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There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031322781 ON THE IMPOETANCE OF THE STUDY OF CHEMISTEY AS A BKANCH OF EDUCATION FOE ALL CLASSES: A LECTURE DELIVEEED AT THE EOTAL INSTITUTION OE GBEAT BEITAIN. CHAELES G. B. DAUBENY, M.D. F.R.S. IXj * phopessok of chemistkt and of botany in the tjnivee3itt op oxfoed. ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF CHEMISTRY AS A MEANS OF EDUCATION. T CAN imagine one of the regular frequenters of -^ this theatre, who had caught the first part only of the title which announces the Lecture I am about to deliver, marvelling not a little, that jowr managers should have thought it worth their while to invite a professor from Oxford to indoctrinate the members of the Royal Institution with respect to the ' Import- ance of Chemistry/ That arguments for such a purpose might be use- ful in the provinces, or even to an academic body occupied for the most part on the literature of past ages, would appear but natural ; but that any consi- derations of the kind should be pressed upon the attention of those, who are in the daily habit of watching the unfolding of those scientific truths, of which this Institution may be said to be the birth- [ 117 ] L 2 DR. DAUBENY place, might seem to them little better than an un- profitable waste of time. I must, therefore, begin by reminding you, that the subject of this Lecture is not the importance of chemistry, considered in itself, but only as it is an instrument of general education ; and, in this point of view, it appears to me, that the very circumstance which may to some appear to render such a discus- sion here superfluous, imparts to it a peculiar pro- priety, when we regard the place in which it is de- livered, and the audience I am now addressing. Education, gentlemen, I need hardly say, is framed with reference to the requirements of the great mass of society, rather than of that small number of indi- viduals who are capable of rising to eminence. Genius under any circumstances, and despite of almost every amount of discouragement, wiU carve for itself a path to distinction : it grows up under the most dissimilar modes of mental culture ; and is capable of extracting nourishment, for its own development, from the hardest and most indigestible food. But it is for the sake of those not intended by nature as the pioneers of discovery, or as the origi- nators of new principles in science, that our systems of education are chiefly framed ; and such men would be rather deterred from the study than invited to it, by having put before them so frequently, as is the [ "8 ] ON THE STUDY OF CHEMISTRY. case within this theatre, the results of those original and profound investigations which have signalized the march of modern chemistry. In consequence of having their attention rivetted upon points of scientific research, which are placed on heights to them inaccessible, they are the more likely to overlook the harvest that lay at their very feet, and which came within the compass of those powers and energies of mind, which fall to the common lot of mankind. It will therefore be my purpose to show, that even to those who do not feel within themselves the capa- city of originating new truths, or even of fully apprehending the higher problems with which this science has to grapple, chemistry is a study not only of lively interest, but also of great utility, with a view to attaining those objects which are aimed at in every complete and well -digested scheme of national education. And in employing the term, ' national education,' I mean to include in it that of the highest as well as of the humblest grade of society ; for although the difference is great indeed between the com- pleteness of the instruction provided, and consequently between the machinery employed, in these two cases, I can recognise no fundamental difference in the objects aimed at. [ "9 ] DR. DAUBENT Primary educatioiij I conceive, independently of the reference it ought to have to the inculcation of right principles in religion and morality, objects, which, although the most importaiit of any, do not fall within the scope of this lecture — ^has two distinct ends to accomplish : namely, first, that of disciphning and developing the several powers of the mind; and, secondly, that of imparting to it certain kinds of useful general information. Although some have iosisted exclusively upon the former, whilst others have attached the greatest weight to the latter of these objects, it is certain that they can neither be disjoined in practice, nor ought to be separated in theory, by any judicious system of education. With the exception perhaps of logic and pure mathematics, there are none of the sciences, which do not at once supply materials for thought and reflection, as well as improve = the faculty of ap- prehending and comparing them ; nor, on the other hand, would it be easy to pitch upon any species of knowledge worthy of a place in a system of liberal instruction, which does not also, to a certain extent, exercise and discipline the understanding. This, however, supplies no reason why we should not keep distinct in theory the two ends above men- tioned, and consider separately the best means by which each may be attained — and first, then, beginning [ "o ] ON THE STUDY OF CHEMISTRY. ■with that which we regard as the more important of the twOj let us consider what kind of education is likely to operate most effectually in disciplining and developing the mental organisation. The intellectual principle in man is ia its early state scarcely to be distinguished from the