations4 ,no hovel is safe from it1
 says ,whistler4  ,the portraits of     
,copernicus reveal a man of most marked 
personality3 proud1 handsome1           
self-contained1 intellectual4 ,the head 
is massive1 eyes full1 luminous1 wide   
apart1 his nose large and bold1 chin    
strong1 the mouth alone revealing a     
trace of the feminine1 as though the man

 were the child of his mother4 ,this    
mother had a brother who was a bishop1  
and the mother's ambition for her boy   
was that he should eventually follow in 
the footsteps of this illustrious       
brother who was known for a hundred     
miles as a preacher of marked ability4  
,so we hear of the young man being sent 
to the ,university of ,cracow1 as the   
preliminary to a great career4  ,the    
father bitterly opposed the idea of     
taking his son out of the practical     
world of business1 and this evidently   
led to the breach that caused young     
,nicholas to discard the family name4   
,that ,nicholas did not fully enter into
 his mother's plans is shown that while 
at ,cracow he devoted himself mostly to 
medicine4 ,he was so proficient in this 
that he secured a physician's degree2   
and having been given leave to practise 
he revealed his humanity by declining to
 do so1 turning to mathematics with a   
fine frenzy4  ,this disposition to drop 
on a thing1 turn loose on it1           

concentrate1 and reduce it to a chaos1  
is the true distinguishing mark of      
genius4 ,the difference in men does not 
lie in the size of their heads1 nor in  
the perfection of their bodies1 but in  
this one sublime ability of             
concentration--to throw the weight with 
the blow1 live an eternity in an        
hour--,this one thing ,i do6            
,copernicus at twenty-one was teaching  
mathematics at ,cracow1 and by his      
extraordinary ability in this one       
direction had attracted the attention of
 various learned men4 ,in fact the      
authorities of the college had grown a  
bit boastful of their star student1 and 
when visiting dignitaries arrived1 young
 ,copernicus was given chalk and        
blackboard and put through his paces4   
,problems involving a dozen figures and 
many fractions were worked out by him   
with a directness and precision that    
made him the wonder of that particular  
part of the world4  ,the science of     
trigonometry was invented by            

,copernicus1 and we see that early in   
his twenties he was well on the heels of
 it1 for he had then arranged a quadrant
 to measure the height of standing      
trees1 steeples1 buildings or mountains4
 ,for rest and recreation he painted    
pictures4  ,a college professor from    
,bologna traveling through ,cracow met  
,copernicus1 and greatly impressed with 
his powers1 invited him to return with  
him to ,bologna and there give a course 
of lectures on mathematics4  ,copernicus
 accepted1 and at ,bologna met the      
astronomer1 ,novarra4 ,this meeting was 
the turning-point of his life4          
,copernicus was then twenty-three years 
of age1 but in intellect he was a man4  
,he had vowed a year before that he     
would indulge in no trivial conversation
 about persons or things--only the great
 and noble themes should interest him   
and occupy his attention4  ,with        
commonplace or ignorant people he held  
no converse4 ,he had remarkable beauty  
of person and great dignity1 and his    

presence at ,bologna won immediate      
respect for him4  ,men accept other men 
at the estimate they place upon         
themselves4  ,in listening to lectures  
by ,novarra1 he perceived at once how   
mathematics could be made valuable in   
calculating the movement of stars4      
,novarra taught the ,ptolemaic theory of
 astronomy for the esoteric few4 ,the   
,church is made up of men1 and while    
priests for the most part are quite     
content to believe what the ,church     
teaches1 yet it has ever been recognized
 that there was one doctrine for the    
,few1 and another for the ,many--the    
esoteric and the exoteric4 ,the esoteric
 is an edged tool1 and only a very few  
are fit to handle it4 ,the charge of    
heresy is only for those who are so     
foolish as to give out these edged tools
 to the people4 ,you may talk about     
anything you want1 provided you do not  
do it2 and you may do anything you want1
 provided you do not talk about it4     
,the proposition that the earth was     

flat1 had four corners1 and the stars   
were jewels hung in the sky as signs1   
and were moved about by angels1 was all 
right for the many1 but now and then    
there were priests who were not content 
with these child-stories--they wanted   
truth--and these usually accepted the   
theories of ,ptolemy4  ,novarra believed
 that the earth was a globe2 that this  
globe was the center of the universe1   
and that around the earth the sun1 moon 
and certain stars revolved4 ,the fixed  
stars he still regarded as being hung   
against the firmament1 and that this    
firmament was turned in some mysterious 
way1 en masse4  ,copernicus listened    
silently1 but his heart beat fast4 ,he  
had found something upon which he could 
exercise his mathematics4 ,he and       
,novarra sat up all night in the belfry 
of the cathedral and watched the stars4 
,they saw that they moved steadily1     
surely and without caprice4 ,it was all 
natural1 and could be reduced1          
,copernicus thought1 to a mathematical  

system4  ,astrology and astronomy were  
not then divorced4 ,it was astrology    
that gave us astronomy4 ,the angel that 
watched over a star looked after all    
persons who were born under that star's 
influence1 or else appointed some other 
angel for the purpose4 ,every person had
 a guardian angel to protect him from   
the evil spirits that occasionally broke
 out of ,hell and came up to earth to   
tempt men4  ,mathematics knows nothing  
of angels--it only knows what it can    
prove4 ,copernicus believed that1 if    
certain stars did move1 they moved by   
some unalterable law of their own4 ,in  
riding on a boat he observed that the   
shores seemed to be moving past1 and he 
concluded that a part1 at least1 of the 
seeming movements of planets might      
possibly be caused by the moving of the 
earth4  ,in talking with astrologers he 
perceived that very seldom did they know
 anything of mathematics4 ,and this     
ignorance on their part caused him to   
doubt them entirely4  ,his faith was in 

mathematics--the thing that could be    
proved--and he came to the conclusion   
that astronomy and mathematics were one 
thing1 and astrology and child-stories  
another4  ,he remained at ,bologna just 
long enough to turn the astrologers out 
of the society of astronomers4          
,novarra's lectures on astronomy were   
given in ,latin1 and in truth all       
learning was locked up in this tongue4  
,but astrology and the theological      
fairy-tales of the people floated free4 
,they were a part of the vagrant        
hagiology of the roadside preachers1 who
 with lurid imaginations said the things
 they thought would help carry          
conviction home and make believers4     
,from ,bologna ,copernicus then moved on
 to ,padua1 where he remained two years1
 teaching and giving lectures4 ,here he 
devoted considerable time to chemistry1 
and on leaving he was honored by being  
given a degree by the ,university4 ,next
 we find him at ,rome1 a professor in   
mathematics and also giving lectures on 

chemistry4 ,his lectures were not for   
the populace--they were for the learned 
few4 ,but they attracted the attention  
of the best1 and were commented upon and
 quoted by the various other teachers1  
preachers and lecturers4 ,a daring      
thinker who expresses himself without   
reservation states the things that      
various others know and would like to   
state if they dared4 ,it is often very  
convenient when you want a thing said to
 enclose the matter in quotation-marks4 
,it relieves one from the responsibility
 of standing sponsor for it1 if the     
hypothesis does not prove popular4      
,copernicus was only nineteen years old 
when ,columbus discovered ,america1 but 
it seems he did not hear of ,columbus   
until he reached ,bologna in ,fourteen  
,hundred ,ninety-five4 ,at ,rome he made
 various references to ,columbus in his 
lectures2 dwelt upon the truth that the 
earth was a globe2 mentioned the obvious
 fact that in sailing westward ,columbus
 did not sail his ship over the edge of 

the earth into ,hell1 as had been       
prophesied he would4  ,he also explained
 that the red sky at sunset was not     
caused by the reflections from ,hell1   
nor was the sun moved behind a mountain 
by giant angels at night4 ,copernicus   
was a ,catholic1 as all teachers were1  
but he had been deceived by the esoteric
 and the exoteric1 and had really       
thought that the priests and so-called  
educated men actually desired1 for      
themselves1 to know the truth4  ,at     
,padua he had learned to read ,greek1   
and had become more or less familiar    
with ,pythagoras1 ,hipparchus1          
,aristotle and ,plato4 ,he quoted these 
authors and showed how in some ways they
 were beyond the present4 ,this was all 
done in the exuberance of youth1 with   
never a doubt as to the value and the   
beauty of the ,church4 ,but he was      
thinking more of truth than of the      
,church1 and when a cardinal from the   
,vatican came to him1 and in all        
kindness cautioned him1 and in love     

explained it was all right for a man to 
believe what he wished1 but to teach    
others things that were not authorized  
was a mistake4  ,copernicus was abashed 
and depressed4  ,he saw then that his   
lectures had really been for himself--he
 was endeavoring to make things plain to
 ,copernicus1 and the welfare of the    
,church had been forgotten4  ,he ceased 
lecturing for a time1 but private pupils
 came to him1 and among them astrologers
 in disguise1 and these went away and   
told broadcast that ,copernicus was     
teaching that the movements of the stars
 were not caused by angels1 and that    
,god was being dethroned by a           
tape-measure and a yardstick4 ,alchemy  
had a strong hold upon the popular mind1
 and these alchemists and astrologers   
were fortune-tellers and derived a      
goodly income from the people4  ,they   
had their stands in front of all        
churches and turned in a goodly tithe   
for the benefit of the poor4  ,when the 
astrologers attacked ,copernicus he     

tried to explain that the heavens were  
under the reign of natural law1 and that
 so far as he knew there was no direct  
relationship between the stars and the  
men upon earth4 ,the answer was1 ,you   
yourself foretell the eclipse1 and      
assume to know when a star will be in a 
certain place a hundred years in        
advance2 now1 if you can prophesy about 
stars1 why can't we foretell a man's    
future8  ,copernicus proudly declined to
 answer such ignorance1 but went on to  
say that alchemy was a violence to      
chemistry as much as astrology was to   
astronomy4 ,in chemistry there were     
exact results that could be computed by 
mathematics and foretold2 it was        
likewise so in astronomy4  ,copernicus  
was philosopher enough to know that     
astrology led to astronomy1 and alchemy 
led to chemistry1 but he said all he    
wished to do was to eliminate error and 
find the truth1 and when we have        
ascertained the laws of ,god in         
reference to these things1 we should    

discard the use of black cats1 goggles1 
peaked hats1 red fire and               
incantations--these things were         
sacrilege4 ,and the enemy declared that 
,copernicus was guilty of heresy in     
saying they were guilty of sacrilege4   
,moreover1 black cats were not as bad as
 blackboards4  ,the ,pope certainly had 
no idea of treating ,copernicus harshly2
 in fact1 he greatly admired him--but   
peace was the thing desired4 ,copernicus
 was creating a schism1 and there was   
danger that the revenues would be       
affected4 ,the ,pope sent for           
,copernicus1 received him with great    
honor1 blessed him1 and suggested that  
he return at once to his native town of 
,thorn and there await good news that   
would come to him soon4  ,copernicus was
 overwhelmed with gratitude--he was in  
difficulties4  ,certain priests had     
publicly denounced him2 others had urged
 him on to unseemliness in debate2 he   
had stated things he could not prove1   
even though he knew they were true--but 

the ,pope was his friend6 ,he loved the 
,church2 he felt how necessary it was to
 the people1 and at the last1 the desire
 of his heart was to bless and benefit  
the world4  ,he fell on his knees and   
attempted to kiss the ,pope's foot1 but 
the ,holy ,father offered him his hand  
instead1 smiled on him1 stroked his     
head1 and an attendant was ordered to   
place about his neck a chain of gold    
with a crucifix that would protect him  
from all harm4 ,a purse was placed in   
his hand1 and he was sent upon his way  
relieved1 happy--wondering1 wondering6  
99       99       99       99       99  
,when ,copernicus reached his native    
town of ,thorn1 the local clergy turned 
out in a procession to greet him1 and a 
solemn service of thanksgiving was held 
for his safe return home4  ,copernicus  
was only twenty-seven years of age1 and 
what he had done was not quite clear to 
his uncle1 the bishop1 and the other    
dignitaries1 but word had come from the 
secretary of the ,pope that he should be

 honored1 and it was all so done1 in    
faith1 love and enthusiasm4  ,very      
shortly after this ,copernicus was made 
,canon of the ,cathedral at ,frauenburg4
 ,the town of ,frauenburg has now only  
about twenty-five hundred people1 and it
 certainly was no larger then4 ,the     
place is slow1 sleepy1 and quite off the
 beaten track of travel4  ,when ,canon  
,copernicus preached now1 it was to a   
dear1 stupid lot of old marketwomen and 
overworked men and mischievous children4
 ,oratory is a collaboration--let him   
wax eloquent about the precession of the
 equinoxes1 and prate of ,plato and     
,pythagoras if he wished--no one could  
understand him6 ,rome is wise--the      
crystallized experience of centuries is 
hers4 ,responsibility tames a           
man--marriage1 political office1        
churchly preferment--read history and   
note how these things have dulled the   
bright blade of revolution and turned   
the radical into a ,presbyterian        
professor at ,princeton1 a staunch      

upholder of the ,established ,order6    
,plato said that ,solar ,energy found   
one of its forms of expression in man4  
,some men are much more highly charged  
with it than others2 your genius is a   
man who does things4 ,do not think to   
dam up the red current of his life--he  
may die4  ,copernicus set to work       
practising medicine1 and gave his       
services gratis to the poor1 who came   
for many miles to consult him4  ,he went
 from house to house and ordered his    
people to clean up their back yards1 to 
ventilate their houses1 to bathe and be 
decent and orderly4 ,he devised a system
 of sewerage1 and utilized the belfry of
 his church as a water-tower so as to   
get a water pressure from the little    
stream that ran near the town4 ,the     
remains of this invention are to be seen
 there in the church-steeple even unto  
this day4  ,king ,sigismund of ,poland  
had heard of the attacks made by        
,copernicus upon the alchemists1 and    
sent for him that he might profit by his

 advice1 for it seems that the ,king1   
too1 had been having experience with    
alchemists4 ,in their seeking after a   
way to make gold out of the baser metals
 they had actually succeeded4 ,at least 
they said so1 and had made the ,king    
believe it4  ,they had shown the ,king  
how he could cheapen his coinage        
one-half1 and it was just as good6 ,the 
,king could not tell the difference when
 the coins were new1 but alas6 when they
 went beyond the borders of ,poland they
 could only be passed at one-half their 
face-value2 travelers refused to accept 
them2 and even the merchants at home    
were getting afraid4  ,copernicus       
analyzed some of this money made for the
 ,king by his alchemist friends and     
found a large alloy of tin1 copper and  
zinc4 ,he explained to the ,king that by
 mixing the metals they did not change  
their nature nor value4 ,gold was gold1 
and copper was copper--,god had made    
these things and hid them in the earth  
and men might deceive some men--a part  

of the time--but there was always a     
retribution4 ,debase your currency1 and 
soon it will cease to pass current4 ,no 
law can long uphold a fictitious value4 
,the ,king urged ,copernicus to write a 
book on the subject of coinage4  ,the   
permission of the ,pope was secured1 and
 the book written4 ,the work is valuable
 yet1 and reveals a deep insight into   
the heart of things4 ,the man knew      
political economy1 and foretold that a  
people who debased their currency       
debased themselves4  ,money is          
character1 he said1 and if you pretend  
it is one thing1 and it turns out to be 
another1 you lose your reputation and   
your own self-respect4 ,no government   
can afford to deceive the governed4 ,if 
the people lose confidence in their     
rulers1 a new government will spring    
into being1 built upon the ruins of the 
old4 ,government and commerce are built 
on confidence4  ,then he went on to show
 that ,german gold was valuable         
everywhere1 because it was pure2 but    

,polish gold and ,russian gold were     
below par1 because the money had been   
tampered with1 and as no secrets could  
be kept long1 the result was the matter 
exactly equalized itself1 save that     
,russians and ,polanders had in a large 
degree lost their characters through    
belief in miracles4 ,copernicus         
advocated a universal coinage1 to be    
adopted by all civilized nations1 and   
the amount of alloy should be known and 
plainly stated1 and this alloy should   
simply be the seigniorage1 or what was  
taken out to cover the cost of mintage4 
,king ,sigismund circulated this        
valuable book by ,copernicus among all  
the courts of ,europe1 and it need not  
be stated that the suggestions made by  
,copernicus have been adopted by        
civilized nations everywhere4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,the humdrum duties of a country        
clergyman did not still the intense     
longing of ,copernicus to know and      
understand the truth4 ,he visited the   

sick1 closed the eyes of the dying1 kept
 his parish register1 but his heart was 
in mathematics1 and so there is shown at
 ,thorn an old church register kept by  
,copernicus1 where1 in the back1 are    
great rows of figures put down by the   
,master as he worked at some            
astronomical problem4 ,in the upper     
floor of the barn1 back of the old      
dilapidated farmhouse where he lived for
 forty years1 he cut holes in the roof1 
and also apertures in the sides of the  
building1 through which he watched the  
movements of the stars4 ,he lived in    
practical isolation and exile1 for the  
,church had forbidden him to speak in   
public except upon themes that the ,holy
 ,fathers in their wisdom had           
authorized4 ,none was to invite him to  
speak1 read his writings or hold        
converse with him1 except on strictly   
church matters4  ,copernicus knew the   
situation--he was a watched man4 ,for   
him there was no preferment3 he knew too
 much6 ,as long as he kept near home and

 did his priestly work1 all was well2   
but a trace of ambition or heresy1 and  
he would be dealt with4 ,the            
,universities and all prominent         
,churchmen were secretly ordered to     
leave ,copernicus and his vagaries      
severely alone4 ,but the stars were his 
companions--they came out for him       
nightly and moved in majesty across the 
sky4 ,they do me great honor1 he said2  
,i am forbidden to converse with great  
men1 but ,god has ordered for me a      
procession4 ,when the whole town slept1 
,copernicus watched the heavens1 and    
made minute records of his observations4
 ,he had brought with him from ,rome    
copies made by himself from the works of
 the prominent ,greek astronomers1 and  
the ,almagest of ,ptolemy he knew by    
heart4  ,he digested all that had been  
written on the subject of astronomy2    
slowly and patiently he tested every    
hypothesis with his rude and improvised 
instruments4 ,surely ,god will not damn 
me for wanting to know the truth about  

,his glorious works1 he used to say4    
,emerson once wrote this3 ,if the stars 
came out but once in a thousand years1  
how men would adore6 ,but before he had 
written this1 ,copernicus had said3 ,to 
look up at the sky1 and behold the      
wondrous works of ,god1 must make a man 
bow his head and heart in silence4 ,i   
have thought and studied1 and worked for
 years1 and ,i know so little--all ,i   
can do is to adore when ,i behold this  
unfailing regularity1 this miraculous   
balance and perfect adaptation4 ,the    
majesty of it all humbles me to the     
dust4  ,it was ostracism and exile that 
gave ,copernicus the leisure to pursue  
his studies in quiet1 undiverted1       
undisturbed4 ,he was relieved from      
financial pinch1 having all he needed   
for his simple1 homely wants4 ,the      
mental distance that separated him from 
his parishioners made him free1 and the 
order that he should not travel and that
 none should visit him made him master  
of his time4 ,there were no             

interruptions--,god has set me apart1 he
 wrote1 that ,i may study and make plain
 ,his works4 ,but still1 that he could  
not make his discoveries known was a    
constant1 bitter disappointment to him4 
,in astronomy he found a means of using 
his mighty mathematical genius for his  
own pleasure and amusement4 ,the ,pope  
had1 in seeking to subdue him1 merely   
supplied the exact conditions he        
required to do his work--yet neither    
knew it4 ,so mighty is ,destiny3 we work
 for one thing and fail to get it1 but  
in our efforts we find something better4
  ,the simple1 hard-working gardeners   
with whom ,copernicus lived1 had a      
reverent awe for the great man2 they    
guessed his worth1 but still had        
suspicions of his sanity4 ,his nightly  
vigils they took for a sort of religious
 ecstasy1 and a wholesome fear made them
 quite willing not to do anything that  
might disturb him4  ,so passed the days 
away1 and from a light-hearted1         
ambitious man1 ,copernicus had grown old

 and bowed1 and nearly blind from       
constant watching of the stars and      
writing at night4  ,but his book1 ,the  
,revolution of the ,heavenly ,bodies1   
was at last complete4 ,for forty years  
he had worked at it1 and for            
twenty-seven years1 he himself says1 not
 a day or a night had passed without his
 having added something to it4  ,he felt
 that he had in this book told the      
truth4 ,if men wanted to know the facts 
about the heavens they would find them  
here4 ,he had approached the subject    
with no preconceived ideas2 he had ever 
been willing to renounce a theory when  
he found it wrong4 ,he knew what all    
other great astronomers had taught1 and 
out of them all he had built a ,science 
of ,astronomy that he knew would stand  
secure4  ,but what should he do with all
 this mass of truth he had discovered8  
,it was in his own brain1 and it was in 
the three thousand pages of this book1  
which had been rewritten five times4 ,in
 a few years at most1 his brain would be

 stilled in death2 and in five minutes1 
ignorance and malice might reduce the   
book to ashes1 and the forty years'     
labor of ,copernicus--working1 dreaming1
 calculating1 weeping1 praying--would   
all go for naught and be but a tale that
 is told4 ,others might have lived such 
lives and known as much as he1 and all  
was lost6  ,to send the book frankly to 
,rome and ask the ,censor for the       
privilege to publish it1 was out of the 
question entirely--the request would be 
refused1 the manuscript destroyed1 and  
his own life might be in danger4  ,to   
publish it at home without the consent  
of his ,bishop would be equally         
dangerous4 ,there would be a bonfire of 
every copy in the public square2 for in 
this volume1 all that the priests taught
 of astronomy had been contradicted and 
refuted4  ,and then it occurred to him  
to send the manuscript to the free city 
of ,nuremberg1 the home of science1 art 
and free speech1 where men could print  
what they thought was truth--,nuremberg1

 the home of ,albrecht ,durer4 ,with the
 book he sent a bag of gold1 his savings
 of a lifetime1 to pay the expense of   
printing the volume and putting it      
before the world4  ,to better protect   
himself1 ,copernicus wrote a preface1   
dedicating the book to the ,pope ,paul1 
thus throwing himself upon the mercy of 
,his ,holiness4 ,he would not put the   
work out anonymously1 as his friends in 
,nuremberg1 for his own safety1 had     
advised4 ,and neither would he flee to  
,nuremberg for protection2 he would stay
 at home--he was too old to travel      
now--besides1 he had forgotten how to   
talk and act with men of talent4  ,how  
would ,rome receive the book8 ,he could 
only guess--he could only guess4  ,the  
months went by1 and fear1 anxiety and   
suspense had their sway4 ,he was        
stricken with fever4 ,in his delirium he
 called aloud1 ,the book--tell me--they 
surely have not burned it--you know ,i  
wrote no word but truth--oh1 how could  
they burn my book6  ,but on ,may        

,twenty-third1 ,fifteen ,hundred        
,forty-three1 a messenger came from     
,nuremberg4  ,he carried a copy of the  
printed book--he was admitted to the    
sick-room1 and placed in the hands of   
the stricken man the volume4 ,a gleam of
 sanity came to ,copernicus4 ,he smiled1
 and taking the book gazed upon it1     
stroked its cover as though caressing   
it1 opened it and turned the leaves4    
,then closing the book and holding it to
 his heart1 he closed his eyes1 and sank
 to sleep1 to awake no more4  ,his body 
was buried with simple village honors1  
and laid to rest beneath the floor of   
the ,cathedral where he had so long     
ministered1 side by side with a long    
line of priests4 ,on the little slab    
that marked his resting-place no mention
 was made of the mighty work he had done
 for truth4 ,there were fears that when 
the character of his book was known1 the
 grave of ,copernicus would not remain  
undisturbed1 and so the inscription on  
the headstone was simply this3 ,i ask   

not the grace accorded to ,paul2 not    
that given to ,peter2 give me only the  
favor which ,thou didst show to the     
thief on the cross4     ,illustration3  
,,humboldt  ,,humboldt        ,the      
actual miracle of the ,universe is the  
invariableness of ,law4      ,under like
 conditions a like result must follow1  
and upon this rock      is the faith of 
the ,scientists built4       --,the     
,cosmos   ,,humboldt  ,the ,baron and   
,baroness von ,hollwede were not happily
 married4  ,the ,baroness had intellect1
 spirit1 aspiration1 with an            
appreciation of all that was best in    
art1 music and the world of thought4 ,as
 to the ,baron1 he had drunk life's wine
 to the lees and pronounced the draft   
bitter4 ,he was a heavy dragoon with a  
soul for foxhounds4 ,later1 when gout   
got to twinging him1 he contented       
himself with cards and cronies4  ,and   
then ,destiny1 like a novelist who does 
not know what to do with a character1   
sent him on an excursion across the     

,river ,styx4  ,this was a good move all
 round1 and the only accommodating      
action in which the ,baron ever had a   
part4 ,he left a large estate1 not being
 able to take it along4  ,there are two 
kinds of widows1 the bereaved and the   
relieved4 ,in ,india no widow is allowed
 to remarry4 ,the canons of the         
,episcopal ,church forbid any widow or  
widower to remarry whose former partner 
is living4 ,a member of the ,catholic   
,church who makes a marital mistake is  
not allowed to rectify it4 ,yet ,nature1
 sometimes1 as if to prove the          
foolishness of fearsome little man1     
justifies that of which man hotly       
disapproves4  ,to be a widow of         
thirty-six1 fair of face and comely in  
form1 to own a beautiful home and have  
an income greater than you can spend1   
and still not enough to burden you--what
 nobler ambition6  ,the ,baroness had a 
little encumbrance--a son aged ten4 ,i  
would like to tell of his career1 but   
alas1 of him history is silent1 save    

that he was heir to some of his father's
 proclivities1 grew up1 became an army  
officer and passed into obscurity in    
middle life1 dishonored and unsung4     
,such a widow as the ,baroness von      
,hollwede is not apt to mourn for long4 
,she was courted by many1 but it was    
,major ,humboldt who found favor in her 
heart4 ,i assume that all of my gentle  
readers have in them some of the        
saltness of time1 so that details may   
safely be omitted--let imagination      
bridge the interesting gap4  ,the ,major
 was a few years younger than the lady1 
but like the gallant gentleman that he  
was1 he swore i' faith before the notary
 that they were of the same age1 just as
 ,robert ,browning did when officially  
interrogated as to the age of ,elizabeth
 ,barrett4 ,thomas ,brackett ,reed      
avowed that no gentleman ever weighed   
over two hundred pounds1 and ,i also    
maintain no gentleman ever married a    
woman older than himself4  ,the marriage
 of ,major ,humboldt and the ,baroness  

von ,hollwede was a most happy mating   
that fully justified the venture4 ,the  
,major had done his work bravely in the 
,seven ,years' ,war1 and was now an     
attache of the ,king's ,court--a man of 
means1 of intellect1 and of many strong 
and beautiful virtues4 ,after the       
marriage he became known as ,baron von  
,humboldt1 and as to just how he        
succeeded to the noble title let us not 
be curious--his wife undoubtedly        
bestowed it on him1 good and generous   
woman that she was4  ,they lived in the 
romantic ,castle ,tegel1 near ,berlin1  
and separated from the city by a park1  
where the dark pines still tower aloft  
and murmur their secrets to the night   
breeze4  ,tegel is a most beautiful     
place2 it was first a hunting-lodge     
occupied by ,frederick the ,great4 ,it  
is shut out from the world by its high  
stone walls2 and in its dim1 dense      
woods1 one might easily imagine he was  
far indeed from the madding crowd4      
,here there were two sons born to the   

,baron and ,baroness--two years apart4  
,one of these sons sleeps now beneath   
the turret where he first saw the light1
 and from which he made others see the  
light as long as he lived4  ,in         
,goethe's ,faust is an allusion to a    
mysterious legend that had its rise in  
storied ,tegel4 ,on ,may ,eighteenth1 in
 the year ,seventeen ,hundred           
,seventy-eight4 ,goethe came here1      
walking over from ,berlin1 dined1 and   
walked on to ,potsdam4 ,but before he   
left he saw two beautiful boys1 aged    
eight and ten1 playing beneath the      
spreading ,tegel trees4 ,the boys       
remembered the event and wrote of it in 
their journal1 mentioning the kindly    
pats on their heads and the prophecy    
that they would grow up and be great    
men4  ,goethe was always patting boys on
 the head and saying graceful things1   
and it is doubtful whether his prophecy 
was more than a mere commonplace4 ,but  
,goethe always claimed it was divine    
prophecy4 ,these boys were ,william and 

,alexander von ,humboldt4  ,history does
 not supply another instance of two     
brothers attaining the intellectual     
height reached by ,alexander and        
,william von ,humboldt4 ,this being so1 
it seems meet that we should tarry a    
little to inspect the method adopted in 
the education of these boys--something  
that the educated world for the most    
part has not done4         99       99  
99       99       99  ,this world of    
ours1 round like an orange and slightly 
flattened at the poles1 has produced    
only five men who were educated4 ,of    
course all education is comparative2 but
 these five are so beyond the rest of   
mankind that they form a class by       
themselves4  ,an educated man means a   
developed man--a man rounded on every   
side of his nature4 ,we are aware of no 
limit to which the mind of man may      
evolve2 other men may appear who will   
surpass the ,immortal ,five1 but this   
fact remains3 none that we know have4   
,great men1 so-called1 are usually      

specialists3 clever actors1 individuals 
with a knack1 talented comedians--who   
preach1 carve1 paint1 orate1 fight1     
manipulate1 manage1 teach1 write1       
perform1 coerce1 bribe1 hypnotize1      
accomplish1 and get results4 ,there are 
great financiers1 sea-captains1         
mathematicians1 football players1       
engineers1 bishops1 wrestlers1 runners1 
boxers1 and players on zithern-strings4 
,but these are not necessarily very     
great men1 any more than poets1 painters
 and pianists1 with wonderful hirsute   
effects and strange haberdashery are    
great men4  ,for it is intellect and    
emotion expanded in every direction that
 give the true title to greatness4      
,judged in this way1 how rare is the    
educated man--five in six thousand      
years6 ,and yet one of these five       
educated men had a brother nearly as    
great as he4  ,alexander von ,humboldt  
was past fifty before the world of      
thinking men realized that he had       
outstripped his brother ,william--and   

,alexander would never admit he had4    
,these two men1 handsome in face1 form  
and feature3 strong in body and poised  
in mind1 with souls athirst to realize  
and to know--happy men1 living long     
lives of useful effort--surely should be
 classed as educated persons4  ,and in  
passing1 let us note that all education 
is preparatory--it is life that gives   
the finals1 not the college4 ,the       
education of the von ,humboldt boys was 
the ,natural ,method--the method        
advocated by ,rousseau--the education by
 play and work so combined that study   
never becomes irksome nor work          
repulsive4 ,rousseau said1 ,make a task 
repugnant and the worker will forever   
quit it as soon as the pressure that    
holds him to it is removed4  ,the       
parents of ,alexander and ,william von  
,humboldt carefully studied the new plan
 of education that was at that time     
being advocated by some of the best     
professors at ,berlin4 ,a child must    
have a teacher1 said ,jean ,jacques1 but

 a professional teacher is apt to become
 the slave of his profession1 and when  
this occurs he has separated himself    
from life1 and therefore to that degree 
is unfitted to teach4  ,a school should 
not be a preparation for life3 a school 
should be life4 ,the ,kindergarten      
,idea1 among other things1 suggests that
 a child should never know he is in     
school4  ,the discipline is kept out of 
sight1 and the youngster finds himself a
 part of the busy life4 ,he blends in   
with the others1 and works1 plays and   
sings under the wise and loving care of 
his other mother1 the teacher4 ,he is   
living1 not simply preparing to live4   
,all life should be joyous1 spontaneous1
 natural4 ,the ,rousseau ,idea1 which   
was modified and refined by ,froebel1 is
 the utilization of the propensity to   
play4  ,major von ,humboldt found a man 
who was saturated with the true ,froebel
 spirit1 although this was before       
,froebel was born4  ,the man's name was 
,heinrich ,campe4 ,heinrich was hired to

 superintend the education of the       
,humboldt boys4 ,that is to say1 he was 
to become comrade1 friend1 counselor1   
fellow-scholar1 playmate and teacher4   
,play needs direction as well as work4  
,campe played with the boys4 ,they lived
 with ,nature--made lists of all the    
trees at ,tegel1 drew sketches of the   
leaves and fruit1 calculated the height 
of trees1 measured them at the base1 and
 cut them down occasionally1 first      
sitting in judgment on the case1 and    
deciding why a certain tree should be   
removed1 thus getting a lesson in       
scientific forestry4  ,they became      
acquainted with the bugs1 beetles1 birds
 and squirrels4 ,they cared for the     
horses1 cattle and fowls1 and best of   
all they learned to wait on themselves4 
,campe told them tales of history--of   
,achilles1 ,pericles and ,csar4 ,then   
they studied ,greek1 that they might    
read of ,athens in the language of the  
men who made ,athens great4 ,they       
translated ,robinson ,crusoe into the   

,german language1 and ,campe's          
translation of ,robinson ,crusoe is     
today a ,german classic4 ,it was all    
natural--interesting1 easy4 ,the day was
 filled with work and play1 and joyous  
tales of what had been said by others in
 days agone4  ,teach only what you know1
 and never that which you merely        
believe1 said ,rousseau4  ,there is     
still a cry that religion should be     
taught in the public schools4 ,if we    
ask1 ,what religion8 the answer is1     
,ours1 of course6  ,religious dogma1    
being a matter of belief1 was taught to 
the ,humboldts as a part of history4    
,so these boys very early became        
acquainted with the dogmas of           
,confucianism1 ,mohammedanism1          
,christianity4 ,they separated1 compared
 and analyzed1 and saw for themselves   
that dogmatic religions were all much   
alike4 ,to know all religions is to     
escape slavery to any4 ,in studying the 
development of races these boys saw that
 a certain type of religion fits a      

certain man in a certain stage of his   
evolution1 and so perhaps to that degree
 religion is necessary4 ,an ethnologist 
is never a ,corner ,grocery ,infidel4   
,the ,c4,g4,i4 is very apt to be        
converted at the first revival1         
outrivaling all other seekers1 and when 
warm weather comes1 falling from grace  
and dropping easily into scofferdom4    
,the ,humboldts1 like ,thoreau1 never   
had any quarrel with ,god1 and they were
 never tempted to go forward to the     
,mourners' ,bench4  ,origin and destiny 
did not trouble them2 predestination and
 justification by faith were not even in
 their curriculum2 foreordination and   
baptism were to them problems not to be 
taken seriously4  ,by studying religions
 in groups and incidentally1 they       
learned to distinguish the fetish in    
each4 ,they read ,greek mythology side  
by side with ,judean mythology and noted
 similarities4 ,the intent of ,tutor    
,campe was to give these boys a         
scientific education4 ,science is only  

classified commonsense4 ,to be truly    
scientific is to know differences--to   
distinguish between this and that4      
,every successful farmer has traveled a 
long way into science1 for science deals
 with the maintenance of life4 ,to know 
soils1 animals and vegetation is to be  
scientific4  ,but when the average      
farmer learns to transmute compost into 
grass and grain1 and these into beef1 he
 usually stops1 content4 ,to be a       
scientist in the true sense1 one must   
love knowledge for its own sake1 and not
 merely for what it will bring on       
market-day1 and so the ,humboldts were  
led on through the stage of wanting to  
make money1 to the stage of wanting to  
know the why and wherefore4 ,it will be 
seen that the education of the          
,humboldts was what the ,boylston       
,professor of ,english at ,harvard calls
 faddism1 or the successful effort at   
flabbiness4 ,our ,harvard friend thinks 
that education should be a              
discipline--that it should be difficult 

and vexatious1 and that happiness1      
spontaneity and exuberance are the      
antitheses and the foes of learning4 ,to
 him grim earnestness1 silence1 sweat   
and lamp-smoke are preferable to        
sunshine and joyous1 useful work so     
wisely directed that the pupil thinks it
 play4 ,he believes that to be sincere  
we must be serious4 ,in these latter-day
 objections there is nothing new4       
,socrates met them all2 ,rousseau heard 
the cry of fad2 ,heyne1 ,pestalozzi1    
,campe1 ,knuth and ,froebel met the     
carpist and answered him reason for     
reason1 just as ,copernicus1 ,bruno and 
,galileo told the reason the earth      
revolved4 ,the professional teacher who 
can do nothing but teach--the college   
professor who is a college professor and
 nothing else--hates the ,natural       
,method man about as ardently as the    
person who wears a paste diamond hates  
the lapidary4         99       99       
99       99       99  ,heinrich ,campe  
was the tutor of the ,humboldts for two 

years1 when he entered the employ of the
 ,king as ,commissioner of ,education4  
,after this1 however1 he continued to   
spend one day a week at ,tegel for some 
time4 ,he loved the boys as his own1 and
 his hope for their future never        
relaxed4 ,possibly his interest was not 
wholly disinterested--with the help of  
these lads he was working out and       
proving his pedagogic theories4  ,when  
,campe resigned his immediate tutorship 
he was allowed to select his successor1 
and he chose a young man by the name of 
,christian ,knuth4  ,the mother was a   
member of this little university of four
 persons2 ,knuth1 of course1 was a      
member1 for he always considered himself
 more of a student than a teacher4      
,when ,campe resigned in favor of ,knuth
 his action was in degree prompted by   
his love and consideration for the boys4
 ,knuth was only a little past twenty1  
and was able to enter into the          
out-of-door sports and work of the      
youngsters better than the older man4   

,knuth was their hero--together they    
rode horseback1 climbed mountains1      
excavated tunnels1 mined for ore1 built 
miniature houses4 ,knuth made every good
 thing in ,berlin available to us1 wrote
 ,william years afterward2 we visited   
stores1 factories1 barracks and schools1
 and became familiar with a thousand    
commonplace things never taught in      
schools and colleges4  ,when ,alexander 
was twelve years old1 the father died4  
,this would have been a severe blow to  
the boys were it not for ,knuth1 who    
seemed to stand to them more as the real
 parent than did ,major von ,humboldt4  
,knuth was a businessman of no mean     
ability4 ,the ,baroness now trusted him 
with all her financial affairs4 ,he     
called on the boys to help him in the   
details of business1 so the keeping of  
accounts and the economical handling of 
money were lessons they learned early in
 life4  ,when ,alexander was seventeen  
and ,william nineteen1 the mother and   
,knuth decided that the boys should have

 the advantages of university life4     
,accordingly they were duly entered at  
the ,university of ,frankfort as special
 students4  ,knuth also entered as a    
student in the class with them4 ,special
 students1 let it be known1 are usually 
those who have failed to pass the       
required examinations4 ,in this         
instance1 ,alexander and ,william were  
beyond many of their classmates in some 
things1 but in others they were         
deficient4 ,especially had their        
education in the dead languages been    
neglected1 so it is quite likely they   
could not have passed the examinations  
had they attempted it4  ,it should also 
be explained that special students are  
not eligible to diplomas or degrees4    
,but ,campe and ,knuth did not believe  
the nerve-racking plan of examinations  
wise1 any more than it is wisdom to pull
 up a plant and examine the roots to see
 how it prospers4 ,neither did they     
prize a college degree4  ,they knew full
 well that a college degree is no proof 

of excellence of character2 to them a   
degree was too cheap a thing to deviate 
in one's orbit to secure4 ,they were    
after bigger game4  ,at ,frankfort1     
,knuth and his charges lived in the     
family of ,professor ,loffler1 so as to 
rub off a little knowledge from this    
learned man4 ,they studied history1     
philosophy1 law1 political economy and  
natural history4 ,we would say their    
method was desultory1 were it not for   
the fact that they were always thorough 
in all that they undertook4 ,they were  
simply three boys together1 intent on   
getting their money's worth4  ,william  
was a little better student than        
,alexander1 and was the leader2 he was  
larger in stature and seemed to have    
more vitality4  ,two years were spent at
 the ,university of ,frankfort1 and then
 our trio moved on to the ,university of
 ,gottingen1 where there were           
distinguished lecturers on ,natural     
,history and ,archeology4 ,antiquity    
especially interested the boys1 and the 

evolution and history of races were     
followed with animation4  ,william took 
especially to philosophy as expressed in
 the writings of ,kant1 while ,alexander
 developed a love for botany and what he
 called the science of out-of-doors4    
,two years at ,gottingen1 following the 
bent of their minds and listening only  
to those lectures they liked1 and they  
moved on to ,jena4  ,here they were in  
the ,goethe country4 ,soon there were   
overtures from ,berlin that they enter  
the service of the ,government4 ,these  
overtures were set in motion by ,campe1 
who1 however1 kept out of sight in the  
matter1 and when accused1 stoutly       
declared that it was every man's duty to
 help himself1 and that he personally   
had never helped any one get a position 
and never would4  ,william was          
twenty-three and ,alexander twenty-one4 
,william was gracious and graceful in   
manner and made himself at home in the  
best society2 ,alexander was studious1  
reserved and inclined to be shy4  ,an   

invitation came that they should visit  
,weimar and spend some weeks in that    
little world of art and letters created 
by ,goethe and ,schiller4 ,to ,william  
this was very tempting2 but ,alexander  
saw at ,weimar scant opportunity to     
study botany and geology4  ,besides     
that1 he felt that sooner or later he   
would drift into the employ of the      
,government1 following in his father's  
footsteps4 ,his ambition was practical  
mining1 with a taste for finance4  ,the 
brothers kissed each other good-by1 and 
one went to ,weimar to assist ,schiller 
in editing a magazine that did not pay  
expenses1 to bask in the sunshine of the
 great ,goethe1 and incidentally to     
secure a wife4  ,the other started on a 
geological excursion1 and this excursion
 was to continue through life1 and make 
of the man the greatest naturalist that 
the world had seen since ,aristotle     
lived1 two thousand years before4       
99       99       99       99       99  
,humboldt's first book was on the       

geological formation of the ,rhine1     
published when he was twenty-six years  
old4 ,the work was so complete and      
painstaking that it led to his being    
appointed to the position of ,assessor  
of ,mines at ,berlin4 ,this was the same
 office that ,swedenborg once held in   
,scandinavia4  ,for the benefit of our  
social-science friends1 it is rather    
interesting to note that at this time in
 ,europe nearly all mines belonged to   
the ,government4  ,an individual might  
own the surface1 and up to the sky1 but 
his claim did not go to the center of   
the earth4 ,iron1 coal1 copper1 silver  
and gold were largely mined1 and the    
,government operated the mines direct1  
or else leased them on a percentage4  ,i
 am told that in ,america all mining is 
done by individuals or private          
companies1 and that four-fifths of all  
mining companies have no mines at       
all--merely samples of ores1 blueprints1
 photographs and prospects4 ,the genus  
promoter is a very modern production1   

and is a creation ,humboldt never knew2 
the salting of mines was out of his     
province1 and mining operations carried 
on exclusively in sky-scrapers was a    
combination he never guessed4  ,whether 
society will ever take a turn backward1 
and the whole people own and control the
 treasures deposited by ,nature in the  
earth1 is a question ,i will leave to my
 ,marxian colleagues to determine4  ,as 
a mine-manager ,humboldt was hardly a   
success4 ,he knew the value of ores1    
utilized various by-products that had   
formerly been thrown away1 made plans   
for the betterment of his workers1 and  
once sent a protest to the ,king against
 allowing women and children to be      
employed underground4  ,but the price   
per ton of his product was out of       
proportion to the expenses4 ,while other
 men mined the ore he wrote a book on   
,subterranean ,vegetation4 ,the details 
of business were not to his liking4 ,his
 own private financial affairs were now 
turned over to ,knuth1 his modest       

fortune resolved into cash and invested 
in bonds that brought a low rate of     
interest4 ,freedom was his passion--to  
come and go at will was his desire4 ,the
 thirst for travel was upon him--travel1
 not for adventure1 but for knowledge4  
,he resigned his office and tramped with
 knapsack on back across the ,alps4 ,the
 habit of his mind was that of the      
naturalist-investigator4 ,geology1      
botany and zoology were his properties  
by divine right4  ,these sciences really
 form one--geognosy1 or the science of  
the formation of the earth4 ,the plants 
dissolve and disintegrate the rocks2 the
 animal feeds upon the plants2 and      
animal life makes new forms of          
vegetation possible4 ,so the mineral1   
vegetable and animal kingdoms evolve    
together1 constantly tending toward a   
greater degree of refinement and        
complexity4  ,the very highest form of  
animal life is man2 and the highest type
 of man is evolved where there is a     
proper balance between the animal and   

the vegetable kingdoms4  ,humboldt      
discovered very early in his career that
 the finest flowers grow where there are
 the finest birds1 and man separated    
from birds1 beasts and flowers could not
 possibly survive4  ,just about this    
time1 ,humboldt1 taking the cue from    
,goethe1 said3 ,man is a product of soil
 and climate1 and is brother to the     
rocks1 trees and animals4 ,he is        
dependent on these1 and all things seem 
to point to the truth that he has       
evolved from them4 ,the accounts of     
special creation are interesting as     
archeology1 but biology is distinctly   
the business of modern scientists4 ,the 
scientist tells what he knows1 and the  
theologist what he believes4 ,and again 
we find ,humboldt writing from          
,switzerland in ,seventeen ,hundred     
,ninety-six1 making observations that   
have been recently unconsciously        
paraphrased by the ,united ,states      
,secretary of ,agriculture1 who said in 
a printed report3 ,western farmers who  

raise and sell hogs and cattle1 feeding 
them grain instead of selling it1 are   
sure to acquire a competence4 ,the      
farmers who sell grain are the ones who 
do not pay off their mortgages4  ,says  
,humboldt3  ,here on the sides of these 
towering and forbidding mountains we    
find the most fertile and beautiful     
miniature farms1 nestling in little     
valleys or on plateaus4  ,indeed1 ,i    
heard today of a man falling out of his 
farm and being seriously injured4 ,he   
ventured too near the edge4  ,these     
,swiss gardens with their prosperous and
 intelligent owners are only possible   
through the fact that the owners keep   
all the cows and poultry that can       
comfortably exist on the acres4 ,the    
peasants sell butter1 cheese and eggs1  
instead of grain and vegetables         
exclusively4  ,they give back to the    
earth all that they take from it1 so in 
the course of a hundred years a fine    
soil evolves that supports valuable     
animals1 including valuable men2 choice 

fruit1 flowers and birds appear1 and we 
have what we are pleased to call        
,christian civilization4 ,it is not for 
me to quibble about terms1 but          
civilization is not necessarily         
,christian1 since it is more a matter of
 economics and natural science than     
religion4  ,where the climate is fairly 
propitious1 but not so much so but that 
it compels watchfulness1 economy and    
effort1 man will work1 and to aid him in
 his work he utilizes domestic animals4 
,and the very act of domesticating the  
animal domesticates the man4 ,as man    
improves the animal1 he improves        
himself4 ,one reason why the ,american  
,indian did not progress was because he 
had neither horses1 camels1 oxen1 swine 
nor poultry4 ,he had his dog1 and the   
dog is a wolf1 and always remains one1  
in that his intent is on prey4 ,this    
fitted the mood of the ,indian1 and he  
continued to live his predaceous career 
without a particle of evolution4 ,to    
stand still is to retreat1 and there is 

evidence that long before the year      
,fourteen ,hundred ,ninety-two1 there   
was a ,north ,american ,indian that was 
a better ,indian than the ,indians who  
watched the approach of ,columbus and   
exclaimed1 ,alas6 we are discovered6    
,in crossing the ,alps1 ,humboldt was   
impressed with the truth that man was a 
necessary factor in working out         
creation1 just as much as the earthworm4
 ,when men stir the soil so as to make  
it produce grain that the family may be 
fed1 and utilize animals in this work1  
civilization is surely at hand4         
,nations with a controlling desire to   
absorb1 annex and exploit are still to  
that degree savages4 ,creation is still 
going on1 and this earth is becoming    
better and more beautiful as men work in
 line with reason and allow science to  
become the handmaid of instinct4        
,humboldt1 above all men1 prepared the  
way for ,darwin1 ,spencer and           
,tyndall--all of these built on him1 all
 quote him4 ,his books form a mine in   

which they constantly delved4  ,humboldt
 in boyhood formed the habit of close   
and accurate observation1 and he        
traveled that he might gratify this     
controlling impulse of his life--the    
habit of seeing and knowing4 ,his genius
 for classification was superb2 he      
approached every subject with an open   
mind1 willing to change his conclusions 
if it were shown that he was wrong2 he  
had imagination to see the thing first  
with his inward eye2 he had the strength
 to endure physical discomfort1 and     
finally he had money enough so he was   
free to follow his bent4  ,these        
qualifications made him the prince of   
scientific travelers--the pioneer of    
close1 accurate and reliable explorers4 
99       99       99       99       99  
,before ,humboldt's time travelers had  
been mostly of the type of ,marco ,polo 
and ,sir ,john ,mandeville1 who         
discovered strange and wondrous things1 
such as horses with five legs1 dogs that
 could talk1 and anthropophagi with     

heads that grew beneath their shoulders4
 ,the temptation to be interesting at   
the expense of truth has always been    
strong upon the sailorman4 ,read even   
the history of ,christopher ,columbus   
and you will hear of islands off the    
coast of ,america inhabited exclusively 
by women who had only one calling-day in
 a year when their gentlemen friends    
from a neighboring island came to see   
them4  ,the world needed accurate1      
scientific knowledge concerning those   
parts of the world seldom visited by    
man4 ,travel a hundred years ago was    
accompanied by great expense and more or
 less peril4 ,nations held themselves   
aloof from one another1 and travelers   
were looked upon as renegades or spies4 
,alexander von ,humboldt had explored   
deep mines1 climbed high mountains1     
visited that strange people1 the        
,basques of ,spain1 got little glimpses 
into ,africa where the jungle was       
waiting for a ,livingstone and a        
,stanley before giving up its secrets4  

