The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1847-12-31
DR.. Scorsby's Lecture on the Gigantic Telss-
cope OF Lord R0sse. so.


We attended again last night the concluding lecture
on the above subjsc at the Society Library Broad
way. We should do violence to the truth and to our
conscience, II We were to say that were highly de-
lighted" wonderfully amused and edined,n and So
forth 1t is no doubt entirely to be attributed to our
own duners and stupidity, that are no. honestly
enabled indulge in those strains OF applause and al
mraton with which, whenever can conscientiouslv
do always gladly treat the efforts that nume
rous and generally deserving class Of individuals VINO
and whose means OF livelihood, generally depend upou
the success they meet with Happily, on the present
occasioa the learned scuref Is merely an amateur and
hence, II We w;,nnold from his exertions the need Of
very srSat applause, shall not be guilty discourage
Ing or putting down unkindy, fellow creature engaged
In tbs audable pursuit Of earning an honest mouthu
bread by his Of, to entertain instruct the pu
We are far from wishing to be understood bs tssse
remarks that the lecture In Question o. the learned
tursr, not nrinsicaly excellent and praisewsrthy
All we r,ean Il, that to our dull comprehensive,
they appeared merely ortinary-and might say
rather discursive and common place II 70 may be
permitted to speak out minds honestly wa should
say that the lecturer has net tie knadk OF making ysrr
Ineligible things which, In Themselves are after ali
simple and intelgibe. Few, indeed possess this rare
talent and where it does not exist darkness rendered
extraordinarily more obscure, nnd science becomes
,iresons and repusve instead OF being it Is in It,
self attractive and delightful We folks here In Ame
tfc and fond of science, but 1t must be without
any Of the parade, and pomp, or idle pedantry Of
scientific lecturer, must make his lectures az anus.
ing the Arabian Nights Entsrtsnmsnts' and
must strip science OF all It's humbug its scientific
peIhuous drapery, and show it nude and simple his
hearers SO plain and easy Gas really Ii in Its
turs) that almost fool may understand it. II sol.
eLtHc lecturer not do this he cannot succeed
among US The day Is gene by, when harmed looking
fop humbus the people BY frightening them with
highsounding words and uninteliRible Language and
pass for learned man because one can understand
him We are pretty good judges Of science, but we
sbominate and despiso oil the jargon and hum
seek to produce the impression that knows any
thing but Themselves, All thess observations however,
snAu~
applied to the lecture in question: though tn have
been drawn forth by the special occasion DR. sooresby
appeared to sensible modest man, and far from
serving to be clssssd among that class Of learned pc
prstsndss who may in plain language b: called
genuity and science about sim be is happy and
gentssl in telling an anecdots, and in dropp,Dg oc
Island we only say it with great reluctance from
our bounden duty to be strictly honest criticism
all we say f. that though evidently himself not little
imhusd with knowledge of his subject yet he has not
as yet attained the art of simplifying and arranging it
20 as to make It plain and Ineligible to the ordinary
popular mind tmust indeed bs confessed rs perhaps
most ample excuse for the Doctor that the subsct Be
has selected, viz, that Of Optics" is one Of the
selected for public exhibition, shoundirg with terms
OF art and OF technical import, and requiring
a very high knowledge Of the highest branches
substance Of the information have derived these
lectures Is about the following That telescopes and
ton Of them, wonderful things That Lord Rosses
telescope one Of the most supsratyey wonderful Of
has had this gigantic machine constructed and helped
himself in constructing 1t, Is most wonder
full As deduction from all this it ma
turally follows as thing Of course, that man, the
genus, man is very wonderful creature perhaps lit
tie bit more wonderful and greater than the Being
whom he sometimes condescends to acknowledge has
created him. At all events the latter proposition Is Of
course entirely subordinate to the former and to
flow wholly from 1t, ana to depend entirely upon it -
Such is the philosophy Of the day generally felt aud i'm
piled, though seldom boldly expressed We do not
however, here attribute the Of 1t to Dr.
by, whatever he left to be implied.
As on the preceding evening, the company quite
select and exhibited the highest satisfaction at the de-
tails and illustrations given in the Of the lecture
The proceeds the state are the
benefit Of church and Of hospital As however from
time immsmorial the church always claims and general
~ manages to get ths lions share, we apprehsnd the
hospital will come rather poorly of on this occasion We
hope not notwithstanding, and If really had thought
that such course would help the poor and suffering
invalids in 1t, would have lauded these Lectures
wherever they audable up to the Skies and would
have omitted any remarks not Of q aattsring kind
wherever they might have been honestly and fairly
unit ad