instinct of brutes, and is in some respects inferior to it ; but it yet con- tains within itself the capacity of reasoning, of imagi- nation, of taste, of tracing resemblances, and thus of classifying the objects presented before it — the germs, in short, of all the powers and endowments which we find afterwards unfolded. In whatever degree these gifts may in each instance be apportioned, it is hardly possible to conceive a rational being totally destitute of any one of them ; incapable, that is, either of deducing inferences from the facts before him, of combining the images presented to his mind by the senses into new forms, of being pleasurably affected by certain arrangements of ideas more than by others, or of placing together individual facts in some sort of order or method. Now, it is the primary object of education to im- part to each of these faculties its proper development^ and no system which overlooks any one of them can be regarded as complete. Any method which should mature the judgment, without calling iato play the inventive faculty; or which cultivated the taste, to the [ -■ 1 DR. DAUBENY neglect of the other powers of classifying^ combining, or reasoning upon the objects brought before the mind, must be condemned as defective. Now it will be my endeavour to show, that the study of chemistry is conducive to more than one of the great ends above pointed out as the general aim of Education. It has been objected to, indeed, that its principles are as yet not sufficiently defined, or susceptible of that degree of mathematical precision, which befits them for the purpose of training the powers of reasoning. Nor would I by any means desire, that by those who have the leisure and ability to pursue to any ex- tent the study of mathematics, chemistry should be admitted as a substitute. Whilst, however, there are many in every class of society, even, indeed, in the highest, upon whose minds abstract propositions scarcely take any hold ; there are probably none who would not reap advantage, from having their attention directed to a class of subjects, upon which the premises are pre- sented to them in a more palpable form, and the con- clusions to be deduced are of that contingent cha- racter, which bear a nearer analogy to those relating to the ordinary events of man's life. But the cultivation of the reasoning powers con- stitutes only a part, and even the smallest part, of the [ I" ] ON THE STUDY OP CHEMISTRY. services rendered by cliemistry in the cultivation of the intellect. No one of the physical sciences^ perhapSj is equally well calculated to promote habits of close observation ; a rigorous attention to aU the peculiarities of each phenomenon; that aptitude in forming new combinations out of the impressions received from withoutj which constitutes imaginatioUj and gives birth to invention ; and that power of de- tecting similitudes and differences, which enables the mind to arrange and classify in some sort of order the diversified objects presented to it. Nor is this so common an endowment as might be at first supposed. ' One man/ says Mr. Mill, ' from inattention, or attending only in the wrong place, overlooks half of what he sees ; another sets down much more than he sees, confounding it with what he imagines, or with what he infers ; another takes note of the kind of aU the circumstances, but being inexpert in estimating their degree, leaves the quantity of each vague and uncertain; another sees, indeed, the whole, but makes such an awkward divi- sion of it into parts, throwing things into one mass which requires to be separated, and separating others which might more conveniently be considered as one, that the result is much the same, sometimes even worse, than if no analysis had been attempted at all. ' To point out what qualities of mind, or modes of [ X23 ] T)R. DAUBENY" mental culture fit a man for being a good observer, is a question which belongs to the theory of education. There are rules of self-culture which render us capable of observing, as there are arts for strengthen^ ing the limbs'* In ascribing to the study of this science all these several advantages, I am not of course considering it as if it were to be prosecuted exclusively from books, or consisted in the mere conxmittal to memory of a certaiQ number of facts and principles. The student who embarks with any degree of zeal or ardour in this branch of philosophy is almost irresistibly led on from theory to experiment, and becomes impelled by mere curiosity, if not by some higher motive, to ob- serve with his own eyes, and to verify by his own senses, those properties of matter, which verbal description can, after all, only faintly and imperfectly delineate. Once entered upon this hue of pursuit, he engages in it with something of the same zest which the sports- man entertains ia tracking his game — he soon begins to experience a personal pride in the success of his trials, and feels himself humbled in his own estimation, if they should chance to disappoint his anticipations. There is also always enough of uncertainty with respect to the success of an experiment, especially in * Mill's Logic, voL i. p. 438. [ "4 1 ON THE STUDY OF CHEMISTRY. unpractised hands^ to keep awake his attention^ and to bring the subject, as respects himself, under the category of contingent events. Every chemist, indeed, soon becomes aware on how many minute and apparently unimportant points the success of any of his processes depends, and how much incidental knowledge of other bodies, besides those upon which he is operating, becomes requisite, in order to guard against defeat. The student, also, after