,the ,corsican had thrown ,europe into a
 fever of fear1 and war was on in every 
direction1 when in ,seventeen ,hundred  
,ninety-nine ,humboldt ran the blockade 
and sailed out of the harbor of ,coruna1
 ,spain1 on the little corvette         
,pizarro1 bound for the ,spanish        
possessions in the ,new ,world4 ,spain  
had discovered ,america in the gross two
 hundred years before1 but what this    
country really contained in way of      
possibilities1 ,spain had most certainly
 never discovered4  ,humboldt's mind had
 conceived the idea of a ,scientific    
,survey1 and in this he was the maker of
 an epoch4 ,in this undertaking he      
secured the assistance of the ,prime    
,minister1 who secretly issued passports
 and letters of recommendation to       
,humboldt1 first cautioning him that if 
the ,court of ,madrid should know       
anything about this proposed voyage of  
discovery it could never be made1 so    
jealous and ignorant were the officials4
  ,only one thing did ,spain have in    

abundance1 and that was religion4  ,at  
that time the ,spanish ,colonies        
included ,louisiana1 ,florida1 ,texas1  
,california1 ,mexico1 ,cuba1 ,central   
,america1 most of the ,west ,indies1 and
 most of ,south ,america1 not to mention
 the ,philippines4 ,these colonies      
covered a territory stretching over five
 thousand miles from ,north to ,south4  
,twice a year ,spain sent out her       
trading-ships1 convoyed by armed        
cruisers4 ,trade then was monopoly and  
extortion4 ,the goods sent out were as  
cheap and tawdry as could be palmed off2
 all that were brought back were        
bartered for at the lowest possible     
prices4  ,cheating in count1 weight and 
quality was then considered perfectly   
proper1 and as the ,government officials
 at home got a goodly grab into all     
transactions in way of perquisites1 all 
went swimmingly--or fairly so4  ,for a  
,spaniard to trade with any other nation
 was treason1 and if caught1 his        
property was confiscated and probably   

his head forfeited4  ,no foreigners were
 allowed in the colonies1 and exclusion 
was the rule4 ,to hold her dependencies 
,spain thought she must keep them under 
close subjection2 and she seemed        
beautifully innocent of the fact that   
she was the dependent1 not they4 ,she   
did not believe in ,free ,trade4  ,the  
,government was absolutely under        
military rule4 ,of the botany1 zoology1 
geology1 not to mention the topography1 
of her ,american possessions1 the       
officials of ,spain knew nothing save   
from the tales of sailors4  ,such were  
the ,spanish conditions when ,humboldt  
got himself smuggled on board the       
,pizarro1 and sailed away1 ,june        
,fourth1 ,seventeen ,hundred            
,ninety-nine4 ,with ,humboldt was one   
companion1 ,bonpland1 a ,swiss by birth1
 and a rare soul4  ,humboldt was a      
naturalist and a philosopher2 by nature 
he was a traveler4 ,but he lacked that  
intrepid quality possessed by1 say1     
,lewis and ,clarke4  ,he had too much   

brain--too fine a nerve-quality to face 
the forest alone4 ,bonpland made good   
all that he lacked4 ,he used to call    
,bonpland his ,treasure4 ,and surely    
such a friend is a treasure1 indeed4    
,bonpland was a linguist1 as most of the
 ,swiss are4 ,he was a mountain-climber1
 and had been a soldier and a sailor1   
and he knew enough of literature and    
science1 so he was an interesting       
companion4  ,he was small in stature1   
lithe1 immensely strong1 absolutely     
fearless1 and had left behind him       
neither family nor friends to mourn his 
loss4 ,to ,humboldt he was guide1       
teacher1 protector and friend4 ,bonpland
 was the soul of unselfishness4         
,perhaps a certain quality of man       
attracts a certain quality of friend--,i
 really am not sure4 ,but this ,i know1 
that while ,alexander von ,humboldt had 
few personal friends1 he always had just
 those which his nature required--his   
friends were hands1 feet1 eyes and ears 
for him1 to quote his own words4 ,this  

voyage on the ,pizarro occupied five    
years4 ,the travelers visited           
,teneriffe1 ,cuba1 ,mexico1 and skirted 
the coast of ,south ,america1 making    
many little journeys inland4  ,they     
climbed mountains that had never been   
scaled before2 they ascended rivers     
where no white man had ever been1 and   
pushed their way through jungle and     
forest to visit savage tribes who fled  
before them in terror thinking they were
 gods4 ,on the return trip they visited 
the ,united ,states2 spent some weeks in
 ,washington1 where they were the guests
 of the ,president1 ,thomas ,jefferson4 
,a firm friendship sprang up between    
,humboldt and ,jefferson3 they were both
 freethinkers1 and when ,humboldt       
recorded in his journal that ,jefferson 
was by far the greatest man living in   
,america1 he not only recorded his      
personal conviction1 but he spoke the   
truth4  ,and as if not to be outdone1   
although he did not then know what      
,humboldt had said of him1 ,jefferson   

declared that ,alexander von ,humboldt  
was the greatest man he ever saw4  ,most
 of the vast number of rare specimens   
and natural-history curiosities gathered
 by ,humboldt and ,bonpland were placed 
on a homeward-bound ship that sailed    
from ,south ,america4 ,this ship was    
lost and all the precious and priceless 
cargo went for naught4 ,had ,humboldt   
and his companion sailed on this ship1  
as they had at first intended1 instead  
of returning by way of the ,united      
,states1 the world would not have known 
the name of ,alexander von ,humboldt4   
,but ,fate for once was kind--the world 
had great need of him4         99       
99       99       99       99  ,when    
,humboldt landed at ,bordeaux in        
,august1 in ,eighteen ,hundred ,four1   
after his five-year journey1 he         
immediately set out to visit his        
brother1 who was then ,german           
,ambassador at ,rome4 ,we can imagine   
that it was a most joyous meeting4  ,of 
it ,william said3 ,i could not recognize

 him for my tears--but beside this he   
seemed to have grown in stature and was 
as brown as a ,malay4 ,was he really my 
brother8 ,ah1 the hand was the hand of  
,esau1 but when he spoke1 it was the    
same kind1 gentle1 loving voice--the    
voice of my brother4  ,a few weeks at   
,rome and ,alexander grew restless for  
work4 ,he had made great plans about    
publishing the record of his travels4   
,this work was to outstrip anything in  
bookmaking the world had ever seen1     
dealing with similar subjects4 ,the     
writing was done on shipboard1 by       
campfires1 and in forest and jungle1 but
 now it had all to be gone over and     
revised and much of it translated into  
,french1 for the original notes were    
sometimes in ,english and sometimes in  
,german4 ,only in ,paris could the work 
of bookmaking be done that would fill   
,humboldt's ideals4 ,in ,paris were     
printers1 engravers1 artists1           
binders--,paris was then the artistic   
center of the world1 as it is today4    

,the results of this first great        
scientific voyage of discovery were     
written out in a work of seventeen      
volumes4  ,it was entitled1 ,the        
,travels of ,humboldt and ,bonpland in  
the ,interior of ,america4 ,humboldt    
wrote the book1 but wanted his friend to
 have half the credit4 ,this superb set 
of books1 containing many engravings1   
was issued under ,humboldt's supervision
 and almost entirely at his own expense4
 ,it was divided into five general      
parts3 ,zoology and ,comparative        
,anatomy2 ,geography and the            
,distribution of ,plants2 ,political    
,essays and ,description of ,peoples and
 ,institutions in the ,kingdom of ,new  
,spain2 ,astronomy and ,magnetism2      
,equinoctial ,vegetation4 ,it took two  
years to issue the first volume1 but the
 others then came along more rapidly1   
yet it was ten years before the last    
book of the set was published4 ,the     
total expense of issuing this set of    
books was more than a million francs1   

or1 to be exact1 two hundred twenty-six 
thousand dollars4  ,the cost of a set of
 these books to subscribers was two     
thousand five hundred fifty dollars1    
although there were a few sets          
containing hand-colored plates and      
original drawings that were valued at   
twenty thousand dollars4 ,one such set  
can now be seen at the ,british ,museum4
 ,in all1 only three hundred sets of    
these books were issued4  ,one set at   
least came to ,north ,america1 for it   
was presented to ,thomas ,jefferson1    
and1 if ,i am not mistaken1 is now in   
the ,congressional ,library at          
,washington4  ,this ,american           
,expedition forever fixed ,alexander von
 ,humboldt's place in history1 but after
 it was completed and the record written
 out1 he had still more than half a     
century to live4         99       99    
99       99       99  ,at a time when   
few men could afford the luxury1        
,alexander von ,humboldt was an atheist4
 ,fortunately he had sufficient fortune 

to place him beyond reach of the        
bread-and-butter problem1 and all of his
 books were written in the language of  
the esoteric4 ,he did not serve as an   
iconoclast for the common people--his   
name was never on the tongue of         
rumor--very few1 indeed1 knew of his    
existence4 ,his books were issued in    
deluxe1 limited editions1 and were for  
public libraries1 the shelves of        
nobility or rich collectors4  ,humboldt 
was judicial in all of his statements1  
approaching every question as if nothing
 were known about it4 ,he built strong1 
and was preparing the way1 such as      
throwing up ramparts and storing        
ammunition for the first decisive battle
 that was to take place between         
,theology and ,science4  ,in his day    
,theology was supreme1 the practical    
dictator of human liberties4 ,but a     
,world's ,congress of ,freethinkers has 
recently been held in ,rome4  ,there    
were present more than three thousand   
delegates1 representing every civilized 

country on the globe4 ,the deliberations
 of the ,congress were held in a hall   
supplied by the ,italian ,government1   
and all courtesies and privileges were  
tendered the delegates4 ,the only       
protest came from the ,pope1 who turned 
,protestant and in all the ,catholic    
churches in ,rome ordered special       
services1 to partially mitigate the blot
 upon the fair record of the ,holy      
,city4 ,forty years ago armed men would 
have routed this ,congress by force1 and
 a hundred years ago the bare thought of
 such a meeting would have placed a     
person who might have suggested it in   
imminent peril4  ,humboldt prophesied   
that the world would not forever be     
ruled by religious superstition--that   
science must surely win4 ,but he did not
 expect that the change would come as   
quickly as it has2 neither did he       
anticipate the fact that the orthodox   
religion would admit all the facts of   
science and still flourish4 ,the number 
of ,church communicants now is larger   

than it was in the time of ,humboldt4   
,the ,church is a department-store that 
puts in the particular goods that the   
people ask for4  ,freethinkers do not   
leave the ,church2 the ,church is built 
on a ,goodyear patent1 and its lines    
expand when ,freethinkers get numerous1 
so as to include them4  ,the ,church    
would rather countenance vice1 as it has
 in the past1 than disband4 ,in ,new    
,york ,city we now have the spectacle of
 the ,church operating a saloon and     
selling strong drink4 ,in all country   
towns1 religion1 failing in being       
attractive1 has1 to keep churches alive1
 resorted to raffles1 lotteries1        
concerts1 chicken-pie socials1 and      
lectures and exhortations by strange men
 in curious and unique garb1 and singers
 of reputation4  ,the ,church1 being a  
part of society1 evolves as society     
evolves4 ,christianity is a totally     
different thing now from what it was in 
,humboldt's time2 it was a different    
thing in ,humboldt's time from what it  

was a hundred years before4  ,behold the
 spectacle of a thousand highly educated
 and gentle men1 from all over the      
world1 decorating with garlands the     
statue of ,bruno in ,rome1 on the site  
where ,churchmen piled high the fagots  
and burned his living body6 ,i foretell 
that when the next ,world's ,congress of
 ,freethinkers occurs in ,rome1 the     
,pope will welcome the delegates1 and   
their deliberations will occur by       
invitation in the wide basilica of      
,saint ,peter's4 ,the world moves1 and  
the ,pope and all the rest of us move   
with it4  ,when a meeting was recently  
called in ,jersey ,city to welcome      
,turner1 the so-called anarchist1 the   
,mayor forbade the meeting and then     
placed a cordon of policemen around the 
intended meeting-place4 ,but1 lo1 in    
their extremity the anarchists were     
invited by a clergyman to come and use  
his church and he led the way to the    
sacred edifice1 warning the police to   
neither follow nor enter4 ,as we become 

better we meet better preachers4        
,humboldt could see no rift through the 
clouds outside of the death of the      
,church and the disbanding of her       
so-called sacred institutions4 ,we now  
perceive that very rarely are religious 
opinions consciously abandoned2 they    
change1 are modified and later evolve   
into something else4 ,churches are now  
largely social clubs4 ,in ,america this 
is true both of ,catholic and of        
,protestant4 ,most all denominations are
 interested in social betterment1       
because the trend of human thought is in
 that direction4  ,the ,church is being 
swept along upon the tide of time4 ,in a
 few instances churches have already    
evolved practical industrial            
betterments1 which are conducted        
directly under the supervision of the   
church and in its edifice4 ,there are   
hundreds of ,kindergartens now being    
carried on in church buildings that a   
few years ago were idle and vacant all  
the week4 ,others have sewing-circles   

and boys' clubs1 and these have         
metamorphosed in some instances into    
,manual-,training ,schools where girls  
are taught ,domestic ,science and boys  
are given instruction in the            
,handicrafts4 ,i know a church that     
derives its support from the sale of    
useful things that are made by its      
members and workers under the           
supervision of its pastor1 who is a     
master in handicraft4 ,so this pretty   
nearly points the ideal--a church that  
has evolved into an ethical and         
industrial college1 where the pastor is 
not paid for preaching1 but for doing4  
,charles ,bradlaugh once said3  ,a paid 
priesthood blocks evolution4 ,these men 
are really educated to uphold and defend
 the institution4 ,they can do nothing  
else4 ,most of them have families       
dependent upon them--do you wonder that 
it is a fight to the death8 ,it is not  
truth that the clergy struggles         
for--they may think it is--but the grim 
fact remains1 it is a fight for material

 existence4  ,we all confuse our        
interests with the eternal verities--the
 thing that pays us we consider         
righteous1 or at least justifiable4     
,this is the most natural thing in the  
world4 ,an artist who painted very bad  
pictures once took one of his canvases  
to ,whistler for criticism4  ,jimmy     
shrugged his shoulders and made a       
grimace that spoke volumes4 ,but a man  
must live some way6 pleaded the poor    
fellow in his extremity4  ,i do not see 
the necessity1 was the weary reply4     
,preachers must live2 their education   
and environment have unfitted them for  
useful effort2 but they are a part of   
the great1 seething struggle for        
existence4 ,and so we have their piteous
 and plaintive plea for the obsolete and
 the outworn4 ,disraeli once in an      
incautious moment exclaimed3 ,if we do  
away with the ,established ,church1 what
 is to become of the fourteen million   
prepared and pickled sermons8 ,think for
 a moment of the infinite labor of      

writing new sermons1 all based upon a   
different point of view--let us then be 
reasonable and not subject a profession 
that is overworked to the humiliation of
 destroying the bulk of its assets4     
,science deals directly with the        
maintenance of human life and the       
bettering of every condition of         
existence through a wider1 wiser and    
saner use of the world4 ,civilization is
 the working out and comprehending and  
proving how to live in the best way4    
,theology prepares men to die2 science  
fits them to live4  ,science deals with 
your welfare in this world2 theology in 
another4 ,theology has not yet proved   
that there is another world--its claims 
are not even based upon hearsay4 ,it is 
a matter of belief and assumption4      
,science1 too1 assumes1 and its         
assumption is this3 ,the best           
preparation for a life to come is to    
live here and now as if there were no   
life to come4  ,your belief will not fix
 your place in another world--what you  

are1 may4 ,the individual who gets most 
out of this life is fitting himself to  
get most out of another if there is one4
  ,and this brings us up to that        
paragraph in the ,cosmos where ,humboldt
 says3 ,i perceive a period when the    
true priesthood will not be paid to     
defend a fixed system of so-called      
crystallized truth4 ,but ,i believe the 
time will come when that man will be    
most revered who bestows most benefits  
here and now4 ,the clergy of            
,christendom have stood as leaders of   
thought1 but to hold this proud position
 they must abandon the intangible and   
devote themselves to this world and the 
people who are alive4         99        
99       99       99       99  ,most of 
,humboldt's time during his middle life 
was spent at ,paris1 where he was busily
 engaged in the herculean task of       
issuing his splendid books4 ,he varied  
his work1 however1 so that several hours
 daily were devoted to study and        
scientific research2 and from time to   

time he made journeys over ,europe and  
,asia4  ,in ,eighteen ,hundred          
,twenty-seven a personal request came   
from the ,king of ,prussia that         
,humboldt should thereafter make ,berlin
 his home4 ,he was too big a man for    
,germany to lose4  ,he acceded to the   
,king's request1 moved to ,berlin and   
was spoken of as ,the ,first ,citizen1  
although he would not consent to hold   
office1 nor would he accept a title4    
,in vexed questions of diplomacy he was 
often consulted by the ,king and his    
,cabinet1 and in a great many ways he   
furthered the interests of education and
 civilization by his judicial and timely
 advice4  ,he was always a student1     
always an investigator1 always a        
tireless worker4 ,he lived simply and   
quietly--keeping out of society and away
 from crowds1 except on the rare        
occasions when necessity seemed to      
demand it4  ,the quality of the man was 
well mirrored in those magnificent      
books--all that he did was on the scale 

of grandeur4  ,his books were too high  
in price for the average reader1 but on 
request of the ,king he consented to    
give a course of five1 free1 popular    
lectures for the people4  ,no one       
foresaw the result of these addresses4  
,the course was so successful that it   
extended itself into sixty-one lectures1
 and covered a period of more than ten  
years' time4 ,no admittance was charged1
 free tickets being given out to        
applicants4 ,very soon after the first  
lecture1 a traffic sprang up in these   
free tickets1 carried on by our ,semitic
 friends1 and the tickets soared to as  
high as three dollars each4 ,then the   
strong hand of the ,government stepped  
in3 the tickets were canceled1 and the  
public was admitted to the lectures     
without ceremony4 ,boxes1 however1 were 
set apart for royalty and foreign       
visitors1 some of whom came from        
,england1 ,belgium1 ,switzerland and    
,france4 ,the size of these audiences   
was limited simply by the capacity of   

the auditorium1 the attendance at first 
being about a thousand2 later1 a larger 
hall was secured and the attendance ran 
as high as four thousand persons at each
 address4  ,the subjects were as        
follows3 three lectures on the ,history 
of ,science2 two on reasons why we      
should study ,science2 four on the      
,crust of the ,earth1 and the nature of 
,volcanoes and ,earthquakes2 two on the 
form of ,earth's ,surface and the       
elevation of the ,continents2 five on   
,physical ,geography2 five on the nature
 of ,heat and ,magnetism2 sixteen on    
,astronomy2 two on ,mountains and how   
they are formed2 three on the ,nature of
 the ,sea2 three on the ,distribution of
 ,matter2 ten on the ,atmosphere as an  
,elastic ,fluid2 three on the ,geography
 of ,animals2 three on ,races of ,men4  
,every good thing begins as something   
else1 and what was intended for the     
common people became scientific lectures
 for educated people4 ,the man who was  
most benefited by these lectures was    

myself1 said ,humboldt4  ,men grow by   
doing things4 ,lectures are for the     
lecturer4  ,humboldt found out more     
things in giving these lectures than he 
knew before--he discovered himself4 ,and
 long before they were completed he knew
 that his best work was embodied right  
here--in doing for others he had done   
for himself4  ,in attempting to reveal  
the ,universe or ,cosmos1 he revealed   
most of his own comprehensive           
intelligence4 ,that many of his         
conclusions have since been abandoned by
 the scientific world does not prove    
such ideas valueless--they helped and   
are helping men to find the truth4      
,these sixty-one popular and free       
lectures make up that stupendous work   
now known to us as ,humboldt's ,cosmos4 
99       99       99       99       99  
,says ,robert ,ingersoll in his tribute 
to ,alexander von ,humboldt3  ,his life 
was pure1 his aims were lofty1 his      
learning varied and profound1 and his   
achievements vast4  ,we honor him       

because he has ennobled our race1       
because he has contributed as much as   
any man1 living or dead1 to the real    
prosperity of the world4 ,we honor him  
because he has honored us--because he   
has labored for others--because he was  
the most learned man of the most learned
 nation of his time--because he left a  
legacy of glory to every human being4   
,for these reasons he is honored        
throughout the world4  ,millions are    
doing homage to his genius at this      
moment1 and millions are pronouncing his
 name with reverence and recounting what
 he accomplished4  ,we associate the    
name of ,humboldt with oceans1          
continents1 mountains1 volcanoes--with  
towering palms--the snow-lipped craters 
of the ,andes--the wide deserts--with   
primeval forests and ,european          
capitals--with wilderness and           
universities--with savages and          
savants--with the lonely rivers of      
unpeopled wastes--with peaks1 pampas1   
steppes1 cliffs and crags--with the     

progress of the world--with every       
science known to man and with every star
 glittering in the immensity of space4  
,humboldt adopted none of the           
soul-shrinking creeds of his day2 he    
wasted none of his time in the          
inanities1 stupidities and              
contradictions of theological           
metaphysics2 he did not endeavor to     
harmonize the astronomy and geology of a
 barbarous people with the science of   
the ,nineteenth ,century4  ,never1 for  
one moment1 did he abandon the sublime  
standard of truth3 he investigated1 he  
studied1 he thought1 he separated the   
gold from the dross in the crucible of  
his brain4 ,he was never found on his   
knees before the altar of superstition4 
,he stood erect by the tranquil column  
of ,reason4 ,he was an admirer1 a lover1
 an adorer of ,nature1 and at the age of
 ninety1 bowed by the weight of nearly a
 century1 covered with the insignia of  
honor1 loved by a nation1 respected by a
 world1 with kings for his servants1 he 

laid his weary head upon her bosom--upon
 the bosom of the ,universal            
,mother--and with her loving arms about 
him1 sank into that slumber which we    
call ,death4  ,history added another    
name to the starry scroll of the        
immortals4  ,the world is his monument2 
upon the eternal granite of her hills he
 inscribed his name1 and there1 upon    
everlasting stone1 his genius wrote     
this1 the sublimest of truths3 ,the     
universe is governed by law4            
,illustration3 ,,william ,,herschel     
,,william ,,herschel        ,the great  
number of alterations of stars that we  
are certain have      happened within   
the last two centuries1 and the much    
greater number      that we have reason 
to suspect to have taken place1 are     
curious      features in the history of 
the heavens1 as curious as the slow     
wearing away of the landmarks of our    
earth on mountains1 on river      banks1
 on ocean shores4 ,if we consider how   
little attention has      formerly been 

paid this subject1 and that most of the 
observations      we have are of a very 
late date1 it would perhaps not appear  
extraordinary were we to admit the      
number of alterations that have         
probably happened to different stars1   
within our own time1 to be a            
hundred4       --,william ,herschel     
,,william ,,herschel  ,william          
,herschell1 born ,seventeen ,hundred    
,thirty-eight1 in the city of ,hanover1 
was the fourth child in a family of ten4
 ,big families1 ,i am told1 usually live
 in little houses1 while little families
 live in big houses4 ,the ,herschels    
were no exception to the rule4  ,isaac  
,herschel1 known to the world as being  
the father of his son1 was a poor man1  
depending for support upon his meager   
salary as bandmaster to a regiment of   
the ,hanoverian ,guards4  ,at the       
garrison school1 taught by a retired    
captain1 ,william was the star scholar4 
,in mathematics he propounded problems  
that made the worthy captain pooh-pooh  

and change the subject4  ,at fourteen1  
he was playing a hautboy in his father's
 band and practising on the violin at   
spare times4  ,for music he had a       
veritable passion1 and to have a passion
 for a thing means that you excel in    
it--excellence is a matter of intensity4
 ,one of the players in the band was a  
,frenchman1 and ,william made an        
arrangement to give the parlez vous     
lessons on the violin as payment for    
lessons in ,french4  ,this whole brood  
of ,herschel children was musical1 and  
very early in life the young ,herschels 
became self-supporting as singers and   
players4 ,it is the only thing they can 
do1 their father said4 ,but his loins   
were wiser than his head4  ,in          
,seventeen ,hundred ,fifty-five ,william
 accompanied his father's band to       
,england1 where they went to take part  
in a demonstration in honor of a        
,hanoverian1 one ,george the ,third1 who
 later was to play a necessary part in a
 symphony that was to edify the         

,american ,colonies4 ,america owes much 
to ,george the ,third4  ,young ,herschel
 had already learned to speak ,english1 
just as he had learned ,french4 ,in     
,england he spent all the money he had  
for three volumes of ,locke on the      
,human ,understanding4  ,these books    
were to remain his lifelong possession  
and to be passed on1 well-thumbed1 to   
his son more than half a century later4 
,at the time of the breaking out of the 
,seven ,years' ,war1 ,william ,herschel 
was nineteen4 ,his regiment had been    
ordered to march in a week4 ,here was a 
pivotal point--should he go and fight   
for the glory of ,prussia8  ,not he--by 
the connivance of his mother and        
sisters1 he was secreted on a           
trading-sloop bound for ,england4 ,this 
is what is called desertion2 and just   
how the young man evaded the penalties1 
since the ,king of ,england was also    
,elector of ,hanover1 ,i do not know1   
but the ,house of ,hanover made no      
effort toward punishment of the culprit1

 even when the facts were known4        
,musicians of quality were1 perhaps1    
needed in ,england2 and as              
sheep-stealing is looked upon lightly by
 priests who love mutton1 so do kings   
forgive infractions if they need the    
man4  ,when ,william ,herschel landed at
 ,dover he had in his pocket a single   
crownpiece1 and his luggage consisted of
 the clothes he wore1 and a violin4 ,the
 violin secured him board and lodgings  
along the road as he walked to ,london1 
just as ,oliver ,goldsmith paid his way 
with a similar legal tender4  ,in       
,london1 ,herschel's musical skill      
quickly got him an engagement at one of 
the theaters4 ,in a few months we hear  
of his playing solos at ,brabandt's     
aristocratic concerts4 ,little journeys 
into the provinces were taken by the    
orchestra to which ,herschel belonged4  
,among other places visited was ,bath1  
and here the troupe was booked for a    
two-weeks' engagement4 ,at this time    
,bath was run wide open4  ,bath was a   

rendezvous for the gouty dignitaries of 
,church and ,state who had grown swag   
through sloth and much travel by the    
gorge route4 ,there were ministers of   
state1 soldiers1 admirals-of-the-sea1   
promoters1 preachers1 philosophers1     
players1 poets1 polite gamblers and     
buffoons4  ,they idled1 fiddled1 danced1
 gabbled1 gadded and gossiped4 ,the     
,school for ,scandal was written on the 
spot1 with models drawn from life4 ,it  
wasn't a play--it was a cross-section of
 ,bath ,society4  ,bath was a           
clearing-house for the wit1 learning and
 folly of all ,england--the combined    
,hot ,springs1 ,coney ,island1 ,saratoga
 and ,old ,point ,comfort of the        
,kingdom4 ,the most costly church of its
 size in ,america is at ,saint          
,augustine1 ,florida4 ,the repentant    
ones patronize it in ,lent2 the rest of 
the year it is closed4  ,at ,bath there 
was the ,octagon ,chapel1 which had the 
best pipe-organ in ,england4 ,herschel  
played the organ3 where he learned how  

nobody seemed to know--he himself did   
not know4 ,but playing musical          
instruments is a little like learning a 
new language4  ,a man who speaks three  
languages can take a day off and learn a
 fourth almost any time4 ,somebody has  
said that there is really only one      
language1 and most of us have only a    
dialect4 ,acquire three languages and   
you perceive that there is a universal  
basis upon which the various tongues are
 built4  ,herschel could play the       
hautboy1 the violin and the harpsichord4
 ,the organ came easy4 ,when he played  
the organ in the ,chapel at ,bath1 fair 
ladies forgot the ,pump-,room1 and the  
gallants followed them--naturally4      
,herschel became the rage4 ,he was a    
handsome fellow1 with a pride so supreme
 that it completed the circle1 and      
people called it humility4 ,he talked   
but little1 and made himself scarce--a  
point every genius should ponder well4  
,the disarming of the                   
populace--confiscating canes1 umbrellas 

and parasols--before allowing people to 
enter an art-gallery is necessary2      
although it is a peculiar comment on    
humanity to think people have a tendency
 to smite1 punch1 prod and poke         
beautiful things4 ,the same propensity  
manifests itself in wishing to fumble a 
genius4 ,get your coarse hands on       
,richard ,mansfield if you can6 ,corral 
,maude ,adams--hardly4 ,to do big       
things1 to create1 breaks down tissue   
awfully1 and to mix it with society and 
still do big things for society is      
impossible4  ,at ,bath1 ,herschel was   
never seen in the ,pump-,room1 nor on   
the ,north ,parade4 ,people who saw him 
paid for the privilege4 ,in ,england    
about this time look out for a shower of
 genius1 the almanackers might have     
said4  ,to ,bath came two ,irishmen1    
,edmund ,burke and ,richard ,brinsley   
,sheridan4 ,burke rented rooms of       
,doctor ,nugent1 and married the        
doctor's daughter1 and never regretted  
it4 ,sheridan also married a ,bath girl1

 but added the right touch of romance by
 keeping the matter secret1 with the    
intent that if either party wished to   
back out of the agreement it would be   
allowed4 ,this was quite ,irish-like1   
since according to ,english ,law a      
marriage is a marriage until ,limbus    
congeals and is used for a skating-rink4
  ,with the true spirit of chivalry1    
,sheridan left the questions of         
publicity or secrecy to his wife3 she   
could have her freedom if she wished4   
,he was a fledgling barrister1 with his 
future in front of him1 the child of    
strolling players2 she1 the beautiful   
,miss ,linlay1 was a singer of note4    
,her father was the leader of the ,bath 
,orchestra1 and had a ,school of        
,oratory where young people agitated the
 atmosphere in orotund and tremolo and  
made the ether vibrate in glee4 ,doctor 
,linlay's daughter was his finest pupil1
 and with her were elucidated all his   
theories concerning the ,sixteen        
,perspective ,laws of ,art4 ,she also   

proved a few points in stirpiculture4   
,she was a most beautiful girl of       
seventeen when ,richard ,brinsley       
,sheridan led her to the altar1 or ,i   
should say to a ,dissenting ,pastor's   
back door by night4 ,she could sing1    
recite1 act1 and impersonate in         
pantomime and ,greek gown1 the passions 
of ,fear1 ,hate1 ,supplication1 ,horror1
 ,revenge1 ,jealousy1 ,rage and ,faith4 
,romney moved down to ,bath just so as  
to have ,miss ,linlay and ,lady         
,hamilton for models4 ,he posed ,miss   
,linlay as the ,madonna1 ,beulah1 ,rena1
 ,ruth1 ,miriam and ,cecilia2 and ,lady 
,hamilton for ,susannah at the ,bath1   
,alicia and ,andromache1 and also had   
her illustrate the ,virtues1 ,graces1   
,fates and ,passions4  ,when the        
beautiful ,miss ,linlay1 the pride and  
pet of ,bath1 got ready to announce her 
marriage1 she did it by simply changing 
the inscription beneath a ,romney       
portrait that hung in the anteroom of   
the artist's studio1 marking out the    

words ,miss ,linlay1 and writing over   
it1 ,mrs4 ,richard ,brinsley ,sheridan4 
,the ,bath porchers who looked after    
other people's business1 having none of 
their own1 burbled and chortled like    
siphons of soda1 and the marvel to all  
was that such a brilliant girl should   
thus throw herself away on a sprig of   
the law4 ,he acts1 too1 ,i believe1 said
 ,goldsmith to ,doctor ,johnson4  ,and  
,doctor ,johnson said1 ,sir1 he does    
nothing else1 thus anticipating ,james  
,mc,neil ,whistler by more than a       
hundred years4  ,but alas for the       
luckless ,linlay1 the ,delsarte of his  
day1 poor man6 he used words not to be  
found in ,johnson's ,dictionary1 and    
outdid ,cassius in the quarrel-scene to 
the ,brutus of ,richard ,brinsley4  ,but
 very soon things settled down--they    
always do when mixed with time--and all 
were happy1 or reasonably so1 forever   
after4  ,herschel resigned from         
,brabandt's ,orchestra and remained in  
,bath4 ,he taught music1 played the     

organ1 became first violinist for       
,professor ,linlay and later led the    
orchestra when ,linlay was on the road  
starring the one-night stands and his   
beautiful daughter4  ,things seemed to  
prosper with the kindly and talented    
,german4 ,he was reserved1 intellectual1
 and was respected by the best4 ,he was 
making money--not as ,london brokers    
might count money1 but prosperous for a 
mere music-teacher4  ,and so there came 
a day when he bought out the school of  
,professor ,linlay1 and became          
proprietor and leader of the famous     
,bath ,orchestra4  ,but the talented    
,mrs4 ,richard ,brinsley ,sheridan was  
sorely missed--a woman soloist of worth 
was needed4  ,herschel thought and      
pondered4 ,he tried candidates from     
,london and a few from ,paris4 ,some had
 voices1 but no intellect4 ,a very few  
had intellect1 but were without voice4  
,some thought they had a voice when what
 they had was a disease4 ,other voices  
he tried and found guilty4  ,those who  

had voice and spirit had tempers like a 
tornado4  ,herschel decided to educate a
 soloist and assistant4 ,to marry a     
woman for the sake of educating her was 
risky business--he knew of men who had  
tried it--for men have tried it since   
the time of the ,cavemen4  ,a bright    
thought came to him6 ,he would go back  
to ,deutschland and get one of his      
sisters1 and bring her over to ,england 
to help him do his work--just the very  
thing6         99       99       99     
99       99  ,it was a most fortunate   
stroke for ,herschel when he went back  
home to get one of his sisters to come  
over into ,macedonia and help him4 ,no  
man ever did a great work unless he was 
backed up by a good woman4 ,there were  
five of these ,herschel girls--three    
were married1 so they were out of the   
question1 and another was engaged4 ,this
 left ,caroline as first1 last and only 
choice4 ,caroline was twenty-two and    
could sing a little4  ,she had appeared 
in concerts for her father when a child4

 ,but when the father died1 the girl was
 set to work in a dressmaking and       
millinery shop1 to help support the big 
family4 ,the mother didn't believe that 
women should be educated--it unfitted   
them for domesticity1 and to speak of a 
woman as educated was to suggest that   
she was a poor housekeeper4  ,in ,greece
 of old1 educated women were spoken of  
as companions--and this meant that they 
were not what you would call            
respectable4 ,they were the intellectual
 companions of men4 ,the ,greek term of 
disrespect carried with it a trifle of a
 suggestion not intended1 that is1 that 
women who were not educated--not        
intellectual--were really not           
companionable--but let that pass4 ,it is
 curious how this idea that a woman is  
only a scullion and a drudge has        
permeated society until even the women  
themselves partake of the prejudice     
against themselves4  ,mother ,herschel  
didn't want her daughters to become     
educated1 nor study the science of music

 nor the science of anything4 ,a goodly 
grocer of the ,dutch ,school had been   
picked out as a husband for ,caroline1  
and now if she went away her prospects  
were ruined--,ach1 ,mein ,gott6 or words
 to that effect4 ,and it was only on    
,william's promise to pay the mother a  
weekly sum equal to the wages that      
,caroline received in the               
dressmaking-shop that she gave consent  
to her daughter's going4 ,caroline      
arrived in ,england1 wearing wooden     
shoon and hoops that were exceeding     
,dutch1 but without a word of ,english4 
,in order to be of positive use to her  
brother1 she must acquire ,english and  
be able to sing--not only sing well1 but
 remarkably well4 ,in less than a year  
she was singing solo parts at her       
brother's concerts1 to the great delight
 of the aristocrats of ,bath4  ,they    
heard her sing1 but they did not take   
her captive and submerge her in their   
fashionable follies as they would have  
liked to do4  ,the sister and the       

brother kept close to their own rooms4  
,caroline was the housekeeper1 and took 
a pride in being able to dispense with  
all outside help4 ,she was small in     
figure1 petite1 face plain but full of  
animation4 ,all of her spare time she   
devoted to her music4 ,after the        
concerts she and her brother would leave
 the theater1 change their clothes and  
then walk off into the country1 getting 
back as late as one or two o'clock in   
the morning4 ,on these midnight walks   
they used to study the stars and talk of
 the wonderful work of ,kepler and      
,copernicus4 ,there were various        
requests that ,caroline should go to    
,london and sing1 but she steadfastly   
refused to appear on a stage except     
where her brother led the orchestra4    
,about this time ,caroline wrote a      
letter home1 which missive1 by the way1 
is still in existence1 in which she     
says3 ,william goes to bed early when   
there are no concerts or rehearsals4 ,he
 has a bowl of milk on the stand beside 

him1 and he reads ,smith's ',harmonics' 
and ,ferguson's ',astronomy4' ,i sit    
sewing in the next room1 and            
occasionally he will call to me to      
listen while he reads some passage that 
most pleases him4 ,so he goes to sleep  
buried beneath his favorite authors1 and
 his first thought in the morning is how
 to obtain instruments so we can study  
the harmonics of the sky4 ,and a way was
 to open3 they were to make their own   
telescopes--what larks6 ,brother and    
sister set to work studying the laws of 
optics4 ,in a secondhand store they     
found a small ,gregorian reflector which
 had an aperture of about two inches4   
,this gave them a little peep into the  
heavens1 but was really only a          
tantalization4  ,they set to work making
 a telescope-tube out of pasteboard4 ,it
 was about eighteen feet long1 and the  
board was made in the genuine pasteboard
 way--by pasting sheet after sheet of   
paper together until the substance was  
as thick and solid as a board4  ,so this

 brother and sister worked at all odd   
hours pasting sheet after sheet of      
paper--old letters1 old books--with     
occasional strips of cloth to give extra
 strength4 ,lenses were bought in       
,london1 and at last our precious       
musical pair1 with astronomy for their  
fad1 had the satisfaction of getting a  
view of ,saturn that showed the rings4  
,it need not be explained that          
astronomical observations must be made  
out of doors4 ,further1 the whole       
telescope must be out of doors so as to 
get an even temperature4 ,this is a fact
 that the excellent astronomers of the  
,mikado of ,japan did not know until    
very recently4 ,it seems they           
constructed a costly telescope and      
housed it in a costly observatory-house1
 with an aperture barely large enough   
for the big telescope to be pointed out 
at the heavens4 ,inside1 the astronomer 
had a comfortable fire1 for the season  
was then ,winter and the weather cold4  
,but the wise man could see nothing and 

the belief was getting abroad that the  
machine was bewitched1 or that their    
,yankee brothers had lawsonized the     
buyers1 when our own ,david ,p4 ,todd1  
of ,amherst1 happened along and informed
 them that the heat-waves which arose   
from their warm room caused a           
perturbation in the atmosphere which    
made star-gazing impossible4 ,at once   
they made their house over1 with        
openings so as to insure an even        
temperature1 and ,prince ,fusiyama      
,noguchi wrote to ,professor ,todd1     
making him a ,knight of the ,golden     
,dragon on special order of the         
heaven-born ,mikado4  ,the ,herschels   
knew enough of the laws of heat and     
refraction to realize they must have an 
even temperature1 but they forgot that  
pasteboard was porous4  ,one night they 
left their telescope out of doors1 and a
 sudden shower transformed the straight 
tube into the arc of a circle4 ,all     
attempts to straighten it were vain1 so 
they took out the lenses and went to    

work making a tube of copper4 ,in this1 
brother1 sister and genius--which is    
concentration and perseverance--united  
to overcome the innate meanness of      
animate and inanimate things4 ,a failure
 was not a failure to them--it was an   
opportunity to meet a difficulty and    
overcome it4  ,the partial success of   
the new telescope aroused the brother   
and the sister to fresh exertions4 ,the 
work had been begun as a mere           
recreation--a rest from the exactions of
 the public which they diverted and     
amused with their warblings1 concussions
 and vibrations4  ,they were still      
amateur astronomers1 and the thought    
that they would ever be anything else   
had not come to them4 ,but they wanted  
to get a better view of the heavens--a  
view through a ,newtonian               
reflecting-telescope4 ,so they counted  
up their savings and decided that if    
they could get some instrument-maker in 
,london to make them a                  
reflecting-telescope six feet long1 they

 would be perfectly willing to pay him  
fifty pounds for it4 ,this study of the 
skies was their only form of            
dissipation1 and even if it was a little
 expensive it enabled them to escape the
 ,pump-,room rabble and flee boredom and
 introspection4 ,a hunt was taken       
through ,london1 but no one could be    
found who would make such an instrument 
as they wanted for the price they could 
afford to pay4 ,they found1 however1 an 
amateur lens-polisher who offered to    
sell his tools1 materials and           
instruments for a small sum4 ,after     
consultation1 the brother and sister    
bought him out4 ,so at the price they   
expected to pay for a telescope they had
 a machine-shop on their hands4  ,the   
work of grinding and polishing lenses is
 a most delicate business4 ,only a      
person of infinite patience and         
persistency can succeed at it4  ,in     
,allegheny1 ,pennsylvania1 lives ,john  
,brashear1 who1 by his own efforts1     
assisted by a noble wife1 graduated from

 a rolling-mill and became a maker of   
telescopes4  ,brashear is practically   
the one telescope lens-maker of ,america
 since ,alvan ,clark resigned4 ,there is
 no competition in this line--the       
difficulties are too appalling for the  
average man4 ,the slightest accident or 
an unseen flaw1 and the work of months  
or years goes into the dustbin of time1 
and all must be gone over again4  ,so   
when we think of this brother and sister
 sailing away upon an unknown           
ocean--working day after day1 night     
after night1 week after week1 and month 
after month1 discarding scores of       
specula which they had worked upon many 
weary hours in order to get the glass   
that would serve their purpose--we must 
remove our hats in reverence4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,god sends great men in groups4 ,from   
,seventeen ,hundred ,forty for the next 
thirty-five years the intellectual sky  
seemed full of shooting-stars4 ,watt had
 watched to a purpose his mother's      

teakettle2 ,boston ,harbor was          
transformed into another kind of ,hyson 
dish2 ,franklin had been busy with kite 
and key2 ,gibbon was writing his        
,decline and ,fall2 ,fate was pitting   
the ,pitts against ,fox2 ,hume was      
challenging worshipers of a ,fetish and 
supplying arguments still bright with   
use2 ,voltaire and ,rousseau were       
preparing the way for ,madame           
,guillotine2 ,horace ,walpole was       
printing marvelous books at his private 
press at ,strawberry ,hill2 ,sheridan   
was writing autobiographical comedies2  
,david ,garrick was mimicking his way to
 immortality2 ,gainsborough was working 
the apotheosis of a hat2 ,reynolds1     
,lawrence1 ,romney1 and ,west1 the      
,american1 were forming an ,english     
,school of ,art2 ,george ,washington and
 ,george the ,third were linking their  
names preparatory to sending them down  
the ages2 ,boswell was penning undying  
gossip2 ,blackstone was writing his     
,commentaries for legal lights unborn2  

,thomas ,paine was getting his name on  
the blacklist of orthodoxy2 ,burke1 the 
,irishman1 was polishing his brogue so  
that he might be known as ,england's    
greatest orator2 the little ,corsican   
was dreaming dreams of conquest2        
,wellesley was having presentiments of  
coming difficulties2 ,goldsmith was     
giving dinners with bailiffs for        
servants2 ,hastings was defending a suit
 where the chief participants were to   
die before a verdict was rendered2      
,captain ,cook was giving to this world 
new lands2 while ,william ,herschel and 
his sister were showing the world still 
other worlds1 till then unknown4        
99       99       99       99       99  
,when the brother and sister had        
followed the subject of astronomy as far
 as ,ferguson had followed it1 and knew 
all that he knew1 they thought they     
surely would be content4  ,progress     
depends upon continually being          
dissatisfied4 ,now ,ferguson aggravated 
them by his limitations4  ,in their     

music they amused1 animated and inspired
 the fashionable idlers4  ,william gave 
lessons to his private pupils1 led his  
orchestra1 played the organ and         
harpsichord1 and managed to make ends   
meet1 and would have gotten reasonably  
rich had he not invested his spare cash 
in lenses1 brass tubes1 eyepieces1      
specula and other such trifles1 and     
stood most of the night out on the lawn 
peering at the sky4  ,he had been       
studying stars for seven years before   
the ,bath that he amused awoke to the   
fact that there was a genius among them4
 ,and this genius was not the idolized  
,beau ,nash whose statue adorned the    
,pump-,room6 ,no1 it was the man whose  
back they saw at the concerts4  ,during 
all these years ,herschel had worked    
alone1 and he had scarcely ever         
mentioned the subject of astronomy with 
any one save his sister4  ,one night1   
however1 he had moved his telescope into
 the middle of the street to get away   
from the shadows of the houses4 ,a      

doctor who had been out to answer a     
midnight call stopped at the unusual    
sight and asked if he might look through
 the instrument4  ,permission was       
courteously granted4 ,the next day the  
doctor called on the astronomer to thank
 him for the privilege of looking       
through a better telescope than his own4
 ,the doctor was ,sir ,william ,watson1 
an amateur astronomer and all-round     
scientist1 and member of the ,royal     
,society of ,london4  ,herschel had held
 himself high--he had not gossiped of   
his work with the populace1 cheapening  
his thought by diluting it for cheap    
people4 ,watson saw that ,herschel1     
working alone1 isolated1 had surpassed  
the schools4  ,there is a nugget of     
wisdom in ,ibsen's remark1 ,the         
strongest man is he who stands alone1   
and ,kipling's paraphrase1 ,he travels  
the fastest who travels alone4  ,the    
chance acquaintance of ,herschel and    
,watson soon ripened into a very warm   
friendship4  ,herschel amused the       

neurotics1 ,watson dosed and blistered  
them--both for a consideration4 ,each   
had a beautiful contempt for the society
 they served4 ,watson's father was of   
the purple1 while ,herschel's was of the
 people1 but both men belonged to the   
aristocracy of intellect4 ,watson       
introduced ,herschel into the select    
scientific circle of ,london1 where his 
fine reserve and dignity made their due 
impress4 ,herschel's first paper to the 
,royal ,society1 presented by ,doctor   
,watson1 was on the periodical star in  
,collo ,ceti4 ,the members of the       
,society1 always very jealous and       
suspicious of outsiders1 saw they had a 
thinker to deal with4  ,some one carried
 the news to ,bath--a great astronomer  
was now among them6 ,about this time    
,horace ,walpole said1 ,mr4 ,herschel   
will content me if1 instead of a million
 worlds1 he can discover me thirteen    
colonies well inhabited by men and      
women1 and can annex them to the ,crown 
of ,great ,britain in lieu of those it  

has lost beyond the ,atlantic4  ,bath   
society now took up astronomy as a fad1 
and fashionable ladies named the planets
 both backward and forward from a       
blackboard list set up in the           
,pump-,house by ,fanny ,burney1 the     
clever one4  ,herschel was invited to   
give popular lectures on the music of   
the spheres4 ,herschel's music-parlors  
were besieged by good people who wanted 
to make engagements with him to look    
through his telescope4  ,one good woman 
gave the year1 month1 day1 hour and     
minute of her birth and wanted her      
fortune told4 ,poor ,herschel declined1 
saying he knew nothing of astronomy1 but
 could give her lessons in music if     
desired4  ,in answer to the law of      
supply and demand1 thus proving the     
efficacy of prayer1 an itinerant        
astronomer came down from ,london and   
set up a five-foot telescope on the     
,parade and solicited the curious ones  
at a tuppence a peep4 ,this itinerant   
interested the populace by telling them 

a few stories about the stars that were 
not recorded in ,ferguson1 and passed   
out his cards showing where he could be 
consulted as a fortune-teller during the
 day4 ,herschel was once passing by this
 street astronomer1 who was crying his  
wares1 and a sudden impulse coming over 
him to see how bad the man's lens might 
be1 he stopped to take a peep at        
,earth's satellite4 ,he handed out the  
usual tuppence1 but the owner of the    
telescope loftily passed it back saying1
 ,i takes no fee from a                 
fellow-philosopher6  ,this story went   
the rounds1 and when it reached ,london 
it had been amended thus3 ,charles ,fox 
was taking a ramble at ,bath1 ran across
 ,william ,herschel at work1 and        
mistaking him for an itinerant1 the     
great statesman stopped1 peeped through 
the aperture1 and then passing out a    
tuppence moved along blissfully unaware 
of his error1 for ,herschel being a     
perfect gentleman would not embarrass   
the great man by refusing his copper4   

