The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1910-06-07
ROOSEVELT LECTURE Al.
OXFORD
CONTINUED From Page One

more jealous scientific historians, who
apparently hold that the worth OF
] historical book Is directly In proper
/ ton to the lmpossIbility OF reading 1t,
save as painful duty. Now l am
willing that history shall be treated
as branch OF science, but only on
| condition that It also remains
branch OF literature, and. further
more. | believe that as the field OF
| science encroaches on the field OF lit
| erature, there should be a correspond.
| ing encroachment of literature upon
| science; and | hold that one of the
| great needs, which can only be met by
very able men whose culture is broad
| enough to include literature as well as
| science, is the need of books for sci.
entfic laymen. We need n literature
| of science which shall be readable So
far from doing away With the school
| Of great historians, the school of
Polybius and Tacitus. Gibbon and Ma
caulay, we need merely that the fu-
ture writer's OF history, without losing
the qualities which have made those
men great, shall also utilize the new
facts and new methods which science
has put at their disposal Dryness is
not In itself measure of value. No
Scientific" treatise about st Louis
will displace JoinYile, for the very
reason that Joinyille's place Is In both
history and literature. no minute
study Of the Napoleonic wars will
teach us more than Marbot-and Mar
| bot Is as interesting as Walter Scott
! Moreover, certain at least of the
branches OF science should likewise be
treated by masters In the art Of pre-.
sentiment. so that the layman inter
estcd in science. no less than the lay.
man Interested In history. shall have
on his shelves classics which
can be read. Whether this wish
be or be not capable Of re-
! alizaton, II assuredly remains true
That the great historian of the fu-
ture must essentially represent the
ideal strivon after by the great his
torians of the past The Industrious
collector of facts occupies an honor
ablo bur not an exalted position. and
the scientific historian who produces
books which are not literature must
rost content with the honor. substan-
tial but not OF the highest type. that
belongs to him who gathers material
which some time some great master
shall arise to use,
Yet, while freely conceding all that
can be said OF the masters OF litera-
ture, we must insist upon the hlstor-
Ian OF mankind working In the scien-
tiHc spirit. and using the treasure
houses Of science. He who would full
ly treat of man must know at least
something OF biology. of the science
that treats of living, breathing things:
and especially Of that science OF evo-
luton which IL lnseparably connect
ed with the great name of Darwin. OF
course there Is no exact pnrallellsm
! between the birth, growth, and death
/ of species In the animal world and
the birth. growth and death OF socie-
ties OF the world of man. Yet there is
certain parallelism. There arc
strange analogies: 1t may he that
there are homologies
How far the resemblanceS between
the two sets of phenomena are more
than accidental how far biology can
be used as an aid in the interpreta-
tion of human history. we cannot at
| present say The historian should
never forget. what the highest type Of
scientific man is always teaching us to
remember that willingness TO ndmit
| ignorance is a primo factor in devel-
oping wisdom out Of knowledge. Wis
dom is advanced by research which
enables us to add 10 knowledge. and.
moreover. the way for wisdom ls made
ready when men who record facts OF
vast but unknown import, when ask
ed to explain their full significance
are willing frankly to answer that
they do not know. The research
which enables US to add TO the sum of
complete knowledge stands FIRST; but
second only stands the research which
while enabling us clearly to pose the
problem, also requires us to say that
with our present knowledge we can
offer no complete solution.
Let me illustrate what | mean by
an instance or TWO taken from one OF
the most fascinating branches of
world history, the history of the high
er forms OF life. OF mammalian life,
on this globe.
Biologists and astronomers are not
agreed as TO the length of time neces-
sary for the changes that have TAX
en- place. Al any rate. many hun
dreds OF thousands OF years. some mil
lions of years. have passed by since
IN the eocene. at the beginning of
the tertiary period, we find the traces
OF an abundant life on the land
masses out of which have grown the
continents as we see them today The
ages swept by, until. with the advent
of man substantially in the physical
shape In which we now know him, we
also flnd a mammalian fauna not es.
sentially different in king, though
widely differing in distribution, from
that of the present day. Throughout
this immense period form succeeds
| form. type succeeds type. In obedience
| TO laws OF evolution, of progress and
retrogresslon, OF development and
death, which we as yet understand
only In the most imperfect manner, AS
| knowledge increases, our wisdom is Of
| ten turned into foolishness, and many
| OF the phenomena of evolution which
| seemed clearly eXpllcable to the learn
| ed master of science who founded
| these lectures, TO us nowadays seem
far less satisfactorily explained The
| scientific men of most note now diner
| widely in their estimates OF the Tela"
| tive parts played In evolution by not
uTal selection, by mutation. by tue In
| heritance of acquired characteristics
| and we study their writings with
| growing impression that there arc
forces at work which our blinded eyes
wholly fall to apprehend, and where
thiv Io tha caco thc mart OF wisdom