following for some time in the footsteps of others, and satisfying himself by ocular proof of the facts which first attracted his curiosity, is led on to question Nature himself for further information, and to engage in independent lines of research, which will, to a certain extent at least, partake of the character of originality. And here the inventive faculty is at once disci- plined and excited; for whilst his imagination is checked in its random flights by the penalty of failure imposed upon unsound and visionary speculation, his power of combining into new arrangements the ideas presented to his mind is promoted, by the necessity of contriving new processes, and of meditating upon what is likely to occur under another set of conditions. Illustrations of this will occur during every attempt at analysis, during the examination of every new substance submitted to the chemist. [ >^5 1 DR. DAUBENT In each case the solution of the problem can only he arrived at by a number of tentative efforts, each of which requires, on the part of the operator, the exercise of invention, of memory, and of judgment. Simple as the principle elicited may appear to be, when the key to its solution has been found, often, indeed, the more simple, in proportion to the elevated rank it holds amongst the truths of the science, the discoverer alone knows through how many devious paths of error the clue to its attainment had to be followed, and how much his own intellectual vigour was, in the meantime, promoted by the pursuit. Let me remind you, for instance, of that important yet simple law which established the connexion be- tween electrical attraction and chemical affinity, the investigation of which led the illustrious individual who first gave celebrity to this institution to some of the greatest discoveries of modern chemistry. We are at present so famiharized with the fact that water is resolved by voltaic electricity into oxygen and hydrogen gases alone, as to be scarcely able to estimate the difficulties that beset the earlier experi- mentalists, or to account for the number of conflicting hypotheses suggested for a phenomenon now consi- dered as so simple. Nevertheless, when Davy first turned his attention [ 1^6] ON THE STUDY OP CHEMISTRY. to the subject, the constant association of acid with the oxygen, and of alkali, and even lime, with the hydrogen of the water decomposed, complicated the phenomenon in such a manner, that it was diffi- cult to arrive at any satisfactory explanation of it. It required, perhaps, no particular sagacity to con- jecture that these foreign ingredients might be derived from the vessels, or other bodies, in contact with the electrolised water, but the difficulty consisted in demonstrating that such was the case. Davy was soon led by this suspicion to discontinue the use of vegetable or animal substances for connecting the poles, finding that all such materials yielded, by their decomposition, muriatic acid ; and, for the same reason, he also abandoned glass vessels, as yielding soda. By substituting, therefore, agate for glass, and fibres of pure amianthus for cotton, he had reason to flatter himself that every source of fallacy had been removed ; but to his surprise, muriatic acid still made its appear- ance at the positive pole, and soda at the negative. Here a fanciful or an indolent operator might have been tempted to stop ; for at that period it was regarded by no means so self-evident as it may appear to us at present, that such bodies as alkalies and acids might not be generated by an agent, of which so little was known, and from whose mysterious operation everything might be expected. [ "7 ] DE. DAXJBENY Da^y, however, was not to be diverted from his inquiries by any such visionary speculations. By ascertaining that the quantity of saliae matter dimi- nished when the experiments were again and again repeated, he felt justified in concluding that the agate must have yielded it. Still however a constant, although a smaller quantity of alkali was generated in each experiment; and to determine its source, cups of pure gold were substituted for those of agate. Yet, even then, the same alkali was obtairied, and as the only other conceivable source was the water, this, though it had been already carefully distilled, was submitted to analysis, and found to contain m. the quart seven-tenths of a grain of saline matter. Davy now fancied that he should cut off every remaining source of error by re-distilling the water ia silver vessels, with the most scrupulous care. The water was thus obtained in a state of absolute purity, but still the alkali, although diminished in quantity, did not altogether disappear when the water was elec- trolised. Upon a more critical examination, however, it turned out that the alkali thus generated was no longer soda, but ammonia. It thus appeared, that even when every apparent means of impurity had been removed, alkaline matter was evolved during the electroUsation of water ; and the same conclusion seemed deducible with respect [ "8 ] ON THE STUDY OF CHEMISTRY. to the other extraneous product^ whichj however, now that all vegetable matter had been excluded, was found to consist, not as before of muriatic, but of nitric acid. It then occurred to Davy's sagacious mind, that both these products might have arisen from the affi- nity of the nitrogen of the surrounding air, for the oxygen of the water on the one hand, and for its hydrogen on the other. He therefore next performed the experiment under an exhausted receiver, employing for the purpose of electrolisation water deprived of air by careful boil- ing. His method succeeded at least