,when ,herschel was asked if the story  
was true he denied the whole fabric1    
which the knowing ones said was further 
proof of his gentlemanly instincts--for 
a true gentleman will always lie under  
two conditions3 first1 to save a woman's
 honor2 and second1 to save a friend    
from embarrassment4 ,as a profession1   
astrology has proved a better investment
 than astronomy4 ,astronomy has nothing 
to offer but abstract truth1 and those  
who love astronomy must do so for       
truth's sake4  ,astronomical discoveries
 can not be covered by copyright or     
patent1 nor can any new worlds be       
claimed as private property and financed
 by stock companies1 frenzied or        
otherwise4 ,astrology1 on the other     
hand1 relates to love-affairs1 vital    
statistics1 goldmines1 misplaced jewels 
and lost opportunities4  ,yet1 in this  
year of grace1 ,nineteen ,hundred ,five1
 ,boston newspapers carry a column      
devoted to announcements of astrologers1
 while the ,cambridge ,astronomical     

,observatory never gets so much as a    
mention from one year's end to the      
other4 ,besides that1 astronomers have  
to be supported by                      
endowment--mendicancy--while astrologers
 are paid for their prophecies by the   
people whose destinies they invent4     
,this shows us how far as a nation we   
have traveled on the stony road of      
,science4  ,science1 forsooth8 ,oh1 yes1
 of course--science--bang6 bang6 bang6  
99       99       99       99       99  
,in the month of ,march1 in ,seventeen  
,hundred ,ninety-one1 ,herschel1 by the 
discovery of ,uranus1 found his place as
 a fixed star among the world's great   
astronomers4 ,years before this1        
,william and ,caroline had figured it   
out that there must be another planet in
 our system in order to account         
plausibly for the peculiar ellipses of  
the others4 ,that is to say1 they felt  
the influence of this seventh planet2   
its attractive force was realized1 but  
where it was they could not tell4 ,its  

discovery by ,herschel was quite        
accidental4 ,he was sweeping the heavens
 for comets when this star came within  
his vision4 ,others had seen it1 too1   
but had classified it as a vagrant fixed
 star4  ,it was the work of ,herschel to
 discover that it was not a fixed star1 
but had a defined and distinct orbit    
that could be calculated4 ,to look up at
 the heavens and pick out a star that   
could only be seen with a               
telescope--pick it out of millions and  
ascertain its movement--seems like      
finding the proverbial needle in a      
haystack4  ,the present method of       
finding asteroids and comets by means of
 photography is simple and easy4 ,the   
plate is exposed in a frame that moves  
by clockwork with the earth1 so as to   
keep the same field of stars steady on  
the glass4 ,after two1 three or four    
hours' exposure1 the photograph will    
show the fixed stars1 but the planets1  
asteroids and comets will reveal        
themselves as a white streak of light1  

showing plainly where the sitters moved4
  ,herschel had to watch each particular
 star in person1 whereas the            
photographic lens will watch a thousand4
  ,how close and persistent an observer 
a man must be who1 watching one star at 
a time1 discovers the one in a million  
that moves1 is apparent4 ,chance1       
surely1 must also come to his aid and   
rescue if he succeeds4  ,herschel found 
his moving star1 and at first mistook it
 for a comet4 ,later1 he and ,caroline  
were agreed that it was in very truth   
their long-looked-for planet4 ,there are
 no proprietary rights in newly         
discovered worlds--the reward is in the 
honor of the discovery1 just as the best
 recompense for a good deed lies in     
having done it4  ,the ,royal ,society   
was the recording station1 as ,kiel1    
,greenwich and ,harvard are now4        
,herschel made haste to get his new     
world on record through his kind        
neighbor1 ,doctor ,watson4  ,the ,royal 
,society gave out the information1 and  

soon various other telescopes           
corroborated the discovery made by the  
,bath musician4 ,herschel christened his
 new discovery ,georgium ,sidus1 in     
honor of the ,king2 but the star        
belonged as much to ,germany and ,france
 as to ,england1 and astronomers abroad 
scouted the idea of peppering the       
heavens with the names of nobodies4     
,several astronomers suggested the name 
,herschel1 if the discoverer would      
consent1 but this he would not do4      
,doctor ,bode then named the new star   
,uranus1 and ,uranus it is1 although    
perhaps with any other name 't would    
shine as bright4  ,herschel was         
forty-three years old when he discovered
 ,uranus4 ,he was still a professional  
musician1 and an amateur astronomer4    
,but it did not require much arguing on 
the part of ,doctor ,watson when he     
presented ,herschel's name for          
membership in the ,royal ,society for   
that most respectable body of scholars  
to at once pass favorably on the        

nomination4 ,as one member in seconding 
the motion put it1 ,herschel honors us  
in accepting this membership1 quite as  
much as we do him in granting it4  ,and 
so the next paper presented by ,herschel
 to the ,royal ,society appears on the  
record signed ,william ,herschel1       
,f4,r4,s4  ,some time afterwards1 it was
 to appear1 ,william ,herschel1         
,f4,r4,s41 ,,ll4,d4 7,edinburgh72 and   
then ,sir ,william ,herschel1 ,f4,r4,s41
 ,,ll4,d41 ,d4,c4,l4 7,oxon74         99
       99       99       99       99    
,george the ,third1 in about the year   
,seventeen ,hundred ,eighty-two1 had    
invited his distinguished ,hanoverian   
countryman to become an attache of the  
,court with the title of ,astronomer to 
the ,king4 ,the ,astronomer-,royal1 in  
charge of the ,greenwich ,observatory1  
was one ,doctor ,maskelyne1 a man of    
much learning1 a stickler for the fact1 
but with a mustard-seed imagination4    
,being asked his opinion of ,herschel he
 assured the company thus3 ,herschel is 

a great musician--a great musician6     
,afterwards ,maskelyne explained that   
the reason ,herschel saw more than other
 astronomers was because he had made    
himself a better telescope4  ,one real  
secret of ,herschel's influence seems to
 have been his fine enthusiasm4 ,he     
worked with such vim1 such animation1   
that he radiated light on every side4   
,he set others to work1 and his love for
 astronomy as a science created a demand
 for telescopes1 which he himself had to
 supply4 ,it does not seem that he cared
 especially for money--all he made he   
spent for new apparatus4 ,he had a force
 of about a dozen men making telescopes4
 ,he worked with them in blouse and     
overalls1 and not one of his workmen    
excelled him as a machinist4 ,the ,king 
bought several of his telescopes for    
from one hundred to three hundred pounds
 each1 and presented them to            
universities and learned societies      
throughout the world4 ,one fine         
telescope was presented to the          

,university of ,gottingen1 and ,herschel
 was sent in person to present it4 ,he  
was received with the greatest honors1  
and scientists and musicians vied with  
one another to do him homage4  ,in      
,seventeen ,hundred ,eighty-two         
,herschel and his sister gave up their  
musical work and moved from ,bath to    
quarters provided for them near ,windsor
 ,castle4 ,herschel's salary was then   
the modest sum of two hundred pounds a  
year4  ,caroline was honored with the   
title ,assistant to the ,king's         
,astronomer with the stipend of fifty   
pounds a year4 ,it will thus be seen    
that the kingly idea of astronomy had   
not traveled far from what it was when  
every really respectable court had a    
retinue of singers1 musicians1 clowns1  
dancers1 palmists and scientists to     
amuse the people somewhat ironically    
called nobility4 ,king ,george the      
,third paid his ,cook1 ,master of the   
,kennels1 ,chaplain and ,astronomer the 
same amount4 ,the father of ,richard    

,brinsley ,sheridan was ,elocutionist to
 the ,king1 and was paid a like sum4    
,when ,doctor ,watson heard that        
,herschel was about to leave ,bath he   
wrote1 ,never bought ,king honor so     
cheap4  ,it was nominated in the bond   
that ,herschel should act as ,guide to  
the heavens for the diversification of  
visitors whenever ,his ,majesty wills   
it4  ,but it was also provided that the 
astronomer should be allowed to carry on
 the business of making and selling his 
telescopes4  ,herschel's enthusiasm for 
his beloved science never abated4 ,but  
often his imagination outran his facts4 
,great minds divine the thing           
first--they see it with their inward    
eye4 ,yet there may be danger in this1  
for in one's anxiety to prove what he   
first only imagined1 small proof        
suffices4 ,thus ,herschel was for many  
years sure that the moon had an         
atmosphere and was inhabited2 he thought
 that he had seen clear through the     
,milky ,way and discovered empty space  

beyond2 he calculated distances1 and    
announced how far ,castor was from      
,pollux2 he even made a guess as to how 
long it took for a gaseous nebula to    
resolve itself into a planetary system2 
he believed the sun was a molten mass of
 fire--a thing that many believed until 
they saw the incandescent electric      
lamp--and in various other ways made    
daring prophecies which science has not 
only failed to corroborate1 but which we
 now know to be errors4  ,but the       
intensity of his nature was both his    
virtue and his weakness4 ,men who do    
nothing and say nothing are never       
ridiculous4 ,those who hope much1       
believe much1 and love much1 make       
mistakes4  ,constant effort and frequent
 mistakes are the stepping-stones of    
genius4  ,in all1 ,herschel contributed 
sixty-seven important papers to the     
proceedings of the ,royal ,society1 and 
in one of these1 which was written in   
his eightieth year1 he says1 ,my        
enthusiasm has occasionally led me      

astray1 and ,i wish now to correct a    
statement which ,i made to you          
twenty-eight years ago4 ,he then        
enumerates some particular statement    
about the height of mountains in the    
moon1 and corrects it4 ,truth was more  
to ,herschel than consistency4 ,indeed1 
the earnestness1 purity of purpose1 and 
simplicity of his mind stamp him as one 
of the world's great men4  ,at ,windsor 
he built a two-story observatory4 ,in   
the wintertime every night when the     
stars could be seen1 was sacred4 ,no    
matter how cold the weather1 he stood   
and watched2 while down below1 the      
faithful ,caroline sat and recorded the 
observations that he called down to her4
  ,caroline was his confidante1 adviser1
 secretary1 servant1 friend4 ,she had a 
telescope of her own1 and when her      
brother did not need her services she   
swept the heavens on her own account for
 maverick comets4 ,in her work she was  
eminently successful1 and five comets at
 least are placed to her credit on the  

honor-roll by right of priority4 ,her   
discoveries were duly forwarded by her  
brother to the ,royal ,society for      
record4  ,later1 the ,king of ,prussia  
was to honor her with a gold medal1 and 
several learned societies elected her an
 honorary member4 ,when ,herschel       
reached the discreet age of fifty he    
married the worthy ,mrs4 ,john ,pitt1   
former wife of a ,london merchant4 ,it  
is believed that the marriage was       
arranged by the ,king in person1 out of 
his great love for both parties4 ,at any
 rate ,miss ,burney thought so4 ,miss   
,burney was ,keeper of the ,royal       
,wardrobe at the same salary that       
,herschel had been receiving--two       
hundred pounds a year4 ,she also took   
charge of the ,court ,gossip1 with      
various volunteer assistants4 ,gold1 as 
well as stars1 glitters for astronomers1
 said little ,miss ,burney4 ,mrs4 ,pitt 
is very rich1 meek1 quiet1 rather pretty
 and quite unobjectionable4 ,but poor   
,caroline6  ,it nearly broke her heart4 

,william was her idol--she lived but for
 him--now she seemed to be replaced4    
,she moved away into a modest cottage of
 her own1 resolved that she would not be
 an encumbrance to any one4 ,she thought
 she was going into a decline1 and would
 not live long anyway--she was so pale  
and slight that ,miss ,burney said it   
took two of her to make a shadow4  ,but 
we get a glimpse of ,caroline's energy  
when we find her writing home explaining
 how she had just painted her house1    
inside and out1 with her own hands4     
,things are never so bad as they seem4  
,it was not very long before ,william   
was sending for ,caroline to come and   
help him out with his mathematical      
calculations4 ,later1 when a fine boy   
baby arrived in the ,herschel solar     
system1 ,caroline forgave all and came  
to take care of what she called the     
,herschel planetoid4 ,she loved this    
baby as her own1 and all the pent-up    
motherhood in her nature went out to the
 little ,sir ,john ,herschel1 the       

knighthood having been conferred on him 
by ,caroline before he was a month old4 
,mrs4 ,herschel was beautiful and       
amiable1 and she and ,caroline became   
genuine sisters in spirit4 ,each had her
 own work to do2 they were not in       
competition save in their love for the  
baby4 ,as the boy grew1 ,caroline took  
upon herself the task of teaching him   
astronomy1 quite to the amusement of the
 father and mother4 ,fanny ,burney now  
comes with a little flung-off nebula to 
the effect that ,herschel is quite the  
happiest man in the kingdom4 ,there is a
 most charming little biography of      
,caroline ,herschel1 written by the good
 wife of ,sir ,john ,herschel1 wherein  
some very gentle foibles are laid bare1 
and where at the same time tribute is   
paid to a great and beautiful spirit4   
,the idea that ,caroline was not going  
to live long after the marriage of her  
brother was greatly exaggerated--she    
lived to be ninety-eight1 a century     
lacking two years6 ,her mind was bright 

to the last--when ninety she sang at a  
concert given for the benefit of an old 
ladies' home4 ,at ninety-six she danced 
a minuet with the ,king of ,prussia1 and
 requested that worthy not to introduce 
her as the woman astronomer1 because1   
you know1 ,i was only the assistant of  
my brother6 ,william ,herschel died in  
his eighty-fourth year1 with his fame at
 full1 honored1 respected1 beloved4     
,sir ,john ,herschel1 his son1 was      
worthy to be called the son of his      
father4 ,he was an active worker in the 
field of science--a strong1 yet gentle  
man1 with no jealousy nor whim in his   
nature4 ,his life was full of the       
docility of a sage and the innocence of 
a child4  ,john ,herschel died at       
,collingwood1 ,may ,eleventh1 ,eighteen 
,hundred ,seventy-one1 and his dust is  
now resting in ,westminster ,abbey1     
close by the grave of ,england's famous 
scholar1 ,sir ,isaac ,newton4           
,illustration3 ,,charles ,,darwin       
,,charles ,,darwin        ,i feel most  

deeply that this whole question of      
,creation is too      profound for human
 intellect4 ,a dog might as well        
speculate on the      mind of ,newton6  
,let each man hope and believe what he  
can4       --,charles ,darwin to ,asa   
,gray       ,none have fought better1   
and none have been more fortunate1 than 
,charles ,darwin4 ,he found a great     
truth trodden underfoot1 reviled      by
 bigots1 and ridiculed by all the world2
 he lived long enough to      see it1   
chiefly by his own efforts1 irrefragably
 established in      science1           
inseparably incorporated into the common
 thoughts of men4      ,what shall a man
 desire more than this8       --,thomas 
,huxley1 ,address1 ,april               
,twenty-seventh1 ,eighteen ,hundred     
,eighty-two   ,,charles ,,darwin        
,evolution is at work everywhere1 even  
in the matter of jokes4 ,once in the    
,house of ,commons1 ,benjamin ,disraeli1
 who prided himself on his fine         
scholarship as well as on his ,hyperion 

curl1 interrupted a speaker and         
corrected him on a matter of history4   
,i would rather be a gentleman than a   
scholar6 the man replied4 ,my friend is 
seldom either1 came the quick response4 
,when ,thomas ,brackett ,reed was       
,speaker of the ,house of               
,representatives1 a member once took    
exception to a ruling of the ,czar1 and 
having in mind ,reed's supposed         
,presidential aspirations closed his    
protests with the thrust1 ,i would      
rather be right than ,president4 ,the   
gentleman will never be either1 came the
 instant retort4  ,but some years before
 the reign of the ,american ,czar1      
,gladstone1 ,premier of ,england1 said1 
,i would rather be right and believe in 
the ,bible1 than excite a body of       
curious1 infidelic1 so-called scientists
 to unbecoming wonder by tracing their  
ancestry to a troglodyte4 ,and ,huxley  
replied1 ,i1 too1 would rather be       
right--,i would rather be right than    
,premier4  ,charles ,darwin was a       

,gentle ,man4 ,he was the greatest      
naturalist of his time1 and a more      
perfect gentleman never lived4 ,his son 
,francis said3 ,i can not remember ever 
hearing my father utter an unkind or    
hasty word4 ,if in his presence some one
 was being harshly criticized1 he always
 thought of something to say in way of  
palliation and excuse4  ,one of his     
companions on the ,beagle1 who saw him  
daily for five years on that memorable  
trip1 wrote3 ,a protracted sea-voyage is
 a most severe test of friendship1 and  
,darwin was the only man on our ship1 or
 that ,i ever heard of1 who stood the   
ordeal4 ,he never lost his temper or    
made an unkind remark4  ,captain        
,fitz-,roy of the ,beagle was a         
disciplinarian1 and absolute in his     
authority1 as a sea-captain must be4    
,the ship had just left one of the      
,south ,american ports where the captain
 had gone ashore and been entertained by
 a coffee-planter4 ,on this plantation  
all the work was done by slaves1 who1 no

 doubt1 were very well treated4  ,the   
captain thought that negroes well cared 
for were very much better off than if   
free4 ,and further1 he related how the  
owner had called up various slaves and  
had the ,captain ask them if they wished
 their freedom1 and the answer was      
always1 ,no4  ,darwin interposed by     
asking the ,captain what he thought the 
answer of a slave was worth when being  
interrogated in the presence of his     
owner4  ,here ,fitz-,roy flew into a    
passion1 berating the volunteer         
naturalist1 and suggested a taste of the
 rope's end in lieu of logic4 ,young    
,darwin made no reply1 and seemingly did
 not hear the uncalled-for chidings4    
,in a few hours a sailor handed him a   
note from ,captain ,fitz-,roy1 full of  
abject apology for having so forgotten  
himself4 ,darwin was then but twenty-two
 years old1 but the poise and patience  
of the young man won the respect and    
then the admiration and finally the     
affection of every man on board that    

ship4 ,this attitude of kindness1       
patience and good-will formed the       
strongest attribute of ,darwin's nature1
 and to these godlike qualities he was  
heir from a royal line of ancestry4 ,no 
man was ever more blest--more richly    
endowed by his parents with love and    
intellect--than ,darwin4 ,and no man    
ever repaid the debt of love more       
fully--all that he had received he gave 
again4  ,darwin is the ,saint of        
,science4 ,he proves the possible2 and  
when mankind shall have evolved to a    
point where such men will be the rule1  
not the exception--as one in a          
million--then1 and not until then1 can  
we say we are a civilized people4       
,charles ,darwin was not only the       
greatest thinker of his time 7with      
possibly one exception71 but in his     
simplicity and earnestness1 in his      
limpid love for truth--his perfect      
willingness to abandon his opinion if he
 were found to be wrong--in all these   
things he proved himself the greatest   

man of his time4  ,yet it is absurd to  
try to separate the scientist from the  
father1 neighbor and friend4 ,darwin's  
love for truth as a scientist was what  
lifted him out of the fog of whim and   
prejudice and set him apart as a man4   
,he had no time to hate4 ,he had no time
 to indulge in foolish debates and      
struggle for rhetorical mastery--he had 
his work to do4  ,that statesmen like   
,gladstone misquoted him1 and churchmen 
like ,wilberforce reviled him--these    
things were as naught to ,darwin--his   
face was toward the sunrising4 ,to be   
able to know the truth1 and to state it1
 were vital issues3 whether the truth   
was accepted by this man or that was    
quite immaterial1 except possibly to the
 man himself4 ,there was no resentment  
in ,darwin's nature4  ,only love is     
immortal--hate is a negative condition4 
,it is love that animates1 beautifies1  
benefits1 refines1 creates4 ,so firmly  
was this truth fixed in the heart of    
,darwin that throughout his long life   

the only things he feared and shunned   
were hate and prejudice4 ,they hinder   
and blind a man to truth1 he said--a    
scientist must only love4         99    
99       99       99       99  ,emerson 
has been called the culminating flower  
of seven generations of ,new ,england   
culture4 ,charles ,darwin seems a       
similar culminating product4  ,surely he
 showed rare judgment in the selection  
of his grandparents4 ,his grandfather on
 his father's side was ,doctor ,erasmus 
,darwin1 a poet1 a naturalist1 and a    
physician so discerning that he once    
wrote3 ,the science of medicine will    
some time resolve itself into a science 
of prevention rather than a matter of   
cure4 ,man was made to be well1 and the 
best medicine ,i know of is an active   
and intelligent interest in the world of
 ,nature4  ,erasmus ,darwin had the     
felicity to have his biography written  
in ,german1 and he also has his place in
 the ,encyclopedia ,britannica quite    
independent of that of his gifted       

grandson4  ,charles ,darwin's           
grandfather on his mother's side was    
,josiah ,wedgwood1 one of the most      
versatile of men4 ,he was as fine in    
spirit as those exquisite designs by    
,flaxman that you will see today on the 
,wedgwood pottery4 ,josiah ,wedgwood was
 a businessman--an organizer1 and he was
 beyond this1 an artist1 a naturalist1 a
 sociologist and a lover of his race4   
,his portrait by ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds 
reveals a man of rare intelligence1 and 
his biography is as interesting as a    
novel by ,kipling4 ,his space in the    
,encyclopedia ,britannica is even more  
important than that occupied by his dear
 friend and neighbor1 ,doctor ,erasmus  
,darwin4 ,the hand of the ,potter did   
not shake when ,josiah ,wedgwood was    
made4 ,josiah ,wedgwood and ,doctor     
,darwin had mutually promised their     
children in marriage4 ,wedgwood became  
rich and he made numerous other men     
rich1 and he enriched the heart and the 
intellect of ,england by setting before 

it beautiful things1 and by living an   
earnest1 active and beautiful life4     
,josiah ,wedgwood coined the word       
queensware4 ,he married his cousin1     
,sarah ,wedgwood4 ,their daughter1      
,susannah ,wedgwood1 married ,doctor    
,robert ,darwin1 and ,charles ,darwin1  
their son1 married ,emma ,wedgwood1 a   
daughter of ,josiah ,wedgwood the       
,second4 ,caroline ,darwin1 a sister of 
,charles ,darwin1 married ,josiah       
,wedgwood the ,third4 ,let those who    
have the time work out this origin of   
species in detail and show us the       
relationship of the ,darwins and        
,wedgwoods4 ,and ,i hope we'll hear no  
more about the folly of cousins         
marrying1 when ,charles ,darwin is      
before us as an example of natural      
selection4  ,from his mother ,darwin    
inherited those traits of gentleness1   
insight1 purity of purpose1 patience and
 persistency that set him apart as a    
marked man4  ,the father of ,charles    
,darwin1 ,doctor ,robert ,darwin1 was a 

most successful physician of            
,shrewsbury4  ,his marriage to ,susannah
 ,wedgwood filled his heart1 and also   
placed him on a firm financial footing1 
and he seemed to take his choice of     
patients4 ,doctor ,darwin was a man     
devoted to his family1 respected by his 
neighbors1 and he lived long enough to  
see his son recognized1 greatly to his  
surprise1 as one of ,england's foremost 
scientists4  ,charles ,darwin in youth  
was rather slow in intellect1 and in    
form and feature far from handsome4     
,physically he was never strong4 ,in    
disposition he was gentle and most      
lovable4 ,his mother died when he was   
eight years of age1 and his three older 
sisters then mothered him4 ,between them
 all existed a tie of affection1 very   
gentle1 and very firm4  ,the girls knew 
that ,charles would become an eminent   
man--just how they could not guess--but 
he would be a leader of men3 they felt  
it in their hearts4 ,it was all the     
beautiful dream that the mother has for 

her babe as she sings to the man-child a
 lullaby as the sun goes down4  ,in his 
autobiographical sketch1 written when he
 was past sixty1 ,darwin mentions this  
faith and love of his sisters1 and says1
 ,personally1 ,i never had much         
ambition1 but when at college ,i felt   
that ,i must work1 if for no other      
reason1 so as not to disappoint my      
sisters4  ,at school ,charles was       
considerable of a grubber3 he worked    
hard because he felt that it was his    
duty4 ,english boarding-schools have    
always taught things out of season1 and 
very often have succeeded in making     
learning wholly repugnant4 ,perhaps that
 is the reason why nine men out of ten  
who go to college cease all study as    
soon as they stand on the threshold1    
looking at life ere they seize it by the
 tail and snap its head off4 ,to them   
education is one thing and life another4
  ,but with many headaches and many     
heartaches ,charles got through         
,cambridge and then was sent to attend  

lectures at the ,university of          
,edinburgh4 ,of one lecturer in         
,scotland he says1 ,the good man was    
really more dull than his books1 and how
 ,i escaped without all science being   
utterly distasteful to me ,i hardly     
know4 ,to ,cambridge1 ,darwin owed      
nothing but the association with other  
minds1 yet this was much1 and almost    
justifies the college4 ,send your sons  
to college and the boys will educate    
them1 said ,emerson4  ,the most         
beneficent influence for ,darwin at     
,cambridge was the friendship between   
himself and ,professor ,henslow4 ,darwin
 became known as the man who walks with 
,henslow4 ,the professor taught botany1 
and took his classes on tramps a-field  
and on barge rides down the river1      
giving out-of-door lectures on the way4 
,this commonsense way of teaching       
appealed to ,darwin greatly1 and        
although he did not at ,cambridge take  
up botany as a study1 yet when ,henslow 
had an out-of-door class he usually     

managed to go along4  ,in his           
autobiography ,darwin gives great credit
 to this very gentle and simple soul1   
who1 although not being great as a      
thinker1 yet could animate and arouse a 
pleasurable interest4  ,henslow was once
 admonished by the faculty for his lack 
of discipline1 and young ,darwin came   
near getting himself into difficulty by 
declaring1 ,professor ,henslow teaches  
his pupils in love2 the others think    
they know a better way6  ,the hope of   
his father and sisters was that ,charles
 ,darwin would become a clergyman4 ,for 
the army he had no taste whatsoever1 and
 at twenty-one the only thing seemed to 
be the ,church4 ,not that the young man 
was filled with religious zeal--far from
 that--but one must1 you know1 do       
something4 ,up to this time he had      
studied in a desultory way2 he had also 
dreamed and tramped the fields4 ,he had 
done considerable grouse-shooting and   
had developed a little too much skill in
 that particular line4  ,to paraphrase  

,herbert ,spencer1 to shoot fairly well 
is a manly accomplishment1 but to shoot 
too well is evidence of an ill-spent    
youth4 ,doctor ,darwin was having fears 
that his son was going to be an idle    
sportsman1 and he was urging the        
divinity-school4  ,the real fact was    
that sportsmanship was already becoming 
distasteful to young ,darwin1 and his   
hunting expeditions were now largely    
carried on with a botanist's drum and a 
geologist's hammer4  ,but to the        
practical ,doctor these things were no  
better than the gun--it was idling1     
anyway4 ,natural ,history as a pastime  
was excellent1 and sportsmanship for    
exercise and recreation had its place1  
but the business of life must not be    
neglected--,charles should get himself  
to a divinity-school1 and quickly1 too4 
,things urged become repellent2 and     
,charles was groping around for an      
excuse when a letter came from          
,professor ,henslow1 saying1 among other
 things1 that the ,government was about 

to send a ship around the world on a    
scientific surveying tour1 especially to
 map the coast of ,patagonia and other  
parts of ,south ,america and ,australia4
 ,a volunteer naturalist was            
wanted--board and passage free1 but the 
volunteer was to supply his own clothes 
and instruments4  ,the proposition gave 
,charles a great thrill3 he gave a gulp 
and a gasp and went in search of his    
father4 ,the father saw nothing in the  
plan beyond the fact that the           
,government was going to get several    
years' work out of some foolish young   
man1 for nothing--gadzooks6  ,charles   
insisted--he wanted to go6 ,he urged    
that on this trip he would be to but    
very little expense4 ,you say ,i have   
cost you much1 but the fellow who can   
spend money on board ship must be very  
clever4 ,but you are a very clever young
 man1 they say1 the father replied4     
,that night ,charles again insisted on  
discussing the matter4 ,the father was  
exasperated and exclaimed1 ,go and find 

me one sane man who will endorse your   
wild-goose chase and ,i will give my    
consent4  ,charles said no more--he     
would find that sane man4 ,but he knew  
perfectly well that if any average      
person endorsed the plan his father     
would declare the man was insane1 and   
the proof of it lay in the fact that he 
endorsed the wild-goose chase4  ,in the 
morning ,charles started of his own     
accord to see ,henslow4 ,henslow would  
endorse the trip1 but both parties knew 
that ,doctor ,darwin would not accept a 
mere college professor as sane4 ,charles
 went home and tramped thirty miles     
across the country to the home of his   
uncle1 ,josiah ,wedgwood the ,second4   
,there he knew he had an advocate for   
anything he might wish1 in the person of
 his fair cousin1 ,emma4 ,these two laid
 their heads together1 made a plan and  
stalked their prey4  ,they cornered     
,josiah the ,second after dinner and    
showed him how it was the chance of a   
lifetime--this trip on ,h4,m4,s4 the    

,beagle6 ,charles wasn't adapted for a  
clergyman1 anyway2 he wanted to be a    
ship-captain1 a traveler1 a discoverer1 
a scientist1 an author like ,sir ,john  
,mandeville1 or something else4 ,josiah 
the ,second had but to speak the word   
and ,doctor ,darwin would be silenced1  
and the recommendation of so great a man
 as ,josiah ,wedgwood would secure the  
place4  ,josiah the ,second             
laughed--then he looked sober4 ,he      
agreed with the proposition--it was the 
chance of a lifetime4 ,he would go back 
home with ,charles and put the ,doctor  
straight4 ,and he did4  ,and on the     
personal endorsement of ,josiah         
,wedgwood and ,professor ,henslow1      
,charles ,robert ,darwin was duly booked
 as ,volunteer ,naturalist in ,her      
,majesty's service4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,captain          
,fitz-,roy of the ,beagle liked ,charles
 ,darwin until he began to look him over
 with a very professional eye4 ,then he 
declared his nose was too large and was 

not rightly shaped2 besides1 he was too 
tall for his weight3 outside of these   
points the ,volunteer would answer4 ,on 
talking with young ,darwin further1 the 
,captain liked him better1 and he waived
 all imperfections1 although no promise 
was made that they would be remedied4   
,in fact1 ,captain ,fitz-,roy liked     
,charles so well that he invited him to 
share his own cabin and mess with him4  
,the sailors1 on seeing this1 touched   
respectful forefingers to their caps and
 began addressing the ,volunteer as     
,sir4  ,the ,beagle sailed on ,december 
,twenty-seven1 ,eighteen ,hundred       
,thirty-one1 and it was fully four years
 and ten months before ,charles ,darwin 
saw ,england again4 ,the trip decided   
the business of ,darwin for the rest of 
his life1 and thereby an epoch was      
worked in the upward and onward march of
 the race4  ,captain ,fitz-,roy of the  
,british ,navy was but twenty-three     
years old4 ,he was a draftsman1 a       
geographer1 a mathematician and a       

navigator4 ,he had sailed around the    
world as a plain tar1 and taken his     
kicks and cuffs with good grace4 ,at the
 ,portsmouth ,naval ,school he had won a
 gold medal for proficiency in study1   
and another medal had been given him for
 heroism in leaping from a sailing-ship 
into the sea to save a drowning sailor4 
,let us be fair--the tight little island
 has produced men4 ,to evolve these few 
good men she may have produced many     
millions of the spawn of earth1 but let 
the fact stand--,england has produced   
men4 ,here was a beardless youth1 slight
 in form1 silent by habit1 but so well  
thought of by his ,government that he   
was given charge of a ship1 five        
officers1 two surgeons and forty-one    
picked men to go around the world and   
make measurements of certain            
coral-reefs1 and map the dangerous      
coasts of ,patagonia and ,tierra del    
,fuego4  ,the ship was provisioned for  
two years1 but the orders were1 ,do the 
work1 no matter how long it may take1   

and your drafts on the ,government will 
be honored4  ,captain ,fitz-,roy was a  
man of decision3 he knew just where he  
wanted to go1 and what there was to do4 
,he was to measure and map dreary wastes
 of tossing tide1 and to do the task so 
accurately that it would never have to  
be done again3 his maps were to remain  
forever a solace1 a safety and a        
security to the men who go down to the  
sea in ships4  ,england has certainly   
produced men--and ,fitz-,roy was one of 
them4 ,fitz-,roy is now known to us1 not
 for his maps which have passed into the
 mutual wealth of the world1 but because
 he took on this trip1 merely as an     
afterthought1 a volunteer naturalist4   
,before the ,beagle sailed1 ,captain    
,fitz-,roy and young ,mr4 ,darwin went  
down to ,portsmouth1 and the ,captain   
showed him the ship4 ,the ,captain took 
pains to explain the worst4 ,it was to  
be at least two years of close1         
unremitting toil4 ,it was no            
pleasure-excursion--there were no       

amusements provided1 no cards1 no wine  
on the table2 the fare was to be simple 
in the extreme4 ,this way of putting the
 matter was most attractive to          
,darwin--,fitz-,roy became a hero in his
 eyes at once4 ,the ,captain's manner   
inspired much confidence--he was a man  
who did not have to be amused or        
cajoled4 ,you will be left alone to do  
your work1 said ,fitz-,roy to ,darwin1  
and ,i must have the cabin to myself    
when ,i ask for it4 ,and that settled   
it4 ,life aboard ship is like life in   
jail4 ,it means freedom1 freedom from   
interruption--you have your evenings to 
yourself1 and the days as well4 ,darwin 
admired every man on board the ship1 and
 most of all1 the man who selected them1
 and so wrote home to his sisters4 ,he  
admired the men because each was intent 
on doing his work1 and each one seemed  
to assume that his own particular work  
was really the most important4  ,second 
,officer ,wickham was entrusted to see  
that the ship was in good order1 and so 

thorough was he that he once said to    
,darwin1 who was constantly casting his 
net for specimens1 ,if ,i were the      
skipper1 ,i'd soon have you and your    
beastly belittlement out of this ship   
with all your devilish1 damned mess4    
,and ,darwin1 much amused1 wrote this   
down in his journal1 and added1 ,wickham
 is a most capital fellow4 ,the         
discipline and system of ship-life1 the 
necessity of working in a small space1  
and of improving the calm weather1 and  
seizing every moment when on shore1 all 
tended to work in ,darwin's nature      
exactly the habit that was needed to    
make him the greatest naturalist of his 
age4  ,every sort of life that lived in 
the sea was new and wonderful to him4   
,very early on this trip ,darwin began  
to work on the ,cirripedia 7barnacles71 
and we hear of ,captain ,fitz-,roy      
obligingly hailing homeward-bound ships1
 and putting out a small boat1 rowing   
alongside1 asking politely1 to the      
astonishment of the party hailed1 ,would

 you oblige us with a few barnacles off 
the bottom of your ship8 ,all this that 
the ,volunteer1 who was dubbed the      
,flycatcher1 might have something upon  
which to work4  ,when on shore a sailor 
was detailed by ,captain ,fitz-,roy just
 to attend the ,flycatcher1 with a bag  
to carry the specimens1 geological1     
botanical and zoological1 and a         
cabin-boy was set apart to write notes4 
,this boy1 who afterward became         
,governor of ,queens and a ,k4,c4,b41   
used in after years to boast a bit1 and 
rightfully1 of his share in producing   
,the ,origin of ,species4 ,when urged to
 smoke1 ,darwin replied1 ,i am not      
making any new necessities for myself4  
,when the weather was rough the         
,flycatcher was sick1 much to the       
delight of ,wickham2 but if the ship was
 becalmed1 ,darwin came out and gloried 
in the sunshine1 and in his work of     
dissecting1 labeling1 and writing       
memoranda and data4 ,the sailors might  
curse the weather--he did not4 ,thus    

passed the days4 ,at each stop many     
specimens were secured1 and these were  
to be sorted and sifted out at leisure4 
,on shore the ,captain had his work to  
do1 and it was only after a year that   
,darwin accidentally discovered that the
 sailor who was sent to carry his       
specimens was always armed with knife   
and revolver1 and his orders were not so
 much to carry what ,wickham called1 the
 damned plunder1 as to see that no harm 
befell the ,flycatcher4  ,fitz-,roy's   
interest in the scientific work was only
 general3 longitude and latitude1 his   
twenty-four chronometers1 his maps and  
constant soundings1 with minute records1
 kept his time occupied4  ,for ,darwin  
and his specimens1 however1 he had a    
constantly growing respect1 and when the
 long five-year trip was ended1 ,darwin 
realized that the gruff and grim        
,captain was indeed his friend4 ,captain
 ,fitz-,roy had trouble with everybody  
on board in turn1 thus proving his      
impartiality2 but when parting was nigh1

 tears came to his eyes as he embraced  
,darwin1 and said1 with prophetic yet   
broken words1 ,the ',beagle's' voyage   
may be remembered more through you than 
me--,i hope it will be so6 ,and ,darwin1
 too moved for speech1 said nothing     
except through the pressure of his hand4
         99       99       99       99  
99  ,the idea of evolution took a firm  
hold upon the mind of ,darwin1 in an    
instant1 one day while on board the     
,beagle4 ,from that very hour the       
thought of the mutability of species was
 the one controlling impulse of his     
life4  ,on his return from the trip     
around the world he found himself in    
possession of an immense mass of        
specimens and much data bearing directly
 upon the point that creation is still  
going on4  ,that he could ever sort1    
sift and formulate his evidence on his  
own account1 he never at this time      
imagined4 ,indeed1 about all he thought 
he could do was to present his notes and
 specimens to some scientific society1  

in the hope that some of its members    
would go ahead and use the material4    
,with this thought in mind he began to  
open correspondence with several of the 
universities and with various professors
 of science1 and to his dismay found    
that no one was willing even to read his
 notes1 much less house1 prepare for    
preservation1 and index his thousands of
 specimens4  ,he read papers before     
different scientific societies1 however1
 from time to time1 and gradually in    
,london it dawned upon the few thinkers 
that this modest and low-voiced young   
man was doing a little thinking on his  
own account4 ,one man to whom he had    
offered the specimens bluntly explained 
to ,darwin that his specimens and ideas 
were valuable to no one but himself1 and
 it was folly to try to give such things
 away4 ,ideas are like children and     
should be cared for by their parents1   
and specimens are for the collector4    
,seeing the depression of the young man1
 this friend offered to present the     

matter to the ,secretary of the         
,exchequer4 ,everything can be done when
 the right man takes hold of it3 the sum
 of one thousand pounds was appropriated
 by the ,treasury for ,charles ,darwin's
 use in bringing out a ,government      
report of the voyage of the ,beagle4    
,and ,darwin set to work1 refreshed1    
rejoiced and encouraged4 ,he was living 
in ,london in modest quarters1 solitary 
and alone4 ,he was not handsome1 and he 
lacked the dash and flash that make a   
success in society4 ,on a trip to his   
old home1 he walked across the country  
to see his uncle1 ,josiah ,wedgwood the 
,second4  ,when he left it was arranged 
that he should return in a month and    
marry his cousin1 ,emma ,wedgwood4 ,and 
it was all so done4  ,one commentator   
said he married his cousin because he   
didn't know any other woman that would  
have him4 ,but none was so unkind as to 
say that he married her in order to get 
rid of her1 yet ,henslow wondered how he
 ceased wooing science long enough to   

woo the lady4  ,doubtless the parents of
 both parties had a little to do with   
the arrangement1 and in this instance it
 was beautiful and well4 ,darwin was    
married to his work1 and no such fallacy
 as marrying a woman in order to educate
 her filled his mind4  ,his wife was his
 mental mate1 his devoted helper and    
friend4  ,it is no small matter for a   
wife to be her husband's friend4  ,mrs4 
,darwin had no small aspirations of her 
own4 ,she flew the futile ,four-o',clock
 and made no flannel nightgowns for     
,fijis4 ,twenty years after his         
marriage1 ,darwin wrote thus3 ,it is    
probably as you say--,i have done an    
enormous amount of work4 ,and this was  
only possible through the devotion of my
 wife1 who1 ignoring every idea of      
pleasure and comfort for herself1       
arranged in a thousand ways to give me  
joy and rest1 peace and most valuable   
inspiration and assistance4 ,if ,i      
occasionally lost faith in myself1 she  
most certainly never did4 ,only two     

hours a day could ,i work1 and these to 
her were sacred4 ,she guarded me as a   
mother guards her babe1 and ,i look back
 now and see how hopelessly undone ,i   
should have been without her4  ,in      
,eighteen ,hundred ,forty-two1 ,darwin  
and his wife moved to the village of    
,down1 ,county of ,kent4 ,the place     
where they lived was a rambling old     
stone house with ample garden4 ,the     
country was rough and unbroken1 and one 
might have imagined he was a thousand   
miles from ,london1 instead of twenty4  
,there were no aristocratic neighbors1  
no society to speak of4 ,with the plain 
farmers and simple folk of the village  
,darwin was on good terms4 ,he became   
treasurer of the local improvement      
society1 and thereby was serenaded once 
a year by a brass band4 ,we hear of the 
good old village rector once saying1    
,mr4 ,darwin knows botany better than   
anybody this side of ,kew2 and although 
,i am sorry to say that he seldom goes  
to church1 yet he is a good neighbor and

 almost a model citizen4 ,together the  
clergyman and his neighbor discussed the
 merits of climbing roses1              
morning-glories and sweet-peas4 ,darwin 
met all and every one on terms of       
absolute equality1 and never forced his 
scientific hypotheses upon any one4 ,in 
fact1 no one in the village imagined    
this quiet country gentleman in the     
dusty gray clothes that matched his full
 iron-gray beard was destined for a     
place in ,westminster ,abbey--no1 not   
even himself6  ,darwin's father1 seeing 
that the ,government had recognized him1
 and that all the scientific societies  
of ,london were quite willing to do as  
much1 settled on him an allowance that  
was ample for his simple wants4  ,on the
 death of ,doctor ,darwin1 ,charles     
became possessed of an inheritance that 
brought him a yearly income of a little 
over five hundred pounds4 ,children came
 to bless this happy household--seven in
 all4 ,with these ,darwin was both      
comrade and teacher4 ,two hours a day   

were sacred to science1 but outside of  
this time the children made the study   
their own1 and littered the place with  
their collections gathered on heath and 
dale4  ,the recognition of the holy time
 was strong in the minds of the         
children1 so no prohibitions were       
needed4 ,one daughter has written in    
familiar way of once wanting to go into 
her father's study for a forgotten pair 
of scissors4 ,it was the holy time1 and 
she thought she could not wait1 so she  
took off her shoes and entered in       
stocking feet1 hoping to be unobserved4 
,her father was working at his          
microscope3 he saw her1 reached out one 
arm as she passed1 drew her to him and  
kissed her forehead4 ,the little girl   
never again trespassed--how could she1  
with the father that gave her only love6
 ,that there was no sternness in this   
recognition of the value of the working 
hours is further indicated in that      
little ,francis1 aged six1 once put his 
head in the door and offered the father 

a sixpence if he would come out and play
 in the garden4  ,for several years     
,darwin was village magistrate4 ,most of
 the cases brought before him were      
either for poaching or drunkenness4 ,he 
always seemed to be trying to find an   
excuse for the prisoner1 and usually    
succeeded1 says his son4  ,one time1    
when a prosecuting attorney complained  
because he had discharged a prisoner1   
,darwin1 who might have fined the       
impudent attorney for contempt of court1
 merely said3 ,why1 he's as good as we  
are4 ,if tempted in the same way ,i am  
sure that ,i would have done as he has  
done4 ,we can't blame a man for doing   
what he has to do6 ,this was poor       
reasoning from a legal point of view4   
,darwin afterward admitted that he      
didn't hear much of the evidence1 as his
 mind was full of orchids1 but the      
fellow looked sorry1 and he really      
couldn't punish anybody who had simply  
made a mistake4 ,the local legal lights 
gradually lost faith in ,magistrate     

