New-York tribune., 1868-10-22
SCIENCE ABROAD.

II
"Vocation oi tne Scholar" insisted on culture for The
scholar which should not be ouCiaad, but all-sided
Ns intellectual nature to expand sphercay and not
In a single direction In direction, however Fichte
required that The scholar should apply himsclf directly
10 nature become crcatoro knowledge and thus repay
by original ahors OF lis the immense debt no owed
the ahos Of others It these which enabled him
to supplement thc knowledge derived fro BIS own re-
searches roDdcr his culture ronnded aud lot one
sided.
Fcltcs idea IS to extent illustrated by the con-
stituiou and the ahors of the British Association We
have here body Of engaged in the Irsui; Of natural
knowledge, hut varOuSy engaged. While syihp"tDHhE
each Of departments ana supprmentng his en-"
ture by knowledge drawn from all Of them cnch S'"
among selects subject for the exercise o ns oN"
original faculiv-Ouc line along which he can '"'y '
holt of his private intelligence q little way into the DARK
ness hy " hch al knowledge Is surrounded mus VIC
geOogst faces the rocks The bioogi't fronts tue e'
tious ana plcrOmena ~ life; the astronomer Ncu''
masses and motions; the mathematician inc PIoI"'"o'
Of space ana number; the chemist pn'shes HIS ",.
while the physical Investigation has his own Ia'Se ''
optcal thermal. electrical aceouSiicaI ana "'her Po
po,,opo The British Association. then faces nature on
an sides and pushes knowledge centiiugaIly outward
while through circumstance or natural bent eoch Oh It's
wprlipg members takes mp certain lire OF r's''oh III
,b no aSrires 70 he an original producer, beng con-
tent I'm an other directions 10 accept instruction from his
relov. men The sunI Of labors constitutes what
FIchte mi CHIT call thc sricc Of natural knowledge In
the Association n l. found necessary 70
s@soIv ts sphere to is component parts, which take
concrete form uhdeg tie respective htters OF our
Tls Section A) )iscalcd the Mathematical and Physical
section. Mathematics ana physics have been long nc
ss T9SG hcns 20 eTn ' @ T proac Of me inmn mind
elf sustaining and nnby sef-rcwardue while the pure
mathematician may trouble his mind with con,
alterations regarding the phenomena ct the material
universe S the form OF re3sonrc which he employs,
TIE which the organization of that reason conies,
tle applicability of his abstract conceptions ~ actnal
pbenoena render = science one ur the most pocn -
srunets In solution OF natural problems Indeed.
without math inatirs expressed or lnpn"d our hno~
tfsme'
side by side with the mathematical method We have
The mcth'd Of experiment Here, from staringpohI
IN niShed by his own researches or those OF others me
ION: lie pnudcrs the knowledge he possesses and tes
- push further he gueSses and checks his guess, he
These cuesScs and colccurcs are by 40 means leaps IN
th, dark; FOR knowledee once gncd casts faint light
beyond ts immediate boundaries. There is no dis
eoyery So limited rs NOT 70 illuminate something hevond
itsclf The force of it,lectual penetration INTO this be
Bhral region which surrounds actual knowledge Is not
dpeudent upon method, but proportional ~ the genius
o. The investigator. There is, however. genius so
gifted not 10 need courol and verhcaon The pro
fouudet minds know hest that Natures WAYS arc rot ~
all times their and that the orictcst flashes m the
world Of tlough, are Incomplete until they have been
proved have their C0nnterQat7 n the world OF TACT
The vocation Of thc true eXIrmentaSti j. the lnceSsnt
correction and realization OF his insight his experiments
finally constituting bdy. "i which his purified intui'
tieus are, rs it were. the soul.