in cutting off the supply of ammonia, and thus satisfied him that he had hit upon the real cause of its previous occurrence. But a difficulty still remained to be got over; for even under these circumstances nitric acid con- tinued to be present, although in much smaller quantities than before. The crowning experiment therefore had still to be achieved ; the receiver under which the voltaic action was to take place, after being exhausted, was carefully filled with hydrogen, and then a second time exhausted, so as to secure the entire exclusion of atmospheric air. When this final step was taken, the operator had at length the satisfaction of finding, that all sources of fallacy were removed, neither acid nor alkali being [ 1^9 ] DR. DAUBENY generatedj even when the voltaic process had been contimied duiing twenty-four hours ; thus justifying him in laying down, as now beyond the reach of doubt, that nothing but hydrogen and oxygen is produced by the decomposition of pure water. I have been the more disposed to dwell upon this particular train of research, because it seems to me to place the philosophical character of Sir Humphry Davy under rather a dififerent aspect than that in which superficial observers are wont to regard it: exhibiting him, not as the individual who by the sudden inspiration of his genius lighted at once upon those brilliant discoveries which changed the face of the science; but as one who, by a long and laborious train of research, succeeded in realising the vision which his sagacious intellect had, in the first instance, dimly conceived. If we regard, as the two most important services rendered by this great philosopher to his favourite science, the discovery of the alkaline and earthy Bases, and the correction of our views with respect to the nature of Chlorine — the former as being his greatest contribution to the facts of chemistry, the latter to its logic — we shall find, that in both instances the results were arrived at by much patient inquiry, many minute and appai-ently trivial manipulations, and a [ '30] ON THE STUDY OP CHEMISTRY. tenacity of purpose not to be turned aside by the difficulties wbich everywhere beset his path. And it is well for the student thus to obtain a timely warning, that such is the general case with genius, not merely when occupied in the walks of science, but also in every other branch of mental exertion — exem.- plified equally in a Davy, and a Liebig, as in a Fox, and a Sheridan ; for that, by the same law which is found to prevail over the physical organization of man's nature, although we may digest, assimilate, and combine, with different degrees of facility, the materials placed within our reach, we cannot, in a strict sense create them; and, accordingly, that no intellect, however vigorous — ^no imagination, however prolific — can operate to any good purpose, unless it has drawn largely from the intellectual stores of others, as well as from those accumulated by its own experience and observation. It is thus that the majestic Aloe, which pushes forth innumerable blossoms in a single day, has had the materials which enabled it to achieve so astonishing an effort stored up within its cells by a long-continued process of assimilation, in readiness on the first favourable opportunity to become rapidly developed into an exuberance of fiowers and of fruit. The establishment of the doctrine of atoms affords [ 131 ] M DE. DAUBENT another striking instance of a number of minute, trivial, and apparently only teclmical investigations concurring to build up a theory which, as Sir John Herschel has truly said, is perhaps, after the laws of mechanics, the most important which the study of human nature has yet disclosed — a truth, indeed, which had occupied the minds of the first philosophers of antiquity, but which it was reserved for the experi- mentalists of the present age fully to substantiate. Depending as it does on questions involving chiefly minute differences in weight and volume, it might seem at first sight to owe more to the skill of the balance-maker, and to the eye and hand of the ope- rator, than to the sagacity which availed itself of the one, and which directed the other; but those who take this low view of the matter should be reminded, that the father of the atomic theory himself was by no means famous for skill in manipulating, but derived most of his success from his penetration in interpreting, and in combining together the facts of others. This association of minute details, with grand generalisations, will serve to show that Chemistry wields a weapon, like the trunk of the elephant, which can pick up a needle and uproot an oak ; or may be compared to the Genie of the Eastern fable, who, although rather a dangerous and unruly servant [ 133 ] ON THE STUDY OF CHEMISTRY. wlien directed by rash or ignorant mastersj "frould stoop to the homeliestj and accomplish, the most stupendous labours, when brought under the domi- nion of the Lamp. Nor, indeed, is Chemistry without its region of romance, even now that it has emancipated itself from the fictions of the Alchemist, and from the mysticism of the Rosicrusian philosophy. The Philosopher who, by the aid of his crucible and his balance, can thus obtain glim.pses of the ulti- mate constitution of matter — who can pronounce with so much confidence on the relative weight and volume of corpuscles too minute, not only to be recognised by the senses, but even to be conceived by the ima- gination — ^who can render it probable that many substances which defy our powers of analysis, are nevertheless compounds, and have been made to reveal their elements to a subtler alchemy than that of actual experiment — invests his subject, I conceive, in some degree, with the same attributes of grandeur and sublimity which we associate with the contemplation of the great works of external nature. Let me remind you, for instance, of the specula- tions which are naturally suggested by considering the mutual convertibility of the several imponderable [ 133 ] M 2 DR. DAUBENY agents^ hght, heat^ electricity^ magnetism; and Ly the relation of them all to mechanical force.