,darwin's peculiar brand of justice2 he 
hadn't much respect for law1 and once   
when a lawyer cited him the criminal    
code he said1 ,tut1 tut1 that was made a
 hundred years ago6 ,then he fined the  
man five shillings1 and paid the fine   
himself1 when he should have sent him to
 the workhouse for six months4          
99       99       99       99       99  
,the men who have most benefited the    
world have1 almost without exception1   
been looked down upon by the priestly   
class4 ,that is to say1 the men upon    
whose tombs society now carves the word 
,savior were outcasts and criminals in  
their day4  ,in a society where the     
priest is regarded as the mouthpiece of 
divinity1 and therefore the highest type
 of man1 the artist1 the inventor1 the  
discoverer1 the genius1 the man of      
truth1 has always been regarded as a    
criminal4 ,society advances as it doubts
 the priest1 distrusts his oracles1 and 
loses faith in his institution4  ,in the
 priest1 at first1 was deposited all    

human knowledge1 and what he did not    
know he pretended to know4 ,he was the  
guardian of mind and morals1 and the    
cure of souls4 ,to question him was to  
die here and be damned for eternity4    
,the problem of civilization has been to
 get the truth past the preacher to the 
people3 he has forever barred and       
blocked the way1 and until he was shorn 
of his temporal power there was no hope4
 ,the prisons were first made for those 
who doubted the priest2 behind and      
beneath every episcopal residence were  
dungeons2 the ferocious and delicate    
tortures that reached every physical and
 mental nerve were his4 ,his anathemas  
and curses were always quickly turned   
upon the strong men of mountain or sea  
who dared live natural lives1 said what 
they thought was truth1 or did what they
 deemed was right4 ,science is a search 
for truth1 but theology is a clutch for 
power4  ,nothing is so distasteful to a 
priest as freedom3 a happy1 exuberant1  
fearless1 self-sufficient and radiant   

man he both feared and abhorred4 ,a free
 soul was regarded by the ,church as one
 to be dealt with4 ,the priest has ever 
put a premium on pretense and hypocrisy4
 ,nothing recommended a man more than   
humility and the acknowledgment that he 
was a worm of the dust4 ,the ability to 
do and dare was in itself considered a  
proof of depravity4  ,the education of  
the young has been monopolized by       
priests in order to perpetuate the      
fallacies of theology1 and all endeavor 
to put education on a footing of        
usefulness and utility has been fought  
inch by inch4  ,andrew ,d4 ,white1 in   
his book1 ,the ,warfare of ,science and 
,religion1 has calmly and without heat  
sketched the war that ,science has had  
to make to reach the light4 ,slowly1    
stubbornly1 insolently1 theology has    
fought ,truth step by step--but always  
retreating1 taking refuge first behind  
one subterfuge1 then another4 ,when an  
alleged fact was found to be a fallacy1 
we were told it was not a literal fact1 

simply a spiritual one4 ,all of         
theology's weapons have been taken from 
her and placed in the ,museum of        
,horrors--all save one1 namely1 social  
ostracism4 ,and this consists in a      
refusal to invite ,science to indulge in
 cream-puffs4  ,we smile1 knowing that  
the man who now successfully defies     
theology is the only one she really1 yet
 secretly1 admires4 ,if he does not run 
after her1 she holds true the poetic    
unities by running after him4 ,mankind  
is emancipated 7or partially so74       
,darwin's fame rests1 for the most part1
 on two books1 ,the ,origin of ,species 
and ,the ,descent of ,man4  ,yet before 
these were published he had issued ,a   
,journal of ,research into ,geology and 
,natural ,history1 ,the ,zoology of the 
,voyage of the ',beagle1' ,a ,treatise  
on ,coral ,reefs1 ,volcanic ,islands1   
,geological ,observations1 and ,a       
,monograph of the ,cirripedia4 ,had     
,darwin died before ,the ,origin of     
,species was published1 he would have   

been famous among scientific men1       
although it was the abuse of theologians
 on the publication of ,the ,origin of  
,species that really made him           
world-famous4  ,alfred ,russel ,wallace1
 ,darwin's chief competitor said that ,a
 ,monograph on the ,cirripedia is enough
 upon which to found a deathless        
reputation4 ,darwin was equally eminent 
in ,geology1 ,botany and ,zoology4  ,on 
,november ,twenty-fourth1 ,eighteen     
,hundred ,fifty-nine1 was published ,the
 ,origin of ,species4 ,murray had       
hesitated about accepting the work1 but 
on the earnest solicitation of ,sir     
,charles ,lyell1 who gave his personal  
guarantee to the publisher against loss1
 quite unknown to ,darwin1 twelve       
hundred copies of the book were printed4
 ,the edition was sold in one day1 and  
who was surprised most1 the author or   
the publisher1 it is difficult to say4  
,up to this time theology had stood     
solidly on the biblical assertion that  
mankind had sprung from one man and one 

woman1 and that in the beginning every  
species was fixed and immutable4        
,aristotle1 three hundred years before  
,christ1 had suggested that1 by         
cross-fertilization and change of       
environment1 new species had been and   
were being evoked4 ,but the ,church had 
declared ,aristotle a heathen1 and in   
every school and college of ,christendom
 it was taught that the world and       
everything in it was created in six days
 of twenty-four hours each1 and that    
this occurred four thousand and four    
years before ,christ1 on ,may ,tenth4   
,those who doubted or disputed this     
statement had no standing in society1   
and in truth1 until the beginning of the
 ,nineteenth ,century1 were in actual   
danger of death--heresy and treason     
being usually regarded as the same      
thing4  ,erasmus ,darwin had taught that
 species were not immutable1 but his    
words were so veiled in the language of 
poesy that they naturally went          
unchallenged4 ,but now the grandson of  

,doctor ,erasmus ,darwin came forward   
with the net result of thirty years'    
continuous work4 ,the ,origin of        
,species did not attack any one's       
religious belief--in fact1 in it the    
biblical account of ,creation is not    
once referred to4 ,it was a calm1       
judicial record of close study and      
observation1 that seemed to prove that  
life began in very lowly forms1 and that
 it has constantly ascended and         
differentiated1 new forms and new       
species being continually created1 and  
that the work of creation still goes on4
  ,in the preface to ,the ,origin of    
,species ,darwin gives ,alfred ,russel  
,wallace credit for coming to the same  
conclusion as himself1 and states that  
both had been at work on the same idea  
for more than a score of years1 but each
 working separately1 unknown to the     
other4  ,andrew ,d4 ,white says that the
 publication of ,charles ,darwin's book 
was like plowing into an ant-hill4 ,the 
theologians1 rudely awakened from       

comfort and repose1 swarmed out angry1  
wrathful and confused4 ,the air was     
charged with challenges2 and soggy      
sermons1 books1 pamphlets1 brochures and
 reviews1 all were flying at the head of
 poor ,darwin4 ,the questions that he   
had anticipated and answered at great   
length were flung off by men who had    
neither read his book nor expected an   
answer4 ,the idea that man had evolved  
from a lower form of animal especially  
was considered immensely funny1 and     
jokes about monkey ancestry came from   
almost every pulpit1 convulsing the pews
 with laughter4  ,in passing1 it may be 
well to note that ,darwin nowhere says  
that man descended from a monkey4 ,he   
does1 however1 affirm his belief that   
they had a common ancestor4 ,one branch 
of the family took to the plains1 and   
evolved into men1 and the other branch  
remained in the woods and are monkeys   
still4 ,the expression1 the missing     
link1 is nowhere used by ,darwin--that  
was a creation of one of his critics4   

,wilberforce1 ,bishop of ,oxford1 summed
 up the argument against ,darwinism in  
the ,quarterly ,review1 by declaring    
that ,darwin was guilty of an attempt to
 limit the power of ,god2 that his book 
contradicts the ,bible2 that it         
dishonors ,nature4 ,and in a speech     
before the ,british ,association for the
 ,advancement of ,science1 where ,darwin
 was not present1 the ,bishop repeated  
his assertions1 and turning to ,huxley1 
asked if he were really descended from a
 monkey1 and if so1 was it on his       
father's or his mother's side6  ,huxley 
sat silent1 refusing to reply1 but the  
audience began to clamor1 and ,huxley   
slowly arose1 and calmly but forcibly   
said3 ,i assert1 and ,i repeat1 that a  
man has no reason to be ashamed of      
having an ape for his grandfather4 ,if  
there were an ancestor whom ,i should   
feel shame in recalling1 it would be a  
man1 a man of restless and versatile    
intellect1 who1 not content with success
 in his own sphere of activity1 plunges 

into scientific questions with which he 
has no real acquaintance1 only to       
obscure them by an aimless rhetoric1 and
 distract the attention of his hearers  
from the real point at issue by eloquent
 digression and a skilful appeal to     
religious prejudices4 ,captain          
,fitz-,roy1 who was present at this     
meeting1 was also called for4  ,he was  
now ,admiral ,fitz-,roy1 and felt       
compelled to uphold his employer1 the   
,state1 so he upheld the ,state         
,religion and backed up the ,bishop of  
,oxford in his emptiness4 ,i often had  
occasion on board the ',beagle' to      
reprove ,mr4 ,darwin for his disbelief  
in the ,first ,chapter of ,genesis1     
solemnly said the ,admiral4 ,and        
,francis ,darwin writes it down without 
comment1 probably to show how much the  
,volunteer ,naturalist was helped1 aided
 and inspired by the ,captain of the    
,expedition4  ,but the reply of ,huxley 
was a shot heard round the world1 and   
for the most part the echo was passed   

along by the enemy4  ,huxley had        
insulted the ,church1 they said1 and the
 adherents of the ,mosaic account took  
the attitude of outraged and injured    
innocence4  ,as for himself1 ,darwin    
said nothing4 ,he ceased to attend the  
meetings of the scientific societies1   
for fear that he would be drawn into    
debate1 and while he felt a sincere     
gratitude for ,huxley's friendship1 he  
deprecated the stern rebuke to the      
,bishop of ,oxford4 ,it will arouse the 
opposition to greater unreason1 he said4
 ,and this was exactly what happened4   
,even the ,english ,catholics took sides
 with ,wilberforce1 the ,protestant1 and
 ,cardinal ,manning organized a society 
to fight this new1 so-called science    
that declares there is no ,god and that 
,adam was an ape4  ,even the            
,non-,conformists and ,jews came in1 and
 there was the very peculiar spectacle  
witnessed of the ,church of ,england1   
the ,non-,conformists1 the ,catholics   
and the ,jews aroused and standing as   

one man1 against one quiet villager who 
remained at home and said1 ,if my book  
can not stand the bombardment1 why then 
it deserves to go down and to be        
forgotten4  ,spurgeon declared that     
,darwinism was more dangerous than open 
and avowed infidelity1 since the one    
motive of the whole book is to dethrone 
,god4  ,rabbi ,hirschberg wrote1        
,darwin's volume is plausible to the    
unthinking person2 but a deeper insight 
shows a mephitic desire to overthrow the
 ,mosaic books and to bury ,judaism     
under a mass of fanciful rubbish4  ,in  
,america ,darwin had no more persistent 
critic than the ,reverend ,de,witt      
,talmage4 ,for ten years ,doctor        
,talmage scarcely preached a sermon     
without making reference to monkey      
ancestry and baboon unbelievers4  ,the  
,new ,york ,christian ,advocate         
declared1 ,darwin is endeavoring to     
becloud and befog the whole question of 
truth1 and his book will be of short    
life4  ,an eminent ,catholic physician  

and writer1 ,doctor ,constantine ,james1
 wrote a book of three hundred pages    
called ,darwinism1 or the ,man-,ape4 ,a 
copy of ,doctor ,james' book being sent 
to ,pope ,pius the ,ninth1 the ,pope    
acknowledged it in a personal letter1   
thanking the author for his masterly    
refutations of the vagaries of this man 
,darwin1 wherein the ,creator is left   
out of all things and man proclaims     
himself independent1 his own king1 his  
own priest1 his own ,god--then degrading
 man to the level of the brute by       
declaring he had the same origin1 and   
this origin was lifeless matter4 ,could 
folly and pride go further than to      
degrade ,science into a vehicle for     
throwing contumely and disrespect on our
 holy religion6  ,this makes rather     
interesting reading now for those who   
believe in the infallibility of popes4  
,so well did ,doctor ,james' book sell1 
coupled with the approbation of the     
,pope1 that as late as ,eighteen        
,hundred ,eighty-two a new and enlarged 

edition made its appearance1 and the    
author was made a member of the ,papal  
,order of ,saint ,sylvester4 ,it is     
quite needless to add that those who    
read ,doctor ,james' book refuting      
,darwin had never read ,darwin1 since   
,the ,origin of ,species was placed on  
the ,index ,expurgatorius in ,eighteen  
,hundred ,sixty4 ,some years after1 when
 it was discovered that ,darwin had     
written other books1 these were likewise
 honored4  ,the book on barnacles being 
called to the attention of the ,censor1 
that worthy exclaimed1 ,some new heresy1
 ,i dare say--put it on the ',index6'   
,and it was so done4  ,the success of   
,doctor ,james' book reveals the        
popularity of the form of reasoning that
 digests the refutation first1 and the  
original proposition not at all4  ,in   
,eighteen ,hundred ,seventy-five1       
,gladstone in an address at ,liverpool  
said1 ,upon the ground of what is called
 evolution1 ,god is relieved from the   
labor of creation and of governing the  

universe4  ,herbert ,spencer called     
,gladstone's attention to the fact that 
,sir ,isaac ,newton1 with his law of    
gravitation and the physical science of 
astronomy1 was open to the same charge4 
,gladstone then took refuge in the      
,contemporary ,review1 and retreated in 
a cloud of words that had nothing to do 
with the subject4  ,thomas ,carlyle1 who
 has facetiously been called a liberal  
thinker1 had not the patience to discuss
 ,darwin's book seriously1 but grew red 
in the face and hissed in falsetto when 
it was even mentioned4 ,he wrote of     
,darwin as the apostle of dirt1 and     
said1 ,he thinks his grandfather was a  
chimpanzee1 and ,i suppose he is        
right--leastwise1 ,i am not the one to  
deprive him of the honor4  ,scathing    
criticisms were uttered on ,darwin's    
ideas1 both on the platform and in      
print1 by ,doctor ,noah ,porter of      
,yale1 ,doctor ,hodge of ,princeton1 and
 ,doctor ,tayler ,lewis of ,union       
,college4 ,agassiz1 the man who was     

regarded as the foremost scientist in   
,america1 thought he had to choose      
between orthodoxy and ,darwinism1 and he
 chose orthodoxy4 ,his gifted son tried 
to rescue his father from the grip of   
prejudice1 and later endeavored to free 
his name from the charge that he could  
not change his mind1 but alas6 ,louis   
,agassiz's words were expressed in      
print1 and widely circulated4  ,there   
were two men in ,america whose names    
stand out like beacon-lights because    
they had the courage to speak up loud   
and clear for ,charles ,darwin while the
 pack was baying the loudest4 ,these men
 were ,doctor ,asa ,gray1 who influenced
 the ,appletons to publish an ,american 
edition of ,the ,origin of ,species1 and
 ,professor ,edward ,l4 ,youmans1 who   
gave up his own brilliant lecture work  
in order that he might stand by ,darwin1
 ,spencer1 ,huxley and ,wallace4  ,for  
the man who was known as a ,darwinian   
there was no place in the ,american     
,lyceum4 ,shut out from addressing the  

public by word of mouth1 ,youmans       
founded a magazine that he might express
 himself1 and he fired a monthly        
broadside from his ,popular ,science    
,monthly4 ,and it is good to remember   
that the faith of ,youmans was not      
without its reward4 ,he lived to see his
 periodical grow from a confessed       
failure--a bill of expense that took his
 monthly salary to maintain--to a paying
 property that made its owner passing   
rich4  ,gray1 too1 outlived the charge  
of infidelity1 and was not forced to    
resign his position as ,professor at    
,harvard1 as was freely prophesied he   
would4  ,as for ,darwin himself1 he     
stood the storm of misunderstanding and 
abuse without scorn or resentment4      
,truth must fight its way1 he said2 and 
this gauntlet of criticism is all for   
the best4 ,what is true in my book will 
survive1 and that which is error will be
 blown away as chaff4 ,he was neither   
exalted by praise nor cast down by      
censure4 ,for ,huxley1 ,lyell1 ,hooker1 

,spencer1 ,wallace and ,asa ,gray he had
 a great and profound love--what they   
said affected him deeply1 and their     
steadfast kindness at times touched him 
to tears4 ,for the great1 seething1     
outside world that had not thought along
 abstruse scientific lines1 and could   
not1 he cared little4  ,how can we      
expect them to see as we do1 he wrote to
 ,gray2 it has taken me thirty years of 
toil and research to come to these      
conclusions4 ,to have the unthinking    
masses accept all that ,i say would be  
calamity3 this opposition is a winnowing
 process1 and all a part of the ,law of 
,evolution that works for good4         
99       99       99       99       99  
,for forty years ,darwin lived in the   
same house at ,down1 in the same quiet1 
simple way4 ,here he lived and worked1  
and the world gradually came to him1    
figuratively and literally4 ,gradually  
it dawned upon the theologians that a   
,god who could set in motion natural    
laws that worked with beneficent and    

absolute regularity was just as great as
 if ,he had made everything at once and 
then stopped4  ,the miracle of evolution
 is just as sublime as the miracle of   
,adam's deep sleep and the making of a  
woman out of a man's rib4 ,the faith of 
the scientist who sees order1 regularity
 and unfailing law is quite as great as 
that of a preacher who believes         
everything he reads in a book4 ,the     
scientist is a man with faith1 plus4    
,when ,darwin died1 in ,eighteen        
,hundred ,eighty-two1 ,darwinism and    
infidelity were words no longer         
synonymous4  ,the discrepancies and     
inconsistencies of the theories of      
,darwin were seen by him as by his      
critics1 and he was ever willing to     
admit the doubt4 ,none of his disciples 
was as ready to modify his opinions as  
he4 ,we must beware of making science   
dogmatic1 he once said to ,haeckel4     
,and at another time he said1 ,i would  
feel ,i had gone too far were it not for
 ,wallace1 who came to the same         

conclusions1 quite independently of me4 
,darwin's mind was simple and childlike4
 ,he was a student1 always learning1 and
 no one was too mean or too poor for him
 to learn from4 ,the patience1          
persistency and untiring industry of the
 man1 combined with the daring          
imagination that saw the thing clearly  
long before he could prove it1 and the  
gentle forbearance in the presence of   
unkindness and misunderstanding1 won the
 love of a nation4  ,he wished to be    
buried in the churchyard at ,down1 but  
at his death1 by universal acclaim1 the 
gates of ,westminster swung wide to     
receive the dust of the man whom        
bishops1 clergy and laymen alike had    
reviled4 ,darwin had won1 not alone     
because he was right1 but because his   
was a truly great and loving soul--a    
soul without the least resentment4      
,archdeacon ,farrar1 quoting ,huxley1   
said1 ,i would rather be ,darwin and be 
right than be ,premier of ,england--we  
have had and will have many ,premiers1  

but the world will never have another   
,darwin4     ,illustration3 ,,ernst     
,,haeckel  ,,haeckel        ,nothing    
seems to me better adapted than this    
monistic perspective      to give us the
 proper standard and the broad outlook  
which we need      in the solution of   
the vast enigmas that surround us4 ,it  
not only      clearly indicates the true
 place of a man in ,nature1 but it      
dissipates the prevalent illusion of    
man's supreme importance and            
arrogance with which he sets himself    
apart from the illimitable              
universe1 and exalts himself to the     
position of its most valuable           
element4 ,this boundless presumption of 
conceited man has misled him      into  
making himself the image of ,god1       
claiming an eternal life      for his   
ephemeral personality1 and imagining    
that he possesses      unlimited freedom
 of will4 ,the ridiculous imperial folly
 of      ,caligula is but a special form
 of man's arrogant assumption of        

divinity4 ,only when we have abandoned  
this untenable illusion1 and      taken 
up the correct cosmological perspective1
 can we hope to reach      the solution 
of the ,riddle of the ,universe4        
--,haeckel   ,,haeckel  ,there was a    
man1 once upon a day1 who lived in ,east
 ,aurora and kept a store4 ,he sold     
everything from cough-syrup to blue     
ribbon2 and some of the things he sold  
on time to philosophers who sat on      
nail-kegs every evening1 and settled the
 coal strike4  ,and in due course of    
time the storekeeper compromised with   
his creditors1 at twenty-nine cents on  
the dollar4  ,some say the man went     
busted a-purpose to quit business and   
get out of ,east ,aurora4 ,and he       
himself generally allowed the opinion to
 gain ground in later years that he had 
planned his life throughout1 from start 
to finish1 thus proving the supremacy of
 the will4 ,yet others there be1 and men
 of worth and social standing in the    
village--known for miles up the creek as

 persons of probity--who claim that it  
was too much confidence in the ,genus   
,smart-,setter1 and trotting horses at  
the ,county ,fairs1 that made it        
possible for our friend to avail himself
 of the ,bankruptcy ,act4 ,still others1
 too inert to follow the winding ways of
 a strange career and give reasons1     
dispose of the matter by simply saying1 
,providence6--rolling their eyes upward1
 then walking out1 leaving the wordy    
contestants humiliated and undone4  ,it 
will be seen that ,i am interested in   
this chapter of ,ancient ,history3 and  
in truth1 ,i myself occasionally        
ornament the nail-kegs4 ,i claim it was 
neither ,providence nor astute planning 
that mapped this man's course1 but      
,providence1 ,planning and ,luck2 and ,i
 silence the adversary1 for the time1 by
 citing these facts3  ,very shortly     
after ,providence and the ,sheriff of   
,erie ,county--whose name1 by the way1  
was ,grover ,cleveland--had disposed of 
the ,east ,aurora grocery1 our friend   

met a man in ,buffalo who had a sweeping
 scar on his chin1 a wonderful secret1  
and nothing else worth mentioning4      
,this man secured his assets in         
,germany2 he got them while attending   
the ,university of ,jena4 ,the secret   
was gotten by an understanding with a   
professor2 the scar was received through
 a misunderstanding with a student4 ,the
 secret was a plan by which you could   
make glucose from corn4 ,in ,germany it 
was only a laboratory experiment1       
because there was no corn in ,europe to 
speak of4  ,here we had corn to burn1   
since in that very year the farmers of  
,iowa were using corn for their fuel4   
,glucose is the active saccharine       
principle in maize1 but it does not     
become active until the corn is treated 
chemically in a certain way1 just as    
honey is not honey until a bee puts it  
through his ,maeterlinck laboratory4    
,glucose is a food2 it can be used for  
all purposes where sugar is used--in    
degree1 at least4  ,and every living    

person on earth uses sugar as food every
 day6 ,our ex-grocer knew all about     
,hambletonian ,ten and ,dexter2 but     
dextrine1 dextrose and glucose were out 
of his class4 ,yet he realized that if  
sugar could be made from corn1 there was
 a fortune in it for somebody4          
,opportunity1 we are told1 knocks once  
at each man's door4 ,our ,david ,harum  
was forty1 past1 and he had often       
thought ,opportunity was tapping1 but   
when he opened wide the door1 darkness  
there1 and nothing more6 ,opportunity   
had knocked1 but was too timid to stay4 
,this time1 he heard the knock1 and when
 he opened up the door1 ,opportunity    
made a rush for him1 grabbed him by the 
collar--catch-as-catch-can--in a grip he
 could not shake off4  ,mr4 ,harum      
examined as best he could the glucose   
the ,german student had made1 and then  
he watched the whole experiment worked  
out over again4 ,what the particular    
ingredients were1 was still a secret4   
,the man would not sell out2 he wanted  

to organize a manufactory and take a    
certain per cent of the profits4 ,david 
had saved a thousand dollars out of the 
wreck at ,east ,aurora2 but he knew if  
he could show certain men that the      
scheme was genuine1 he would be able to 
raise more4  ,five thousand dollars was 
secured4 ,but the men who advanced the  
four thousand dollars demanded an       
insurance-policy on the life of the     
,german chemist4 ,this appealed to our  
,david ,harum as an excellent plan3 if  
the man who held the secret should die1 
all would be lost save honor4 ,they     
insured the life of the chemist for     
twenty thousand dollars4 ,in a month    
after1 he was killed in a railroad wreck
 on a ,sunday ,school excursion4 ,and   
the moral is--but never mind that now4  
,the twenty thousand dollars' insurance 
was paid to ,david ,harum4 ,he repaid   
his friends immediately their four      
thousand dollars1 and reserved for      
himself1 very properly1 the sixteen     
thousand dollars to cover expenses4 ,he 

then started for ,jena4  ,arriving      
there1 he found that the making of      
glucose was no special secret1 and to   
manufacture it on a large scale was     
simply a matter of evolving the right   
kind of system and a plant4 ,he hired a 
young ,german chemist1 who had just     
graduated1 for a matter of1 say1 a      
thousand dollars a year and expenses1   
and the two started back for ,america4  
,from this arose the ,glucose ,industry 
in the ,united ,states4 ,in ten years'  
time twelve million dollars was invested
 in the business2 and in ,nineteen      
,hundred ,three more than a hundred     
million dollars was invested4 ,our ,east
 ,aurora hero sold out his interests1 in
 ,eighteen ,hundred ,ninety1 for some   
such bagatelle as thirteen million      
dollars4  ,the young ,german student is 
now back at the ,jena university1 taking
 a post-graduate course in              
chemistry--the first one is still dead4 
99       99       99       99       99  
,i am told that there be folks who      

pooh-pooh college training and sneeze on
 mention of a ,university degree4       
,usually these good people have no      
,university degrees1 but have been      
greatly helped by those who have4  ,our 
,david ,harums are not college-bred--a  
statement which ,i trust will go        
unchallenged4  ,the true type of ,german
 student is made in ,germany1 and when  
taken out of his native environment1    
often evolves into something less       
beautiful4  ,his lack of worldly        
ambition is his chief claim to          
immortality4 ,his wants are few2 he     
rises early and works late2 he is most  
practical in his own particular         
specialty1 but often most impractical   
outside of it2 he is plodding1 patient1 
painstaking1 and will follow a microbe  
you can not see1 as ,thompson-,seton's  
hunter followed the famous ,kootenay    
ram4  ,this simple reverence for the    
truth--this passion for an idea--this   
desire to know--these things have given 
to the world some of its richest        

treasures4 ,we are aware of what the    
,rockfellers have done1 but we seldom   
stop to think of the unknown laboratory 
students1 who made possible such vast   
and far-reaching institutions as the    
,standard ,oil ,company1 the            
,carborundum ,company1 the ,amalgamated 
,copper ,company1 and the various       
beet-sugar factories1 that give work to 
thousands1 and lift whole counties1 and 
even some ,states1 from penury to       
plenty4  ,germany honors her scholars2  
and one of the strongest instincts of   
her national life is her search for     
genius4 ,initiative is originality in   
motion4 ,originality is too rare to     
flout and scout4 ,not all originality is
 good1 but all good things1 so far as   
humanity is concerned1 were once        
original4 ,that is to say1 they were the
 work of ,genius4  ,germany's sympathy  
for the best in thought has occasionally
 been broken in upon by pigmy rulers1   
who1 for the moment1 had a giant's      
power1 so it seems hardly possible that 

a government which encouraged ,goethe   
should have banished ,wagner4 ,the      
greatness of ,kant was largely owing to 
the fact that he was set apart by       
,frederick and made free to do his work2
 and at this time1 not another monarchy 
in the world would have had the insight 
to keep its coarse hands off this little
 man with the big head and the brain of 
a prophet4  ,and as ,kant was the       
greatest and most original thinker of   
his time1 so today does a ,german       
,university house the world's greatest  
living scientist4 ,ernst ,haeckel has   
been ,professor of ,natural ,history at 
,jena for forty-two years4 ,all the     
efforts of various other ,universities  
to lure him away have failed4 ,he even  
declined to listen to the siren song of 
,major ,pond1 and only smiled at the big
 baits dangled on long poles from ,cook 
,county1 ,illinois4  ,i have everything 
,i want1 everything ,i can use is right 
here2 why should ,i think of uprooting  
my life8 he asked4 ,and yet1 ,jena1     

there in the shadow of the ,thuringian  
,mountains1 is only a little town of    
less than ten thousand inhabitants4  ,in
 ,nineteen ,hundred ,three1 there were  
five hundred pupils registered at ,jena1
 as against four thousand at ,harvard1  
five thousand at ,ann ,arbor1 and nearly
 the same at ,lincoln1 ,nebraska4  ,it  
will not do to assume that those who    
graduate at big colleges are big men1   
any more than to imagine that folks who 
reside in big towns are bigger than     
those who live in little villages4      
,perhaps the greatest men have come from
 the small colleges3 ,i believe the     
small colleges admit this4  ,and surely 
there is plenty of good argument handy1 
in way of proof2 for while ,harvard has 
her ,barrett ,wendell1 with his caveat  
on clearness1 force and elegance2 and   
,ann ,arbor has ,cicero ,trueblood1     
,professor of ,oratory1 whose official  
duty it is to formulate the ,college    
,yell2 yet ,amherst1 with her scant five
 hundred pupils1 has ,professor ,david  

,p4 ,todd1 the greatest astronomer of   
the ,new ,world4 ,i really wonder       
sometimes what a ,university that stands
 in fear of ,triggsology would do with  
,professor ,ernst ,haeckel1 whose       
disregard for tradition is very         
decidedly ,ingersollian6 ,the actual    
fact is1 ,ernst ,haeckel1 the world's   
greatest thinker1 belongs in the little 
town of ,jena1 in ,germany4 ,at the     
village of ,coniston1 you see the little
 hall where ,ruskin read the best things
 he ever wrote1 to a dozen or two       
people4  ,at ,hammersmith1 the limit of 
a ,william ,morris audience was about a 
hundred4 ,at ,jena1 ,ernst ,haeckel sits
 secure in his little lecture-hall1 and 
speaks or reads to fifty or sixty       
students1 but the printed word goes to  
millions1 so his thoughts here expressed
 in ,jena are shots heard round the     
world4  ,american pedagogic institutions
 are mendicant--they depend upon private
 charity and are endowed by pious       
pirates and beneficent buccaneers4 ,the 

individuals who made these institutions 
possible very naturally have a          
controlling voice in their management4  
,the colleges in ,america that are not  
supported by direct mendicancy depend   
upon the dole of the legislator1 and woe
 betide the pedagogic principal who     
offends the orthodox vote4 ,his supplies
 are cut short1 and purse-strings pucker
 until his voice moderates to a monotone
 and he dilutes his views to a dull     
neutral tint4 ,i do not know a          
,university in the ,united ,states that 
would not place ,ernst ,haeckel on      
half-rations1 and make him fight for his
 life1 or else he would be discharged   
and be reduced to the sad necessity of  
tilting windmills in popular lecture    
courses for the edification of          
agrarians4 ,the ,german ,government     
seeks to make men free4 ,it even gives  
them the privilege of being absurd2 for 
pioneers sometimes take the wrong track4
 ,we do not scout ,columbus because his 
domestic voyages were failures2 nor     

because he sought one thing and found   
another1 and died without knowing the   
difference4  ,haeckel's wants are all   
supplied2 what he needs in the way of   
apparatus or material is his for the    
asking2 he travels at will the round    
world over2 visions of old age and      
yawning almshouses are not for him4 ,he 
owns himself--he does what he wishes1 he
 says what he thinks1 and neither priest
 nor politician dare cry1 hist6 ,so we  
get the paradox3 the only perfect       
freedom is to be found in a monarchy4 ,a
 ,republic1 says ,schopenhauer1 is a    
land that is ruled by the many--that is 
to say1 by the incompetent4 ,but        
,schopenhauer1 of course1 knew nothing  
of the ,american primary1 devised by    
altruistic ,hibernians for the purpose  
of thwarting the incompetent many4      
99       99       99       99       99  
,ernst ,haeckel was born in ,eighteen   
,hundred ,thirty-four1 hence he is just 
seventy-seven years old at this writing4
 ,his parents were plain people1 neither

 rich nor poor--and of such is the      
,kingdom of ,heaven4 ,the greatest error
 one can make in life is not to be well 
born2 failing in this1 a man struggles  
through life under an awful handicap4   
,haeckel formed the habit of steady1    
systematic work in youth1 and untiring  
effort has been the rule of his life4   
,man was made to be well1 and he was    
made to work4 ,it is only work--which is
 the constant effort to retain          
equilibrium--that makes life endurable4 
,so we find ,haeckel now1 at near       
fourscore years1 a model of manly vigor1
 with all the eager1 curious1 receptive 
qualities of youth--a happy man1 but one
 who knows that happiness lies on the   
way to ,heaven1 and not in arriving     
there and sitting down to enjoy it4     
,ernst ,haeckel gathers his manna fresh 
every day4 ,i believe ,haeckel enjoys   
his pipe and mug after the day's work is
 done2 but for stimulants in a general  
sense1 he has no use4 ,in his book on   
,ceylon1 he attributes his escape from  

the jungle fever1 from which most of his
 party suffered1 to the fact that he    
never used strong drink1 and ate        
sparingly4  ,he is jealous of the       
sunshine--a great walker--works daily   
with hoe and spade in his garden2 and   
breathes deeply1 pounding on his chest1 
when going from his house to the        
college1 in a way that causes           
considerable amusement among the        
fledglings4 ,tall1 spare rather than    
stout1 bronzed1 active1 wearing shoes   
with thick soles1 plain gray clothes1   
often accompanied by a half-dozen young 
men1 he is a common figure on the roads 
that wind out of ,jena1 and lose        
themselves amid the mountains4  ,the    
distinguishing feature of the man is his
 animation4 ,he is full of good cheer1  
and acts as if he were expecting to     
discover something wonderful very soon4 
,to find the balance between play and   
work has been the aim of his life2 and  
surely1 he has pretty nearly discovered 
it4  ,once when a caller asked him what 

he considered the greatest achievement  
of his life1 he took out of his pocket a
 leather case containing a bronze medal1
 and proudly passed it around4  ,this   
medal was presented to him in the year  
,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty-nine1 in token
 of a running high jump--the world's    
record at the time1 or not1 as the case 
may be4 ,haeckel is essentially an      
out-of-door man1 as opposed to the      
philosopher who works in a stuffy room1 
and grows round-shouldered over his     
microscope4 ,i may entrust laboratory   
analyses to others1 but there is one    
thing ,i will never let another do for  
me1 and that is take my daily walk      
a-field1 he once said4  ,while lecturing
 he sits at a table and simply talks in 
a very informal way2 often purposely    
arousing a discussion1 or awakening a   
sleepy student with a question4 ,yet on 
occasion he can speak to a multitude1   
and1 like ,huxley1 rise to the occasion4
 ,oratory1 however1 he considers rather 
dangerous1 as the speaker is usually    

influenced by the opinions of the       
audience1 and is apt to grow more       
emphatic than exact--to generate more   
heat than light4  ,the comparison of    
,haeckel with ,huxley is not out of     
place4 ,he has been called the ,huxley  
of ,germany1 just as ,huxley was called 
the ,haeckel of ,england4 ,in           
temperament1 they were much alike2      
although ,haeckel perhaps does not use  
quite so much aqua fortis in his ink4   
,yet ,i can well imagine that if he were
 at a convention where the ,bishop of   
,oxford would level at him a few        
theological spitballs1 he would answer1 
unerringly1 with a sling and a few      
smooth pebbles from the brook4 ,and     
possibly1 knowing himself1 this is why  
he keeps out of society1 and avoids all 
public gatherings where pseudo-science  
is exploited4  ,there is a superstition 
that really great men are quite         
oblivious of their greatness1 and that  
the pride of achievement is not among   
their assets4 ,nothing could be wider of

 the mark4 ,when ,ernst ,haeckel was    
asked1 ,who is your favorite author8 he 
very promptly answered1 ,ernst ,haeckel4
  ,his study is a big square room on the
 top floor of one of the college        
buildings2 and in this room is a        
bookcase extending from ceiling to      
floor1 given up to his own works4       
,copies of every edition and of all     
translations are here4  ,and in a       
special case are the original           
manuscripts1 solidly bound in boards1 as
 carefully preserved as were the        
literary remains of ,william ,morris1   
guarded with the instincts of a         
bibliophile4  ,of the size of this      
,haeckel collection one can make a guess
 when it is stated that the man has     
written and published over fifty        
different books4 ,these vary in size    
from simple lectures to volumes of a    
thousand pages4 ,his work entitled1 ,the
 ,natural ,history of ,creation1 has    
been translated into twelve languages1  
and has gone through fifteen editions in

 ,germany1 and about half as many in    
,england4  ,the last book issued by     
,professor ,haeckel was that intensely  
interesting essay1 ,the ,riddle of the  
,universe1 which was written in         
,eighteen ,hundred ,ninety-nine1 in two 
months' time1 during his summer         
vacation4 ,he gave it out that he had   
gone to ,italy1 denied himself to all   
visitors who knew that he had not1 and  
answered no letters4 ,he reached his    
study every morning at six o'clock and  
locked himself in1 and there he remained
 until eight o'clock at night4 ,at noon 
one of his children brought him his     
lunch4  ,unlike ,herbert ,spencer1 whose
 later writings were all dictated--and  
very slowly and painstakingly at        
that--,haeckel writes with his own hand1
 and when the fit is on1 he turns off   
manuscript at the rate of from two to   
four thousand words a day4 ,in writing  
,the ,riddle of the ,universe1 he took  
no exercise save to go up on the roof1  
breathing deeply and pounding his chest1

 varying the pounding by reaching his   
arms above his head and stretching4     
,however1 after a few weeks the         
villagers and visitors got to looking   
for him with opera-glasses2 and he      
ceased going on the roof1 taking his    
calisthenics at the open window4  ,this 
exercise of reaching and stretching     
until you lift yourself on tiptoe1 he   
goes out of his way to recommend in his 
book on ,development1 wherein he says1  
,there is a tendency as the years pass  
for the internal organs to drop1 but the
 individual who will daily go through   
the motion of reaching for fruit on     
limbs of trees that are above his head1 
standing on tiptoe and slowly stretching
 up and up1 occasionally throwing his   
head back and looking straight up1 will 
of necessity breathe deeply1 exercise   
the diaphragm1 and ,i believe in most   
cases will ward off diseases and keep   
old age awaiting for long4  ,here is a  
little commonsense advice given by a    
physician who is also a great scientist4

 ,to try it will cost you nothing--no   
apparatus is required--just throw open  
the window and reach up and up and up1  
first with one arm1 then the other1 and 
then both arms4 ,the person who does    
this daily for five minutes as a habit  
will probably have no need of a         
physician1 adds ,haeckel1 and with this 
sage remark he dismisses the subject1   
branching off into an earnest talk on   
radiolaria4         99       99       99
       99       99  ,haeckel was        
educated for a physician and began his  
career by practising medicine4 ,but his 
heart was not really in the work2 he    
soon arrived at the very sane conclusion
 that constant dwelling on the          
pathological was not worth while4       
,hereafter ,i'll devote my time to the  
normal1 not the abnormal and            
distempered4 ,the sick should learn to  
keep well1 he wrote a friend4  ,and     
again1 ,if an individual is so lacking  
in will that he can not provide for     
himself1 then his dissolution is no     

calamity to either himself1 the ,state  
or the race4 ,this was written in his   
twenties1 and seems to sound rather     
sophomorish1 but the idea of the boy is 
still with the old man1 for in ,the     
,riddle of the ,universe he says1 ,the  
final effect upon the race by the       
preservation of the unfit1 through      
increased skill in surgery and medicine1
 is not yet known4 ,in another place he 
throws in a side remark1 thus3 ,our     
almshouses1 homes for imbeciles1 and    
asylums where the hopelessly insane     
often outlive their keepers1 may be a   
mistake1 save as these things minister  
to the spirit of altruism which prompts 
their support4 ,let a wiser generation  
answer6  ,doubtless ,haeckel could make 
a good argument in favor of the doctors 
if he wished1 but probably if asked to  
do so his answer would paraphrase       
,robert ,ingersoll1 when that gentleman 
was taken to task for unfairness towards
 ,moses1 ,young man1 you seem to forget 
that ,i am not the attorney of          

,moses--don't worry1 there are more than
 ten millions of men looking after his  
case4 ,ernst ,haeckel is not the        
attorney for either the doctors or the  
clergy4  ,it was ,darwin and ,the       
,origin of ,species that tipped the beam
 for ,haeckel in favor of science4 ,very
 shortly after ,darwin's great book was 
issued1 in the year ,eighteen ,hundred  
,fifty-nine1 a chance copy of the work  
fell into the hands of our young        
physician4 ,he read and spoke ,english1 
and in a general way was interested in  
biology4  ,as he read of ,darwin's      
observations and experiments the heavens
 seemed to open before him4  ,things he 
had vaguely felt1 ,darwin stated1 and   
thoughts that had been his1 ,darwin     
expressed4 ,i might have written much of
 this book1 myself1 he said4  ,the love 
of ,nature had been upon the young man  
almost from his babyhood4 ,all children 
love flowers and mix easily with the    
wonderful things that are found in woods
 and fields4 ,at twelve years of age    

,ernst had formed a goodly herbarium1   
and was making a collection of bugs1 and
 not knowing their names or even that   
they had names1 he began naming them    
himself4 ,later it came to him with a   
shock of surprise and disappointment    
that the bugs and beetles had already   
had the attention of scholars4 ,but he  
got even by declaring that he would hunt
 out some of the tiny things the        
scholars had overlooked and classify    
them4 ,every man imagines himself the   
first man1 and to think that he is ,adam
 and that he has to go forth1 get       
acquainted with things and name them1   
reveals the true bent of the scientist4 
,doctor ,haeckel was ripe for ,darwin's 
book4 ,he was looking for it1 and it    
took only a slight jolt to dislodge him 
from the medical profession and allow   
the ,law of ,affinity to do the rest4   
,wallace had written ,darwin's book     
under another name1 and if these men had
 not written it1 ,haeckel surely would1 
for it was all packed away in his heart 

and head4 ,as ,darwin had studied and   
classified the ,cirripedia1 so would he 
write an essay on ,rhizopods4 ,luck was 
with him--luck is always with the man of
 purpose4 ,he had an opportunity to     
travel through ,italy as medical        
caretaker to a rich invalid4 ,sickness  
surely has its uses2 and rich invalids  
are not wholly a mistake on the part of 
,setebos4 ,haeckel secured the leisure  
and the opportunity to round up his     
,rhizopods4  ,he presented the work to  
the ,university of ,jena1 because this  
was the ,university that ,goethe        
attended1 and the gods of ,haeckel were 
three--,goethe1 ,darwin and ,johannes   
,muller4  ,muller was instructor in     
,zoology at ,berlin1 a man quite of the 
,agassiz type who made himself beloved  
by the boys because he was what he      
was--a boy in heart1 with a man's head  
and the soul of a saint4 ,some one said 
of ,muller1 ,to him every look into a   
microscope was a service to ,god4 ,in   
his reverent attitude he was like       

,linnus1 who fell on his knees on first 
beholding the ,english gorse in full    
flower1 and thanked ,heaven that such a 
moment of divine joy was his4  ,muller  
was a ,jena man1 too1 and he gave       
,haeckel letters to the bigwigs4 ,the   
wise men of ,jena discovered that there 
was merit in ,haeckel's discoveries4    
,original investigators are rare--most  
of us write about the men who have done 
things1 or else we tell about what they 
have done1 and so we reach greatness by 
hitching our wagon to a star4 ,for the  
essay on ,rhizopods1 ,haeckel was made  
,professor ,extraordinary of the        
,university of ,jena4 ,this was in      
,eighteen ,hundred ,sixty-two2 ,haeckel 
was then twenty-eight years old2 there  
he is today1 after a service of         
forty-nine years4         99       99   
99       99       99  ,haeckel is       
married1 with a big brood of children   
and grandchildren about him4 ,some of   
his own children and the grandchildren  
are about the same age1 for ,haeckel has

 two broods1 having had two wives1 both 
of whom sympathized with the ,teddine   
philosophy4  ,with the whole household1 
including servants1 the great scientist 
is on terms of absolute good            
camaraderie4 ,the youngsters ride on his
 back2 the older girls decorate him with
 garlands2 the boys work with him in the
 garden1 or together they tramp the     
fields and climb the hills4  ,but when  
it comes to study he goes to his own    
room in the ,zoology ,building1 enters  
in and locks the door4 ,when he travels 
he travels alone1 without companion or  
secretary4 ,travel to him means intense 
work2 and intense work means to him     
intense pleasure4 ,solitude seems       
necessary to close1 consecutive         
thinking2 and in the solitude of travel1
 through jungle1 forest1 crowded city1  
or across wide oceans1 ,haeckel finds   
his true and best self4 ,then it is that
 he puts his soul in touch with the     
,universal and realizes most fully      
,goethe's oft-repeated dictum1 ,all is  

one4 ,and1 indeed1 to ,goethe must be   
given the credit of preparing the mind  
of ,haeckel for ,darwinism4  ,in his    
book1 ,the ,freedom and ,science of     
,teaching1 ,haeckel applies the poetic  
monistic ideas of ,goethe to biology and
 then to sociology4 ,all is one4 ,and   
this oneness that everywhere exists is  
simply a differentiation of the original
 single cell4  ,the evolution of the    
cell mirrors the evolution of the       
species3 the evolution of the individual
 mirrors the evolution of the race4     
,this law1 expressed by ,goethe1 is the 
controlling shibboleth in all ,haeckel's
 philosophy4  ,in embryology he has     
proved it to the satisfaction of the    
scientific world4 ,when he applies it to
 sociology our ,bellamys are looking    
backward to ,sir ,thomas ,more1 and     
expect a sudden transformation to a     
,utopia1 not unlike the change which the
 good old preachers used to tell us we  
would experience in the twinkling of an 
eye4  ,haeckel builds on ,darwin and    

shows that as the ,cirripedia which     
makes the bottom of the ocean1 the coral
 insect which rears dangerous reefs and 
even mountain-ranges1 and ,rhizopods    
that make the chalk cliffs possible1 did
 not change the earth's crust in the    
twinkling of an eye1 so neither can the 
efforts of man instantly change the     
social condition4 ,souls do not make    
lightning changes4 ,karl ,marx thought  
society would change in the twinkling of
 a ballot1 but he was not a ,monist1 and
 therefore did not realize that humanity
 is a solidarity of souls1 evolved from 
very lowly forms and still slowly       
ascending4  ,and the beauty of it is    
that the ,marxians are helping the race 
to ascend1 by supplying it an ,ideal1   
even if they fail utterly to work their 
lightning change4 ,in the end there is  
no defeat for any man or any thing4     
,when men deserve the ,ideal they will  
get it4 ,so long as they prefer beer1   
tobacco1 brawls and slums1 these things 
will be supplied4 ,when they get enough 

of these1 something better will be      
evolved4 ,the stupidity of ,george the  
,third was a necessary factor in the    
evolution of freedom for ,america4 ,all 
is one2 all is ,good2 and all is ,god4  
,the ,marxians will eventually win1 but 
by ,fabian methods1 and ,socialism will 
come under another name4 ,as opposed to 
,herbert ,spencer1 ,haeckel does not    
admit the ,unknowable1 although1 of     
course1 he realizes the unknown4 ,no man
 ever had a fuller faith1 and if there  
is any such thing as a glorious deathbed
 it must come to men of this type who   
believe not only that all is well for   
themselves1 but for every one else4 ,how
 a deathbed could be glorious for a man 
who had perfect faith in his own        
salvation and an equally perfect faith  
in the damnation of most everybody else1
 is difficult to understand4  ,a true   
,monist would rather be in ,hell asking 
for water than in ,heaven denying it4   
,he loves humanity because he is        
,humanity1 and he loves ,god because he 

is ,god4 ,as a single drop of water     
mirrors the globe1 so does a single man 
mirror the race4 ,and the evolution1    
biological and sociological1 of the man 
mirrors the evolution of the species4   
,when one once grasps the beauty and    
splendor of the monistic idea1 how mean 
and small become all those little1      
fearsome schemes of salvation1 whereby  
men were to be separated and impassable 
gulfs fixed between them4 ,those who fix
 gulfs here and now are hotly intent on 
showing that ,god will fix gulfs        
hereafter2 thus we see how man is       
continually creating ,god in his own    
image4  ,his idea of ,god's justice is  
always built on his own2 and as usually 
our deities are more or less inherited1 
heirlooms of the past1 we see that it is
 not at all strange that men should be  
better than their religion4 ,they drag  
their dead creeds behind them like a    
stagecoach1 with preachers and priests  
on top2 kings and nobles inside2 and    
coffins full of past sins in the boot4  