partly through n,athe ema,icnl and partly through
permeuta research physical srenee has 9t ate years
- sS., I m m teiiccinsl roirt Of View II las pr,
duccd aud il destined produce immense changes
vast srcal ancoratous, and vast alterations In the
popular conception Of the origin. rule and governance
at hiugs Miracles wrought by cieuce in the ply 81
cal world willie philosophy i.forsaking ats 9nce3 meta
phyScal channels and pursuing those opened A Indicated
by scientific research. This must become hore ana more
bmea with the methods OF scor. better acquainted
with facts which scientific have won. aud with
IN Won look at the f watch, you the hour and
DqsT & sG a WHY do t6ese hands move
and why their relative motions such ms they OBJ
served 10 bel These questions cannot be answered with
opening the watch. mastering ITS various parts and
ascertauimc their relationship 10 each other When this
ts done, We hnd that the observed mool oi the ands
follows of necessity from the inner mechanism OF the
watch when acted upon by the force invested IN the
This motion of the hands may he called phenomenon
OF art similar with the phenomena Of
These also have their inner mechanism and their
Of force that mechanism going The ultimate
problem OF physical science to reveal this mechanism.
to discern this store mud TO show that from The combined
seton Of both the phenomena Of which they constitute
the basis must uf necessity flow.
Thought that an attempt to give you brief and
thinkers regard this problem would not be unnteTetne
yom on the present occasion more especially m as II viii
aud limits Of modern science TO point ont the region
OF time oppose their advance, and also
define II possible the bOnrno between this and that other
region 10 which tho questiOnings and yearnngs Of the
scientific intellect are directed IN vain
But here vOur tolerance win be needed. 10 the
American Emerson. think. who said that It is hardly
possible 10 state any truth strongly without apparent u
~ other truth Under the clrcs aucts prop
appears be 10 state both truths gly aud
allow each It's fair share in tho formation OF the resultant
conviction For truth ts often OF dual character taking
the form OF magnet with two poles and many Of the
Q1HelcUccS
70 be traced 20 the excusveness with which different
parties affirm half Of the duality IN fOrgeulness OF
the Other ha But this waiting for the statement Of the
two sides Of QUESTION implies patience IL mpies
oluOn to suppress indignation II the statement OF the
suffer ourselves TO he unduly catod II the hasatenent
should chime IN with views II implies determine
to 10 wait calmly for the statement OF the whole before
VIC pronounce Judgment either IN the form Of acquies
cenee Or dissent
This promised let MS enter upon task There have
been writers who affirmed that tho pyramids OF E2yp
the productions of Nature; and In his early youth
Alexander Humboldt wrote an essay with hc express
object OF refutiug ths notion We regard the pyra-
niiis the work Of mems hands aided probably by
machinery Of which no record remains. We picture TO
ourselves The swatniig WORKERS tOlg at those vast
erpctiOns, fHg the Inert stones. ana guided by the
yOliion, Tho sk and possibly at times by the whip OF
the architect, placing the stones ~ Their proper pOons
The blocks la this were moved by power external
"a themselves, and the dnal form ~ the pyramid
pressed the thought of is human builder
Let from this Illustration or building power to
another OF different kind. When "a solution of common
salt h slowly evhpOrdted the water which holds the eat
i solution disappears but the salt Itself remains behind
retain the liquid form is pertoes OF noiecnles hs they
called TO depOsit Themselves as minute Solids
evaporation continues solidincaton goes on, and We
Anay obtain through the clustering together OF IN
numeTahe molecules, finite mass OF salt Of definite
of the architecture OF Egypt We have little pyramids
built by the sa terrace above terrace, from base 10
apex forming thus series OF steps resembling those up
which the Egyptian traveller 10 dragged by his guides
The human mind little disposed to look at these
pyramidal satcystals without further question TO
hook the pyramids Of Egypt Without nqung whence
they came How then are those salt py Tands Dut up
the constituent molecules Of the salt, there IS
Invisible population guided and cofrcrd y some invisible
master aud placing ihe atomic blocks ia thelr positions
This, however l. not the scientific idea, do think
your good sense will accept IL "A likely The
scieDc idea Is that the molecules act up0n each other
without the Intervention Of labor that they at-
points and in certain definite directions; and that the
pyraiudal form s the result OF this play OF attraction
aud repulsiOn. While then the blocks OF Egypt were laid
bloeks OF salt sefposted being nXed IN their places