* Let me bring before you those suggestions of my late fiiend Dr. Prout, as to the probability of all elementary bodies being exact multiples of hydrogen, to the realisation of which idea we seem to be brought nearer by every year's additional experience.f And let me, by reference to the Table suspended in the room,} point out to you the still further rela- tion which can be traced between the numbers representing the atomic weights of several of these elements — relations which, as some of you may recol- lect, induced Mons. Dumas, at the Ipswich meeting of the British Association, two years ago, to place certain of them in groups, each consisting of three members, and to conjecture that one of each triad might be a compound of the other two. This, however, as has been pointed out in an in- genious paper by a young American chemist,§ from * See Mr. Grove's Pamphlet on The Correlation of Phi/gical Forces. f It iias been suggested in the paper of the American chemist re- ferred to just below, that the deviations from this rule, which still appear to exist in certain elements, may not always arise from error in experiment {although this is in most cases a sufficiently plausible expla- nation), but may hereafter be found to be a secondary result of the very cause which has determined the distribution of the atomic weights ac- cording to a numerical law, just as the perturbations in astronomy are a necessary consequence of the very law they seemed at first to invalidate. J See Table 1. Of the Relations between certain Elementary Bodies. § Mr. Cooke, Professor of Chemistry at Harvard College, in Cambridge, U.S. ['34] ON THE STUDY OF CHEMISTEY. whom I have borrowed the Table just referred to, may probably be considered as an imperfect and partial view of the subject ; and, it must be confessed, that ia the existtug state of our knowledge many hypo- theses might be framed, all quite as plausible as that of the French philosopher.* Nevertheless, it can hardly be denied, after inspect- ing the above Table, that there are really some remarkable relations between the atomic weights of those elements which are most nearly connected with each other by the circumstances of homology and of isomorphism, that is, by the similar proportions in which they respectively combine with other bodies, and by the similar crystallization of the resulting products. These relations, indeed, admit of being expressed algebraically, in the case, at least, of some groups which have been most thoroughly investigated, just as may be done with' reference to organic compounds, as may be seen by the Table of the Fatty Acids,t which is placed by the side of the one before re- ferred to. * I cannot, however, admit the soundness of Mr. Cooke's sug- gestion, that the atoms of the nine series are formed of an atom of oxygen as a nucleus, with the addition of one or more groups of atoms, each weighing nine, to which the corresponding element has not yet been discovered ! We know that cyanogen, one of the series, is not so formed, for it is a compound of N 1 C 2, and as such, has been excluded from the list of bodies belonging to the nine series, although its atomic weight is 8 + « = 2. + See Table II. [ '35 ] DE. DAUBENY Hence there would seem in this respect to be an analogy between the simple radicals of inorganic bodies and the compound ones which are recognised as existing in Organic Chemistry, each member of the latter group being formed by the addition of Cg Hj, or a multiple of the same, to the atoms composing the lowest member in the series, namely, formic acid. We may also detect in both instances a similar increase in density in proportion to the increase of atomic weight. Thus, in the former class of bodies, if we take the series of nines, oxygen is gaseous at all known temperatures and pressures ; chlorine becomes liquid under four atmospheres ; bromine is a volatile liquid at common temperatures; iodine, whose atomic weight is highest, exists as an easily volatilizable sohd. And in like manner, in the latter class of bodies, we find a transition from formic acid and methylic alcohol, substances of great volatility and low atomic weight, to the fatty acids, and to ethal, which are dense solids. These generalisations, indeed, must not be allowed to warp our experimental conclusions ; but they are eminently suggestive, and may be looked upon as ex- amples of what may be termed the poetry of science, which is not without its use amongst the means of education, if only, like other poetry, it serves to impart a livelier conception of the beauty and har- ['36 ] ON THE STUDY OP CHEMISTRY. mony of creation, by affording experimental proof of that which the earliest sages of antiquity regarded as intrinsically probablcj namely, that God had ' ordered all things in measure, number, and weight/ TravTa fJ-srpii} Kai apidfiij) Kai (jTaOfiti) SicTaS,ag. The study of Chemistry seems to me also pecu- liarly adapted to initiate the youthful mind in the ofB.ce of tracing the natural affinities betwixt bodies, and thus to induce methodical and systematic views of that subordination of properties which is the basis of all classification. This