,a man is always better than his        
creed--unless he makes his creed new    
every day4 ,these hand-me-down religions
 seldom fit1 and professional theology1 
it seems to me1 is mostly a dealing in  
ol' clo'4         99       99       99  
99       99  ,in the month of           
,september1 ,nineteen ,hundred ,four1   
,haeckel was a delegate to the          
,freethinkers' ,congress at ,rome4 ,to  
hold such a convention in the ,eternal  
,city1 right under the eaves of the     
,vatican1 was surely a trifle           
indelicate1 to use the words of the     
,pope4 ,and it was no wonder that at the
 close of the ,congress the ,pope at    
once ordered a sacred housecleaning1 a  
divine fumigation4  ,forty years ago he 
would have acted before the ,congress   
convened1 and not afterward4 ,special   
mass was held in every one of the       
,catholic ,churches in ,rome1 partially 
to atone for the insult done to         
,almighty ,god4  ,over three thousand   
delegates were present at the ,congress1

 every civilized country being          
represented4  ,a committee was named to 
decorate the statue of ,bruno that      
stands on the spot where he was burned  
for declaring that the earth revolved1  
and that the stars were not ,god's      
jewels hung in the sky each night by    
angels4  ,on this occasion1 ,haeckel    
said3  ,this ,congress is historic4 ,it 
marks a white milepost in the onward and
 upward march of ,freedom4  ,we have met
 in ,rome not accidentally or yet       
incidentally1 but purposely4 ,we have   
met here to show the world that times   
have changed1 that the earth revolves1  
and to prove to ourselves in an         
impressive and undeniable way that the  
power of superstition is crippled1 and  
at last ,science and ,free ,speech need 
no longer cringe and crawl4 ,we respect 
the ,church for what she is1 but our    
manhood must now realize that it is no  
longer the slave and tool of entrenched 
force and power that abrogates to itself
 the name of religion4  ,the ,haeckel   

attitude of mind is essentially one of  
faith--,haeckel's hope for the race is  
sublime4 ,there are several things we do
 not know1 but we may know some time1   
just as men know things that children do
 not4  ,and yet we are only children in 
the kindergarten of ,god4 ,and this     
garden where we work and play is our    
own4 ,the boy of ten1 or even the man of
 sixty1 may never know1 but there will  
come men greater than these and they    
will understand4 ,the ,monist1 the man  
who believes in the ,one--the ,all--is  
essentially religious4  ,haeckel has    
chosen this word ,monism1 as opposed to 
theism1 deism1 materialism1 spiritism4  
,doctor ,paul ,carus is today the ablest
 ,american exponent of ,monism1 and to  
him it is a positive religion4 ,if      
,monism could make men of the superb    
mental type of ,paul ,carus1 well might 
we place the subject on a compulsory    
basis and introduce it into our public  
schools4 ,but ,haeckel and ,carus       
believe quite as much in freedom as in  

,monism4 ,all violence of direction is  
contrary to growth1 and delays evolution
 just that much4  ,the ,one of which we 
are part and particle--single cells1 if 
you please--is constantly working for   
its own good4 ,we advance individually  
as we lie low in the ,lord's hand and   
allow ourselves to be receivers and     
conveyors of the ,divine ,will4  ,and we
 ourselves are the ,divine ,will4 ,the  
contemplation of this divinity excites  
the religious emotions of awe1          
veneration1 wonder and of worship4 ,it  
is a world of correlation4 ,the ,all is 
right here4 ,there is no outside force  
or energy2 no god or supreme being that 
looks on1 interferes1 dictates and      
decides4 ,to admit that there is an     
outside power1 something uncorrelated1  
is to invite fear1 apprehension1        
uncertainty and terror4 ,this           
undissolved residuum is the nest-egg of 
superstition4 ,the man who believes that
 ,god is the ,whole1 and that every man 
is a necessary part of the ,whole1 has  

no need to placate or please an         
intangible ,something4 ,all he has to do
 is to be true to his own nature1 to    
live his own life1 to understand        
himself4 ,this takes us back to the     
,socratic maxim1 ,know ,thyself4 ,no man
 ever expressed one phase of ,monism so 
well and beautifully as ,emerson has in 
his ,essay on ,compensation4 ,this      
intelligence in which we are bathed     
rights every wrong1 equalizes every     
injustice1 balances every perversion1   
punishes the wrong and rewards the      
right4 ,the ,universe is                
self-lubricating and automatic4 ,the    
,greeks clearly beheld the sublime      
truths of ,compensation when they       
pictured ,nemesis4 ,it is absurd to     
punish--leave it to ,nemesis--she never 
forgets--nothing can escape her4  ,our  
duties lie in service to ourselves1 and 
we best serve self by serving humanity4 
,this is the only religion that pays    
compound interest to both borrower and  
lender4 ,worship ,humanity and you honor

 yourself4  ,and the world has ever     
dimly perceived this1 for history honors
 no men save those who have given their 
lives that others might live4 ,the      
saviors of the world are only those who 
loved ,humanity more than all else4 ,all
 men who live honest lives are          
saviors--they live that others may live4
  ,he that saveth his life shall lose   
it4  ,we grow through radiation1 not by 
absorption or annexation4 ,to him that  
hath shall be given4 ,we keep things by 
giving them to others4 ,the dead carry  
in their clenched hands only that which 
they have given away2 and the living    
carry only the love in their hearts     
which they have bestowed on others4  ,i 
and my ,father are one--the thought is  
old1 but to prove it from the so-called 
material world through the study of     
biology has been the life-work of ,ernst
 ,haeckel4  ,undaunted we press ever on4
     ,illustration3 ,,carl ,,von        
,,linn,,us  ,,linn,,us        ,when a   
man of genius is in full swing1 never   

contradict him1 set      him straight or
 try to reason with him4 ,give him a    
free field4 ,a      listener is sure to 
get a greater quantity of good1 no      
matter how      mixed1 than if the man  
is thwarted4 ,let ,pegasus bolt--he will
 bring      you up in a place you know  
nothing about6       --,linnus          
,,linn,,us  ,out of the mist and fog of 
time1 the name of ,aristotle looms up   
large4 ,it was more than twenty-three   
hundred years ago that ,aristotle lived4
 ,he might have lived yesterday1 so     
distinctively modern was he in his      
method and manner of thought4 ,aristotle
 was the world's first scientist4 ,he   
sought to sift the false from the       
true--to arrange1 classify and          
systematize4  ,aristotle instituted the 
first zoological garden that history    
mentions1 barring that of ,noah4 ,he    
formed the first herbarium1 and made a  
geological collection that prophesied   
for ,hugh ,miller the testimony of the  
rocks4 ,very much of our scientific     

terminology goes back to ,aristotle4    
,aristotle was born in the mountains of 
,macedonia4 ,his father was a doctor and
 belonged to the retinue of ,king       
,amyntas4 ,the ,king had a son named    
,philip1 who was about the same age as  
,aristotle4  ,some years later1 ,philip 
had a son named ,alexander1 who was     
somewhat unruly1 and ,philip sent a     
,macedonian cry over to ,aristotle1 and 
,aristotle harkened to the call for help
 and went over and took charge of the   
education of ,alexander4  ,the science  
of medicine in ,aristotle's boyhood was 
the science of simples4 ,in surgery the 
world has progressed1 but in medicine1  
doctors have progressed most1 by        
consigning to the grave1 that tells no  
tales1 the deadly materia medica4  ,in  
,aristotle's childhood1 when his father 
was both guide and physician to the     
king1 on hunting trips through the      
mountains1 the doctor taught the boys to
 recognize sarsaparilla1 stramonium1    
hemlock1 hellebore1 sassafras and       

mandrake4 ,then ,aristotle made a list  
of all the plants he knew and wrote down
 the supposed properties of each4       
,before ,aristotle was half-grown1 both 
his father and mother died1 and he was  
cared for by a ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,proxenus4
 ,this worthy couple would never have   
been known to the world were it not for 
the fact that they ministered to this   
orphan boy4 ,long years afterward he    
wrote a poem to their memory1 and paid  
them such a tender1 human compliment    
that their names have been woven into   
the very fabric of letters4 ,they loved 
each other1 and still had love enough   
left for me1 he says4 ,and we can only  
guess whether this man and his wife with
 hearts illumined by divine passion1 the
 only thing that yet gladdens the world1
 ever imagined that they were supplying 
an atmosphere in which would bud and    
blossom one of the greatest intellects  
the world has ever known4  ,it was      
through the help of ,proxenus that      
,aristotle was enabled to go to ,athens 

and attend the ,school of ,oratory1 of  
which ,plato was dean4  ,the fine1      
receptive spirit of this slender youth  
evidently brought out from ,plato's     
heart the best that was packed away     
there4  ,aristotle was soon the star    
scholar4 ,to get much out of school you 
have to take much with you when you go  
there4 ,in one particular1 especially1  
,aristotle1 the country boy from        
,macedonia1 brought much to ,plato--and 
this was the scientific spirit4 ,plato's
 bent was philosophy1 poetry1           
rhetoric--he was an artist in           
expression4  ,know thyself1 said        
,socrates1 the teacher of ,plato4  ,be  
thyself1 said ,plato4 ,know the world of
 ,nature1 of which you are a part1 said 
,aristotle2 and you will be yourself and
 know yourself without thought or       
effort4 ,the things you see1 you are4   
,twenty-three years ,aristotle and      
,plato were together1 and when they     
separated it was on the relative value  
of science and poetry4 ,science is      

vital1 said ,aristotle2 but poetry and  
rhetoric are incidental4 ,it was a      
little like the classic argument still  
carried on in all publishing-houses1 as 
to which is the greater3 the man who    
writes the text or the man who          
illustrates it4  ,one is almost tempted 
to think that ,plato's finest product   
was ,aristotle1 just as ,sir ,humphry   
,davy's greatest discovery was ,michael 
,faraday4 ,one fine1 earnest1 receptive 
pupil is about all any teacher should   
expect in a lifetime1 but ,plato had at 
least two1 ,aristotle and ,theophrastus4
 ,and ,theophrastus dated his birth from
 the day he met ,aristotle4             
,theo-,phrastus means ,god's speech1 or 
one who speaks divinely4 ,the boy's real
 name was ,ferguson4 ,but the name given
 by ,aristotle1 who always had a passion
 for naming things1 stuck1 and the world
 knows this superbly great man as       
,theophrastus4  ,botany dates from      
,theophrastus4 ,and ,theophrastus it was
 who wrote that greatest of             

acknowledgments1 when1 in dedicating one
 of his books1 he expressed his         
indebtedness in these words3 ,to        
,aristotle1 the inspirer of all ,i am or
 hope to be4         99       99        
99       99       99  ,after            
,theophrastus' death the science of     
botany slept for three hundred years4   
,during this interval was played in     
,palestine that immortal drama which so 
profoundly influenced the world4        
,twenty-three years after the birth of  
,christ1 ,pliny1 the ,naturalist1 was   
born4  ,he was the uncle of his nephew1 
and it is probable that the younger man 
would have been swallowed in oblivion1  
just as the body of the older one was   
covered by the eager ashes of ,vesuvius1
 were it not for the fact that ,pliny   
the ,elder had made the name deathless4 
,pliny the ,younger was about such a man
 as ,richard ,le ,gallienne2 ,pliny the 
,elder was like ,thomas ,a4 ,edison4    
,at twenty-two1 ,pliny the ,elder was a 
,captain in the ,roman ,army doing      

service in ,germany4 ,here he made      
memoranda of the trees1 shrubs and      
flowers he saw1 and compared them with  
similar objects he knew at home4 ,animal
 and vegetable life change as you go    
,north and ,south2 from this ,i assume  
that life is largely a matter of        
temperature and moisture4 ,thus wrote   
this barbaric ,roman soldier1 who       
thereby proved he was not so much of a  
barbarian after all4 ,when he was       
twenty-five1 his command was transferred
 to ,africa1 and here1 in the moments   
stolen from sleep1 he wrote a work in   
three volumes on education1 entitled1   
,studiosus4  ,in writing the book he got
 an education--to find out about a      
thing1 write a book on it4 ,pliny       
returned to ,rome and began the practise
 of law1 and developed into a special   
pleader of marked power4 ,he still held 
his commission in the army1 and was sent
 on various diplomatic errands to       
,spain1 ,africa1 ,germany1 ,gaul and    
,greece4 ,if you want things done1 call 

on a busy man3 the man of leisure has no
 spare time4  ,pliny's jottings on      
natural history very soon resolved      
themselves into the most ambitious plan1
 which up to that time had not been     
attempted by man--he would write out and
 sum up all human knowledge4  ,the next 
man to try the same thing was ,alexander
 von ,humboldt4 ,we now have ,pliny's   
,natural ,history in thirty-seven       
volumes4 ,his other forty volumes are   
lost4 ,the first volume of the ,natural 
,history1 which was written last1 gives 
a list of the authors consulted4        
,aristotle and ,theophrastus take the   
places of honor1 and then follow a score
 of names of men whose works have       
perished and whom we know mostly through
 what ,pliny says about them4 ,so not   
only does ,pliny write science as he saw
 it1 but introduces us into a select    
circle of authors whom otherwise we     
would not know4 ,we have the world of   
,nature1 but we would not have this     
world of thinkers1 were it not for      

,pliny4  ,pliny even quotes ,sappho1 who
 loved and sung1 and whose poems reached
 us only through scattered quotations1  
as if ,emerson's works should perish and
 we would revive him through a file of  
,the ,philistine magazine4 ,pliny and   
,paul were contemporaries4 ,pliny lived 
at ,rome when ,paul lived there in his  
own hired house1 but ,pliny never       
mentioned him1 and probably never heard 
of him4  ,one man was interested in this
 world1 the other in the next4  ,pliny  
begins his great work with a plagiarism 
on ,lyman ,abbott1 ,there is but one    
,god4 ,the idea that there were many    
arose out of the thought that because   
there were many things1 there must be   
special gods to look after them3 gods of
 the harvest1 gods of the household1    
gods of the rain1 etc4  ,there is but   
one ,god1 says ,pliny1 and this ,god    
manifests ,himself in ,nature4 ,nature  
and ,nature's work are one4 ,this world 
and all other worlds we see or can think
 of are parts of ,nature4 ,if there are 

other ,universes1 they are natural2 that
 is to say1 a part of ,nature4 ,god     
rules them all according to laws which  
,he ,himself can not violate4 ,it is    
vain to supplicate ,him1 and absurd to  
worship ,him1 for to do these things is 
to degrade ,him with the thought that   
,he is like us4 ,the assumption that    
,god is very much like us is not        
complimentary to ,god4  ,god can not do 
an unnatural or a supernatural thing4   
,he can not kill ,himself4 ,he can not  
make the greater less than the less4 ,he
 can not make twice ten anything else   
than twenty4  ,he can not make a stick  
that has but one end4 ,he can not make  
the past1 future4 ,he can not make one  
who has lived never to have lived4 ,he  
can not make the mortal1 immortal2 nor  
the immortal1 mortal4 ,he can change the
 form of things1 but ,he can not abolish
 a thing4 ,pliny preaches the ,unity of 
the ,universe and his religion is the   
religion of ,humanity4  ,pliny says3    
,we can not injure ,god1 but we can     

injure man4 ,and as man is part of      
,nature or ,god1 the only way to serve  
,god is to benefit man4 ,if we love     
,god1 the way to reveal that love is in 
our conduct toward our fellows4  ,pliny 
was close upon the ,law of the          
,correlation of ,forces1 and he almost  
got a glimpse of the ,law of ,attraction
 or ,gravitation4 ,he sensed these      
things1 but could not prove them4 ,pliny
 touched life at an immense number of   
points4 ,what he saw1 he knew1 but when 
he took things on the word of ,marco    
,polo and ,sir ,john ,mandeville 7for   
these gentlemen adventurers have always 
lived71 he fell into curious errors4    
,for instance1 he tells of horses in    
,africa that have wings1 and when hard  
pressed1 fly like birds2 of ostriches   
that give milk1 and of elephants that   
live on land or sea equally well2 of    
mines where gold is found in solid      
masses and the natives dig into it for  
diamonds4  ,but outside of these little 
lapses1 ,pliny writes sanely and well4  

,book ,two treats of the crust of the   
earth1 of earthquakes1 meteors1         
volcanoes 7these had a strange          
fascination for him71 islands and       
upheavals4  ,books ,three and ,four     
relate of geography and give amusing    
information about the shape of the      
continents and the form of the earth4   
,then comes a book on man1 his evolution
 and physical qualities1 with a history 
of the races4  ,next is a book on       
,zoology1 with a resume of all that was 
written by ,aristotle1 and with many    
corroborations of ,thompson-,seton and  
,rudyard ,kipling4 ,facts from the      
,jungle ,book are here recited at       
length4 ,book ,nine is on marine        
life--sponges1 shells and coral insects4
 ,book ,ten treats of birds1 and carries
 the subject further than it had ever   
been taken before1 even if it does at   
times contradict ,john ,burroughs4 ,book
 ,eleven is on insects1 bugs and        
beetles1 and tells1 among other things1 
of bats that make fires in caves to keep

 themselves warm4 ,book ,twelve is on   
trees1 their varieties1 height1 age1    
growth1 qualities and distribution4     
,book ,thirteen treats of fruits1       
juices1 gums1 wax1 saps and perfumes4   
,book ,fourteen is on grapes and the    
making of wine1 with a description of   
the process and the various kinds of    
wine1 their effects on the human system1
 with a goodly temperance lesson backed 
up by incidents and examples4  ,book    
,fifteen treats of pomegranates1 apples1
 plums1 peaches1 figs and various other 
luscious fruits1 and shows much intimate
 and valuable knowledge4 ,and so the    
list runs down through1 treating at     
great length of bees1 fishes1 woods1    
iron1 lead1 copper1 gold1 marble1       
fluids1 gases1 rivers1 swamps1 seas1 and
 a thousand and one things that were    
familiar to this marvelous man4 ,but of 
all subjects1 ,pliny shows a much       
greater love for botany than for        
anything else4 ,plants1 flowers1 vines1 
trees and mosses interest him always1   

and he breaks off other subjects to tell
 of some flower that he has just        
discovered4  ,pliny had command of the  
,roman fleet that was anchored in the   
bay off ,pompeii1 when that city was    
destroyed in the year ,seventy-nine4    
,bulwer-,lytton tells the story1 with   
probably a close regard for the facts4  
,the sailors1 obeying ,pliny's orders1  
did their utmost to save human life1 and
 rescued hundreds4 ,pliny himself made  
various trips in a small boat from the  
ship to the beach4 ,he was safely on    
board the flag-ship1 and orders had been
 given to weigh anchor1 when the        
commander decided to make one more visit
 to the perishing city to see if he     
could not rescue a few more1 and also to
 get a closer view of ,nature in a      
tantrum4  ,he rowed away into the fog4  
,the sailors waited for their beloved   
commander1 but waited in vain4 ,he had  
ventured too close to the flowing lava1 
and was suffocated by the fumes1 a      
victim to his love for humanity and his 

desire for knowledge4 ,so died ,pliny   
the ,elder1 aged but fifty-six years4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,all children are zoologists1 but a     
botanist appears upon the earth only at 
rare intervals4  ,a ,botanist is        
born--not made4 ,from the time of       
,pliny1 botany performed the ,rip ,van  
,winkle act until ,john ,ray1 the son of
 a blacksmith1 appeared upon the scene  
in ,england4 ,in the meantime1 ,leonardo
 had classified the rocks1 recorded the 
birds1 counted the animals and written a
 book of three thousand pages on the    
horse4 ,leonardo dissected many plants1 
but later fell back upon the rose for   
decorative purposes4  ,john ,ray was    
born in ,sixteen ,hundred ,twenty-eight 
near ,braintree in ,essex4 ,now1 as to  
genius--no blacksmith-shop is safe from 
it4 ,we know where to find ginseng1 but 
genius is the secret of ,god4  ,a       
blacksmith's helper by day1 this aproned
 lad with sooty face dreamed dreams4    
,evenings he studied ,greek with the    

village parson4 ,they read ,aristotle   
and ,theophrastus4  ,have a care there1 
you ,macedonian miscreant1 dead two     
thousand years1 you are turning this    
boy's head6  ,john ,ray would be a      
botanist as great as ,aristotle1 and he 
would speak divinely1 just as did       
,theophrastus4 ,it is all a matter of   
desire6 ,young ,ray became a ,minor     
,fellow of ,trinity ,college1           
,cambridge2 then a ,major ,fellow2 then 
he took the ,master's degree2 next he   
became lecturer on ,greek2 and insisted 
that ,aristotle was the greatest man the
 world had ever seen1 except none1 and  
the ,dean raised an eyebrow4  ,the      
professor of mathematics resigned and   
,ray took his place2 next he became     
,junior ,dean1 and then ,college        
,steward2 and according to the custom of
 the times he used to preach in the     
chapel4 ,one of his sermons was from the
 text1 ,consider the lilies of the      
field4 ,another sermon that brought him 
more notoriety than fame was on the     

subject1 ,god in ,creation1 wherein he  
argued that to find ,god we should look 
for ,him more in the world of ,nature   
and not so much in books4  ,matters were
 getting strained4 ,ray was asked to    
subscribe to the ,act of ,uniformity1   
which was a promise that he would never 
preach anything that was not prescribed 
by the ,church4 ,ray demurred1 and      
begged that he be allowed to go free and
 preach anything he thought was         
truth--new truth might come to him6     
,this shows the absurdity of ,ray4 ,he  
was asked to reconsider or resign4 ,he  
resigned--resigned the year that ,sir   
,isaac ,newton entered4  ,fortunately1  
one particular pupil followed him1 not  
that he loved college less1 but that he 
loved ,ray more4 ,this pupil was        
,francis ,willughby4 ,through the bounty
 of this pupil we get the               
scientist--otherwise1 ,ray would surely 
have been starved into subjection4      
,willughby took ,ray to the home of his 
parents1 who were rich people4  ,ray    

undertook the education of young        
,willughby1 very much as ,aristotle took
 charge of ,alexander4 ,willughby and   
,ray traveled1 studied1 observed and    
wrote4 ,they went to ,spain1 took trips 
to ,france1 ,italy and ,switzerland1 and
 journeyed to ,scotland4 ,willughby     
devoted his life to ,ornithology and    
,ichthyology and won a deathless place  
in science4  ,ray specialized on botany1
 and did a work in classification never 
done before4 ,he made a catalog of the  
flora of ,england that wrung even from  
,cambridge a compliment--they offered   
him the degree of ,,ll4,d4 ,ray quietly 
declined it1 saying he was only a simple
 countryman1 and honors or titles would 
be a disadvantage1 tending to separate  
him from the plain people with whom he  
worked4 ,however1 the ,royal ,society   
elected him a member1 and he accepted   
the honor1 that he might put the results
 of his work on record4 ,his paper on   
the circulation of sap in trees was read
 before the ,royal ,society1 on the     

request of ,newton4 ,due credit was     
given ,harvey for his discovery of the  
circulation of the blood2 but ,ray made 
the fine point that man was brother to  
the tree1 and his life was derived from 
the same ,source4  ,when ,willughby     
died1 in ,sixteen ,hundred ,seventy-two1
 he left ,ray a yearly income of three  
hundred dollars4 ,doctor ,johnson told  
,boswell that ,ray had a collection of  
twenty thousand ,english bugs4 ,our     
botanical terminology comes more from   
,john ,ray than from any other man4 ,ray
 adopted wherever possible the names    
given by ,aristotle1 so loyal1 loving   
and true was he to the ,master4 ,ray    
died in ,seventeen ,hundred ,five1 aged 
seventy-six4         99       99        
99       99       99  ,two years after  
the death of ,john ,ray1 in ,seventeen  
,hundred ,seven1 was born a baby who was
 destined to find biology a chaos1 and  
leave it a cosmos4  ,linnus did for     
botany what ,galileo had done for       
astronomy4 ,john ,ray was only a ,john  

the ,baptist4  ,carl von ,linne1 or     
,carolus ,linnus as he preferred to be  
called1 was born in an obscure village  
in the ,province of ,smaland1 ,sweden4  
,his father was a clergyman1 passing    
rich on forty pounds a year4 ,his mother
 was only eighteen years old when she   
bore him1 and his father had just turned
 twenty-one4 ,it was a poor parish1 and 
one of the deacons explained that they  
could not afford a real preacher2 so    
they hired a boy4  ,carl tells in his   
journal1 of remembering how1 when he was
 but four years old1 his father would   
lead his congregation out through the   
woods and1 all seated on the grass1 the 
father would tell the people about the  
plants and herbs and how to distinguish 
them4  ,back of the parsonage there was 
a goodly garden1 where the young pastor 
and his wife worked many happy hours4   
,when ,carl was eight years of age1 a   
corner of this garden was set apart for 
his very own4  ,he pressed into his     
service several children of the         

neighborhood1 and they carried flat     
stones from the near-by brook to wall in
 this miniature farm--this botanical    
garden4  ,the child that hasn't a       
flowerbed or a garden of its ownest own 
is being cheated out of its birthright4 
,the evolution of the child mirrors the 
evolution of the race4 ,and as the race 
has passed through the savage1 pastoral 
and agricultural stages1 so should the  
child4 ,as a people we are now in the   
commercial or competitive stage1 but we 
are slowly emerging out of this into the
 age of co-operation or enlightened     
self-interest4  ,it is only a very great
 man--one with a prophetic vision--who  
can see beyond the stage in which he is4
  ,the stage we are in seems the best   
and the final one--otherwise1 we would  
not be in it4 ,but to skip any of these 
stages in the education or evolution of 
the individual seems a sore mistake4    
,children hedged and protected from     
digging in the dirt develop into third  
rounders1 as our theosophic friends     

would say1 that is1 educated            
non-comps--vast top-head and small      
cerebellum--people who can explain the  
unknowable1 but who do not pay cash4    
,third rounders all--fit only for the   
melting-pot6  ,a tramp is one who has   
fallen a victim of arrested development 
and never emerged from the nomadic      
stage2 an artistic dilettante is one who
 has jumped the round where boys dig in 
the dirt and has evolved into a         
missnancy4  ,young ,carl ,linnus skipped
 no round in his evolution4 ,he began as
 a savage1 robbing birds' nests1 chasing
 butterflies1 capturing bees1 bugs and  
beetles4 ,he trained goats to drive1    
hitched up a calf1 fenced his little    
farm1 and planted it with strange and   
curious crops4  ,clergymen once were the
 only schoolteachers1 and in ,sweden1   
when ,linnus was a boy1 there was a plan
 of farming children out among preachers
 that they might be educated4 ,possibly 
this plan of having some one besides the
 parents teach the lessons is good--,i  

can not say4 ,but young ,carl did not   
succeed--save in disturbing the peace   
among the households of the half-dozen  
clergymen who in turn had him4  ,the boy
 evidently was a handsome fellow1 a     
typical ,swede1 with hair as fair as the
 sunshine1 blue eyes1 and a pink face   
that set off the fair hair and made him 
look like a ,circassian4  ,he had energy
 plus1 and the way he cluttered up the  
parsonages where he lodged was a        
distraction to good housewives3 birds'  
nests1 feathers1 skins1 claws1 fungi1   
leaves1 flowers1 roots1 stalks1 rocks1  
sticks and stones--and when one meddled 
with his treasures1 there was trouble4  
,and there was always trouble2 for the  
boy possessed a temper1 and usually had 
it right with him4  ,the intent of the  
parents was that ,carl should become a  
clergyman1 but his distaste for theology
 did not go unexpressed4 ,so perverse   
and persistent were his inclinations    
that they preyed on the mind of his     
father1 who quoted ,king ,lear and said1

 ,how sharper than a serpent's tooth it 
is to have a thankless child6  ,his     
troubles weighed so upon the good       
clergyman that his nerves became        
affected and he went to the neighboring 
town of ,wexio to consult ,doctor       
,rothman1 a famed medical expert4  ,the 
good clergyman1 in the course of his    
conversation with the doctor1 told of   
his mortification on account of the     
dulness and perversity of his son4      
,doctor ,rothman listened in patience   
and came to the conclusion that young   
,mr4 ,linnus was a good boy who did the 
wrong thing4 ,all energy is ,god's1 but 
it may be misdirected4 ,a boy not good  
enough for a preacher might make a good 
doctor--an excess of virtue is not      
required in the recipe for a physician4 
,i'll cure you1 by taking charge of your
 boy1 said ,rothman2 you want to make a 
clergyman of the youth3 ,i'll let him be
 just what he wants to be1 a naturalist 
and a physician4 ,and it was so4        
99       99       99       99       99  

,the year spent by ,linnus under the    
roof of ,doctor ,rothman was a pivotal  
point in his life4 ,he was eighteen     
years old4 ,the contempt of ,rothman for
 the refinements of education appealed  
to the young man4 ,rothman was blunt1   
direct1 and to the point3 he had a      
theory that people grew by doing what   
they wanted to do1 not by resisting     
their impulses4  ,he was both friend and
 comrade to the boy4 ,they rode         
together1 dissected animals and plants1 
and the young man assisted in           
operations4 ,linnus had the run of the  
,doctor's library1 and without knowing  
it1 was mastering physiology4  ,i would 
adopt him as my son1 said ,rothman2 but 
,i love him so much that ,i am going to 
separate him from me4 ,my roots have    
struck deep in the soil3 ,i am like the 
human trees told of by ,dante2 but the  
boy can go on6  ,and so ,rothman sent   
him along to the ,university of ,lund1  
with letters to another doctor still    
more cranky than himself4 ,this man was 

,doctor ,kilian ,stobus1 a medical      
professor1 physician to the king1 and a 
naturalist of note4 ,stobus had a       
mixed-up museum of minerals1 birds1     
fishes and plants4  ,everybody for a    
hundred miles who had a curious thing in
 the way of natural history sent it to  
,stobus4 ,into this medley of strange   
and curious things ,linnus was plunged  
with orders to straighten it up4 ,there 
was a ,german student also living with  
the doctor1 working for his board4      
,linnus took the lead and soon had the  
young ,german helping him catalog the   
curios4  ,the spirit of ,ray had gotten 
abroad in ,germany1 and ,ray's books had
 been translated and were being used in 
many of the ,german schools4 ,linnus    
made a bargain with the ,german student 
that they should speak only ,german--he 
wanted to find what was locked up in    
those ,german books on botany4  ,stobus 
was lame and had but one eye1 so he used
 to call on the boys to help him1 not   
only to hitch up his horse1 but to write

 his prescriptions4 ,linnus wrote very  
badly1 and was chided because he did not
 improve his penmanship1 for it seems   
that in the olden times physicians wrote
 legibly4 ,linnus resented the rebuke1  
and was shown the door4 ,he was gone a  
week1 when ,stobus sent for him1 much to
 his relief4 ,this little comedy was    
played several times during the year1   
through what ,linnus afterward          
acknowledged as his fault4 ,one would   
hardly think that the man who on first  
seeing the ,english gorse in full bloom 
fell on his knees1 burst into tears of  
joy1 and thanked ,god that he had lived 
to see this day1 would have had a fiery 
temper4 ,then further1 the gentle1      
spiritual qualities that ,linnus in his 
later life developed give one the idea  
that he was always of a gentle nature4  
,in indexing the museum of ,doctor      
,stobus1 ,linnus found his bent4 ,i will
 never be a doctor1 he said2 but ,i can 
beat the world on making a catalog4     
,and thus it was3 his genius lay in     

classification4 ,he indexed and         
catalogued the world1 a great writer has
 said4  ,after a year at the ,university
 of ,lund1 with more learned by working 
for his board than at school1 there was 
a visit from ,doctor ,rothman1 who had  
just dropped in to see his old friend   
,stobus4 ,the fact was1 ,rothman cared a
 deal more for ,linnus than he did for  
,stobus4 ,weeds develop into flowers by 
transplanting only1 said ,rothman to    
,linnus4 ,you need a different soil--get
 out of here before you get pot-bound4  
,but about ,cyclops8 asked ,linnus4     
,let ,cyclops go to the devil6 ,it was  
no use to ask permission of ,stobus4    
,linnus was so valuable that ,stobus    
would not spare him4  ,so ,linnus packed
 up and departed between the dawn and   
the day1 leaving a letter stating he had
 gone to ,upsala because it seemed best 
and begging forgiveness for such seeming
 ingratitude4  ,when ,linnus got to     
,upsala he found a letter from ,doctor  
,cyclops1 written in wrath1 requesting  

him never again to show his face in     
,lund4 ,rothman also lost the friendship
 of ,stobus for his share in the        
transaction4         99       99        
99       99       99  ,when ,linnus     
arrived at ,upsala he had one marked    
distinction1 according to his own       
account--he was the poorest student that
 had ever knocked at the gates of the   
,university for admittance4 ,perhaps    
this is a mistake1 for even though the  
young man had patched his shoes with    
birch bark1 he was not in debt4  ,and   
the youth of twenty-one who has health1 
hope1 ambition and animation is not to  
be pitied4 ,poverty is only for the     
people who think poverty4  ,it is five  
hundred ,english miles from ,lund to    
,upsala4 ,after his long1 weary tramp1  
,linnus sat on the edge of the hill and 
looked down at the scattered town of    
,upsala in the valley below4 ,a stranger
 passing by pointed out the college     
buildings1 where a thousand young men   
were being drilled and disciplined in   

the mysteries of learning4 ,where is the
 ,botanical ,garden8 asked the newcomer4
  ,it was pointed out to him4 ,he gazed 
on the site1 carefully studied the      
surrounding landscape1 and mentally     
calculated where he would move the      
,botanical ,garden as soon as he had    
control of it4 ,let us anticipate here  
just long enough to explain that the    
,upsala ,botanical ,garden now is where 
,linnus said it should be4 ,it is a most
 beautiful place1 lined off with        
close-growing shrubbery4 ,after         
traversing the winding paths1 one       
reaches the lecture-hall1 built after   
the ,greek1 with porches1 peristyle and 
gently ascending marble steps4 ,on      
entering the building1 the first object 
that attracts the visitor is the        
life-size statue of ,linnus4  ,to the   
left1 a half-mile away1 is the old      
cathedral--a place that never much      
interested ,linnus4 ,but there now rests
 his dust1 and in windows and also in   
storied bronze his face1 form and fame  

endure4 ,in the meantime1 we have left  
the young man sitting on a boulder      
looking down at the town ere he goes    
forward to possess it4  ,he adjusts his 
shoes with their gaping wounds1 shakes  
the dust from his cap1 and then takes   
from his pack a faded neckscarf1 puts it
 on and he is ready4  ,descending the   
hill he forgets his lameness1 waives the
 stone-bruises1 and walks confidently to
 the ,botanical ,garden1 which he views 
with a critical eye4 ,next1 he inquires 
for the ,general ,superintendent who    
lives near4 ,the young man presents his 
credentials from ,rothman1 who describes
 the youth as one who knows and loves   
the flowers1 and who can be useful in   
office or garden and is not above spade 
and hoe4 ,the ,superintendent looks at  
the pink face1 touched with bronze from 
days in the open air1 notes the long    
yellow hair1 beholds the out-of-door    
look of fortitude that comes from hard  
and plain fare1 and inwardly compares   
these things with the lack of them in   

some of his students4 ,but this         
,doctor--,doctor ,rothman who wrote this
 letter--,i do not have the honor of    
knowing him1 says the ,superintendent4  
,ah1 you are unfortunate1 replies the   
youth2 he is a very great man1 and ,i   
myself will vouch for him in every way4 
,oh6 this glowing confidence of         
youth--before there comes a surplus of  
lime in the bones1 or the touch of      
winter in the heart6 ,the               
,superintendent smiled4 ,knock in faith 
and the door shall be opened--there are 
those whom no one can turn away4 ,a     
stray bed was found in the garret for   
the stranger1 and the next morning he   
was earnestly at work cataloguing the   
dried plants in the herbarium1 a task   
long delayed because there was no one to
 do it4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,the study of ,natural     
,history in the ,university of ,upsala  
was1 at this time1 at a low ebb4 ,it was
 like the ,art ,department in many of   
the ,american colleges3 its existence   

largely confined to the school catalog4 
,there were many weeks of biting poverty
 and neglect for ,linnus1 but he worked 
away in obscurity and silence and       
endured1 saying all the time1 ,the sun  
will come out1 the sun will come out6   
,doctor ,olaf ,rudbeck had charge of the
 chair of ,botany1 but seldom sat in it4
 ,his business was medicine4 ,he gave no
 lectures1 but the report was that he   
made his students toil at cultivating in
 his garden--this to open up their      
intellectual pores4 ,in the course of   
his work1 ,linnus devised a sex plan of 
classification1 instead of the so-called
 natural method4 ,he wrote out his ideas
 and submitted them to ,rudbeck4  ,the  
learned ,doctor first pooh-poohed the   
plan1 then tolerated it1 and in a month 
claimed he had himself devised it4 ,on  
the scheme being explained to others    
there was opposition1 and ,rudbeck      
requested ,linnus to amplify his notes  
into a thesis1 and read it as a lecture4
 ,this was done1 and so pleased was the 

old man that he appointed ,linnus his   
adjunctus4 ,in the ,spring of ,seventeen
 ,hundred ,thirty1 ,linnus began to give
 weekly lectures on some topic of       
,natural ,history4  ,linnus was now     
fairly launched4 ,his animation1 clear  
thinking1 handsome face and graceful    
ways made his lectures very popular4    
,science in his hands was no longer the 
dull and turgid thing it had before been
 in the ,university4 ,he would give a   
lecture in the hall1 and then invite the
 audience to walk with him in the woods4
 ,he seemed to know everything3 birds1  
beetles1 bugs1 beasts1 trees1 weeds1    
flowers1 rocks and stones were to him   
familiar4  ,he showed his pupils things 
they had walked on all their lives and  
never seen4  ,the old ,botanical ,garden
 that had degenerated into a            
kitchen-garden for the ,commons was     
rearranged and furnished with many      
specimens gathered round about4  ,a     
system of exchange was carried on with  
other schools1 and ,natural ,history at 

,upsala was fast becoming a feature4    
,old ,doctor ,rudbeck hobbled around    
with the classes1 and when ,linnus      
lectured sat in a front seat1 applauding
 by rapping his cane on the floor and   
ejaculating words of encouragement4     
,linnus was now receiving invitations to
 lecture at other schools in the        
vicinity4 ,he made excursions and       
reports on the ,natural ,history of the 
country around4 ,the ,academy of        
,science of ,upsala now selected him to 
go to ,lapland and explore the resources
 of that country1 which was then little 
known4  ,the journey was to be a long   
and dangerous one4 ,it meant four       
thousand miles of travel on foot1 by    
sledge and on horseback1 over a country 
that was for the most part mountainous1 
without roads1 and peopled with         
semi-savages4  ,there were two reasons  
why ,linnus should make the trip3  ,one 
was he had the hardihood and the        
fortitude to do it4  ,and second1 he was
 not wanted at ,upsala4 ,he was becoming

 too popular4 ,one rival professor had  
gone so far as to prefer formal charges 
of scientific heresy2 he also made the  
telling point that ,linnus was not a    
college graduate4 ,the rule of the      
,university was that no lecturer1       
teacher or professor should be employed 
who did not have a degree from some     
foreign ,university4  ,inquiry was made 
and it was found that ,linnus had left  
the ,university of ,lund under a cloud4 
,linnus was confronted with the charge1 
and declined to answer it1 thus         
practically pleading guilty4 ,so1 to get
 him out of ,upsala seemed a desirable  
thing1 both to friends and to foes4 ,his
 friends secured the commission for the 
,lapland exploration1 and his enemies   
made no objections1 merely whispering1  
,good riddance6 ,to be twenty-four1 in  
good health1 with hair like that of     
,general ,custer1 a heart to appreciate 
,nature1 a good horse under you1 and a  
commission from the ,state to do an     
important work1 in your left-hand       

breast-pocket--what ,heaven more        
complete6  ,a reception was tendered the
 young naturalist in the great hall1 and
 he addressed the students on the       
necessity of doing your work as well as 
you can1 and being kind4 ,before        
beginning his arduous and dangerous     
journey1 ,linnus went to ,lund to visit 
his old patron1 ,doctor ,stobus4 ,time1 
the great healer1 had cured the ,doctor 
of his hate1 and he now spoke of ,linnus
 as his best pupil4 ,he had left hastily
 by the wan light of the moon1 without  
leaving orders where his mail was to be 
forwarded2 but now he was received as an
 honored guest4 ,all the little         
misunderstandings they had were laughed 
over as jokes4  ,from ,lund1 ,linnus    
went to his home in ,smaland to visit   
his parents4  ,it is needless to say    
that they were very proud of him1 and   
the villagers turned out in great       
numbers to do him honor1 perhaps1 in    
their simplicity1 not knowing why4      
99       99       99       99       99  

,the account of the ,lapland trip by    
,linnus is to be found in his book1     
,lachesis ,lapponica4  ,the journey     
covered over four thousand miles and    
took from ,may to ,november1 ,seventeen 
,hundred ,thirty-one4 ,the volume is in 
the form of a daily journal1 and is as  
interesting as ,robinson ,crusoe4 ,there
 is no night there in ,summer2 but for  
all this1 ,lapland is not a paradise4   
,it is a great stretch of desert1 vast  
steppes and lofty mountains1 with here  
and there fertile valleys4 ,to be out in
 the wide open1 with no companions but a
 horse and a dog1 filled ,linnus' heart 
with a wild joy4 ,as he went on1 the    
road grew so rough that he had to part  
with the horse1 which he did with a     
pang1 but the dog kept him company4  ,to
 be educated is to liberate the mind    
from its trammels and fears--to set it  
free1 new-chiseled from the rock4       
,linnus reveled in the vast loneliness  
of the steppes and took a hearty        
satisfaction in the hard fare4 ,his gun 

and fishing-rod stood him in good stead2
 there were berries at times1 and edible
 barks and watercress1 and when these   
failed he had a little bag of meal and  
dried reindeer-tongues to fall back     
upon4  ,the simplicity of his living is 
shown best in the fact that the expenses
 for the entire journey1 occupying seven
 months1 were only twenty-five pounds1  
or less than one hundred twenty-five    
dollars4 ,the ,academy had set aside    
sixty pounds1 and their surprise at     
having most of the money returned to    
them1 instead of a demand being made for
 more1 won them1 hand and heart4 ,he had
 hit the sturdy old burghers in a       
sensitive spot--the pocketbook--and they
 passed resolutions declaring him the   
world's greatest naturalist1 and voted  
him a medal1 to be cast at his own      
expense4 ,fame is delightful1 but as    
collateral it does not rank high4       
,linnus was without funds and without   
occupation4 ,he gave a course of        
lectures at the ,university on his      

explorations1 where every seat was      
taken1 and even the stage and windows   
were filled4 ,the sprightliness1 grace  
and intellect ,linnus brought to bear   
illumined his theme4  ,when ,linnus     
lectured1 all classes were dismissed3   
none could rival him4 ,his very         
excellence was his disadvantage4        
,jealousy was hot on his trail1 for he  
was disturbing the balance of stupidity4
 ,a movement grew to force him from the 
college4 ,formal charges were made1 and 
when the case came to a trial the even  
tenor of justice was disturbed by       
,linnus making an attack on ,professor  
,rosen1 his principal enemy1 with intent
 to kill him4 ,dueling has been         
forbidden in all the universities of    
,sweden since the year ,sixteen ,hundred
 ,eighty-two1 and the diversion replaced
 by quartet singing4 ,so when ,linnus   
challenged his enemy to fight1 and      
warned him he would kill him if he      
didn't fight1 and also if he did1 things
 were in a bad way for ,linnus4  ,the   

former charges were dropped to take up  
the more serious--just as when a man is 
believed to be guilty of murder1 no     
mention is made of his crime of larceny4
  ,poor ,linnus was under the ban4 ,the 
enemy had won3 ,linnus must leave4 ,but 
where should he go--what could he do8   
,no college would receive him after his 
being compelled to leave ,upsala for    
riot4 ,he decided that if disgrace were 
to be his on account of revenge1 he     
would accept the disgrace4 ,he would    
kill ,rosen on sight and then either    
commit suicide or accept the            
consequences3 it was all one6 ,and so1  
laying plans to waylay his victim1 he   
fell asleep and dreamed he had done the 
deed4  ,he awoke in a sweat of horror6  
,he heard the officers at the door6 ,he 
staggered to his feet1 and was making   
wild plans to fight the pursuers1 when  
it occurred to him that he had only     
dreamed4 ,he sat down1 faint1 but       
mightily relieved4  ,then he laughed1   
and it came to him that opposition was a

 part of the great game of life4 ,to do 
a thing was to jostle others1 and to    
jostle and be jostled was the fate of   
every man of power4 ,he that endureth   
unto the end shall be saved4  ,the world
 was before him--the flowers still      
bloomed1 and plants nodded their heads  
in the meadows2 the summer winds blew   
across the fields of wheat1 the branches
 waved4 ,he was strong--he could plant  
and plow1 or dig ditches1 or hew lumber6
  ,some one was hammering on the door2  
they had been knocking for fully five   
minutes--ah6 ,there had been no murder1 
so surely it was not the officers4  ,he 
arose slowly and opened the door1       
murmuring apologies4 ,a letter for      
,carolus ,linnus6 ,the letter was from  
,baron ,reuterholm of ,dalecarlia4 ,it  
contained a draft for twenty-five       
pounds1 as a token of good faith1 and   
begged that ,linnus would accept charge 
of an expedition to survey the natural  
resources of ,dalecarlia in the same way
 that he had ,lapland1 only with greater

 minuteness4 ,linnus read the letter    
again4 ,the draft fluttered from his    
fingers to the floor4  ,pick that up6 he
 peremptorily ordered of the messenger4 
,he wanted to see if the other man saw  
it too4  ,the other man did pick it up6 
,linnus was not dreaming1 then1 after   
all6         99       99       99       
99       99  ,this second expedition had
 two objects3 one was the better        
education of ,baron ,reuterholm's two   
sons1 and the other the survey4 ,one of 
these sons was at the ,university of    
,upsala1 and he had conceived such an   
admiration for ,linnus that he had      
written home about him4 ,no man knows   
what he is doing3 we succeed by the     
right oblique4 ,little did ,linnus guess
 that he was preparing the way for great
 good fortune4 ,the second excursion was
 one of luxury4 ,it lacked all the      
hardships of the first1 and involved the
 management of a party4 ,reuterholm was 
a rich ,jewish banker1 and a man in     
close touch with all ,swedish affairs of

