Decline of Science in England by Charles Babbage (red white royal blue txt) 📖
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to be, printed with the Statutes of the Society; but that volume
is only in the hands of members, and it is for the credit of the
medals themselves, that the laws which regulate their award
should be widely known, in order that persons, not members of the
Society, might enter into competition for them.
Information relative to the admissions and deaths amongst the
Society would also be interesting; a list of the names of those
whom the Society had lost, and of those members who had been
added to its ranks each year, would find a proper place in the
historical pages which ought to be given with each volume of our
Transactions.
The want of a distinction between the working members of the
Society, and those who merely honour it with their patronage,
renders many arrangements, which would be advantageous to
science, in some cases, injudicious, and in other instances,
almost impossible.
Collections of Observations which are from time to time given to
the Society, may be of such a nature, that but few of the members
are interested in them. In such cases, the expense of printing
above 800 copies may reasonably induce the Council to decline
printing them altogether; whereas, if they had any means of
discrimination for distributing them, they might be quite willing
to incur the expense of printing 250. Other cases may occur, in
which great advantage would accrue, if the principle were once
admitted. Government, the Universities, public bodies, and even
individuals might, in some cases, be disposed to present to the
Royal Society a limited number of copies of their works, if they
knew that they were likely to be placed in the hands of persons
who would use them. Fifty or a hundred additional copies might,
in some cases, not be objected to on the ground of expense, when
seven or eight hundred would be quite out of the question.
Let us suppose twenty copies of a description of some new
chemical process to be placed at the disposal of the Royal
Society by any public body; it will not surely be contended that
they ought all to remain on the Society’s shelves. Yet, with our
present rules, that would be the case. If, however, the list of
the Members of the Society were read over to the Council, and the
names of those gentlemen known to be conversant with chemical
science were written down; then, if nineteen copies of the work
were given to those nineteen persons on this list, who had
contributed most to the Transactions of the Society, they would
in all probability be placed in the fittest hands.
Complete sets of the Philosophical Transactions have now become
extremely bulky; it might be well worth our consideration,
whether the knowledge of the many valuable papers they contain
would not be much spread, by publishing the abstracts of them
which have been read at the ordinary meetings of the Society.
Perhaps two or three volumes octavo, would contain all that has
been done in this way during the last century.
Another circumstance, which would contribute much to the order of
the proceedings of the Council, would be to have a distinct list
made out of all the statutes and orders of the Council relating
to each particular subject.
Thus the President, by having at one view before him all that had
ever been decreed on the question under consideration, would be
much better able to prevent inconsistent resolutions, and to save
the time of the Council from being wasted by unnecessary
discussions.
SECTION 6.
ORDER OF MERIT.
Amongst the various proposals for encouraging science, the
institution of an order of merit has been suggested. It is
somewhat singular, that whilst in most of the other kingdoms of
Europe, such orders exist for the purpose of rewarding, by
honorary distinctions, the improvers of the arts of life, or
successful discoverers in science, nothing of the kind has been
established in England. [At the great meeting of the
philosophers at Berlin, in 1828, of which an account is given in
the Appendix; the respect in which Berzelius, Oersted, Gauss, and
Humboldt were held in their respective countries was apparent in
the orders bestowed on them by the Sovereigns of Sweden, of
Denmark, of Hanover, and of Prussia; and there were present many
other philosophers, whose decorations sufficiently attested the
respect in which science was held in the countries from which
they came.]
Our orders of knighthood are favourable only to military
distinction. It has been urged, as an argument for such
institutions, that they are a cheap mode of rewarding science,
whilst, on the other hand, it has been objected, that they would
diminish the value of such honorary distinctions by making them
common. The latter objection is of little weight, because the
numbers who pursue science are few, and, probably, will long
continue so. It would also be easily avoided, by restricting the
number of the order or of the class, if it were to form a
peculiar class of another order. Another objection, however,
appears to me to possess far greater weight; and, however strong
the disposition of the Government might be (if such an order
existed) to fill it properly, I do not believe that, in the
present state of public opinion respecting science, it could be
done, and, in all probability, it would be filled up through the
channels of patronage, and by mere jobbers in science.