is a service not to be rendered by the mathe- matical sciences, which proceed upon exact defini- tions, and habituate the mind to reject whatever does not come within the scope of rigorous deduction. For the relations between natural objects are based, not upon mutual identity, but upon degrees of re- semblance j and the characters of each of them pass by such imperceptible gradations into the next in the series, that every classification must, to a certain extent, be considered arbitrary, inasmuch as the limits of the divisions recognised can never be strictly defined. Thus the class of metals graduates into that of the simple combustibles through the intervening links of sulphur and selenium ; the acids into the bases [ '37 1 DK. DATJBENY through, alumina; the supporters of combustion into the combustibles through sulphur and phosphorus; the electrics into conductors through the fibre of the nerves and muscles of animals. The study of organic types, introduced by Dumas, and extended by Laurent and Gerhardt, may also initiate the mind in the idea which serves as a key to all the arrangements in the natural sciences — an idea which will be equally serviceable in grouping together the facts concerning our moral nature and the ordinary transactions of life, namely, that of adopting for our classification of bodies some cha- racter of primary importance, whilst we neglect those minor differences which must ever exist between one individual object and another. Chemistry also appears to be calculated to afford useful lessons in the art of nomenclature. In no other of the sciences has so perfect a speci- men of this kind been exhibited as by Guyton Morveau, in his adaptation of the names of chemical substances to the theory of Lavoisier ; and although the newer views entertained with respect to the nature of the combinations then recognised may have ren- dered some part of this nomenclature inappropriate, yet its original merits may be estimated by the fact, that no modifications in it have been proposed except \vhat were forced upon us by changes in theory, and [ -38 ] ON THE STUDY OP CHEMISTRY. that the principal attempts at nomenclatiire since madCj have been rather extensions of the rules laid down in this scheme^ than a substitution of any new principle for the one which had served for their basis* But it is time to hasten on to the second branch of my subject — namely, the propriety of making Chemistry a part of that kind of primary instruction which aims at imparting a certain amount of general information to the youthful mind. The crude notions so currently entertained with respect to what is called General Knowledge have created a prejudice against this Department of Educa- tiouj which has induced many to contend that the sole aim of the latter is to train and develop the powers of the understanding. * I would not defend the practice of aflBxing to simple suistcmces names founded upon theoretical considerations, but conceive that, in the case of compound ones, it was a great gain to science, when Lavoisier substituted for the arbitrary designations then in use, words which at least indicated those ingredients by the union of which the bodies in question were commonly prepared. That oil of vitriol is obtained by combining sulphur with oxygen, and Glauber salt by bringing together sulphuric acid and soda, are facts sufficient to jus- tify the names of sulphuric acid and of sulphate of soda assigned to these bodies ; and their truth remains as before, whether we regard them with Lavoisier, respectively SO 3 +H O, and SOS -t-Na O ; or SO 4+H, and SO 4-l-Na, as the Binary Theory represents them. Nor would the facts be altered, even if the latter view of the constitution of salts, which is now in favour, were hereafter to be superseded by some other more plausible hypothesis. [ 139 1 DE. DAUBENT Nevertheless, although nothing «an he more ab- surd than to encumber the youthful mind with a heap of heterogeneous facts, -without -connexion one with the other, without interest to the pupU, and without any reference to his peculiar genius or future des- tination ; yet it cannot be doubted, that the period set apart for education is the .one best fitted for storing up in the mind materials for thought, as well as those general principles and laws of the moral and physical world which are likely to be called into requisition in the course of his future life. This, indeed, is acknowledged to be the case with reference to what concerns man as an iadividual and as a member of society; on which accounts the events of history, the laws and constitution of om" own country, and the principles of the philosophy of the human miad, hold a prominent part in every system of education. But is it not also important, whatever our pupil's destination may be^ that he should not leave us in entire ignorance of the laws and constitution of the objects that surround him — his companions from the cradle to the grave — bodies with which he will be brought into contact, as agents of good or of evil, at every moment of his existence ? And if the vast extent of the field thus opened be pleaded as a reason for limiting the student's range [ HO ] ON THE STUDY OP CHEMISTRY. to particular branches of physical inquiry^ those sciences^ which lie at the root of all our knowledge of the material worlds and without some insight into which our acquaintance with individual facts must be merely empirical, unquestionably deserve the pre- ference. Now, if we classify the different departments of Natural Science, as I have done in the Table sus- pended in the room,* it will be manifest, that the more fundamental