 ,state4 ,this time ,linnus was provided
 with ample funds4  ,linnus had a genius
 for system--a head for business4 ,he   
classified men1 and systematized his    
work like a general in the field4 ,there
 were seven young naturalists in the    
party1 and to each ,linnus assigned a   
special work1 with orders to hand in a  
written report of progress each evening4
 ,that the ,economist or steward of the 
party was an ,american lends an especial
 note of interest for us4 ,after        
,dalecarlia it was to be ,america6  ,in 
money matters he was punctilious and    
accurate1 the result of his early       
training in making both ends meet4 ,the 
habits of thrift1 industry1 energy and  
absolute honesty had made him a marked  
man--there is not so much competition   
along these lines4  ,the maps1          
measurements1 drawings1 and the exact1  
short1 sharp1 military reports turned in
 at regular intervals to the ,baron won 
that worthy absolutely4  ,linnus was a  
businessman as well as a naturalist4 ,it

 would require a book to tell of the    
glorious half-gypsy life of these eight 
young men1 moving slowly through woods1 
across plains1 over mountains and       
meadows1 studying soil1 rocks1 birds1   
trees and flowers1 collecting and making
 records4  ,camping at night by flowing 
streams1 awakening with the dawn and    
cooking breakfast by the campfire in a  
silence that took up their shouts of    
laughter in surprise1 and echoed them   
back from the neighboring hills6 ,at    
last the journey was ended4 ,linnus had 
proved his ability to teach--his        
animation1 good-cheer and friendly      
qualities brought his pupils very close 
to him4 ,reuterholm insisted that he    
should attach himself to the rising     
little college at ,fahlun4 ,there he met
 ,doctor ,morus1 a man of much worth in 
a scientific way4 ,at his house ,linnus 
made his home4 ,there was a daughter in 
the household1 ,sara ,elizabeth1 tall1  
slender1 appreciative and studious4 ,one
 of the ,reuterholms had courted her1   

but in vain4  ,there were the usual     
results1 and when ,carolus and ,sara    
,elizabeth came to ,doctor ,morus hand  
in hand for his blessing1 he granted it 
as good men always do4 ,then the ,doctor
 gave ,linnus some good advice--go to   
,holland or somewhere and get a doctor's
 degree4 ,the enemies at ,upsala called 
,linnus the gypsy scientist4 ,silence   
them--,linnus was now a great man1 and  
the world would yet acknowledge it4     
,sara ,elizabeth agreed in all of the   
propositions4  ,love1 they say1 is      
blind1 but sometimes love is a regular  
telescope4 ,this time love saw things   
that the learned men of ,upsala failed  
to discover--their diagnosis was wrong4 
,linnus had prepared a thesis on        
intermittent fever1 and he was assured  
that if he presented this thesis at the 
medical school at ,harderwijk1 ,holland1
 with letters from ,baron ,reuterholm   
and ,doctor ,morus1 it would secure him 
the much desired ,m4,d4  ,a few months1 
at most1 would suffice4 ,he could then  

return to ,fahlun and take his place as 
a practising physician and a professor  
in the college1 marry the lady of his   
choice and live happy ever afterward4   
,so he started away southward4 ,in due  
time1 he arrived at ,harderwijk and read
 his thesis to the faculty4 ,instead of 
the callow youth1 such as they usually  
dealt with1 they found a practised      
speaker who defended his points with    
grace and confidence4 ,the degree was at
 once voted1 and a cum laude thrown in  
for good measure4 ,linnus was asked to  
remain there and give a course of       
lectures on natural history4 ,this he   
did4 ,before going home he thought he   
would take a little look in on ,leyden1 
at that time the bookmaking and literary
 center of the world4 ,at ,leyden he met
 ,gronovius1 the naturalist1 who asked  
him to remain and give lectures at the  
,university4 ,he did so1 and            
incidentally showed ,gronovius the      
manuscript of his book on the new system
 of botanic classification4  ,gronovius 

was so delighted that he insisted on    
having the book printed by the ,plantins
 at his own expense4 ,here was a piece  
of good fortune ,linnus had not         
anticipated4  ,linnus now settled down  
to read the proofs and help the work    
through the presses4 ,but he never idled
 an hour4  ,he studied1 wrote and       
lectured1 and made little excursions    
with his friends through the fields4    
,the book finished1 he hastened to send 
copies back to ,fahlun to ,sara         
,elizabeth1 saying he must see          
,amsterdam and then go to ,antwerp to   
visit his new-found printer-friends     
there1 and then go home6  ,at ,amsterdam
 he remained a whole year1 living at the
 house of ,burman1 the naturalist4  ,the
 wealthy banker1 ,cliffort1 first among 
amateur botanists of his day1 invited   
,linnus to visit him at his             
country-house at ,hartecamp4 ,here he   
saw the finest garden he had ever looked
 upon4 ,cliffort had copies of ,linnus' 
book and he now insisted that the author

 should remain1 catalog his collection  
and issue the book with the help of the 
,plantins1 all without regard to cost4  
,it took a year to get the work out1 but
 it yet remains one of the finest things
 ever attempted in a bookmaking way on  
the subject of botany4  ,about the same 
time1 with the help of ,cliffort1       
,linnus published another big book of   
his own called1 ,fundamenta ,botanica4  
,this book was taken up at ,oxford and  
used as a textbook1 in preference to    
,ray4  ,linnus received invitations from
 ,england and was persuaded to take a   
trip across to that country4 ,he visited
 ,oxford and ,london1 and was received  
by scientific men as a conquering hero4 
,he saw ,garrick act and heard ,george  
,frederick ,handel1 where the crowd was 
so great that a notice was posted       
requesting gentlemen to come without    
swords and ladies without hoops4 ,handel
 composed an aria in his honor4         
,returning to ,leyden1 ,linnus was urged
 by the municipality to remain and      

rearrange the public flower-gardens and 
catalog the rare plants at the          
,university4 ,this took a year1 in which
 three more books were issued under his 
skilful care4  ,he now started for home 
in earnest1 by way of ,paris1 with what 
a contemporary calls a trunkful of      
medals4  ,paris1 too1 had honors and    
employment for the great botanist1 but  
he escaped and at last reached ,fahlun4 
,he had been gone nearly four years1 and
 during the interval had established his
 place in the scientific world as the   
first botanist of the time4  ,it was    
love that sent me out of ,sweden1 and   
but for love ,i would never have        
returned1 he wrote4  ,linnus and ,sara  
,elizabeth were married ,june           
,twenty-six1 ,seventeen ,hundred        
,thirty-nine4  ,now the unexpected      
happened3 ,upsala petitioned ,linnus to 
return1 and the man who headed the      
petition was the one who had driven him 
away and who came near being killed for 
his pains4 ,linnus and his wife went to 

,upsala1 rich1 honored1 beloved4        
,linnus shifted the scientific center of
 gravity of all ,europe to a town1      
practically to them obscure1 a thing    
they themselves scarcely realized4      
,henceforth1 the life of ,linnus flowed 
forward like a great and mighty         
river--everything made way for him4 ,he 
was invited by the ,king of ,spain to   
come to that country and found a ,school
 of ,science1 and so lavish were the    
promises that they surely would have    
turned the head of a lesser man4        
,universities in many civilized         
countries honored themselves by giving  
him degrees4  ,in ,seventeen ,hundred   
,sixty-one1 the ,king of ,sweden issued 
a patent of nobility in his honor1 and  
thereafter he was ,carl von ,linne4 ,in 
,england he was known as ,sir ,charles  
,linn4  ,sainte-,beuve1 the eminent     
,french critic1 says that the world has 
produced only about half a dozen men who
 deserve to be placed in the first      
class4 ,the elements that make up this  

super-superior man are high intellect1  
which abandons itself to the purpose in 
hand1 careless of form and precedent2   
indifference to obstacles and           
opposition2 and a joyous1 sympathetic1  
loving spirit that runs over and        
inundates everything it touches1 all    
with no special thought of personal     
pleasure1 gratification or gain4        
,linnus seems in every way to fill the  
formula4     ,illustration3 ,,thomas ,h4
 ,,huxley  ,,thomas ,h4 ,,huxley        
,that man1 ,i think1 has a liberal      
education whose body has been so        
trained in youth that it is the ready   
servant of his will1 and does      with 
ease and pleasure all that1 as a        
mechanism1 it is capable of2      whose 
intellect is a clear1 cold1 logic       
engine1 with all its parts      of equal
 strength and in smooth running order1  
ready1 like a      steam-engine1 to be  
turned to any kind of work and to spin  
the      gossamers as well as forge the 
anchors of the mind2 whose mind is      

stored with the knowledge of the great  
fundamental truths of ,nature      and  
the laws of her operations2 one who1 no 
stunted ascetic1 is      full of life   
and fire1 but whose passions have been  
trained to come      to heel by a       
vigorous will1 the servant of a tender  
conscience2 one      who has learned to 
love all beauty1 whether of ,nature or  
of art1 to      hate all vileness1 and  
to esteem others as himself4            
--,thomas ,henry ,huxley   ,,thomas ,h4 
,,huxley  ,that was a great group of    
thinkers to which ,huxley belonged4     
,the ,mutual ,admiration ,society forms 
the sunshine in which souls grow--great 
men come in groups4 ,sir ,francis       
,galton says there were fourteen men in 
,greece in the time of ,pericles who    
made ,athens possible4 ,a man alone is  
only a part of a man4  ,praxiteles by   
himself could have done nothing4        
,ictinus might have drawn the plans for 
the ,parthenon1 but without ,pericles   
the noble building would have remained  

forever the stuff which dreams are made 
of4 ,and they do say that without       
,aspasia ,pericles would have been a    
mere dreamer of dreams1 and ,walter     
,savage ,landor overheard enough of     
their conversation to prove it4         
,william ,morris and seven men working  
with him formed the ,preraphaelite      
,brotherhood and gave the workers and   
doers of the world an impetus they yet  
feel4  ,cambridge and ,concord had seven
 men who induced the ,muses to come to  
,america and take out papers4  ,these   
men of the ,barbizon ,school tinted the 
entire art world3 ,millet1 ,rousseau1   
,daubigny1 ,corot1 ,diaz4 ,and the      
people who worked a complete revolution 
in the theological thought of           
,christendom were these3 ,darwin1       
,spencer1 ,mill1 ,tyndall1 ,wallace1    
,huxley and1 yes1 ,george ,eliot1 who   
bolstered the brain of ,herbert ,spencer
 when he was learning to think for      
himself4  ,when the victory had become a
 rout1 there were many others who joined

 forces with the evolutionists2 but at  
first the thinkers named above stood    
together and received the rather        
unsavory gibes and jeers of those who   
get their episcopopagy and science from 
the same source4  ,darwin was the only  
man in the group who was a university   
graduate1 and he once said that he owed 
nothing to his ,alma ,mater1 save the   
stimulus derived from her disapproval4  
,for the work these men had to do there 
was no precedent3 no one had gone before
 and blazed a trail4  ,learning1 like   
capital1 is timid2 but ignorance coupled
 with a desire to know1 is bold4 ,do ,i 
then make a plea for ignorance8 ,yes1   
most assuredly4 ,it is just as well not 
to know so much1 as to be a theologian  
and know so many things that are not    
true4  ,learning and institutions of    
learning subdue men into conformity2    
only the man who belongs to nothing is  
free2 and ignorance1 as well as a       
certain indifference to what the world  
has said and done1 is a necessary factor

 in the character of him who would do a 
great work4 ,it was the combined        
ignorance and boldness of ,columbus that
 made it possible for him to give the   
world a continent4  ,yet the man who has
 not had a college training often feels 
he has somehow missed something         
valuable3 there is timidity and         
hesitation when he is in the presence of
 those who have had advantages4 ,and    
,huxley felt this loss1 more or less1 up
 to his thirty-fifth year1 when ,fate   
had him cross swords with college men1  
and then the truth became his that if he
 had had the regular university         
training1 it was quite probable that he 
would have accepted the doctrines the   
universities taught1 and would then have
 been in the camp of the enemy1 instead 
of with what he called the blessed      
minority4  ,isolation is a great aid to 
the thinker4 ,some of the best books the
 world has ever known were written      
behind prison-bars2 exile has done much 
for literature1 and a protracted        

sea-voyage has allowed many a good man  
to roam the universe in imagination4    
,some of ,macaulay's best essays were   
written on board slow-going             
sailing-ships that were blown by vagrant
 winds from ,england to ,india4 ,darwin1
 ,hooker and ,huxley1 all got their     
scientific baptism on board of          
surveying-ships1 where time was         
plentiful and anything but fleeting1 and
 most everything else was scarce4       
,huxley was only assistant surgeon on   
the ,rattlesnake1 and above him was a   
naturalist who much of his time lay in  
his bunk and read treatises on this and 
also on that4  ,huxley was the seventh  
child of a plodding schoolteacher1 born 
on the seventh day of the week on a     
seventh-floor back1 he used to say4 ,his
 genius for work came from his mother1 a
 tireless1 ambitious woman1 who got     
things done while others were discussing
 them4 ,had she been a man1 she would   
have been leader of the ,opposition in  
the ,house of ,commons1 her son used to 

say4  ,college education was not for    
that goodly brood--a living was the     
first thing1 so after a good drilling in
 the three ,r's1 ,thomas ,huxley was    
apprenticed to a pharmacist who paid him
 six shillings a week1 a sum that the   
boy conscientiously gave to his mother4 
,oh1 if in our schoolteaching we could  
only teach this one thing3 a great      
thirst for knowledge6 ,but this desire  
we can not impart3 it is trial1         
difficulty1 obstacle1 deprivation and   
persecution that make souls hunger and  
thirst after knowledge4 ,young ,huxley  
wanted to know4 ,his thoroughness in the
 drugstore won the admiration of the    
doctors whose prescriptions he          
compounded1 and several of them loaned  
him books and took him to clinics2 and  
at seventeen we find him with a ,free   
,scholarship in ,charing ,cross         
,hospital1 serving as nurse and         
assistant surgeon4 ,then came the       
appointment as assistant surgeon in the 
,navy1 and the appointment to ,h4,m4,s4 

,rattlesnake1 bound on a four-year trip 
to the ,antipodes1 all quite as a matter
 of course4  ,life is a sequence3 this  
happened today because you did that     
yesterday4 ,tomorrow will be the result 
of today4  ,the general idea of         
evolution was strong in the mind of     
young ,huxley4 ,he realized that ,nature
 was moving1 growing1 changing all      
things4 ,he had studied embryology1 and 
had seen how the body of a man begins as
 a single minute mass of protoplasm1    
without organs or dimensions4  ,behind  
the ship was his dragnet1 and he worked 
almost constantly recording the         
different specimens of animal and       
vegetable life that he thus secured4    
,the jellyfish attracted him most4  ,to 
the ship's naturalist1 jellyfish were   
jellyfish1 but ,huxley saw that there   
were many kinds1 distinct1 separate1    
peculiar4 ,he began to dissect them and 
thus began his book on jellyfish1 just  
as ,darwin wrote his work on barnacles4 
,huxley vowed to himself that before the

 ,rattlesnake got back to ,england he   
would know more about jellyfish than any
 other living man4 ,that his ambition   
was realized no one now disputes4       
,among his first discoveries1 it came to
 him with a thrill that a certain       
species of jellyfish bears a very close 
resemblance to the human embryo at a    
certain stage4  ,and he remembered the  
dictum of ,goethe1 that the growth of   
the individual mirrors the growth of the
 race4 ,and he paraphrased it thus3 ,the
 growth of the individual mirrors the   
growth of the species4 ,so filled was he
 with the thought that he could not     
sleep1 so he got up and paced the deck  
and tried to explain his great thought  
to the second mate4 ,he was getting     
ready for ,the ,origin of ,species1     
which he once said to ,darwin he would  
himself have written1 if ,darwin had    
been a little more of a gentleman and   
had held off for a few years4  ,it was  
on board the ,rattlesnake that ,huxley  
wrote this great truth3 ,nature has no  

designs or intentions4 ,all that live   
exist only because they have adapted    
themselves to the hard lines that       
,nature has laid down4 ,we progress as  
we comply4         99       99       99 
99       99  ,in ,australia1 while      
waiting for his ship to locate and map a
 dangerous reef1 ,huxley went ashore1   
and as he playfully expressed it1 ran   
upon another4  ,the name of the most    
excellent young woman who was to become 
his wife was ,henrietta ,heathorn2 and  
,julian ,hawthorne has discovered that  
she belongs to the same good stock from 
whence came our ,nathaniel of ,salem4   
,it did not take the young naturalist   
and this stranded waif1 seven thousand  
miles from home1 long to see that they  
had much in common4 ,both were eager for
 truth1 both had the ability to cut the 
introduction and reach live issues      
directly4 ,i saw you were a woman with  
whom only honesty would answer1 he wrote
 her thirty years after4 ,he was still  
in love with her4  ,yet she was a proud 

soul1 and no assistant surgeon on an    
insignificant sloop would answer        
her--when he got his surgeon's          
commission she would marry him4 ,and it 
was seven years before she journeyed to 
,england alone with that delightful     
object in view4 ,he had to serve for her
 as ,jacob did for ,rachel1 with this   
difference3 ,jacob loved several1 but   
,thomas ,huxley loved but one4          
,huxley's wife was his companion1       
confidante1 comrade1 friend4 ,i can not 
recall another so blest1 in all the     
annals of thinking men1 save ,john      
,stuart ,mill4 ,i tell her everything ,i
 know1 or guess1 or imagine1 so as to   
get it straight in my own mind1 he said 
to ,john ,fiske4  ,in that most         
interesting work1 ,life and ,lessons of 
,huxley1 compiled by his son ,leonard1  
are constant references and allusions to
 this most ideal mating4 ,in reply to   
the question1 ,is marriage a failure8 ,i
 would say1 ,no1 provided the man       
marries a woman like ,huxley's wife1 and

 the woman marries a man like ,huxley4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,there is a classic aphorism which runs 
about this way1 ,knock and the world    
knocks with you2 boost and you boost    
alone4 ,like most popular sayings this  
is truth turned wrong side out4  ,john  
,fiske once called ,thomas ,huxley an   
appreciative iconoclast4 ,that is to    
say1 ,huxley was a persistent protester 
7which is different from a protestant71 
and at the same time1 he was a friend   
who never faltered and grew faint in    
time of trouble4 ,huxley always sniffed 
the battle from afar and said1 ,ha6 ,ha6
  ,there be those who do declare that   
the success of ,huxley was owing to his 
taking the tide at the flood1 and riding
 into high favor on the ,darwinian wave4
 ,to say that there would have been no  
,huxley had there been no ,darwin would 
be one of those unkind cuts the cruelty 
of which lies in its truth4  ,it is     
equally true that if there had been no  
,lincoln there would have been no       

,grant2 but ,grant was a very great man 
just the same--so why raise the issue6  
,darwin summed up and made nebul of the 
truths which ,huxley had1 up to that    
time1 held only in gaseous form4        
,darwin was born in the immortal year   
,eighteen ,hundred ,nine4 ,huxley was   
born in ,eighteen ,hundred ,twenty-five4
 ,when ,the ,origin of ,species was     
published in ,eighteen ,hundred         
,fifty-nine1 ,thomas ,huxley was        
thirty-four years old4 ,he had made his 
four years' trip around the world on the
 surveying-ship ,rattlesnake1 just as   
,darwin had made his eventful voyage on 
the ,beagle4  ,these men in many ways   
had paralleled each other2 but ,darwin  
had sixteen years the start1 and during 
these years he had steadily and silently
 worked to prove the great truth that he
 had sensed intuitively years before in 
the ,south ,seas4  ,the ,origin of      
,species sheds light in ten thousand    
ways on the fact that all life has      
evolved from very lowly forms and is    

still ascending3 that species were not  
created by fiat1 but that every species 
was the sure and necessary result of    
certain conditions4  ,until ,the ,origin
 of ,species was published1 and for some
 years afterward1 the ,immutability of  
,species was taught in all colleges1 and
 everywhere accepted by the so-called   
learned men4  ,goethe had somewhat dimly
 prophesied the discovery of the ,law of
 ,evolution1 but his ideas on natural   
science were regarded by the schools as 
quite on a par with those of ,dante3    
neither was taken seriously4  ,darwin   
proved his hypothesis4 ,doubtless1 very 
many schoolmen would have accepted the  
theory1 but to admit that man was not   
created outright1 complete1 and in his  
present form1 or superior to it1 seemed 
to evolve a contradiction of the ,mosaic
 account of ,creation1 and the breaking 
up of ,christianity4 ,and these things  
done1 many thought1 would entail moral  
chaos1 destruction of private interests 
and moral confusion being one and the   

same thing to those whose interests are 
involved4 ,and so for conscience' sake1 
,darwin was bitterly assailed and       
opposed4  ,opportunity1 which knocks    
many times at each man's door1 rapped   
hard at ,huxley's door in ,eighteen     
,hundred ,sixty4 ,it was at ,oxford1 at 
a meeting of the ,british ,association  
for the ,advancement of ,science3 ,a big
 society with a slightly ironical name1 
once said ,huxley4 ,the audience was    
large and fashionable1 delegates being  
present from all parts of the ,british  
,empire4  ,the ,origin of ,species had  
been published the year before1 and     
tongues were wagging4 ,darwin was not   
present2 but ,huxley1 who was known to  
be a personal friend of ,darwin1 was in 
his seat4 ,the intent of the chairman   
was to keep ,darwin and his pestiferous 
book out of all the discussions3 ,darwin
 was a good man to smother with silence4
  ,but ,samuel ,wilberforce1 ,bishop of 
,oxford1 in the course of a speech on   
another subject began to run short of   

material1 and so switched off upon a    
theme which he had already exploited    
from the pulpit with marked effect4 ,all
 public speakers carry this boiler-plate
 matter for use in time of stress4  ,the
 ,bishop began to denounce those enemies
 of the ,church and ,society who make   
covert attacks upon the ,bible in the   
name of ,science4 ,he warmed to his     
theme1 and by a specious series of      
misstatements and various appeals to the
 prejudices of his audience worked the  
assemblage up to a high pitch of        
hilarity and enthusiasm4 ,toward the    
close of his speech he happened to spy  
,huxley seated near1 and pointing a     
pudgy finger at him1 begged to be       
informed if the learned gentleman was   
really willing to be regarded as a      
descendant of a monkey8  ,as the ,bishop
 sat down1 there was a wild burst of    
applause and much laughter1 but amid the
 din were calls1 ,huxley6 ,huxley6      
,these shouts increased as it came over 
the people that while the ,bishop had   

made a great speech1 he had gone a      
trifle too far in ridiculing a member   
who up to this time had been silent4    
,the good ,english spirit of fair play  
was at work4 ,still ,huxley sat silent4 
,then the enemy1 thinking he was        
completely vanquished1 took up the cry  
with intent to add to his discomfiture3 
,huxley6 ,huxley6  ,slowly ,huxley      
arose4 ,he stood still until the last   
buzzing whisper had died away4 ,when he 
spoke it was in so low a tone that      
people leaned forward to catch his      
words4  ,huxley knew his business3 his  
slowness to speak created an atmosphere4
 ,there was no jest in his voice or     
manner4 ,the air grew tense4  ,his quiet
 reserve played itself off against the  
florid exuberance of the ,bishop4 ,the  
,bishop was not a man given to exact    
statements3 his knowledge of science was
 general1 not specific4  ,huxley        
demolished his card house point by      
point1 correcting the gross             
misstatements1 and ending by saying that

 since a question of personal           
preferences had been brought into the   
discussion of a great scientific theme1 
he would confess that if the            
alternatives were a descent on the one  
hand from a respectable monkey1 or on   
the other from a ,bishop of the ,church 
of ,england who could stoop to          
misrepresentation and sophistry and who 
had attempted in that presence to throw 
discredit upon a man who had given his  
life to the cause of science1 then if   
forced to decide he would declare in    
favor of the monkey4  ,when ,huxley took
 his seat1 there was a silence that     
could be felt4 ,several ladies fainted4 
,there were fears that the ,bishop would
 reply1 and to keep down such a possible
 unpleasant move the audience now       
applauded ,huxley roundly1 and amid the 
din the chairman declared the meeting   
adjourned4  ,from that time forward     
,huxley was famous throughout ,england  
as a man to let alone in public debate4 
99       99       99       99       99  

,it is a fine thing to be a great       
scientist1 but it is a yet finer thing  
to be a great man4 ,the one element in  
,huxley's life that makes his character 
stand out clear1 sharp and well defined 
was his steadfast devotion to truth4    
,the only thing he feared was           
self-deception4 ,when he uttered his    
classic cry in defense of ,darwin1 there
 was no ulterior motive in it2 no       
thought that he was attaching himself to
 a popular success2 no idea that he was 
linking his name with greatness4  ,what 
he felt was true1 he uttered2 and the   
strongest desire of his soul was that he
 might never compromise with the error  
for the sake of mental ease1 or accept a
 belief simply because it was pleasant4 
,huxley once wrote this terse sentence  
of ,gladstone3 ,it is to me a serious   
thing that the destinies of this great  
country should at present be to a great 
extent in the hands of a man who1       
whatever he may be in the affairs of    
which ,i am no judge1 is nothing but a  

copious shuffler in those that ,i do    
understand4 ,gladstone crossed swords   
with ,huxley1 ,spencer and ,robert      
,ingersoll1 and in each case his        
blundering intellect looked like a raft 
of logs compared with a steamboat that  
responds to the helm4 ,gladstone was a  
man of action1 and silence to such is   
most becoming4  ,he had a belief1 that  
was enough2 he should have hugged it    
close1 and never stood up to explain it4
 ,let us vary a simile just used3       
,lincoln once referred to an opponent as
 being like a certain steamboat that ran
 on the ,sangamon4 ,this boat had so big
 a whistle that when she blew it1 there 
wasn't steam enough to make her run1 and
 when she ran she couldn't whistle4     
,huxley1 ,spencer and ,robert           
,ingersoll1 all made ,gladstone cut for 
the woods and cover his retreat in a    
cloud of words4 ,ingersoll once said    
that in replying to ,gladstone he felt  
like a man who had been guilty of       
cruelty to children4  ,if one wants to  

see how pitifully weak ,gladstone could 
be in an argument1 let him refer to the 
,north ,american ,review for ,eighteen  
,hundred ,eighty-two4  ,yet ,ingersoll  
was surely lacking in the passion for   
truth that characterized ,huxley4       
,ingersoll was always a prosecutor or a 
defender3 the lawyer habit was strong   
upon him4 ,just a little more bias in   
his clay and he would have made a model 
bishop4  ,his stock of science was      
almost as meager as was that of ,samuel 
,wilberforce1 and he seldom hesitated to
 turn the laugh on an adversary1 even at
 the expense of truth4 ,when brought to 
book for his indictment of ,moses       
without giving that great man any credit
 for the sublime things he did do1 or   
making allowances for the barbaric horde
 with which he had to deal1 ,bob evaded 
the proposition by saying1 ,i am not the
 attorney of ,moses3 he has more than   
three million men looking after his     
case4  ,again1 in that most charming    
lecture on ,shakespeare1 ,ingersoll     

proves that ,bacon did not write the    
plays1 by picking out various detached  
passages of ,bacon1 which no one for a  
moment ever claimed revealed the genius 
of the man4  ,with equal plausibility we
 could prove that the author of ,hamlet 
was a weakling1 by selecting all the    
obscure and stupid passages1 and        
parading these with the unexplained fact
 that the play opens with the spirit of 
a dead man coming back to earth1 and a  
little later in the same play           
,shakespeare has the man who interviewed
 the ghost tell of that bourne from     
whence no traveler returns4 ,even       
,shakespeare was not a genius all the   
time4 ,and ,ingersoll1 the searcher for 
truth1 borrowed from his friends1 the   
priests1 the cheerful habit of secreting
 the particular thing that would not    
help the cause in hand4 ,but one of the 
best things in ,ingersoll's character   
was that he realized his lapses and in  
private acknowledged them4  ,on reading 
the smooth1 florid and plausible        

sophistry of ,wilberforce1 ,ingersoll   
once said3 ,be easy on ,soapy ,sam6 ,a  
few years ago1 a little shifting of base
 on the part of my ancestors1 and ,i    
would probably have had ,soapy ,sam's   
job4  ,this resemblance of opposites    
makes a person think of that remark     
applied to ,voltaire4 ,he was the father
 of all those who wear shovel-hats4     
99       99       99       99       99  
,when ,thomas ,huxley and his wife      
arrived in ,new ,york in ,eighteen      
,hundred ,seventy-six1 on a visit to the
 ,centennial ,exhibition1 this          
interesting item was flashed over the   
country1 ,huxley and his titled bride   
have arrived in ,new ,york on their     
wedding-journey4  ,this item caused ,mr4
 and ,mrs4 ,huxley--both of them royal  
democrats--more joy than did the most   
complimentary interview4 ,at home they  
had left a charming little brood of     
seven children1 three of them nearly    
grown-ups4  ,huxley sent ,tyndall1 who a
 few months before had married a        

daughter of ,lord ,hamilton1 the        
clipping and this note3 ,you see how    
that once ,i am in a democratic country 
,i am pulling all the honors ,i can in  
my own direction4 ,the next letter the  
,huxleys received from ,tyndall was     
addressed1 ,sir ,thomas and ,lady       
,huxley4 ,huxley never stood in much awe
 of the nobility2 he evidently felt that
 there was another kind of which he     
himself in degree was heir4 ,huxley     
never had a better friend than ,sir     
,joseph ,hooker1 and we see in his      
letters such postscripts as this3  ,dear
 ,sir ,joseph3 ,do come and dine with   
us2 it is a month since we have seen    
your homely old phiz4 ,and ,sir ,joseph 
replies that he will be on hand the next
 ,sunday evening and offers this mild   
suggestion1 ,scientific gents as has    
countenances as curdles milk should not 
cast aspersions on men made in image of 
,maker4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,the wordy duel between    
,huxley and ,gladstone prompted ,toole1 

the great comedian1 to send a box of    
grease-paints to ,huxley with a note    
saying1 ,these are for you and          
,gladstone to use when you make up4 ,it 
was a joke so subtle and choice that the
 ,huxleys1 always dear friends of       
,toole1 laughed for a week4  ,poor      
,gladstone required a diagram when he   
heard of the procedure2 and then1 not   
being trepanned for the pleasantry1     
remarked that if ,toole and ,huxley     
collaborated on the stage1 it would be  
eminently the proper thing1 and in his  
mind there was little choice between    
them1 both being fine actors4  ,later1  
we hear of ,huxley saying he thought of 
sending the box of grease-paints to     
,gladstone1 so the ,premier could use   
them in making up with ,god2 as for     
himself1 he was like ,thoreau and had   
never quarreled with ,him4  ,huxley had 
many friendships with people seemingly  
outside of his own particular line of   
work4 ,henry ,irving1 the ,reverend     
,doctor ,parker1 ,john ,fiske and ,hall 

,caine once met at one of ,huxley's     
,tall ,teas1 and ,doctor ,parker        
explained that he personally had no     
objection to visiting with sinners4     
,for ,parker1 ,huxley had a great       
admiration and often attended the       
,thursday noon meeting at the ,temple1  
to see and hear the greatest actor in   
,england1 a compliment which ,parker    
much appreciated1 otherwise he would not
 have repeated it4 ,if ,i ever take to  
the stage1 ,i will play the part of     
,jacques or ,touchstone1 said ,huxley4  
,john ,fiske in his delightful essay on 
,huxley said that in the ,huxley home   
there was more jest1 joke and banter    
than in any other place in ,london4 ,the
 air was surcharged with mirth1 and     
puns1 often very bad ones1 were tossed  
back and forth with great recklessness4 
,at one time ,john ,fiske was at the    
,huxleys and the dual or multiple nature
 of man came up for discussion4 ,huxley 
spoke of how very often men who were    
gentle and charming in their homes were 

capable of great crimes1 and of how1 on 
the other hand1 a man might pass in the 
world as a philanthropist1 and yet in   
his household be a veritable autocrat   
and tyrant4  ,fiske then incidentally   
mentioned the case of ,doctors ,parker  
and ,webster of ,harvard--men of        
intellect and worth4 ,these men brooded 
over a misunderstanding that grew into a
 grudge and eventually hatched murder4  
,one worthy professor killed the other1 
cut up the body1 and tried to burn it in
 a chemist's retort4 ,only the great    
difficulty of reducing the human body to
 ashes caused the murder to out1 and    
brought about the hanging of a scientist
 of note4  ,yes1 ,i have thought of the 
difficulty of disposing of a dead body1 
said ,huxley1 solemnly2 and often when  
on the point of committing murder this  
was the only thing that made me         
hesitate6  ,oh1 ,pater1 we are ashamed  
of you1 said his three lovely daughters 
in concert4 ,huxley's ability to joke   
and his appreciation of the ludicrous   

marked him1 in the mind of ,john ,fiske1
 as the greatest thinker of his time4   
,the humorist knows values1 and that is 
why he laughs4 ,sensibility is1 in fact1
 the basic element of wit4         99   
99       99       99       99  ,huxley's
 duties on the ,rattlesnake were not in 
the line of science4 ,his rank was      
assistant surgeon2 but as sure-enough   
surgeons were only sent out on bigger   
craft1 he was this ship's doctor4  ,with
 the captain's help the men were kept   
busy1 but not too busy1 and the food and
 regulations were such that about all   
,huxley had to do was to look upon his  
work and pronounce it good4  ,as a      
physician1 ,huxley practised throughout 
his life the science of prevention4     
,with a prophetic vision1 quite         
unconscious1 my parents named me after  
that particular apostle ,i was to admire
 most1 once said ,huxley4 ,he was a     
doubter by instinct1 and approached the 
world of ,nature as if nothing were     
known about it4  ,his work on the       

,medusa won him the recognition of the  
,british ,society1 and this secured him 
the coveted surgeon's commission4 ,two  
tragedies confront man on his journey   
through life--one when he wants a thing 
and can not get it2 the other when he   
gets the thing and finds he does not    
want it4  ,having secured his surgeon's 
commission1 ,huxley felt a strong       
repulsion toward devoting his life to   
the abnormal4  ,i am a scientist by     
nature1 and my business is to teach1 he 
wrote to his affianced wife4 ,these were
 wise words which he had learned from   
her1 but which he repeated1 seemingly   
quite innocent of their source4 ,we take
 our own wherever we find it4  ,miss    
,heathorn admired a surgeon1 but loved a
 scientist1 and ,huxley being a man was 
making a heroic struggle to be what the 
young woman most wished4 ,love supplies 
an ideal--and that is the very best     
thing love does1 with possibly an       
exception or two4 ,so behold a ship's   
surgeon in ,london1 full-fledged1       

refusing offers of position1 and even   
declining to take a choice of ships1 for
 such is the perversity of things       
animate and inanimate that1 when we do  
not want things1 ,fate brings them to us
 on silver platters and begs us to      
accept4 ,we win by indifference as much 
as by desire4  ,i have declined to ship 
on board the ',cormorant' as head       
surgeon1 and have applied to the        
,university of ,toronto for a position  
as ,professor of ,natural ,history4     
,and so ,america had ,huxley flung at   
her head4 ,toronto considered1 and the  
,canadians sat on the case1 and after   
considerable correspondence1 the vacant 
chair was given to ,professor ,baldini  
of the ,whitby ,ladies ,college4 ,it was
 a close call for ,canada6 ,huxley had  
imagined that the ,new ,world offered   
special advantages to a rising young    
person of scientific bent1 but now he   
secured a marriage-license and settled  
down as lecturer at the ,school of      
,mines4 ,a little later he began to     

teach at the ,royal ,college of         
,surgeons1 with which institution he was
 to be connected the rest of his life1  
and fill almost any chair that happened 
to be vacant4  ,from the time he was    
twenty-seven ,huxley never had to look  
for work4 ,he was known as a writer of  
worth1 and as a lecturer his services   
were in demand4  ,he became ,president  
of the ,geological and ,ethnological    
,society2 was appointed ,royal          
,commissioner for the ,advancement of   
,science2 was a member of the ,london   
,school ,board2 ,secretary of the ,royal
 ,society2 ,lord ,rector of the         
,university of ,aberdeen2 ,president of 
the ,royal ,society2 and refused an     
offer to become ,custodian of the       
,british ,museum1 a life position1 and  
where he had once applied for a         
clerkship4  ,in letters to ,darwin he   
occasionally signed his name with all   
titles added1 thus1 ,thomas ,henry      
,huxley1 ,m4,b41 ,m4,d41 ,ph4,d41       
,,ll4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 of ,her ,majesty's  

,navy4  ,huxley was a forceful and      
epigrammatic writer1 and had a command  
of ,english second to no scientist that 
,england has ever produced4 ,he was the 
only one of his group who had a distinct
 literary style4 ,as a speaker he was   
quiet1 deliberate1 decisive1 sure2 and  
he carried enough reserve caloric so    
that he made his presence felt in any   
assemblage before he said a word4 ,in   
oratory it is personality that gives    
ballast4  ,of his forty or so published 
books1 ,man's ,place in ,nature1        
,elementary ,physiology and             
,classification of ,animals have been   
translated into many languages1 and now 
serve as textbooks in various schools   
and colleges4  ,huxley is the founder of
 the so-called ,agnostic ,school1 which 
has the peculiarity of not being a      
school4 ,the word agnostic was given its
 vogue by ,huxley4 ,to superficial      
people it was quite often used          
synonymously with infidel and           
freethinker1 both words of reproach4 ,to

 ,huxley it meant simply one who did not
 know1 but wished to learn4  ,the       
controlling impulse of ,huxley's life   
was his absolute honesty4 ,to pretend to
 believe a thing against which one's    
reason revolts1 in order to better one's
 place in society1 was to him the sum of
 all that was intellectually base4  ,he 
regarded man as an undeveloped creature1
 and for this creature to lay the       
flattering unction to his soul that he  
was in special communication with the   
,infinite1 and in possession of the     
secrets of the ,creator1 was something  
that in itself proved that man was as   
yet in the barbaric stage4  ,said       
,huxley3 ,as to the final truths of     
,creation and ,destiny1 ,i am an        
agnostic4 ,i do not know1 hence ,i      
neither affirm nor deny4         99     
99       99       99       99  ,humor   
and commonsense usually go together4    
,huxley had a goodly stock of both4     
,when ,george ,eliot died1 there was a  
very earnest but ill-directed effort    

made to have her body buried in         
,westminster ,abbey4 ,huxley1 being     
close to the ,dean1 serving with him on 
several municipal boards1 was importuned
 by ,spencer to use his influence toward
 the desired end4 ,huxley saw the       
incongruity of the situation1 and in a  
letter that reveals the logical mind and
 the direct1 literary1 ,huxley quality1 
he placed his gentle veto on the        
proposition and thus saved the enemy the
 mortification of having to do so4      
,darwin is buried in ,westminster       
,abbey1 but this was not to be the final
 resting-place of the dust of ,mill1    
,tyndall1 ,spencer1 ,george ,eliot or   
,huxley4 ,these had all stood in the    
fore of the fight against superstition  
and had both given and received blows4  
,the ,pantheon of such battle-scarred   
heroes was to be the hearts of those who
 prize above all that earth can bestow  
the benison of the ,god within4 ,above  
all else1 let me preserve my integrity  
of intellect1 said ,huxley4 ,here is    

,huxley's letter to ,spencer3       #d  
,marlborough ,place1 ,dec4 #bg1 #ahhj   
,my ,dear ,spencer3 ,your telegram which
 reached me on ,friday evening          
caused me great perplexity1 inasmuch as 
,i had just been talking to             
,morley1 and agreeing with him that the 
proposal for a funeral in               
,westminster ,abbey had a very          
questionable look to us1 who desired    
nothing so much as that peace and honor 
should attend ,george ,eliot      to her
 grave4       ,it can hardly be doubted 
that the proposal will be bitterly      
opposed1 possibly 7as happened in       
,mill's case with less      provocation7
 with the raking up of past histories1  
about which the      opinion even of    
those who have least the desire or the  
right to be      pharisaical is strongly
 divided1 and which had better be       
forgotten4       ,with respect to       
putting pressure on the ,dean of        
,westminster1 ,i have      to consider  
that he has some confidence in me1 and  

before asking      him to do something  
for which he is pretty sure to be       
violently      assailed1 ,i have to ask 
myself whether ,i really think it a     
right      thing for a man in his       
position to do4       ,now ,i can not   
say ,i do4 ,however much ,i may lament  
the circumstance1      ,westminster     
,abbey is a ,christian ,church and not a
 ,pantheon1 and the      ,dean thereof  
is officially a ,christian priest1 and  
we ask him to      bestow exceptional   
,christian honors by this burial in the 
,abbey4      ,george ,eliot is known not
 only as a great writer1 but as a person
      whose life and opinions were in   
notorious antagonism to ,christian      
practise in regard to marriage1 and     
,christian theory in regard to          
dogma4 ,how am ,i to tell the ,dean that
 ,i think he ought to read over      the
 body of a person who did not repent of 
what the ,church      considers mortal  
sin1 a service not one solitary         
proposition of      which she would have

 accepted for truth while she was alive8
 ,how am      ,i to urge him to do that 
which1 if ,i were in his place1 ,i      
should      most emphatically refuse to 
do8 ,you tell me that ,mrs4 ,cross      
wished      for the funeral in the      
,abbey4 ,while ,i desire to entertain   
the      greatest respect for her       
wishes1 ,i am very sorry to hear it4 ,i 
do      not understand the feeling which
 could create such a desire on any      
personal grounds1 save those of         
affection1 and the natural yearning     
to be near1 even in death1 those whom we
 have loved4 ,and on public      grounds
 the wish is still less intelligible to 
me4 ,one can not eat      one's cake and
 have it too4 ,those who elect to be    
free in thought      and deed must not  
hanker after the rewards1 if they are to
 be so      called1 which the world     
offers to those who put up with its     
fetters4       ,thus1 however ,i look at
 the proposal1 it seems to me to be a   
profound mistake1 and ,i can have       

nothing to do with it4 ,i shall be      
deeply grieved if this resolution is    
ascribed to any other motives      than 
those which ,i have set forth at greater
 length than ,i      intended4          
,ever yours very faithfully1            
,t4 ,h4 ,,huxley     ,illustration3     
,,john ,,tyndall  ,,john ,,tyndall      
,in my little book on ,faraday1         
published in ,eighteen ,hundred         
,sixty-eight1 ,i have stated that he had
 but to will it to raise his            
income1 in ,eighteen ,hundred           
,thirty-two1 to five thousand pounds a  
year4 ,in ,eighteen ,hundred            
,thirty-six1 the sum might have been    
doubled4 ,yet this son of a blacksmith1 
this journeyman book-binder1      with  
his proud1 sensitive soul1 rejecting the
 splendid      opportunities open to    
him--refusing even to think them        
splendid in      presence of higher     
aims--cheerfully accepted from the      
,trinity ,house      a pittance of two  
hundred pounds a year4       --,john    

,tyndall   ,,john ,,tyndall  ,tyndall   
was of high descent and lowly birth4    
,his father was a member of the ,irish  
,constabulary1 and there were intervals 
when the boy's mother took in washing4  
,but back of this the constable swore i'
 faith1 when the ale was right1 that he 
was descended from an ,irish ,king1 and 
probably this is true1 for most         
,irishmen are1 and acknowledge it       
themselves4  ,the father of our ,tyndall
 spelled his name ,tyndale1 and traced a
 direct relationship to ,william        
,tyndale1 who declared he would place a 
copy of the ,english ,bible in the hands
 of every plowboy in the ,british       
,isles1 and pretty nearly made good his 
vow4 ,william ,tyndale paid for his     
privileges1 however4 ,he was arrested1  
given an opportunity to run away1 but   
wouldn't2 then he was exiled4 ,finally  
he was incarcerated in a dungeon of the 
,castle ,vilvoorden4  ,his cell was     
beneath the level of the ground1 so was 
cold and damp and dark4 ,he petitioned  

the governor of the prison for a coat to
 keep him warm and a candle by which he 
could read4 ,we'll give you both light  
and heat1 pretty soon1 was the reply4   
,and they did4 ,they led ,tyndale out   
under the blue sky and tied him to a    
stake set in the ground4 ,around his    
feet they piled brush1 and also all of  
his books and papers that they could    
find4  ,a chain was put around his neck 
and hooked tight to the post4 ,then the 
fagots were piled high1 and the fire was
 lighted4  ,he was not burned to death1 
argued one of the priests who was       
present2 he was not burned to death4 ,he
 just drew up his feet and hanged       
himself in the chain1 and so was choked3
 he was that stubborn6 ,the father of   
,john ,tyndall was an ,orangeman and had
 in a glass case a bit of the flag      
carried at the ,battle of the ,boyne4   
,it is believed1 with reason1 that the  
original flag had in it about ten       
thousand square yards of material4      
,tyndale the ,orangeman was of so       

uncompromising a type that he           
occasionally arrested ,catholics on     
general principles1 like the ,irishman  
who beat the ,jew under the mistaken    
idea that he had something to do with   
crucifying ,our ,savior4 ,but that was  
two thousand years ago1 protested the   
,jew4 ,niver moind2 ,i just heard av    
it--take that and that6  ,zeal not      
wisely directed is a true ,irish trait4 
,it will not do to say that the ,irish  
have a monopoly on stupidity1 yet there 
have been times when ,i thought they    
nearly cornered the market4 ,i once had 
charge of a gang of green ,irishmen at a
 lumber-camp4  ,i started a night-school
 for their benefit1 as their schooling  
had stopped at subtraction4 ,one evening
 they got it into their heads that ,i   
was an atheist4 ,things began to come my
 way4 ,i concluded discretion was the   
better part of valor1 and so took to the
 woods1 literally4 ,they followed me for
 a mile1 and then gave up the chase4 ,on
 the way home they met a man who spoke  

ill of me1 and they fell upon him and   
nearly pounded his life out4  ,i never  
had to lick any of my gang3 they looked 
after this themselves4 ,on pay-nights   
they all got drunk and fell upon each   
other--broken noses and black eyes were 
quite popular4 ,father ,driscoll used to
 come around nearly every month and have
 them all sign the pledge4  ,that story 
about the ,irishman who ate the rind of 
the watermelon and threw the inside     
away1 is true4 ,that is just what the   
,irish do4 ,very often they are not able
 to distinguish good from bad1 kindness 
from wrong1 love from hate4 ,ireland has
 all the freedom she can use or         
deserves1 just as we all have4 ,what    
would ,ireland do with freedom if she   
had it8 ,hate for ,england keeps peace  
at home4 ,home rule would mean home     
rough-house--and a most beautiful       
argument it would be1 enforced with     
shillalah logic4 ,the spirit of         
,donnybrook ,fair is there today as much
 as ever1 and wherever you see a head1  

hit it1 would be home rule4 ,donnybrook 
is a condition of mind4  ,if ,england   
really had a grudge against ,ireland and
 wanted to get even1 she could not do   
better than to set her adrift4  ,but    
then the ,irish impulsiveness sometimes 
leads to good1 else how could we account
 for such men as ,o',connor1 ,parnell1  
,john ,tyndall1 ,burke1 ,goldsmith1     
,sheridan1 ,arthur ,wellesley and all   
the other ,irish poets1 orators and     
thinkers who have made us vibrate with  
our kind8  ,transplanted weeds produce  
our finest flowers4  ,the parents of    
,tyndall were intent on giving their boy
 an education4 ,and to them1 the act of 
committing things to memory was         
education4 ,william ,tyndale gave the   
,bible to the people2 ,john ,tyndall    
would force it upon them4 ,the ,book of 
,martyrs1 the sermons of ,jeremy        
,taylor1 and the ,bible1 little ,john   
came to know by heart4 ,and he grew to  
have a fine distaste for all4 ,once1    
when nearly a man grown1 he had the     

temerity to argue with his father that  
the ,bible might be better appreciated1 
if a penalty were not placed upon       
disbelief in its divine origin4 ,a cuff 
on the ear was the answer1 and ,john was
 given until sundown to apologize4 ,he  
did not apologize4  ,and young ,tyndale 
then vowed he would change his name to  
,tyndall and forever separate himself   
from a person whose religion was so     
largely mixed with brutality4 ,but yet  
,john ,tyndale was not a bad man4 ,he   
had intellect far above the average of  
his neighbors4 ,he had the courage of   
his convictions4 ,his son had the       
courage of his lack of convictions4     
,and the early drilling in the ,bible   
was a good thing for young ,tyndall4    
,bible legend and allusion color the    
,english language1 and any man who does 
not know his ,bible well1 can never hope
 to speak or write ,english with grace  
and fluency4 ,tyndall always knew and   
acknowledged his indebtedness to his    
parents1 and he also knew that his      

salvation depended upon getting away    
from and beyond the narrow confines of  
their beliefs and habits4 ,because a    
thing helps you in a certain period of  
your education is no reason why you     
should feed upon it forevermore4  ,this 
way lies arrested development4  ,life1  
like heat1 is a mode of motion1 and     
progress consists in discarding a good  
thing as soon as you have found a       
better4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,occasionally ,herbert     
,spencer used to spend a ,sunday        
afternoon with the ,carlyles at their   
modest home in ,chelsea4 ,at such times 
,jeannie ,welsh would usually manage to 
pilot the conversational craft along    
smooth waters2 but if she were not      
present1 hot arguments would follow1 and
 finally a point would be reached where 
,carlyle and ,spencer would simply sit  
and glare at each other4  ,after such   
scenes ,i always thought less of two    
persons1 ,carlyle and myself1 said      
,spencer2 and so for many years ,i very 

cautiously avoided ,cheyne ,row4 ,then  
there was another man ,spencer avoided1 
although for a different reason2 this   
individual was ,john ,tyndall4  ,on the 
death of ,tyndall1 ,spencer wrote3      
,there has just died the greatest       
teacher of modern times3 a man who      
stimulated thought in old and young1    
every one he met1 as no one else ,i ever
 knew did4 ,once we went together for a 
much-needed rest to the ,lake ,district4
 ,gossip1 which has its advantages in   
that it can be carried on with no tax on
 one's intellectual powers1 had no part 
in our conversation4 ,the discussion of 
great themes began at once wherever     
,tyndall was4  ,the atmosphere of the   
man was intensely stimulating3 everybody
 seemed to become great and wise and    
good in his presence4  ,we walked on the
 shores of ,windermere1 climbed ,rydal  
,mount1 rowed across ,lake ,grasmere    
7leaving our names on the visitors'     
list71 and all the time we dwelt upon   
high ,olympus and talked4  ,but1 alas6  