Another proposal, of a similar kind, has also been talked of, one
which it may appear almost ridiculous to suggest in England, but
which would be considered so in no other country. It is, to
ennoble some of the greatest scientific benefactors of their
country. Not to mention political causes, the ranks of the
nobility are constantly recruited from the army, the navy, and
the bar; why should not the family of that man, whose name is
imperishably connected with the steam-engine, be enrolled amongst
the nobility of his country? In utility and profit, not merely
to that country, but to the human race, his deeds may proudly
claim comparison even with the most splendid of those achieved by
classes so rich in glorious recollections. An objection, in most
cases fatal to such a course, arises from the impolicy of
conferring a title, unless a considerable fortune exists to
support it; a circumstance very rarely occurring to the
philosopher. It might in some measure be removed, by creating
such titles only for life. But here, again, until there existed
some knowledge of science amongst the higher classes, and a sound
state of public opinion relative to science, the execution of the
plan could only be injurious.
SECTION 7.
OF THE UNION OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.
This idea has occurred to several persons, as likely to lead to
considerable advantages to science. If the various scientific
societies could unite in the occupation of one large building,
considerable economy would result from the union. By properly
arranging their evenings of meeting, one meeting-room only need
be required. The libraries might either be united, or arranged
in adjoining rooms; and such a system would greatly facilitate
the inquiries of scientific persons.
Whether it would be possible to reunite in any way the different
societies to the Royal Society, might be a delicate question; but
although, on some accounts, desirable, that event is not
necessary for the purpose of their having a common residence.
The Medico-Botanical Society might, perhaps, from sympathy, be
the first to which the Royal Society would apply; and by a proper
interchange of diplomas, [A thing well understood by the
INITIATED, both at HOME and ABROAD.] the two societies might be
inoculated with each other. But even here some tact would be
required; the Medico-Botanical is a little particular about the
purity of its written documents, and lately attributed blame to
one of its officers for some slight tampering with them, a degree
of illiberality which the Council of the Royal Society are far
from imitating.
The Geological and the Astronomical Societies nourish no feelings
of resentment to the parent institution for their early
persecution; and though they have no inducement to seek, would
scarcely refuse any union which might be generally advantageous
to science.
CONCLUSION.
In a work on the Decline of Science, at a period when England has
so recently lost two of its brightest ornaments, I should hardly
be excused if I omitted to devote a few words to the names of
Wollaston and of Davy. Until the warm feelings of surviving
kindred and admiring friends shall be cold as the grave from
which remembrance vainly recalls their cherished forms, invested
with all the life and energy of recent existence, the volumes of
their biography must be sealed. Their contemporaries can expect
only to read their eloge.
In habits of intercourse with both those distinguished
individuals, sufficiently frequent to mark the curiously
different structure of their minds, I was yet not on such terms
even with him I most esteemed, as to view his great qualities
through that medium which is rarely penetrated by the eyes of
long and very intimate friendship.
Caution and precision were the predominant features of the
character of Wollaston, and those who are disposed to reduce the
number of principles, would perhaps justly trace the precision
which adorned his philosophical, to the extreme caution which
pervaded his moral character. It may indeed be questioned whether
the latter quality will not in all persons of great abilities
produce the former.
Ambition constituted a far larger ingredient in the character of
Davy, and with the daring hand of genius he grasped even the
remotest conclusions to which a theory led him. He seemed to
think invention a more common attribute than it really is, and
hastened, as soon as he was in possession of a new fact or a new
principle, to communicate it to the world, doubtful perhaps lest
he might not be anticipated; but, confident in his own powers, he
was content to give to others a chance of reaping some part of
that harvest, the largest portion of which he knew must still
fall to his own share.
Dr. Wollaston, on the other hand, appreciated more truly the
rarity of the inventive faculty; and, undeterred by the fear of
being anticipated, when he had contrived a new instrument, or
detected a new principle, he brought all the information that he
could collect from others, or which arose from his own
reflection, to bear upon it for years, before he delivered it to
the world.
The most singular characteristic of Wollaston’s mind was the
plain and distinct line which separated what he knew from what he
did not know; and this again, arising from his precision, might
be traced to caution.
It would, however, have been visible to such an extent in few
except himself, for there were very few so perfectly free from
vanity and affectation. To this circumstance may be attributed a
peculiarity of manner in the mode in which he communicated
information to those who sought it from him, which was to many
extremely disagreeable. He usually, by a few questions,
ascertained precisely how much the inquirer knew upon the
subject, or the exact point at which his ignorance commenced, a
process not very agreeable to the vanity of mankind; taking up
the subject at this point, he would then very clearly and shortly
explain it.
His acquaintance with mathematics was very limited. Many years
since, when I was an unsuccessful candidate for a professorship
of mathematics, I applied to Dr. W. for a recommendation; he
declined it, on the ground of its not being his pursuit. I told
him I asked it, because I thought it would have weight, to which
he replied, that it
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