ones, occupyiag the first division in the scheme submitted, will he those which comprise a knowledge of — * NATURAL SCIENOB INOLUDBS, AS PEIMAEZ, OB FUNDAMENTAL BBANCHES, A KNOWLEDSE OP ! Celestial Terrestrial The properties distinctive of Bodies in general — I Inorganic. Chemistry ( Organic. The properties distinctive of living Bodies in particular I Vegetable. —Physiology ( Animal. AS SPECIAL OE SUEOKDINATE BRANCHES, THE NATURAL HISTORY OP r Of the Atmosphere . . Meteorology. Inorganic bodies, viz., -j Of the Earth and its con- I, tents Mineralogy. Lithology. Geological Dy- namics. Palseontology. . (Of Vegetables. . j SJa^^r '^ Organic bodies, ""Z., j Zoology. (Of Animals. . . | ^^tomy. [ HI ] DK. DAUBENY I. the general laws common to all matter what- soever. andly. the special properties and relations of those bodies^ which are either most famUiar to us, most useful, or most generally diffused throughout nature, so far as they are not influenced by vital forces. 3rdly. the general laws which govern life, both as it exists in the animal and in the vegetable kingdom. Of these, the first named is termed mechanical philosophy, or physics ; the second is included under chemistry ; the third under general physiology.* With regard to those other departments of natural science, which often enter, to a certain extent, into a scheme of popular education, it may be remarked, that in so far as they are parts, not of natural history, but of philosophy, they are to be regarded simply as expansions of, or as deductions from, one or other of the primary ones before cited; and therefore cannot be acquired, except as mere aggregates of undigested facts, until a knowledge of some one at least of the above fundamental sciences has been attained. Thus let us take the case of geology, and suppose our pupU, just emancipated fi-om school or college, to * See this explained in a pamphlet of mine, entitled, Brief Re- mwrks ore the Correlation of the Natwal Sciences. Oxford : Vincent, 18i8. [ 142 ] ON THE STUDY OP CHEMISTRY. find himself at the foot of a volcano, and to witness some of the more striking manifestations of subter- ranean energy there exhibited. Sublime and impres- sive as the spectacle may be, how entirely will he be in the dark, not only as to the cause of the movement, but even as to the nature of the phenomena which he witnesses, if unaided by chemistry. What will he know of the constitution of the substances ejected, of the gases and vapours evolved, or of the condition of the surface overspread by these volcanic materials, which is sometimes so favourable, at other times so unpropitious to vegetation ? With how much more abiding an interest will he contemplate the phenomena, when he ■\dews them in connexion with any chemical hypothesis, which, how- ever conjectural, as every hypothesis must be which relates to processes going on so far beyond the limits of humjm observation, professes at least to account for the particular events that come before him, as well as for the order of their sequence. Or let him turn his steps to a country where ex- tensive rocks are forming, not by igneous forces, but by slow deposition from water, as in the Travertine of Italy, of which the most celebrated temples of Rome, as well as those of Psestum, are constructed. How much greater interest will he feel in them, when, by the lights of chemistry, he traces the action which [m3 ] DB. DATJBENT had brought about their deposition^ the relation which they bear to stratified rocks of older formation^ and the probable source of the carbonic acid which communi- cated its solvent power to the waters of the district. Or suppose Mm to direct his attention to those branches of natural history which relate to living beings, and to concern himself, not merely in the external forms of animals or plants, but also in their structure and functions. Such inquiries will make him acquainted with the law of Endosmose, which, as the physiologist will ia- form him, is seen ia operation during every process of secretion and excretion which takes place in the animal or vegetable kingdom, but which the chemist will trace to the still more widely operating law of DiflPusion, which is seen alike in gases and in liquids, in organic and in inorganic bodies, as the late researches of Liebig and of Graham have explained to us. Or if the occurrence of one of those epidemics, which have of late years been so frequent, should call his attention to the laws of contagion, even here the most philosophical explanation of the spread of the disease may be afforded him by the suggestions of a chemist, who has traced a very close analogy between the propagation of miasmata in the animal organism, and the transmission of the fermentative process in fluids susceptible of change from one to the other ; [ "44 ] ON THE STUDY OF CHEMISTRY. referring both to a law common alike to living and to dead matter^ whicli renders any motion set up in one compoand liable to extend itself to others, whose parti- cles are in a similar condition of unstable equilibrium. It will be seen that I have drawn my examples from subjects which at first sight appear to be as far removed as possible from the jurisdiction of Chemistry, for it seemed to me needless to remind the audience I am addressing, that a Science which embraces under its consideration all those properties which are not either common to all bodies whatsoever, or, on the other hand, attributable to the agency of the vital principle, must be indispensable to the due under- standing — of the processes of the manufactures — of the operations of agriculture — of all the changes, in short, in the