,tyndall's vivacity undid me3 two days  
of his company1 with two sleepless      
nights1 and ,i fled him as ,i would a   
pestilence4  ,but ,carlyle growled out  
one thing in ,spencer's presence which  
,spencer often quoted4 ,if ,i had my own
 way1 said ,carlyle1 ,i would send the  
sons of poor men to college1 and the    
sons of rich men ,i would set to work4  
,manual labor in right proportion means 
mental development4 ,too much hoe may   
slant the brow1 but hoe in proper       
proportion develops the cerebellum4  ,in
 the past we have had one set of men do 
all the work1 and another set had all   
the culture3 one hoes and another       
thirsts4 ,there are whole areas of      
brain-cells which are evolved only      
through the efforts of hand and eye1 for
 it is the mind at last that directs all
 our energies4 ,the development of brain
 and body go together--manual work is   
brain-work4 ,too much brain-work is just
 as bad as too much toil2 the misuse of 
the pen carries just as severe a penalty

 as the misuse of the hoe4 ,and it is a 
great satisfaction to realize that the  
thinking world has reached a point where
 these propositions do not have to be   
proven4  ,there was a time when ,spencer
 regretted that he had not been sent to 
college1 instead of being set to work4  
,but later he came to regard his        
experience as a practical engineer and  
surveyor as a very precious and         
necessary part of his education4  ,john 
,tyndall and ,alfred ,russel ,wallace   
had an experience almost identical4 ,in 
childhood ,john attended the village    
school for six months of the year1 and  
the rest of the time helped his parents1
 as children of poor people do4 ,when   
nineteen he went to work carrying a     
chain in a surveying corps4 ,steady     
attention to the business in hand       
brought its sure reward1 and in a few   
years he had charge of the squad1 and   
was given the duty of making maps and   
working out complex calculations in     
engineering4  ,in mathematics he        

especially excelled4 ,five years in the 
employ of the ,irish ,ordnance ,survey  
and three years in practical            
railroad-building1 and ,tyndall got the 
,socialistic bee in his bonnet4 ,he     
resigned a good position to take part in
 bringing about the millennium4  ,that  
he helped the old world along toward the
 ideal there is no doubt2 but ,tyndall  
is dead and ,jerusalem is not yet4 ,when
 the rule of the barons was broken1 and 
the stage of individualism or           
competition was ushered in1 men said1   
,lo6 ,the time is at hand and now is4   
,but it was not4 ,socialism is coming1  
by slow degrees1 imperceptibly almost as
 the growing of ,spring flowers that    
push their way from the damp1 dark earth
 into the sunlight4 ,and after          
,socialism1 what8 ,perhaps the          
millennium will still be a long way off4
  ,in ,eighteen ,hundred ,forty-seven1  
when ,tyndall was twenty-seven years    
old1 ,robert ,owen1 one of the greatest 
practical men the world has ever seen1  

cried aloud1 ,the time is at hand6      
,owen was an enthusiast3 all great men  
are4 ,he had risen from the ranks by the
 absolute force of his great untiring1  
restless and loving spirit4 ,from a day 
laborer in a cotton-mill he had become  
principal owner of a plant that         
supported five thousand people4  ,owen  
saw the difference between joyless labor
 and joyful work4 ,his mills were       
cleanly1 orderly1 sanitary1 and         
surrounded with lawns1 trees and        
shrubbery4 ,he was the first man in     
,england to establish kindergartens1 and
 this he did at his own expense for the 
benefit of his helpers4 ,he established 
libraries1 clubs1 swimming-pools1       
night-schools1 lecture-courses4 ,and all
 this time his business prospered4  ,to 
the average man it is a miracle how any 
one individual could bear the heaviest  
business burdens and still do what      
,robert ,owen did4  ,robert ,owen had   
vitality plus3 he was a gourmet for     
work4 ,william ,morris was just such a  

man1 only with a bias for art2 but both 
,owen and ,morris had the intensity and 
impetus which get the thing done while  
common folks are thinking about it4     
,owen was familiar with every detail of 
his vast business1 and he was an expert 
in finance4 ,like ,napoleon he said3    
,the finances8 ,i will arrange them4    
,robert ,owen erected schoolhouses1 laid
 out gardens1 built mills1 constructed  
tenements1 traveled1 lectured1 and wrote
 books4 ,his enthusiasm was contagious4 
,he was never sick--he could not spare  
the time--and a doctor once said1 ,if   
,robert ,owen ever dies1 it will be     
through too much ,robert ,owen4  ,owen  
went over to ,dublin on one of his      
tours1 and lectured on the ideal life1  
which to him was ,socialism1 each for   
all and all for each4  ,fourier1 the    
dreamer1 supplied a good deal of the    
argument1 but ,robert ,owen did the     
thing4 ,socialism always catches these  
two classes1 doers and dreamers1 workers
 and drones1 honest men and rogues1     

those with a desire to give and those   
with a lust to get4  ,among others who  
heard ,owen speak at ,dublin was the    
young ,irish engineer1 ,john ,tyndall4  
,tyndall was the type of man that must  
be common before we can have ,socialism4
 ,there was not a lazy hair in his head2
 aye1 nor a selfish one1 either4 ,he had
 a tender heart1 a receptive brain and  
the spirit of obedience1 the spirit that
 gives all without counting the cost1   
the spirit that harkens to the ,god     
within4 ,and need ,i say that the person
 who gives all1 gets all6 ,the economics
 of ,god are very simple3 ,we receive   
only that which we give4 ,the only love 
we keep is the love we give away4       
,these are very old truths--,i did not  
discover nor invent them--they are not  
covered by copyright3 ,cast thy bread   
upon the waters4  ,john ,tyndall was    
melted by ,owen's passionate appeal of  
each for all and all for each4 ,to live 
for humanity seemed the one desirable   
thing4 ,his loving ,irish heart was     

melted4 ,he sought ,owen out at his     
hotel1 and they talked1 talked till     
three o'clock in the morning4  ,owen was
 a judge of men2 his success depended   
upon this one thing1 as that of every   
successful business must4 ,he saw that  
,tyndall was a rare soul and nearly     
fulfilled his definition of a gentleman4
 ,tyndall had hope1 faith and splendid  
courage2 but best of all1 he had that   
hunger for truth which classes him      
forever among the sacred few4  ,during  
his work out of doors on surveying trips
 he had studied the strata2 gotten on   
good terms with birds1 bugs and bees2 he
 knew the flowers and weeds1 and loved  
all the animate things of ,nature1 so   
that he recognized their kinship to     
himself1 and he hesitated to kill or    
destroy4  ,education is a matter of     
desire1 and a man like ,tyndall is      
getting an education wherever he is4    
,all is grist that comes to his mill4   
,robert ,owen had but recently started  
,queenswood ,college in ,hampshire1 and 

nothing would do but ,tyndall should go 
there as a teacher of science4  ,is he a
 skilled and educated teacher8 some one 
asked ,owen4 ,better than that1 replied 
,owen2 he is a regular firebrand of     
enthusiasm4  ,and so ,tyndall resigned  
his position with the railroad and moved
 over to ,england1 taking up his home at
 ,harmony ,hall4  ,harmony ,hall was a  
beautiful brick building with the       
letters ,c4 ,m4 carved on the           
cornerstone in recognition of the       
,commencement of the ,millennium4 ,the  
pupils were mostly workers in the ,owen 
mills who had shown some special        
aptitude for education4 ,the pupils and 
teachers all worked at manual labor a   
certain number of hours daily4 ,there   
was a delightful feeling of comradeship 
about the institution4 ,tyndall was     
happy in his work4  ,he gave lectures on
 everything1 and taught the things that 
no one else could teach1 and of course  
he got more out of the lessons than any 
of the scholars4  ,but after a few      

months' experience with the ideal life1 
,tyndall had commonsense enough to see  
that ,harmony ,hall1 instead of being   
the spontaneous expression of the people
 who shared its blessings1 was really a 
charity maintained by one ,robert ,owen4
 ,it was a beneficent autocracy1 a      
sample of one-man power1 beautifully    
expressed4  ,robert ,owen planned it1   
built it1 directed it and made good any 
financial deficit4 ,instead of          
,socialism it was a kindly despotism4 ,a
 few of the scholars did their level    
best to help themselves and help the    
place1 but the rest didn't think and    
didn't care4 ,they were passengers who  
enjoyed the cushioned seats4 ,a few1    
while partaking of the privileges of the
 place1 denounced it4  ,you can not     
educate people who do not want to be    
educated1 said ,tyndall4 ,the value of  
an education lies in the struggle to get
 it4 ,do too much for people1 and they  
will do nothing for themselves4  ,many  
of the students at ,harmony ,hall had   

been sent there by ,owen1 because he1 in
 the greatness of his heart and the     
blindness of his zeal1 thought they     
needed education4 ,they may have needed 
it2 but they did not want it3 ease was  
their aim4  ,the indifference and       
ingratitude ,robert ,owen met with did  
not discourage him3 it only gave him an 
occasional pause4 ,he thought that the  
bad example of ,english society was too 
close to his experiments3 it vitiated   
the atmosphere4  ,so he came over to    
,america and founded the town of ,new   
,harmony1 ,indiana4 ,the fine solid     
buildings he erected in ,posey ,county1 
then a wilderness1 are still there4  ,as
 for the most romantic and interesting  
history of ,new ,harmony1 ,robert ,owen 
and his socialistic experiments1 ,i must
 refer the gentle reader to the         
,encyclopedia ,britannica1 a work ,i    
have found very useful in the course of 
making my original researches4  ,after a
 year at ,harmony ,hall1 ,tyndall saw   
that he would have to get out or else   

become a victim of arrested development1
 through too much acceptance of a strong
 man's bounty4 ,you can not afford to   
accept anything for nothing1 he said4   
,life at ,harmony ,hall to him was very 
much like life in a monastery1 to which 
stricken men flee when the old world    
seems too much for them4 ,when all the  
people live the ideal life1 ,i'll live  
it2 but until then ,i'm only one of the 
great many strugglers4 ,besides1 he felt
 that in missing university training he 
had dropped something out of his life4  
,now he would go to ,germany and see for
 himself what he had missed4  ,while    
railroading he had saved up nearly four 
hundred pounds4 ,this money he had      
offered at one time to invest in shares 
in the ,owen mills4 ,but ,robert ,owen  
said1 ,wait two years and then see how  
you feel6  ,robert ,owen was not a      
financial exploiter4 ,tyndall may have  
differed with him in a philosophic way2 
but they never ceased to honor and      
respect each other4  ,and so ,john      

,tyndall bade the ideal life good-by1   
and went out into the stress1 strife and
 struggle1 resolved to spend his two    
thousand dollars in bettering his       
education1 and then to start life anew4 
99       99       99       99       99  
,robert ,owen had been over to ,america 
and had met ,emerson1 and very naturally
 caught it4 ,when he returned home he   
gave young ,tyndall a copy of ,emerson's
 first book1 the ,essay on ,nature1     
published anonymously4  ,tyndall read   
and re-read the book1 and read it aloud 
to others and spoke of it as a message  
from the gods4  ,he also read every word
 that ,carlyle put in print4 ,it was    
,carlyle who introduced him to ,german  
philosophy and ,german literature1 and  
fired him with a desire to see for      
himself what ,germany was doing4        
,germany had still another mystic tie   
that drew him thitherward4 ,it was at   
,marburg1 ,germany1 that his illustrious
 namesake had published his translation 
of the ,bible4  ,at ,marburg there was a

 ,university1 small1 't was true1 but   
its simplicity and the cheapness of     
living there were recommendations4 ,so  
to ,marburg he went4 ,tyndall found     
lodgings in a little street called      
,heretics' ,row4 ,possibly there be     
people who think that ,tyndall's taking 
a room in such a street was chance1 too4
 ,chance is natural law not understood4 
,marburg is a very lovely little town   
that clings amid a forest of trees to   
the rocky hillside overlooking the      
,river ,lahn4 ,tyndall was very happy at
 ,marburg1 and at times very miserable4 
,the beauty of the place appealed to    
him4 ,he was a climber by nature1 and   
the hills were a continual temptation4  
,but the language was new2 and before   
this his work had all been of a         
practical kind4 ,college seems small and
 trivial after you have been in the     
actual world of affairs4 ,but ,tyndall  
did not give up4 ,he rose every morning 
at six1 took his cold bath1 dressed and 
ran up the hill half a mile and back4   

,he breakfasted with the family1 that he
 might talk ,german4 ,then he dived into
 differential calculus and philosophical
 abstrusities4 ,he was not sent to      
college3 he went4 ,and he made college  
give up all it had4 ,on the wall of his 
room1 as a sort of ornamental frieze in 
charcoal1 he wrote this from ,emerson3  
,high knowledge and great strength are  
within the reach of every man who       
unflinchingly enacts his best4  ,down in
 the town was a bronze bust of a man who
 wrote for it the following inscription3
 ,this is the face of a man who has     
struggled energetically4  ,one might    
almost imagine that ,hawthorne had      
received from ,tyndall the hint which   
evolved itself into that fine story1    
,the ,great ,stone ,face4  ,the bust    
just mentioned1 attracted ,john ,tyndall
 for another reason3 ,carlyle had       
written of the man it symboled3 ,reader1
 to thee1 thyself1 even now1 he has one 
counsel to give1 the secret of his whole
 poetic alchemy4 ,think of living6 ,thy 

life1 wert thou the pitifullest of all  
the sons of earth1 is no idle dream1 but
 a solemn reality4 ,it is thine own2 it 
is all thou hast with which to front    
eternity4 ,work1 then1 even as he has   
done--like a star1 unhasting and        
unresting4         99       99       99 
99       99  ,at ,marburg1 ,tyndall was 
on good terms with the great ,bunsen1   
and used to act as his assistant in     
making practical chemical experiments   
before his classes4  ,these amazing     
things done by chemists in public are   
seldom of much value beyond giving a    
thrill to visitors who would otherwise  
drowse2 it is like humor in an oration3 
it opens up the mental pores4           
,alexander ,humboldt once attended a    
,bunsen lecture at ,marburg and         
complimented ,tyndall by saying1 ,when  
,i take up sleight-of-hand work1        
consider yourself engaged as my first   
helper4 ,tyndall's way of standing with 
his back to the audience1 shutting off  
the view of ,bunsen's hands while he was

 getting ready to make an artificial    
peal of thunder1 made ,humboldt laugh   
heartily4  ,humboldt thought so well of 
the young man who spoke ,german with an 
,irish accent1 that he presented him    
with an inscribed copy of one of his    
books4 ,the volume was a most valuable  
one1 for ,humboldt published only in    
deluxe1 limited editions1 and ,tyndall  
was so overcome that all he could say   
was1 ,i'll do as much for you some day4 
,not long after this1 through loaning   
money to a fellow student1 ,tyndall     
found himself sadly in need of funds1   
and borrowed two pounds on the book from
 an ',ebrew ,jew4  ,that night1 he      
dreamed that ,humboldt found the volume 
in a secondhand store4 ,in the morning1 
,tyndall was waiting for the pawnbroker 
to open his shop to get the book back   
ere the offense was discovered4         
,heinrich ,heine once inscribed a volume
 of his poems to a friend1 and afterward
 discovered the volume on the counter of
 a secondhand dealer4 ,he thereupon     

haggled with the bookman1 bought the    
book and beneath his first inscription  
wrote1 ,with the renewed regards of ,h4 
,heine4 ,he then sent the volume for the
 second time to his friend4 ',t is      
possible that ,tyndall had heard of     
this4  ,in ,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty1   
when ,tyndall was thirty years of age1  
he visited ,london1 and of course went  
to the ,british ,institution4 ,there he 
met ,faraday for the first time and was 
welcomed by him4  ,the ,british         
,institution consists of a laboratory1 a
 museum and a lecture-hall1 and its     
object is scientific research4 ,it began
 in a very simple way in one room and   
now occupies several buildings4  ,it was
 founded by ,benjamin ,thompson1 an     
,american1 and so it was but proper that
 its sister concern1 the ,smithsonian   
,institution1 should have been founded  
by an ,englishman4  ,sir ,humphry ,davy 
on being asked1 ,what is your greatest  
discovery8 replied1 ,michael ,faraday4  
,but this was a mere pleasantry1 the    

truth being that it was ,michael        
,faraday who discovered ,sir ,humphry   
,davy4 ,faraday was a bookbinder's      
apprentice1 a fact that should interest 
all good ,roycrofters4  ,evenings1 when 
,sir ,humphry ,davy lectured at the     
,british ,institution1 the young        
bookbinder was there4 ,after the lecture
 he would go home and write out what he 
had heard1 with a few ideas of his own  
added4 ,for be it known1 taking notes at
 a lecture is a bad habit--good         
reporters carry no notebooks4  ,after a 
year ,faraday sent a bundle of his      
impressions and criticisms to ,sir      
,humphry ,davy anonymously4 ,great men  
seldom read manuscript that is sent to  
them unless it refers to themselves4 ,at
 the next lecture1 ,sir ,humphry began  
by reading from ,faraday's notes1 and   
begged that if the writer were present1 
he would make himself known at the close
 of the address4  ,from this was to     
ripen a love like that of father and    
son4 ,every man who builds up such a    

work as did ,sir ,humphry ,davy is      
appalled1 when he finds ,time furrowing 
his face and whitening his hair1 to     
think how few indeed there are who can  
step in and carry his work on after he  
is gone4  ,the love of ,davy for the    
young bookbinder was almost feverish3 he
 clutched at this bright1 impressionable
 and intent young man who entered so    
into the heart and soul of science2     
nothing would do but he must become his 
assistant4 ,give up all and follow me6  
,and ,faraday did4  ,something of the   
same feeling must have swept over       
,faraday after his work of twenty-five  
years as director of the ,british       
,institution1 when ,john ,tyndall       
appeared1 tall1 thin1 bronzed1 animated1
 quoting ,bunsen and ,humboldt with an  
,irish accent4  ,and so in time ,tyndall
 became assistant to ,faraday1 then     
lecturer in natural history2 and when   
,faraday died1 ,tyndall1 by popular     
acclaim1 was made ,fullerian ,lecturer  
and took ,faraday's place4 ,this was to 

be his life-work1 and it so placed him  
before the world that all he said or did
 had a wide significance and an extended
 influence4         99       99       99
       99       99  ,tyndall was always 
a most intrepid mountain-climber4 ,the  
,alps lured him like the song of the    
,lorelei1 and the wonder was that his   
body was not left in some mountain      
crevasse1 the most beautiful and poetic 
of all burials1 he once said4  ,but for 
him this was not to be1 for ,fate is    
fond of irony4 ,the only man who ever   
braved the full dangers of the ,grand   
,canyon of the ,colorado was killed by a
 suburban train in ,chicago while on his
 wedding-tour4 ,most bad men die in bed1
 tenderly cared for by trained nurses in
 white caps and big aprons4  ,tyndall   
climbed to the summit of the            
,matterhorn1 ascended the so-called     
inaccessible peak of the ,weisshorn1    
scaled ,mont ,blanc three times1 and    
once was caught in an avalanche1 riding 
toward death at the rate of a mile a    

minute4 ,yet he passed away from an     
overdose1 or a wrong dose1 of medicine  
given him through mistake1 by the hands 
of the woman he loved most4  ,at one    
time ,tyndall attempted to swim a       
mountain-torrent2 the stream1 as if     
angry at his ,irish assurance1 tossed   
him against the rocks1 brought him back 
in fierce eddies1 and again and again   
threw him against a solid face of stone4
 ,when he was rescued he was a mass of  
bruises1 but fortunately no bones were  
broken4 ,it was some days before he     
could get out1 and in his sorry plight1 
bandaged so his face was scarcely       
visible1 ,spencer found him4 ,herbert1  
do you believe in the actuality of      
matter8 was ,john's first question4     
,both ,tyndall and ,huxley made         
application to the ,university of       
,toronto for positions as teachers of   
science2 but ,toronto looked askance1 as
 all pioneer people do1 at men whose    
college careers have been mostly        
confined to giving college absent       

treatment4  ,herbert ,spencer avowed    
again and again that ,tyndall was the   
greatest teacher he ever knew or heard  
of1 inspiring the pupil to discover for 
himself1 to do1 to become1 rather than  
imparting prosy facts of doubtful pith  
and moment4 ,but ,herbert ,spencer1 not 
being eligible to join a university club
 himself1 was possibly not competent to 
judge4  ,anyway1 ,england was not so    
finical as ,canada1 and so she gained   
what ,canada lost4         99       99  
99       99       99  ,tyndall paid a   
visit to the ,united ,states in the year
 ,eighteen ,hundred ,seventy-two1 and   
lectured in most of the principal       
cities1 and at all the great colleges4  
,he was a most fascinating speaker1     
fluent1 direct1 easy1 and his whole     
discourse was well seasoned with humor4 
,whenever he spoke1 the auditorium was  
taxed to its utmost1 and his reception  
was very cordial1 even in colleges that 
were considered exceedingly orthodox4   
,possibly1 some good people who invited 

him to speak did not know it was loaded2
 and so his earnest words in praise of  
,darwin and the doctrine of evolution1  
occasionally came like unto a rumble of 
his own artificial thunder4 ,i speak    
what ,i think is truth2 but of course1  
when ,i express ungracious facts ,i try 
to do so in what will be regarded as not
 a nasty manner1 said ,tyndall1 thus    
using that pet ,english word in a rather
 pleasing way4  ,in his statement that  
the prayer of persistent effort is the  
only prayer that is ever answered1 he   
met with a direct challenge at ,oberlin4
 ,this gave rise to what1 at the time1  
created quite a dust in the theological 
road1 and evolved ,the ,tyndall ,prayer 
,test4  ,tyndall proposed that one      
hundred clergymen be delegated to pray  
for the patients in any certain ward of 
,bellevue ,hospital4 ,if1 after a year's
 trial1 there was a marked decrease in  
mortality in that ward1 as compared with
 previous records1 we might then        
conclude that prayer was efficacious1   

otherwise not4  ,one good clergyman in  
,pittsburgh offered publicly to debate  
,darwinism with ,tyndall1 but beyond a  
little scattered shrapnel of this sort1 
the lecture-tour was a great success4   
,it netted just thirteen thousand       
dollars1 the whole amount of which      
,tyndall generously donated as a fund to
 be used for the advancement of natural 
science in ,america4  ,in ,eighteen     
,hundred ,eighty-five1 this fund had    
increased to thirty-two thousand        
dollars1 and was divided into three     
equal parts and presented to ,columbia1 
,harvard and the ,university of         
,pennsylvania4 ,the fund was still      
further increased by others who followed
 ,professor ,tyndall's example1 and     
,columbia1 from her share of the        
,tyndall fund1 ,i am told now supports  
two foreign scholarships for the benefit
 of students who show a special aptitude
 in scientific research4 ,professor     
,james of ,harvard once said3 ,the      
impetus to popular scientific study     

caused by ,professor ,tyndall's lectures
 in the ,united ,states was most helpful
 and fortunate4 ,speaking but for       
myself1 ,i know ,i am a different man   
and a better man1 for having heard and  
known ,john ,tyndall4         99        
99       99       99       99  ,when    
,john ,tyndall died1 in the year        
,eighteen ,hundred ,ninety-three1       
,spencer wrote3  ,it never occurred to  
,tyndall to ask what it was politic to  
say1 but simply to ask what was true4   
,the like has of late years been shown  
in his utterances concerning political  
matters--shown1 it may be1 with too     
great frankness4 ,this extreme frankness
 was displayed also in private1 and     
sometimes1 perhaps1 too much displayed2 
but every one must have the defects of  
his qualities4 ,where absolute sincerity
 exists1 it is certain now and then to  
cause an expression of a feeling or     
opinion not adequately restrained4  ,but
 the contrast in genuineness between him
 and the average citizen was very       

conspicuous4 ,in a community of         
,tyndalls 7to make a rather wild        
supposition71 there would be none of    
that flabbiness characterizing current  
thought and action--no throwing         
overboard of principles elaborated by   
painful experience in the past1 and     
adoption of a hand-to-mouth policy      
unguided by any principle4 ,he was not  
the kind of man who would have voted for
 a bill or a clause which he secretly   
believed would be injurious1 out of what
 is euphemistically called 'party       
loyalty1' or would have endeavored to   
bribe each section of the electorate by 
'ad captandum' measures1 or would have  
hesitated to protect life and property  
for fear of losing votes4 ,what he saw  
right to do he would have done1         
regardless of proximate consequences4   
,the ordinary tests of generosity are   
very defective4 ,as rightly measured1   
generosity is great in proportion to the
 amount of self-denial entailed2 and    
where ample means are possessed1 large  

gifts often entail no self-denial4 ,far 
more self-denial may be involved in the 
performance1 on another's behalf1 of    
some act that requires time and labor4  
,in addition to generosity under its    
ordinary form1 which ,professor ,tyndall
 displayed in unusual degree1 he        
displayed it under a less common form4  
,he was ready to take much trouble to   
help friends4 ,i have had personal      
experience of this4 ,though he had      
always in hand some investigation of    
great interest to him1 and though1 as ,i
 have heard him say1 when he bent his   
mind to the subject he could not with   
any facility break off and resume it    
again1 yet1 when ,i have sought         
scientific aid1 information or critical 
opinion1 ,i never found the slightest   
reluctance to give me his undivided     
attention4 ,much more markedly1 however1
 was this kind of generosity shown in   
another direction4 ,many men1 while they
 are eager for appreciation1 manifest   
little or no appreciation of others1 and

 still less go out of their way to      
express it4  ,with ,tyndall it was not  
thus2 he was eager to recognize         
achievement4 ,notably in the case of    
,michael ,faraday1 and less notably1    
though still conspicuously in many      
cases1 he has bestowed much labor and   
sacrificed many weeks in setting forth  
the merits of others4 ,it was evidently 
a pleasure to him to dilate on the      
claims of fellow workers4  ,but there   
was a derivative form of this generosity
 calling for still greater eulogy4 ,he  
was not content with expressing         
appreciation of those whose merits were 
recognized1 but he used energy          
unsparingly in drawing the attention of 
the public to those whose merits were   
unrecognized2 time after time in        
championing the cause of such1 he was   
regardless of the antagonism he aroused 
and the evil he brought upon himself4   
,this chivalrous defense of the         
neglected and ill-used has been1 ,i     
think by few1 if any1 so often repeated4

 ,i have myself more than once benefited
 by his determination1 quite            
spontaneously shown1 that justice should
 be done in the apportionment of credit2
 and ,i have with admiration watched    
like actions of his in other cases3     
cases in which no consideration of      
nationality or of creed interfered in   
the least with his insistence on        
equitable distribution of honors4  ,in  
this undertaking to fight for those who 
were unfairly dealt with1 he displayed  
in another direction that very          
conspicuous trait which1 as displayed in
 his ,alpine feats1 has made him to many
 persons chiefly known3 ,i mean courage1
 passing very often into daring4 ,and   
here let me1 in closing this little     
sketch1 indicate certain mischiefs which
 this trait brought upon him4 ,courage  
grows by success4 ,the demonstrated     
ability to deal with dangers produces   
readiness to meet more dangers1 and is  
self-justifying where the muscular power
 and the nerve habitually prove         

adequate4 ,but the resulting habit of   
mind is apt to influence conduct in     
other spheres1 where muscular power and 
nerve are of no avail--is apt to cause  
the daring of dangers which are not to  
be met by strength of limb or by skill4 
,nature as externally presented by      
precipice ice-slopes and crevasses may  
be dared by one who is adequately       
endowed2 but ,nature1 as internally     
represented in the form of physical     
constitution1 may not be thus dared with
 impunity4 ,prompted by high motives1   
,john ,tyndall tended too much to       
disregard the protests of his body4     
,over-application in ,germany caused    
absolute sleeplessness1 at one time1 ,i 
think he told me1 for more than a week2 
and this1 with kindred transgressions1  
brought on that insomnia by which his   
after-life was troubled1 and by which   
his power for work was diminished2 for1 
as ,i have heard him say1 a sound       
night's sleep was followed by a marked  
exaltation of faculty4  ,and then1 in   

later life1 came the daring which1 by   
its results1 brought his active career  
to a close4 ,he conscientiously desired 
to fulfil an engagement to lecture at   
the ,british ,institution1 and was not  
deterred by fear of consequences4  ,he  
gave the lecture1 notwithstanding the   
protest which for days before his system
 had been making4 ,the result was a     
serious illness1 threatening1 as he     
thought at one time1 a fatal result2 and
 notwithstanding a year's furlough for  
the recovery of health1 he was          
eventually obliged to resign his        
position4 ,but for this defiance of     
,nature1 there might have been many more
 years of scientific exploration1       
pleasurable to himself and beneficial to
 others2 and he might have escaped that 
invalid life which for a long time he   
had to bear4 ,in his case1 however1 the 
penalties of invalid life had great     
mitigations--mitigations such as fall to
 the lot of few4  ,it is conceivable    
that the physical discomforts and mental

 weariness which ill-health brings may  
be almost1 if not quite1 compensated by 
the pleasurable emotions caused by      
unflagging attentions and sympathetic   
companionship4 ,if this ever happens1 it
 happened in his case4 ,all who have    
known the household during these years  
of nursing are aware of the unmeasured  
kindness he has received without        
ceasing4 ,i happen to have had special  
evidence of this devotion on the one    
side and gratitude on the other1 which  
,i do not think ,i am called upon to    
keep to myself1 but rather to do the    
contrary4 ,in a letter ,i received from 
him some half-dozen years ago1          
referring1 among other things1 to ,mrs4 
,tyndall's self-sacrificing care of him1
 occurred this sentence3 ',she has      
raised my ideal of the possibilities of 
human nature4'     ,illustration3       
,,alfred ,,russel ,,wallace  ,,alfred   
,r4 ,,wallace        ,amok is an        
innovation which ,i do not recommend4   
,it consists in      letting go when    

things get too bad1 and doing damage    
with tongue1      hands and feet4 ,it is
 the tantrum carried to its logical     
conclusion4 ,i saw one instance where a 
henpecked husband ran amok      and     
killed or wounded seventeen people      
before he himself was      killed4 ,it  
is the national and therefore the       
honorable mode of      committing       
suicide among the natives of ,celebes1  
and is the      fashionable way of      
escaping from their difficulties4 ,a man
 can not      pay1 he is taken for a    
slave1 or has gambled away his wife or  
child      into slavery1 he sees no way 
of recovering what he has lost1 and     
becomes desperate4 ,he will not put up  
with such cruel wrongs1 but      will be
 revenged on mankind and die like a     
hero4 ,he grasps his      knife1 and the
 next moment draws out the weapon and   
stabs a man to      the heart4 ,he runs 
on with bloody kris in his hand1        
stabbing every      one he meets4 ,amok6
 ,amok6 then resounds through the       

streets4      ,spears1 krises1 knives1  
guns and clubs are brought out against  
him4      ,he rushes madly forward1     
kills all he can--men1 women and        
children--and dies1 overwhelmed by      
numbers1 amid all the excitement      of
 a battle4       --,alfred ,russel      
,wallace1 in ,the ,malay ,archipelago   
,,alfred ,r4 ,,wallace  ,the question of
 how this world and all the things in it
 were made1 has1 so far as we know1     
always been asked4 ,and volunteers have 
at no time been slow about coming       
forward and answering4 ,for this service
 the volunteer has usually asked for    
honors and also exemption from toil more
 or less unpleasant4  ,he has also      
demanded the joy of riding in a coach1  
being carried in a palanquin1 and       
sitting on a throne clothed in purple   
vestments1 trimmed with gold lace or    
costly furs4 ,very often the volunteer  
has also insisted on living in a house  
larger than he needed1 having more food 
than his system required1 and drinking  

decoctions that are costly1 spicy and   
peculiar4  ,all of which luxury has been
 paid for by the people1 who are told   
that which they wish to hear4  ,the     
success of the volunteer lies in keeping
 one large ear close to the turf4       
,religious teachers have ever given to  
their people a cosmogony that was       
adapted to their understanding4  ,who   
made it8 ,god made it all4 ,in how long 
a time8 ,six days4 ,and then followed   
explanations of what ,god did each day4 
,over against the volunteers with a     
taste for power and a fine corkscrew    
discrimination1 there have been at rare 
intervals men with a desire to know for 
the sake of knowing4 ,they were not     
content to accept any man's explanation4
 ,the only thing that was satisfying to 
them was the consciousness that they    
were inwardly right4 ,loyalty to the    
,god within was the guiding impulse of  
their lives4  ,in the past1 such men    
have been regarded as eccentric1        
unreliable and dangerous1 and the       

volunteers have ever warned their       
congregations against them4  ,indeed1   
until a very few years ago they were not
 allowed to express themselves openly4  
,laws have been passed to suppress them1
 and dire penalties have been devised   
for their benefit4 ,laws against        
sacrilege1 heresy and blasphemy still   
ornament our statute-books2 but these   
invented crimes that were once          
punishable by death are now obsolete1 or
 exist in rudimentary forms only1 and   
manifest themselves in a refusal to     
invite the guilty party to our          
,four-o',clock4 ,this hot intent to     
support and uphold the volunteers in    
their explanations of how the world was 
made1 is a universal manifestation of   
the barbaric state1 and is based upon   
the assumption that ,god is an infinite 
,george the ,fourth4  ,six hundred years
 before ,christ1 ,anaximander1 the      
,greek1 taught that animal life was     
engendered from the earth through the   
influence of moisture and heat1 and that

 life thus generated gradually evolved  
into higher and different forms3 all    
animals once lived in the water1 but    
some of them becoming stranded on land  
put forth organs of locomotion and      
defense1 through their supreme resolve  
to live4 ,anaximander also taught that  
man was only a highly developed animal1 
and his source of life was the same as  
that of all other animals2 man's present
 high degree of development having      
gradually come about through growth from
 very lowly forms4  ,anaxagoras1 the    
schoolmaster of ,pericles1 also made    
similar statements1 and then we find him
 boldly putting forth the very startling
 idea that between the highest type of  
,greek and the lowest type of savage    
there was a greater difference than     
between the savage and the ape4 ,he also
 taught that the earth was the universal
 mother of all living things1 animal and
 vegetable1 and that the fecundation of 
the earth took place from minute1 unseen
 germs that floated in the air4         

,according to modern science1           
,anaxagoras was very close upon the     
trail of truth4 ,but there were only a  
very few who could follow him1 and it   
took the combined eloquence and tact of 
,pericles to keep his splendid head in  
the place where ,nature put it1 and     
,pericles himself was compromised by his
 leaning toward ,darwinism4  ,every man 
who speaks1 expresses himself for       
others4 ,we succeed only as our thought 
is echoed back to us by others who think
 the same4 ,if you like what ,i say it  
is only because it is already yours4    
,moreover1 thought is a collaboration1  
and is born of parents4 ,if a teacher   
does not get a sympathetic hearing1 one 
of two things happens3 he loses the     
thread of his thought and grows         
apathetic1 or he arouses an opposition  
that snuffs out his life4  ,and the dead
 they soon grow cold4  ,the recipe for  
popularity is to hunt out a weakness of 
humanity and then bank on it4 ,no one   
knows this better than your theological 

volunteer4 ,aristotle1 the father of    
natural history1 who early in life had a
 ,pegasus killed under him1 taught that 
the diversity in animal life was caused 
by a diversity of conditions and        
environment1 and he declared he could   
change the nature of animals by changing
 their surroundings4 ,this being true he
 argued that all animals were once      
different from what they are now1 and   
that if we could live long enough1 we   
would see that species are exceedingly  
variable4  ,to explain to child-minds   
that a ,supreme ,being made things      
outright just as they are1 is easy2 but 
to study and in degree know how things  
evolved1 requires infinite patience and 
great labor4 ,it also means small       
sympathy from the indifferent whom the  
earth has spawned in swarms1 and the    
hatred of the volunteers who ride in    
coaches1 and tell the many what they    
wish to hear4  ,the volunteers drove    
,aristotle into exile1 and from his time
 they had their way for two thousand    

years1 when ,john ,ray1 ,linnus and     
,buffon appeared4  ,in ,seventeen       
,hundred ,fifty-five1 ,immanuel ,kant1  
the little man who stayed near home and 
watched the stars tumble into his net1  
put forth his theory that every animal  
organism in the world was developed from
 a common original germ4  ,in ,seventeen
 ,hundred ,ninety-four1 ,erasmus        
,darwin1 the grandfather of ,charles    
,darwin1 inspired by ,kant and ,goethe1 
put forth his book1 ,zoonomia1 wherein  
he maintained the gradual growth and    
evolution of all organisms from minute1 
unseen germs4 ,these views were put     
forth more as a poetic hypothesis than  
as a well-grounded scientific fact1 so  
little attention was paid to ,erasmus   
,darwin's books4 ,the fanciful accounts 
of ,creation put forth by ,moses three  
thousand years before were firmly       
maintained by the entrenched volunteers 
and their millions of devotees and      
followers4  ,but ,kant1 ,goethe1 ,karl  
von ,baer and ,august de                

,sainte-,hilaire were now planting their
 outposts throughout the civilized      
world1 honeycombing ,christendom with   
doubt4  ,in the year ,eighteen ,hundred 
,fifty-two1 ,herbert ,spencer had argued
 in public and in pamphlets that species
 have undergone changes and             
modifications through change of         
surroundings1 and that the account of   
,noah and his ark1 with pairs of        
everything that flew1 crept or ran1 was 
fanciful and absurd1 so far as we cared 
to distinguish fact from fiction4       
,early in the year ,eighteen ,hundred   
,fifty-eight1 ,charles ,darwin received 
from his friend1 ,alfred ,russel        
,wallace1 a paper entitled1 ,on the     
,tendency of ,varieties to ,depart      
,indefinitely ,from the ,original ,type4
 ,at this time ,darwin had in the hands 
of the secretary of the ,linnus ,society
 a paper entitled1 ,on the ,tendency of 
,species to ,form ,varieties1 or the    
,perpetuation of ,species and ,varieties
 by ,means of ,natural ,selection4  ,the

 similarity in title1 as well as the    
similarity in treatment of the ,wallace 
theme1 startled ,darwin4 ,he had been   
working on the idea for twenty years1   
and had an immense mass of data bearing 
on the subject1 which he some day       
intended to issue in book form4  ,his   
paper for the ,linnus ,society simply   
summed up his convictions4 ,and now here
 was a man with whom he had never       
discussed this particular subject1      
writing an almost identical paper and   
sending it to him--of all men6  ,well   
did he pinch his leg1 and call in his   
wife1 asking her if he were alive or    
dead4 ,straightway he went to see ,sir  
,charles ,lyell and ,sir ,joseph        
,hooker1 both more eminent than he in   
the scientific world1 and laid the      
matter before them4 ,after a long       
conference it was decided that both     
papers should be read the same evening  
before the ,linnus ,society1 and this   
was done on the evening of ,july ,first1
 ,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty-eight4       

,darwin then decided to publish his     
,origin of ,species1 which in his       
preface he modestly calls an ,abstract4 
,the publication was hastened by the    
fact that ,wallace was compiling a      
similar work4 ,after giving ,wallace    
full credit in his most interesting     
,introduction1 and reviewing all that   
others had said in coming to similar    
conclusions1 ,darwin fired his shot     
heard round the world4 ,and no man was  
more delighted and pleased with the     
echoing reverberations than ,alfred     
,russel ,wallace1 as he read the book in
 far-off ,australia4  ,the honor of     
discovering the ,law of ,evolution1 and 
lifting it out of the hazy realms of    
hypothesis and poetry into the sunlight 
of science1 will ever be shared between 
,charles ,robert ,darwin and ,alfred    
,russel ,wallace1 who were indeed       
brothers in spirit and lovers to the end
 of their days4         99       99     
99       99       99  ,in an            
insignificant village of ,england1 now  

famous alone because he began from there
 his explorations of the world1 ,alfred 
,russel ,wallace was born1 in the year  
,eighteen ,hundred ,twenty-two4 ,he was 
one of a large family of the middle     
class1 where work is as natural as life1
 and the indispensable virtues are      
followed as a means of                  
self-preservation4 ,it is most          
unfortunate to attain such a degree of  
success that you think you can waive the
 decalogue and give ,nemesis the slip4  
,about the year ,eighteen ,hundred      
,forty1 the railroad renaissance was on 
in ,england1 and young ,wallace1 alive1 
alert1 active1 did his turn as          
apprentice to a surveyor4  ,chance is a 
better schoolmaster than design4 ,all   
boys have a taste for tent life1 and    
healthy youngsters not quite grown1 with
 ostrich digestions1 passing through the
 nomadic stage1 revel in hardships and  
count it a joy to sleep on the ground   
where they can look up at the stars1 and
 eat out of a skillet4  ,a little later 

we find ,alfred working for his elder   
brother in an architect's office1 gazing
 abstractedly out of the window betimes1
 and wishing he were a ground-squirrel1 
fancy free on the heath and amid the    
heather1 digging holes1 thus avoiding   
introspection4 ,houses are prisons1 he  
said1 and sang softly to himself the    
song of the open road4  ,i think ,i know
 exactly how ,alfred ,russel ,wallace   
then felt1 from the touchstone of my own
 experience2 and ,i think ,i know how he
 looked1 too1 all confirmed by an ,east 
,aurora incident4  ,some years ago1 one 
fine day in ,may1 ,i was helping        
excavate for the foundation of a new    
barn4 ,all at once ,i felt that some one
 was standing behind me looking at me4  
,i turned around and there was a tall1  
lithe1 slender youth in a faded college 
cap1 blue flannel shirt1 ragged trousers
 and top-boots4 ,my first impression of 
him was that he was a fellow who slept  
in his clothes1 a plain ,weary1 but when
 he spoke there was a note of           

self-reliance in his low1 well-modulated
 voice that told me he was no mendicant4
 ,voice is the true index of character4 
,my name is ,wallace1 and ,i have a note
 to you from my father1 and he began    
diving into pockets1 and finally        
produced a ragged letter that was nearly
 worn out through long contact with a   
perspiring human form divine--or        
partially so4 ,i seldom make haste about
 reading letters of introduction1 and so
 ,i greeted the young man with a word of
 welcome1 and gave him a chance to say  
something for himself4  ,he was         
,english1 that was very sure--and       
,oxford ,english at that4 ,you see1 he  
began1 ,i am working just now over on   
the ,hamburg and ,buffalo ,electric     
,line1 stringing wires4 ,i get three    
dollars a day because ,i'm a fairly good
 climber4 ,i wanted to learn the        
business1 so ,i just hired out as a     
laborer1 and they gave me the hardest   
job1 thinking to scare me out1 but that 
was what ,i wanted1 and he smiled       

modestly and showed a set of incisors as
 fine and strong as a dog's teeth4 ,i   
want to remain with you for a week and  
pay for my board in work1 he cautiously 
continued4  ,but about your father1 ,mr4
 ,wallace--do ,i know him8  ,i think so2
 he has written you several             
letters--,alfred ,russel ,wallace6  ,you
 could have knocked me down with a      
lady's-slipper4 ,i opened the letter and
 unmistakably it was from the great     
scientist1 introducing my baby boy4  ,i 
never met ,alfred ,russel ,wallace1 but 
,i know if ,i should1 ,i would find him 
very gentle1 kindly and simple in all   
his ways--as really great men ever are4 
,he would not talk to me in ,latin nor  
throw off technical phrases about great 
nothings1 and ,i would feel just as much
 at home with him as ,i did with ,ol'   
,john ,burroughs the last time ,i saw   
him1 leaning up against a country       
railroad-station in shirt-sleeves1      
chewing a straw1 exchanging salutes with
 the engineer on a ,west ,shore         

jerkwater4 ,s' long1 ,john6 called the  
going one as he leaned out of the       
cab-window4 ,s' long1 ,bill1 and good   
luck to you1 was the cheery answer4     
,but still1 all of us have moments when 
we think of the world's most famous ones
 as being surely eight feet tall1 and   
having voices like fog-horns4  ,i can do
 most any kind of hard work1 you        
know--,i was aroused from my little     
mental excursion1 and noticed that my   
visitor had hair of a light yellow like 
a ,swede from ,hennepin ,county1        
,minnesota1 and that his hair was three 
shades lighter than his bronzed face4 ,i
 can do any kind of work1 you know1 and 
if you will just loan me that pick--and 
,i handed him the pickax4  ,young       
,wallace remained with us for a week1   
asking for nothing1 doing everything1   
even to helping the girls wash dishes4  
,that he was the son of a great man1 no 
one would have ever learned from his own
 lips4 ,in fact1 ,i am not sure that he 
was impressed with his father's         

excellence1 but ,i saw there was a      
tender bond between them1 for he haunted
 the post-office1 morning1 noon and     
night1 looking for a letter from his    
father4 ,when it came he was as happy as
 a woodchuck4 ,he showed me the letter3 
it was nine finely written pages4  ,but 
to my disappointment not a word about   
marsupials1 siamangs or ,syndactyl3 just
 news about ,john1 ,william1 ,mary and  
,benjamin2 with references to chickens  
and cows1 and a new greenhouse1 with a  
little good advice about keeping right  
hours and not overeating4  ,the young   
man had spent three years at ,oxford1   
and was an electrical engineer4 ,he was 
intent on finding out just as much about
 the secrets of ,american railroad      
construction as he possibly could4 ,as  
for intellect1 ,i did not discover any  
vast amount2 perhaps1 for that matter1  
he didn't either4 ,but we all greatly   
enjoyed his visit1 and when he went away
 ,i presented him with a clean1         
secondhand flannel shirt and my         

blessing4         99       99       99  
99       99  ,from the appearance of the
 young man ,i imagine that ,alfred      
,russel ,wallace at twenty-one was very 
much such a man as his son1 who did such
 good work at the ,roycroft with pick   
and shovel4 ,alfred was earnest1 intent1
 strong1 and had a deal of quiet courage
 that he was as unconscious of as he was
 of his digestion4  ,he taught school1  
and to interest his scholars he would   
take them on botanical excursions4 ,then
 he himself grew interested1 and began  
to collect plants1 bugs1 beetles and    
birds on his own account4  ,by ,eighteen
 ,hundred ,forty-eight1 the confining   
walls of the school had become          
intolerable to ,wallace1 and he started 
away on a wild-goose chase to ,brazil1  
with a chum by the name of ,henry       
,walter ,bates1 an ardent entomologist4 
,alfred had no money either1 but ,bates 
had influence1 and he cashed it in by   
arranging with the ,curator of the      
,british ,museum1 that any              

natural-history specimens of value which
 they might gather and send to him would
 be paid for4 ,and so something like a  
hundred pounds was collected from       
several scientific men1 and handed over 
as advance payment for the wonderful    
things that the young men were to send  
back4  ,they embarked on a              
sailing-vessel that was captained by a  
kind kinsman of ,bates1 so the fare was 
nil1 in consideration of services       
rendered constructively4  ,arriving in  
,brazil the young men began their       
collecting of specimens4 ,they got      
together a very creditable collection of
 birds' eggs and sent them back by the  
captain of the ship they came out on1   
this as an earnest of what was to come4 
,bates and ,wallace were together for a 
year4 ,bates insisted on remaining near 
the white settlements2 but ,wallace     
wanted to go where white men had never  
been4 ,so alone he went into the        
forests1 and for two years lived with   
the natives and dared the dangers of    

