Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 29.djvu/55

Rh, in law, or in moral, natural, or other science, is out of his place in a political assembly. He would hardly go there except from motives of patriotism, or under a transitory, enthusiastic impulse, and would very soon find out that he did not belong there. How could he lend himself to the manoeuvres of politicians? How, for example, could he trade off a principle against a railroad, a charitable foundation for an election? How could he consent to transactions between truth and falsehood, to the barter of opinions which is the rule in political affairs? Men of science are sometimes found in considerable numbers in political assemblies, but the others always do their best to make them ridiculous, and kill them off by giving them bad names. "As a rule," M. de Candolle adds, "governments too much confound teaching with progress in science. Many of them believe they have done everything when they have created schools and universities. They do not comprehend that they often do more harm than good by restricting these institutions in their methods, or in the choice of teachers. They do not know to what degree science lives on liberty and on the individual work of masters and pupils outside of the lessons. Sometimes they overcharge the professors with courses, examinations, or administrative details which deprive those who wish to work of the time to do so. They pay but little attention to the encouragement of original publications, the sale of which at the book-stores is far from being remunerative, and even when they do anything in that way, it is awkwardly, and to poor purpose.

"The idea of constructing expensive buildings for universities, laboratories, etc., is now very much in vogue. Such munificence furthers some works and gives means of obtaining greater precision in experiments, but it discourages isolated investigators who have not the same resources, while researches at home are usually the best thought out and the most original."

Absolute sovereigns have sometimes invited distinguished men to their capitals and bestowed their favors upon them. But this, after all, was only a way of changing the place of scientific culture, not of creating it. Generally, emigrations of savants have been useful to