The University daily. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 18??-????, 1880-06-11
ADD Z. SSE S
I DELAHRED sy THR
GRADUAL NC CLASS
West Virginia University,
Ians 10th 1880.
June 10Th 1880.
Essay The Value Of Mathematic.
al STUDY BY 6. E. Grafton.

$3.50 Isfe & s.
Eyer since the first appearance Of man
on earth The tendency Of his mind has
been ID anravel some Of the hidden truths
ofnatnre however rudeshis method Of
study, however erroneous his conelu-
sions,ghis efforts have been to establish
! the Various branches of science. IA hese
discoveries have been made one at atine J;
I each genS fatioRi feF long ages has added
itslabofs TO the stock Of knowledge all
ready possessed, and in5this&siow and TEL
tdious manner has science attained its
magnificent proportions.
So science has been advancing, and
will advance through the years to come,
until the scientist fifty Centuries hence.
viii look upon this as but the dawn Of
the true civilization. 1sl
Each age connects the mistakes of the
preceding, discovers new laws and by the
aid gilmore perfect instruments is. enabled
to observe new phenomena, and science
is built A step higher.
Owing to the enslaved condition Of the
mind the. progress Of science from the.
time. Of the Chaldean shepherds almost to
the beginning of the nineteenth Century
has been extremely slow, every law of
nature that was discovered, had to be.
squared with existing opinions opinions
evolved from the fertile brain Of some
romancist Of handed down from the
superstitious creed of the forefathers
II This course was the parent Of numerous
mistakes and falEaeies, and it was not till
after the intellectual emancipation in
EuroPe,5till after Bacon and Deseartes
had begun the philosophical revolution
that science was permitted to pursue its
course. free and .unhampered by the dog
] mas Of the, early3and middle ages
Since that time, the growth, develop,
:ment and discoveries of science have ex-
cited the wonder and surprise of every
one, ard tanned the faans Of enthusiast
I il, its deyotess.
4 The sciences which are now attracting
I the most attention, and those which Sepa-
rate modern from ancient study, are
those which co1lcernithe material universe.
Such Hasl.Astronony, Chemistry, Physics
and Geology. Az
Some Of these were studied by the an:
clients, but in such a speculative manner
that nothing resulted from it, but wild
!. schemes WHICH had no foundation in
reality. N sf.ss I
1IAsEr enomy was studied mainly as a
d help, tor with reference to Astrology, or
the science 5of predicting events by the
aspect5or situation Of the planets; it was
the tool of kings, shrewd courtiers and.
ambitious priests, sto gain influence over.
their superstitious subjects BY the exer-
cisetofE supernatural power; and Chemis-
/ try had for its object a no less supersti-
tious end, namely the study Of Alchemy.
andtfe finding Of the Philosophers Stone,
and Elixir Of Life.
Such were some Of the uses to which
These noble sciences were put by the
ancients and yettwhile pursuing these
wild schemes theymade many discoveries,
especially in Medicine, Chemistry and
Geology. which has been of incalculable
benefit to modern science.
III Distinct from these, and yet insepara-
bly, connected with them are the pure
sciences So called from the fact that
( they have no connection with the phys
icalEormateriai universe,
They are formed purely from reason
andsspeculation on certain propertiesas
Tirne, Space and Number, these depart
mehts are Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry
: and Calculus. Il
OF these, Arithmetic and Geometry
we're cultivated by the Egyptians and
Arabians, while Algebra and Calculus
havela more modern origin.
These are separated from the mixed
sciences in that they are deductive and
not 5inductiye; they are truths built up
from the fertility ofthe brain. and not in
jured from observed faetsin nature. The
pure sciences having been deducted from
thought and mental labor alone, have
been true from the beginning the dis
eoveries Of the ancients almost unchanged
from the text book IN Geometry to-day
After ne decline Of philosophy IN