jungle-fever1 snakes1 crocodiles and    
savages4 ,for a space of ten months he  
did not see a single white person4  ,he 
collected nearly ten thousand specimens 
of birds1 which he skinned and carefully
 prepared so they could be mounted when 
he returned to ,england2 there was also 
a nearly complete ,brazilian herbarium1 
and a finer collection of birds' eggs   
than any museum of ,england could boast4
  ,this collection represented over     
three years' continuous toil4 ,all the  
curious things were packed with great   
care and placed on board ship4  ,and so 
the young naturalist sailed away for    
,england1 proud and happy1 with his     
great collection of entomological1      
botanical and ornithological specimens4 
,but on the way the ship took fire1 and 
the collection was either burned or     
ruined by soaking salt water4  ,that the
 crew and their sole passenger escaped  
alive was a wonder4 ,wallace on reaching
 ,england was in a sorry plight1 being  
destitute of clothes and funds4  ,and   

there were unkind ones who did not      
hesitate to hint that he had only been  
over to ,ireland working in a peat-bog1 
and that his knowledge of ,brazil was   
gotten out of ,humboldt's books4  ,in   
one way1 ,wallace surely paralleled     
,humboldt3 both lost a most valuable    
collection of natural-history specimens 
by shipwreck4  ,several of the good men 
who had advanced money now asked that it
 be paid4 ,wallace set to work writing  
out his recollections1 the only asset   
that he possessed4  ,his book1 ,travel  
on the ,amazon and ,rio ,negro1 had     
enough romance in it so that it floated4
 ,royalties paid over in crisp ,bank of 
,england notes made things look         
brighter4 ,another book was issued1     
called1 ,palm-,trees and ,their ,uses1  
and proved that the author was able to  
view a subject from every side1 and say 
all that was to be said about it4       
,wallace on the ,palm is still a        
textbook4  ,the debts were paid1 and    
,alfred ,russel ,wallace at thirty was  

square with the world1 the possessor of 
much valuable experience4 ,he also had  
five hundred pounds in cash1 with a     
reputation as a writer and traveler that
 no longer caused bookworms to sneeze4  
,having paid off his obligations1 he    
felt free again to leave ,england1 a    
thing he had vowed he would not do1 so  
long as his reputation was under a      
cloud4 ,this time he selected for a     
natural-history survey a section of the 
world really less known than ,south     
,america4         99       99       99  
99       99  ,early in the year         
,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty-four1 ,alfred 
,russel ,wallace reached ,asia4 ,he had 
decided that he would make the first and
 the best collection of the flora and   
fauna of the ,malay ,archipelago that it
 was possible to make4  ,white men had  
skirted the coast of many of the        
islands1 but information as to what     
there was inland was mostly conjecture  
and guesswork4  ,just how long it would 
take ,wallace to make his ,malaysian    

natural-history survey he did not know1 
but in a letter to ,darwin he stated    
that he expected to be absent from      
,england at least two years4 ,he was    
gone eight years1 and during this time1 
walked1 paddled or rode horseback       
fifteen thousand miles1 and visited many
 islands never before trod by the foot  
of a white man4  ,the city of ,singapore
 served him as a base or headquarters1  
because from there he could catch       
trading-ships that plied among the      
islands of the ,archipelago2 and to     
,singapore he could also ship and there 
store his specimens4 ,from ,singapore he
 made sixty separate voyages of         
discovery4 ,in all he sent home over one
 hundred twenty-five thousand           
natural-history specimens1 including    
about ten thousand birds1 which1 later  
on1 were all stuffed and mounted under  
his skilful direction4  ,on returning to
 ,england1 ,wallace took six years in   
preparation of his book1 ,the ,malay    
,archipelago1 a most stupendous literary

 undertaking1 which covers the subjects 
of botany1 geology1 ornithology1        
entomology1 zoology and anthropology1 in
 a way that serves as a regular mine of 
information and suggestion for          
natural-history workers4  ,the book in  
its original form1 ,i believe1 sold for 
ten pounds 7fifty dollars71 and was     
issued to subscribers in parts4 ,it was 
bought1 not only by students1 but by a  
great number of general readers1 there  
being enough adventure mixed up in the  
science to spice what otherwise might be
 rather dry reading4 ,for instance1     
there is a chapter about killing        
orang-utans that must have served my old
 friend1 ,paul du ,chaillu1 as excellent
 raw stock in compiling his own         
recollections4  ,wallace states that the
 only foe for which the orang really has
 a hatred is the crocodile4 ,it seems to
 share with man a shuddering fear of    
snakes1 although orangs have no part in 
making ,kentucky famous4 ,but the       
crocodile is his natural and hereditary 

enemy4 ,and as if to get even with this 
ancient foe1 who occasionally snaps off 
a young orang in his prime1 the orangs  
will often locate a big crocodile1 and  
jumping on his back beat him with clubs2
 and when he opens his gigantic mouth1  
the female orangs will fill the cavity  
with sticks and stones1 and keep up the 
fight until the crocodile succumbs and  
quits this vale of crocodile tears4     
,the orang is distinct and different    
from the chimpanzee and gorilla1 which  
are found only in ,western ,africa4  ,in
 ,borneo1 the man-ape is quite numerous4
 ,this is the animal that has given rise
 to all those tales about the wild man  
of ,borneo1 which that good man1 ,p4 ,t4
 ,barnum1 kept alive by exhibiting a    
fine specimen4 ,barnum's original wild  
man lived at ,waltham1 ,massachusetts1  
and belonged to the ,baptist ,church4   
,he recently died worth a hundred       
thousand dollars1 which money he left to
 found a school for young ladies4  ,the 
orang1 or mias1 hides in the swampy     

jungles1 and very rarely comes to the   
ground4 ,the natives regard them as a   
sort of sacred object1 and have a great 
horror of killing them4 ,indeed1 a      
person who kills a man-ape1 they regard 
as a murderer2 and so when ,wallace     
announced to his attendants that he     
wanted to secure several specimens of   
these wild men of the woods1 they cried1
 ,alas6 he is making a collection3 it   
will be our turn next6 ,and they fled in
 terror4  ,wallace then hired another   
set of servants and resolved to make no 
confidants1 but just go ahead and find  
his game4  ,he had hunted for weeks     
through forest and jungle1 but never a  
glimpse or sight of the man-ape6 ,he had
 almost given up the search1 and        
concluded with several ,english         
scientists that this orang-utan was a   
part of that great fabric of            
pseudo-science invented by imaginative  
sailormen1 who took most of their inland
 little journeys around the capstan4    
,and so musing1 seated in the doorway of

 his bamboo house1 he looked out upon   
the forest1 and there only a few yards  
away1 swinging from tree to tree1 was a 
man-ape4 ,it seemed to him to be about  
five times as large as a man4  ,he      
seized his gun and approached2 the beast
 stopped1 glared1 and railed at him in a
 voice of wrath4 ,it broke off branches 
and threw sticks at him4  ,wallace      
thought of the offer made him by the    
,south ,kensington ,museum3 ,one hundred
 pounds in gold for an adult male1 skin 
and skeleton to be properly preserved   
and mounted2 seventy-five pounds for a  
female4  ,the huge animal showed its    
teeth1 cast one glance of scornful      
contempt on the puny explorer1 and      
started on1 swinging thirty feet at a   
stretch and catching hold of the limbs  
with its two pairs of hands4  ,wallace  
grasped his gun and followed1 lured by  
the demoniac shape4 ,a little of the    
superstition of the natives had gotten  
into his veins3 he dare not kill the    
thing unless it came toward him1 and he 

had to shoot it in self-defense4  ,it   
traveled in the trees about as fast as  
he could on the ground4 ,occasionally it
 would stop and chatter at him1 throwing
 sticks in a most human way1 as if to   
order him back4  ,finally1 the instincts
 of the naturalist got the better of the
 man1 and he shot the animal4 ,it came  
tumbling to the ground with a terrific  
crash1 grasping at the vines and leaves 
as it fell4  ,it was quite dead1 but    
,wallace approached it with great       
caution4 ,it proved to be a female1 of  
moderate size1 in height about three and
 a half feet1 six feet across from      
finger to finger4 ,needless to say that 
,wallace had to do the skinning and the 
mounting of the skeleton alone4 ,his    
servants had chills of fear if asked to 
approach it4 ,the skeleton of this      
particular orang can now be seen in the 
,derby ,museum4  ,in a few hours after  
killing his first orang1 ,wallace heard 
a peculiar crying in the forest1 and on 
search found a young one1 evidently the 

baby of the one he had killed4 ,the baby
 did not show any fear at all1 evidently
 thinking it was with one of its kind1  
for it clung to him piteously1 with an  
almost human tenderness4  ,says         
,wallace3  ,when handled or nursed it   
was very quiet and contented1 but when  
laid down by itself would invariably    
cry2 and for the first few nights was   
very restless and noisy4 ,i soon found  
it necessary to wash the little mias as 
well4 ,after ,i had done so a few times 
it came to like the operation1 and after
 rolling in the mud would begin crying1 
and continue until ,i took it out and   
carried it to the spout1 when it        
immediately became quiet1 although it   
would wince a little at the first rush  
of the cold water1 and make ridiculously
 wry faces while the stream was running 
over its head4 ,it enjoyed the wiping   
and rubbing dry amazingly1 and when ,i  
brushed its hair seemed to be perfectly 
happy1 lying quite still with its arms  
and legs stretched out4 ,it was a       

never-failing amusement to observe the  
curious changes of countenance by which 
it would express its approval or dislike
 of what was given to it4 ,the poor     
little thing would lick its lips1 draw  
in its cheeks1 and turn up its eyes with
 an expression of the most supreme      
satisfaction1 when it had a mouthful    
particularly to its taste4 ,on the other
 hand1 when its food was not            
sufficiently sweet or palatable1 it     
would turn the mouthful about with its  
tongue for a moment1 as if trying to    
extract what flavor there was1 and then 
push it all out between its lips4 ,if   
the same food was continued1 it would   
proceed to scream and kick about        
violently1 exactly like a baby in a     
passion4  ,when ,i had had it about a   
month it began to exhibit some signs of 
learning to run alone4 ,when laid upon  
the floor it would push itself along by 
its legs1 or roll itself over1 and thus 
make an unwieldy progression4 ,when     
lying in the box it would lift itself up

 to the edge in an almost erect         
position1 and once or twice succeeded in
 tumbling out4 ,when left dirty or      
hungry1 or otherwise neglected1 it would
 scream violently till attended to1     
varied by a kind of coughing noise1 very
 similar to that which is made by the   
adult animal4  ,if no one was in the    
house1 or its cries were not attended   
to1 it would be quiet after a little    
while2 but the moment it heard a        
footstep would begin again1 harder than 
ever4 ,it was very human4         99    
99       99       99       99  ,the most
 lasting result of the wanderings of    
,alfred ,russel ,wallace consists in his
 having established what is known to us 
as ,the ,wallace ,line4 ,this line is a 
boundary that divides in a geographical 
way that portion of ,malaysia which     
belongs to the continent of ,asia from  
that which belongs to the continent of  
,australia4  ,the ,wallace ,line covers 
a distance of more than four thousand   
miles1 and in this expanse there are    

three islands in which ,great ,britain  
could be set down without anywhere      
touching the sea4  ,even yet the        
knowledge of the average ,american or   
,european is very hazy about the size   
and extent of the ,malay ,archipelago1  
although through our misunderstanding   
with ,spain1 which loaded us up with    
possessions we have no use for1 we have 
recently gotten the geography down and  
dusted it off a bit4  ,there is a book  
by ,mrs4 ,rose ,innes1 wife of an       
,english official in the ,far ,east1    
who1 among other entertaining things1   
tells of a head-hunter chief who taught 
her to speak ,malay1 and she1 wishing to
 reciprocate1 offered to teach him      
,english2 but the great man begged to be
 excused1 saying1 ,malay is spoken      
everywhere you go1 east1 west1 north or 
south1 but in all the world there are   
only twelve people who speak ,english1  
and he proceeded to name them4  ,our    
assumptions are not quite so broad as   
this1 but few of us realize that the    

,protestant ,christian ,religion stands 
fifth in the number of communicants1 as 
compared with the other great religions1
 and that against our hundred millions  
of people in ,america1 the ,malay       
,archipelago has over two hundred       
millions4  ,wallace found marked        
geological1 botanical and zoological    
differences to denote his line4 ,and    
from these things he proved that there  
had been great changes1 through         
subsidence and elevation of the land4   
,at no very remote geologic period1     
,asia extended clear to ,borneo1 and    
also included the ,philippine ,islands4 
,this is shown by the fact that animal  
and vegetable life in all of these      
islands is almost identical with life on
 the mainland3 the same trees1 the same 
flowers1 the same birds1 the same       
animals4  ,as you go westward1 however1 
you come to islands which have a very   
different flora and fauna1 totally      
unlike that found in ,asia1 but very    
similar to that found in ,australia4    

,australia1 be it known1 is totally     
different in all its animal and         
vegetable phenomena from ,asia4  ,in    
,australia1 until the white man very    
recently carried them across1 there were
 no monkeys1 apes1 cats1 bears1 tigers1 
wolves1 elephants1 horses1 squirrels or 
rabbits4 ,instead there were found      
animals that are found nowhere else1 and
 which seem to belong to a different and
 so-called extinct geologic age1 such as
 the kangaroo1 wombats1 the             
platypus--which the sailors used to tell
 us was neither bird not beast1 and yet 
was both4 ,in birds1 ,australia has also
 very strange specimens1 such as the    
ostrich which can not fly1 but can      
outrun a horse and kills its prey by    
kicking forward like a man4 ,australia  
also has immense mound-making turkeys1  
honeysuckers and cockatoos1 but no      
woodpeckers1 quail or pheasants4        
,wallace was the first to discover that 
there are various islands1 some of them 
several hundred miles from ,australia1  

where the animal life is identical with 
that of ,australia4 ,and then there are 
islands1 only a comparatively few miles 
away1 which have all the varieties of   
birds and beasts found in ,asia4  ,but  
this line that once separated continents
 is in places but fifteen miles wide1   
and is always marked by a deep-water    
channel1 but the seas that separate     
,borneo and ,sumatra from ,asia1        
although wide1 are so shallow that ships
 can find anchorage anywhere4  ,the     
,wallace ,line1 proving the subsidence  
of the sea and upheaval of the land1 has
 never been seriously disputed1 and is  
to many students the one great discovery
 by which ,wallace will be remembered4  
,wallace's book on ,the ,geographical   
,distribution of ,animals sets forth in 
a most interesting manner1 the details  
of how he came to discover the ,line4   
,it was in ,eighteen ,hundred           
,fifty-five that ,wallace1 alone in the 
wilds of the ,malay ,archipelago1 became
 convinced of the scientific truth that 

species were an evolution from a common 
source1 and he began making notes of his
 observations along this particular line
 of thought4 ,some months afterward he  
wrote out his belief in the form of an  
essay1 but then he had no definite      
intention of what he would do with the  
paper1 beyond keeping it for future     
reference when he returned to ,england4 
,in the ,fall of ,eighteen ,hundred     
,fifty-seven1 however1 he decided to    
send it to ,darwin to be read before    
some scientific society1 if ,darwin     
considered it worthy4 ,and this paper   
was read on the evening of ,july ,first1
 before the ,linnus ,society1 with one  
by ,darwin on the same subject1 written 
before ,wallace's paper arrived1 wherein
 the identical views are set forth4     
,darwin and ,wallace expressed what many
 other investigators had guessed or but 
dimly perceived4         99       99    
99       99       99  ,of the six       
immortal modern scientists1 three began 
life working as surveyors and civil     

engineers--,wallace1 ,tyndall1 ,spencer4
 ,from the number of eminent men1 not   
forgetting ,henry ,thoreau1 ,leonardo da
 ,vinci1 ,lincoln1 ,ulysses ,s4 ,grant1 
,washington--aye6 nor old ,john ,brown1 
who carried a ,gunter's chain and       
manipulated the transit--we come to the 
conclusion that there must be something 
in the business of surveying that       
conduces to clear thinking and strong1  
independent action4  ,if ,i had a boy   
who by nature and habit was given to    
futilities1 ,i would apprentice him to a
 civil engineer4  ,when two gangs of men
 begin a tunnel1 working toward each    
other from different sides of a         
mountain1 dreams1 poetry1 hypothesis and
 guesswork had better be omitted from   
the equation4 ,here is a case where     
metaphysics has no bearing4 ,it is a    
condition that confronts them1 not a    
theory4  ,theological explanations are  
assumptions built upon hypotheses1 and  
your theologian always insists that you 
shall be dead before you can know4  ,if 

a bridge breaks down or a fireproof     
building burns to ashes1 no explanation 
on the part of the architect can explain
 away the miscalculation2 but your      
theologian always evolves his own fog1  
into which he can withdraw at will1 thus
 making escape easy4 ,darwin1 ,huxley1  
,spencer1 ,tyndall and ,wallace all had 
the mathematical mind4 ,nothing but the 
truth would satisfy them4 ,in school1   
you remember how we sometimes used to   
work on a mathematical problem for hours
 or days4 ,many would give it up4 ,a few
 of the class would take the answer from
 the book1 and in an extremity force the
 figures to give the proper result4     
,such students1 it is needless to say1  
never gained the respect of either class
 or teacher--or themselves4 ,they had   
the true theological instinct4 ,but a   
few kept on until the problem was       
solved1 or the fallacy of it had been   
discovered4 ,in life's school such were 
the men just named1 and the             
distinguishing feature of their lives   

was that they were students and learners
 to the last4  ,of this group of        
scientific workers1 ,alfred ,russel     
,wallace alone survives1 aged           
eighty-nine at this writing1 still      
studying1 earnestly intent upon one of  
,nature's secrets that four of his great
 colleagues years ago labeled ,unknown1 
and the other two marked ,unknowable4   
,to some it is an anomaly and           
contradiction that a lover of science1  
exact1 cautious1 intent on certitude1   
should accept a belief in personal      
immortality4 ,still1 to others this is  
regarded as positive proof of his       
superior insight4  ,all thinking men    
agree that we are surrounded by         
phenomena that to a great extent are    
unanalyzed2 but ,herbert ,spencer1 for  
one1 thought it a lapse in judgment to  
attribute to spirit intervention1       
mysteries which could not be accounted  
for on any other grounds4 ,it was equal 
to that sin against science which       
,darwin committed1 and which he atoned  

for in contrite public confession1 when 
he said3 ,it surely must be this1       
otherwise what is it8 ,hence we assume1 
and so on4 ,some recent writers have    
sought to demolish ,wallace's argument  
concerning ,spiritism by saying he is an
 old man and in his dotage4 ,wallace    
once wrote a booklet entitled1          
,vaccination a ,fallacy1 which created a
 big dust in ,doctors' ,row1 and was    
cited as corroborative proof1 along with
 his faith in ,spiritism1 that the man  
was mentally incompetent4  ,but this is 
a deal worse excuse for argument than   
anything ,wallace ever put forth4 ,the  
real fact is that ,wallace issued a book
 on ,spiritism in ,eighteen ,hundred    
,seventy-four1 and in ,eighteen ,hundred
 ,ninety-six reissued it with numerous  
amendments1 confirming his first        
conclusions4 ,so he has held his        
peculiar views on immortality for over  
thirty years1 and moreover his mental   
vigor is still unimpaired4  ,whether the
 proof he has received as to the        

existence of disembodied spirits is     
sufficient for others is very uncertain2
 but if it suffices for himself1 it is  
not for us to quibble4 ,wallace agrees  
to allow us to have our opinions if we  
will let him have his4  ,his views are  
in no sense those of ,christianity2     
rather1 they might be called those of   
,theosophy1 as the personal ,god and the
 dogma of salvation and atonement are   
entirely omitted4  ,the ,doctrine of    
,evolution he carries into the realm of 
spirit4 ,his belief is that souls       
reincarnate themselves many times for   
the ultimate object of experience1      
growth and development4 ,he holds that  
this life is the gateway to another1 but
 that we should live each day as though 
it were our last4  ,to this effect we   
find1 in a recent article1 ,wallace     
quotes a little story from ,tolstoy3 ,a 
priest1 seeing a peasant in a field     
plowing1 approached him and asked1 ,how 
would you spend the rest of this day if 
you knew you were to die tonight8  ,the 

priest expected the man1 who was a bit  
irregular in his churchgoing1 to say1 ,i
 would spend my last hours in confession
 and prayer4 ,but the peasant replied1  
,how would ,i spend the rest of the day 
if ,i were to die tonight8--why1 ,i'd   
plow6  ,hence1 ,wallace holds that it is
 better to plow than to pray1 and that  
in fact1 when rightly understood1 good  
plowing is prayer4  ,all useful effort  
is sacred1 and nothing else is or ever  
can be4 ,wallace believes that the only 
fit preparation for the future lies in  
improving the present4 ,please pass the 
dotage6     ,illustration3 ,,john       
,,fiske  ,,john ,,fiske        ,in a    
sinless and painless world the moral    
element would be lacking2      the      
goodness would have no more significance
 in our conscious life      than that   
load of atmosphere which we are always  
carrying about      with us4       ,we  
are thus brought to a striking          
conclusion1 the essential      soundness
 of which can not be gainsaid4 ,in a    

happy world there must      be pain and 
sorrow1 and in a moral world the        
knowledge of evil is      indispensable4
 ,the stern necessity for this has been 
proved to      inhere in the innermost  
constitution of the human soul4 ,it is  
part      and parcel of the universe4   
,we do not find that evil has been      
interpolated into the universe      from
 without2 we find that1 on the contrary1
 it is an indispensable      part of the
 dramatic whole4 ,god is the creator of 
evil1 and from      the eternal scheme  
of things diabolism is forever excluded4
       ,from our present standpoint we  
may fairly ask1 what would have been    
the worth of that primitive innocence   
portrayed in the myth of the            
,garden of ,eden1 had it ever been      
realized in the life of men8 ,what      
would have been the moral value or      
significance of a race of human         
beings ignorant of sin1 and doing       
beneficent acts with no more            
consciousness or volition than the      

deftly contrived machine that      picks
 up raw material at one end1 and turns  
out some finished      product at the   
other8 ,clearly1 for strong and resolute
 men and      women1 an ,eden would be  
but a fool's paradise4       ,through   
,nature to ,god   ,,john ,,fiske  ,early
 in life ,john ,fiske aimed high and    
thought himself capable of great things4
 ,he also believed that the world       
accepted a man at the estimate he placed
 upon himself4  ,fiske was born at      
,hartford in ,eighteen ,hundred         
,forty-two4 ,his mother's maiden name   
was ,fiske and his father's name was    
,green1 and until well-nigh manhood1    
,john ,fiske was called ,edmund ,green4 
,his father died while ,edmund was a    
baby1 and the wee youngster was taken   
charge of by his grandmother ,fiske of  
,middletown1 ,connecticut4  ,when his   
mother married again1 ,edmund did not   
approve of the match4 ,parents often try
 to live their children's lives for     
them1 and to hold the balance true1     

children occasionally attempt to dictate
 to parents in affairs of the heart4 ,a 
young man by the name of ,hamlet will be
 recalled who1 having no special        
business of his own1 became much        
distressed and had theories concerning  
the conduct of his mother4 ,as a general
 proposition the person who looks after 
the territory directly under his own hat
 will find his time fairly well         
employed4  ,they say ,edmund ,green made
 threats when his mother changed her    
name1 but all he did was to follow her  
example and change his4 ,thereafter he  
was plain ,john ,fiske4 ,i must have a  
name easy to take hold of3 one that     
people can remember1 he said4 ,and they 
do say that ,john ,fiske's reverence for
 ,john ,ruskin had something to do with 
his choice of name4  ,just here some    
curious one of the curious sex1 which by
 the way holds no monopoly on curiosity1
 may ask if the second venture of ,mrs4 
,green was fruitful and fortunate4 ,so  
,i will say1 yes1 eminently so2 and in  

one way it seemed to serve1 for ,john   
,fiske's stepfather waived ,john's      
displeasure with his stepfather's wife1 
and did something toward sending the    
young man to ,harvard ,university1 and  
also supplied the funds to send him on a
 tour around the world4  ,however1 the  
second brood revealed no genius1 at     
sight of which the defunct ,mr4 ,green  
from his seat in ,elysium must have     
chortled in glee1 assuming1 of course1  
that disembodied spirits are cognizant  
of the doings of their late partners1 as
 ,john ,fiske seemed to think they were4
  ,if ,alexander ,humboldt's mother had 
not married again1 we would have had no 
,alexander ,humboldt4 ,second marriages 
are like first ones in this3 ,sometimes 
they are happy and sometimes not4 ,in   
any event1 ,i occasionally think that   
mother-love has often been much         
exaggerated4 ,love is a most beautiful  
thing1 and it does not seem to make very
 much difference who supplies it4       
,stepmother-love1 ,lincoln used to say1 

was the most precious thing that had    
ever come his way4 ,i know a man who    
loves his mother-in-law1 because she    
pitied him4 ,our ,oneida friends had    
,community ,mothers1 who took care of   
everybody's babies1 just as if they were
 their own1 and with marked success1 for
 the genus hoodlum never evolved at     
,oneida4 ,grandmother-love served all   
purposes for little ,isaac ,newton1 just
 as it did for ,john ,fiske4  ,john     
,fiske's grandmother was his first      
teacher1 and she started out with the   
assumption that genius always skips one 
generation4 ,she believed that she was  
dealing with a record-breaker1 and she  
was4 ,what she did not know about the   
classics was known by others whom she   
delegated to teach her grandchild4      
,when her baby genius was just out of   
linsey-woolsey dresses and wore trousers
 buttoned to a calico waist1 she began  
preparing him for college4 ,the old lady
 had loved a college man in her youth1  
and she judged ,harvard by the ,harvard 

man she knew best4 ,and the ,harvard man
 she saw in her waking dreams1 she      
created in her own image4 ,harvard      
requires perspective1 and viewed over   
the years through a mist of melancholy  
it is very beautiful4 ,at close range we
 often get a ,jarrett ,bumball flavor of
 cigarettes and a sight of the foam that
 made ,milwaukee famous4 ,to a great    
degree1 ,gran'ma ,fiske created her     
,harvard out of the stuff that dreams   
are made of4 ,when her little charge was
 six years old1 she began preparing him 
for ,harvard by teaching him to say1    
amo1 amas1 amat4  ,at seven years of age
 he was reading ,csar's ,commentaries   
and making wise comments over his bowl  
of bread-and-milk about the ,tenth      
,legion2 and he also had his opinions   
concerning the relationship of ,csar    
with ,cleopatra4 ,at this time he read  
,josephus for rest1 and discovered for  
himself that the famous passage about   
,jesus of ,nazareth was an              
interpolation4  ,when he was eight1 he  

was familiar with ,plato1 had read all  
of ,shakespeare's plays1 and propounded 
a few hypotheses concerning the         
authorship of the ,sonnets4  ,at nine he
 spoke ,greek with an ,attic accent4    
,when ten he had read ,prescott1 ,gibbon
 and ,macaulay2 and about this time1 as 
a memory test he wrote a history of the 
world from the time of ,moses down to   
the date of his own birth1 giving a list
 of the greatest men who had ever lived1
 with a brief mention of what they had  
done1 with the date of their birth and  
death4  ,this book is still in existence
 and so far as ,i know has never been   
equaled by the performance of any infant
 prodigy1 save possibly ,john ,stuart   
,mill4  ,when twelve years of age he had
 read ,vergil1 ,sallust1 ,tacitus1      
,ovid1 ,juvenal and ,catullus4 ,he had  
also mastered trigonometry1 surveying1  
navigation1 geometry and differential   
calculus4  ,before his grandmother had  
him discard knee-breeches1 he kept his  
diary in ,spanish1 spoke ,german at the 

table1 and read ,german philosophy in   
the original4 ,the year he was sixteen  
he wrote poems after ,dante in ,italian 
and translated ,cervantes into ,english4
  ,at seventeen he read the ,hebrew     
scriptures like a ,rabbi1 and was       
familiar with ,sanskrit4  ,now1 let no  
carpist imagine ,i have dealt in        
hyperbole1 or hand-illumined the facts3 
,i have merely stated some simple truths
 about the early career of ,john ,fiske4
  ,one might imagine that with all his  
wonderful achievements this youth would 
be top-heavy and a most insufferable    
prig4 ,the fact was1 he was a fine1     
rollicking1 healthy young man much given
 to pranks1 and withal generous and     
lovable4  ,he was admitted to ,harvard  
without examination1 for his fame had   
preceded him4 ,students and professors  
alike looked at him in wonder4  ,at     
,cambridge1 as if to keep good his      
record1 he studied thirteen hours a day1
 for twelve months in the year4 ,he     
ranged through every subject in the     

catalog1 and all recorded knowledge was 
to him familiar4  ,prophecies were      
freely made that he would eclipse ,sir  
,isaac ,newton and ,humboldt4 ,but there
 were others who had a clearer vision4  
,john ,fiske made a decided success in  
life and left his personality distinctly
 impressed upon his time1 but it is no  
disparagement to say of him that ,autumn
 did not fulfil the promise of ,spring4 
,and ,fiske himself in his single       
original contribution to the evolution  
crusade explains the reason why4        
,professor ,santayanna of ,harvard once 
said that ,john ,fiske made three great 
scientific discoveries1 as follows3  #a4
 ,as you lengthen a pigeon's bill1 you  
increase the size of its feet4  #b4     
,white tomcats with blue eyes are always
 deaf4  #c4 ,the extent of mental       
development in any animal is in         
proportion to its infancy or the length 
of time involved in its reaching        
physical maturity4  ,waiving ,numbers   
,one and ,two as of doubtful value1     

,number ,three is ,fiske's sole original
 discovery1 according to his confession4
 ,further1 ,huxley quotes ,fiske on this
 theme1 and adds1 ,the delay of         
adolescence and the prolonging of the   
period of infancy form a subject1 as    
expressed by ,mr4 ,fiske1 which is      
worthy of our most careful              
consideration4  ,rareripes fall early4  
,john ,fiske's name was coupled1 as we  
have seen1 with those of ,newton and    
,humboldt4 ,newton died at eighty-six1  
,humboldt at ninety4 ,these men         
developed slowly3 the hothouse methods  
were not for them4 ,fiske at twenty knew
 more than any of them did at forty4    
,fiske at twenty-five was a better man  
mentally and physically than he was at  
thirty-five4 ,at forty he was refused   
life-insurance because his measurement  
east and west was out of proportion to  
his measurement north and south4  ,he   
used often to sit at his desk for       
fifteen hours a day1 writing and        
studying4 ,the sedentary habit grew upon

 him2 the vital organs got clogged with 
adipose tissue4 ,the doctor told him    
that his diaphragm was too close to his 
lungs--a cheerful proposition1 well     
worthy of a small1 mouse-colored medicus
 who dare not run the risk of           
displeasing a big patient by telling him
 the truth1 that is1 that deep breathing
 and active exercise in the open air can
 never be replaced through the use of   
something poured out of a bottle4       
,people who eat too much1 drink too     
much1 smoke too much1 and do not        
exercise enough1 have to pay for their  
privileges1 even though they are able to
 work differential calculus with one    
hand and recite ,xenophon's ,anabasis   
backward4 ,they all have the liver and  
lungs too close to the diaphragm1       
because that damnable invention of ,sir 
,isaac ,newton's slumbers not nor       
sleeps1 and all the vital organs droop  
and drop when we neglect deep breathing4
 ,inertia is a vice4 ,the gods cultivate
 levitation1 which is a different thing 

from levity1 meaning skyey gravitation1 
uplift1 aspiration expressed in bodily  
attitude4 ,when levitation lets go1     
gravity doubles its grip4  ,the ,yogi of
 the ,east know vastly more about this  
theme than we do1 and have made of deep 
breathing an art4 ,carry the crown of   
your head high1 hold your chin in1 and  
fill the top of your lungs by           
cultivating levitation4 ,we are gods in 
the biscuit6         99       99        
99       99       99  ,after four years 
at ,harvard and the regulation two years
 at the ,harvard ,law ,school1 ,john    
,fiske opened an office in ,boston and  
gave his shingle to the breeze4 ,no     
clients came1 and this was well--for the
 clients4 ,also1 for ,john4 ,the law is 
a business proposition3 its essence is  
the adjustment of differences between   
men1 the lubrication of exchange1       
getting things on6 ,learned men very    
seldom make good lawyers4 ,law is a very
 practical matter1 and as for ,law      
,latin1 it can be learned in a week and 

then should be mostly forgotten4 ,the   
lawyer who asks his client about the    
causa sine qua non1 or harangues the    
jury concerning the ipse dixit of de    
facto and de jure1 will probably be     
mulcted for costs on general principles4
  ,i always rule hard against the lawyer
 who quotes ,latin1 said a ,brooklyn    
judge to me the other day4 ,happily1    
,law ,latin is now not used to any      
extent1 except in ,missouri4  ,no more  
clients came to ,john ,fiske than did to
 ,wendell ,phillips1 who once had a     
law-office on the same street4 ,so ,john
 sent letters to the newspapers1 wrote  
book-reviews1 and contributed essays to 
the ,atlantic ,monthly4 ,occasionally1  
he would lecture for scientific clubs or
 societies4  ,while still in the ,law   
,school he had discounted the future and
 married a charming young woman1 who    
believed in him to an extent that would 
have made the average man pause4        
,marriages do not always keep pace      
exactly with the price of corn4         

,receipts in the ,fiske law-office were 
not active4 ,john ,fiske was twenty-six2
 his grandmother was dead1 and family   
cares were coming along apace1 all      
according to the ,law of ,malthus4  ,he 
accepted an offer to give substitute    
lectures at ,harvard on history1 for a  
professor who had gone abroad for his   
health4 ,this he continued1 speaking for
 any absentee on any subject1 and       
tutoring rich laggards for a            
consideration4 ,good boys1 low on       
phosphorus1 used to get him to start    
their daily themes1 and those overtaken 
in the throes of trigonometry he often  
rescued from disgrace4  ,darwinism was  
in the saddle4 ,asa ,gray was mildly    
defending it4 ,agassiz stood aloof1     
clinging to his early ,swiss parsonage  
teachings1 and the ,theological         
,department marched in solid phalanx and
 scoffed and scorned4 ,yale1 always     
having more theology than ,harvard1     
threw out challenges4 ,fiske had        
saturated himself with the ideas of     

,darwin and ,wallace1 and his intellect 
was great enough to perceive the vast   
and magnificent scope of ,the ,origin of
 ,species4 ,he prepared and read a      
lecture on the subject1 all couched in  
gentle and judicial phrase1 but with a  
finale that gave forth no uncertain     
sound4  ,the ,overseers decided to ask  
,fiske to amplify the subject and give a
 course of lectures on the ,law of      
,evolution4  ,the subject grew under his
 hands and the course extended itself   
into thirty-five lectures1 covering the 
whole field of natural history1 with    
many short excursions into the realms of
 biology1 embryology1 botany1 geology   
and cosmogony4  ,fiske was made         
assistant librarian at a salary of one  
thousand dollars a year4 ,it was not    
much money1 but it gave him a fixed     
position1 with time to help the erring  
freshman and the mentally recalcitrant  
sophomore handicapped by rich parents4  
,for seven years ,fiske held this       
position of assistant librarian1 and    

hardly a student at ,harvard during     
those years but acknowledged the        
personal help he received at the hands  
of ,john ,fiske4 ,knowledge consists in 
having an assistant librarian who knows 
where to find the thing4  ,fiske's      
thirty-five lectures had evolved into   
that excellent book1 ,outlines of       
,cosmic ,philosophy4 ,the public were   
buying it4  ,evolution was fast taking  
its place as a fixed fact4 ,and ,john   
,fiske was moving into public favor on  
the flood-tide4 ,there were demands for 
his lectures from various schools1      
colleges and lyceums1 throughout the    
,united ,states4  ,he resigned his      
position so as to give all his time to  
writing and speaking4 ,and ,harvard1    
proud of her gifted son1 elected him an 
,overseer of the ,university1 which     
position he held until his death4 ,john 
,fiske died in ,nineteen ,hundred ,one1 
suddenly1 aged fifty-nine4         99   
99       99       99       99  ,next to 
the originator of a great thought is the

 man who quotes it1 says ,ralph ,waldo  
,emerson4 ,next to the discoverer of a  
great scientific truth is the man who   
recognizes and upholds it4 ,the service 
done science by ,fiske is beyond        
calculation4 ,fiske was not a ,columbus 
upon the sea of science3 he followed the
 course laid out by others1 and was     
really never out of sight of a buoy4 ,he
 comes as near being a great scientist1 
perhaps1 as any man that ,america has   
ever produced4  ,america has had but    
four men of unmistakable originality4   
,these are3 ,franklin1 ,emerson1        
,whitman and ,edison4 ,each worked in a 
field particularly his own1 and the     
genius of each was recognized in ,europe
 before we were willing to acknowledge  
it here4 ,but the word scientist can    
hardly be properly applied to any of    
these men4 ,for want of a better name we
 call ,john ,fiske our greatest         
scientist4 ,he was the most learned man 
of his day4 ,in the realm of ,physical  
,geography no ,american could approach  

him4 ,the combined knowledge of         
everybody else was his3 he had a passion
 for facts1 a memory like a daybook1 and
 his systematic mind was disciplined    
until it was a regular ,dewey           
card-index4  ,louis ,agassiz was born in
 ,europe1 but he was ours by adoption1  
and he might dispute with ,fiske the    
title to first place in the ,american   
,pantheon of ,science1 were it not for  
the fact that the ,law of ,evolution was
 beyond his ken1 being obscured by a    
marked1 myopic1 theological1 stigmatic  
squint4  ,agassiz died in his sins1     
unconvinced unrepentant1 refusing the   
rite of extreme unction that ,asa ,gray 
offered him1 his sensitive spirit       
writhing at mention of the word ,darwin4
 ,on his tomb1 ,clio with moving finger 
has carved one of his own sentences1 nor
 all your tears shall blot a line of it4
 ,and these are the words of ,agassiz3  
,darwinism seeks to dethrone ,god1 and  
replace ,him by a blind force called the
 ,law of ,evolution4 ,so passed away the

 great soul of ,louis ,agassiz4  ,fiske 
has been called the ,huxley of ,america2
 but ,fiske was like ,agassiz in this1  
he never had the felicity to achieve the
 ill-will of the many4 ,fiske has also  
been called the ,drummond of ,america1  
but ,fiske was really a ,henry ,drummond
 and a ,louis ,agassiz rolled into one1 
the mass well seasoned with essence of  
,huxley4 ,john ,fiske made the science  
of ,darwin and ,wallace palatable to    
orthodox theology1 and it is to the     
earnest and eloquent words of ,fiske    
that we owe it that ,evolution is taught
 everywhere in the public schools and   
even in the sectarian colleges of       
,america today4  ,the almost universal  
opposition to ,darwin's book arose from 
the idea that its acceptance would      
destroy the ,christian religion4 ,this  
was the plaintive plea put forth when   
,newton advanced his discovery of the   
,law of ,gravitation1 and also when     
,copernicus proclaimed the movements of 
the earth3 these things were contrary to

 the ,bible6 ,copernicus was a loyal    
,catholic2 ,sir ,isaac ,newton was a    
staunch ,churchman2 but both kept their 
religion in water-tight compartments1 so
 that it never got mixed with their     
science4 ,gladstone never allowed his   
religion to tint his statesmanship1 and 
we all know businessmen who follow the  
double-entry scheme4  ,that famous      
,french toast1 ,here's to our wives and 
sweethearts--may they never meet6 would 
suit most lawyers just as well if       
expressed this way4 ,here's to our      
religion and our business--,god knows   
they never meet4  ,to ,sir ,isaac       
,newton1 religion was something to be   
believed1 not understood4 ,he left      
religion to the specialists1 recognizing
 its value as a sort of police          
protection for the ,state1 and as his   
share in the matter he paid tithes1 and 
attended prayers as a matter of         
patriotic duty and habit4  ,voltaire    
recognized the greatness of ,newton's   
intellect1 but he could not restrain his

 aqua fortis1 and so he said this3 ,all 
the scientists were jealous of ,newton  
when he discovered the ,law of          
,gravitation1 but they got even with him
 when he wrote his book on the ,hebrew  
,prophecies6 ,newton wrote that book in 
his water-tight compartment4  ,but      
,newton was no hypocrite4 ,the attitude 
of the ,primrose ,sphinx who bowed his  
head in the ,church of ,england         
,chapel--the ,jew who rose to the       
highest office ,christian ,england had  
to offer--and repeated ,ben ,ezra's     
prayer1 was not the attitude of ,newton4
 ,darwin waived religion1 and if he ever
 heard of the ,bible no one knew it from
 his writings4  ,huxley danced on it4   
,tyndall and ,spencer regarded the      
,bible as a valuable and more or less   
interesting collection of myths1 fables 
and folklore tales4 ,wallace sees in it 
a strain of prophetic truth and regards 
it as gold-bearing quartz of a low      
grade4  ,fiske regarded it as the word  
of ,god1 ,holy ,writ1 expressed often   

vaguely1 mystically1 and in the language
 of poetry and symbol1 but true when    
rightly understood4  ,and so ,john      
,fiske throughout his life spoke in     
orthodox pulpits to the great delight of
 ,christian people1 and at the same time
 wrote books on science and dedicated   
them to ,thomas ,huxley1 ,bishop of all 
,agnostics4  ,to the scientist the word 
supernatural is a contradiction4        
,everything that is in the ,universe is 
natural2 the supernatural is the natural
 not yet understood4 ,and that which is 
called the supernatural is often the    
figment of a disordered1 undisciplined  
or undeveloped imagination4  ,simple    
people think of imagination as that     
quality of mind which revels in tales of
 fairies and hobgoblins1 but imagination
 of this character is undisciplined and 
undeveloped4 ,the scientist who deals   
with the sternest of facts must be      
highly imaginative1 or his work is vain4
 ,the engineer sees his structure       
complete1 ere he draws his plans4 ,so   

the scientist divines the thing first   
and then looks for it until he finds it4
 ,were this not so1 he would not be able
 to recognize things hitherto unknown1  
when he saw them2 nor could he fit fact 
to fact1 like bones in a skeleton1 and  
build a complete structure1 if it all   
did not first exist as a thought4  ,to  
reprove and punish children for flights 
of imagination1 ,john ,fiske argued1 was
 one of the things done only by a       
barbaric people4  ,children first play  
at the thing1 which later they are to do
 well4 ,play is preparation4 ,the man of
 imagination is the man of sympathy1 and
 only such are those who benefit and    
bless mankind and help us on our way4   
,john ,fiske had imagination enough to  
follow closely and hold fellowship with 
the greatest minds the world has ever   
known4 ,john ,fiske believed that we    
live in a natural universe1 and that    
,god works through ,nature1 and that1 in
 fact1 ,nature is the spirit of ,god at 
work4  ,doubts never disturbed ,john    

,fiske4 ,things that were not true      
technically and literally were true to  
him if taken in a spiritual or poetic   
way4 ,god1 to him1 was a personal being1
 creating through the ,law of ,evolution
 because ,he chose to4 ,the six days of 
,creation were six eons or geological   
periods4  ,no man has ever been more in 
sympathy with the discoverers in        
,natural ,history than ,john ,fiske4 ,no
 man ever knew so much about his work as
 ,john ,fiske4 ,his knowledge was       
colossal1 his memory prodigious4 ,and in
 all of the realm of science and        
philosophy1 from microscopy and the germ
 theory to advanced astronomy and the   
birth of worlds1 his glowing imagination
 saw the work of a beneficent ,creator  
who stood above and beyond and outside  
of ,natural ,law1 and with ,infinite    
,wisdom and ,power did ,his own ,divine 
,will4  ,little theologians who feared  
,science1 on account of danger to pet   
texts1 received from him kindly pats on 
the head1 as he showed them how both    

,science and ,scripture were true4  ,he 
didn't do away with texts1 he merely    
changed their interpretation4 ,and often
 he discovered that the text which      
seemed to contradict science was really 
prophetic of it4 ,john ,fiske did not   
take anything away from anybody1 unless 
he gave them something better in return4
  ,a man's belief is a part of the man1 
he said4 ,take it away by force and he  
will bleed to death2 but if the time    
comes when he no longer needs it1 he    
will either slough it or convert it into
 something more useful4  ,every good    
thing begins as something else4         
,evolution is at work on the creeds as  
well as in matter4 ,a monkey-man will   
have a monkey belief4  ,he evolves the  
thing he needs1 and the belief that fits
 one man will not fit another4          
,religious opinions are never thrown    
away3 they evolve into something else1  
and we use the old symbols and imagery  
to express new thoughts4  ,john ,fiske1 
unlike ,john ,morley1 considered        

,compromise a great thing4 ,truth is a  
point of view3 let us get together1 he  
used to say4 ,and so he worked to keep  
the old1 as a foundation for the new4   
,i once heard him interrupted in a      
lecture by a questioner who asked1 ,why 
would you keep the ,church intact8 ,the 
question stung him into impassioned     
speech which was better than anything in
 his manuscript4 ,i can not attempt to  
reproduce his exact language2 but the   
intent was that as the ,church was the  
chief instrument in preserving for us   
the learning of ,greece and ,rome1 so   
has she been the mother of art1 the     
inspirer of music and the protector of  
the outcast4 ,colleges1 hospitals1      
libraries1 art-galleries and asylums1   
all come to us through the medium of    
religion4  ,the convent was first a     
place of protection for oppressed       
womanhood4  ,to discard religion would  
be like repudiating our parents because 
we did not like their manners and       
clothes4 ,the religious impulse is the  

art impulse1 and both are manifestations
 of love1 and love is the basis of our  
sense of sublimity4  ,we surely will    
abandon certain phases of religion4 ,we 
will purify1 refine and beautify our    
religion1 just as we have our table     
etiquette and our housekeeping4 ,the    
millennium will come only through the   
scientific acceptance of piety4 ,when   
,church and ,state separated it was     
well1 but when ,science and ,religion   
joined hands it was better4 ,science    
stands for the head2 ,religion for the  
heart4 ,all things are dual1 and through
 the marriage of these two principles1  
one the masculine and the other the     
feminine1 will come a renaissance of    
advancement such as this tired old world
 on her zigzag journeys has never seen4 
,sociology is the religious application 
of economics4 ,demonology has been      
replaced by psychology1 and the         
betterment of man's condition on earth  
is now fast becoming the chief          
solicitude of the ,church4  ,it will    

thus be seen that ,john ,fiske's hope   
for the future was bright and strong4   
,the man was an optimist by nature1 and 
his patience and good-nature were always
 in evidence4 ,he made friends1 and he  
held them4 ,huxley1 who of all men hated
 piety that was flavored with hypocrisy1
 loved ,john ,fiske and once wrote this3
 ,there was a man sent from ,god by the 
name of ,john ,fiske4 ,now ,john holds  
in his great and generous heart the best
 of all the ,church has to offer2 hence 
,i no longer go to prayers1 but instead1
 ,i invite ,john ,fiske to come and dine
 with us every ,sunday1 so are we made  
better--,amen4       ,,so ,,here        
,,endeth ,,little ,,journeys ,,to ,,the 
,,homes ,,of ,,great ,,scientists1      
,,being ,,volume ,,twelve ,,of ,,the    
,,series1 ,,as ,,written ,,by ,,elbert  
,,hubbard3      ,,edited ,,and          
,,arranged ,,by ,,fred ,,bann2 ,,borders
 ,,and ,,initials ,,by ,,roycroft       
,,artists1 ,,and ,,produced ,,by ,,the  
,,roycrofters1 ,,at ,,their ,,shops1    

,,which ,,are      ,,in ,,east ,,aurora1
 ,,erie ,,county1 ,,new ,,york1         
,,mcmxxii