material world, which take place through the instrumentality either of art or of nature. I need not, therefore, detain you with discussing a truth so self-evident ; but will proceed to consider how far the study of this science can, without un- duly displacing others, be made to constitute a part of the education of the different classes of society. And first, with respect to that of the lower orders — upon which, however, I should hardly venture to pro- nounce, if I were not backed by the authority of [ HS ] DR. DAUBENY others, who have made this subject their particular study, and especially the Dean of Hereford, whose diligence and success in organising schemes of secular education for the people are now fully appreciated. There are many subjects upon which a knowledge of a few elementary facts in Chemistry will not only supply food for the mind, but also convey useful prac- tical hints to the labouring population of our towns and villages. I may mention amongst the rest, economy with regard to the selection of food, and its preparation for human subsistence by the modes of cooking in common use — ^provisions for the better ventilation of cottages, and for their sanitary condition generally — instruction with respect to handicraft work and various mechanical occupations — information with respect to the different qualities of water, and its relative fitness for washing and drinking purposes. The Dean has pointed out, with how very simple and inexpensive an apparatus the village schoolmaster may demonstrate some of the leading truths which illustrate these several heads of information, and thus impress them more vividly upon the minds of his pupils than could be done by mere oral instruction. If from the lowest class of society we pass on to those higher in the scale, who are designed for various [ h6 ] ON THE STUDY OP CHEMISTRY. trades and manufactures^ for the pursuits of agricul- ture, or for the inferior grades in the professions of law and medicine; we shall see reasons for recommend- ing to them the study of chemistry, hoth as a disci- pline for the mind, and also as the basis of much useful and practical knowledge. In their case, the necessity of commencing at an early age the active busiuess of life, prechides the pos- sibility of entering deeply into the mathematics, and therefore renders it more important, that the gap should be supplied by the study of a science, which may, to a certain extent, supply its place, by training and developing the mental faculties. The pupil, if agriculture is to be his fature calling, will learn from chemistry how to economise his manures; how to bring the land in a condition to impart its latent resources to the crop ; how to supply what is necessary for the growth of the plant he cul- tivates. Without superseding the necessity of experience, or of that vigilant survey of his farming operations, which of all requisites is the one most essential to success, science wiU be valuable both in suggesting new modes of culture, and in enlightening him as to the causes of failure, when the ordinary system of operations has chanced to disappoint his ex- pectations. [ 147 ] N DR. DATJBENY We have heard^ indeed, of cases, where, after the scientific man has corrected the practical, the result has proved the latter to have been in the right ; but in those instances it has generally turned out upon inquiry, that the error was to be attributed to the imperfection of our knowledge, and that the correction must be applied by a more complete scientific inves- tigation of the subject. Thus, the chemist has often reprobated the practice adopted in some of the western counties of adding quick lime to manure-heaps, as tending to dissipate the ammonia disengaged before it could influence the crop. Lately, however, we have been reminded, that nitric acid, as well as ammonia, is produced duriag the process of animal putrefaction, and that the former, instead of being dissipated, would be only more effectually fixed by the appHcation of an alka- line earth to the substances containing it. The practice, therefore, is not so improper as it had appeared from theory to be; but the practical man should nevertheless be reminded, that the aid of chemistry is required to enlighten him under what conditions the first or the second of these products is elicited,* so that he may learn when lime may be added with advantage, and when with loss. Probably indeed, in the west-country practice * See Kuhlman's Papers on the production of Nitre. [ H8 ] ON THE STUDY OF CHEMISTRY. alluded to, the addition of an absorbing substance to tbe manure-heap may serve to counteract the bad effects of the quick hme, even where ammonia is the principal product ; but the farmer, who should imitate this practice without understanding the conditions upon which its success depends, would be very likely to omit these accessories, and thus to bring about an opposite result. With regard to the applications of Chemistry to the useful arts, the instances of it are so numerous and so familiar to all, that it seems needless to insist upon the advantages of its study to all who are destined for such employments; and it is equally clear, that, for those who intend to make the healing art, in any of its branches, their future profession, a more than superficial knowledge of it is all but indispensable. I proceed, then, to consider, how far Chemistry deserves a place in that more complete system of education which is designed for the learned Professions, as well as for the higher Orders of Society in general. My recommending it as a fit study for the middling and the lower Classes, would alone render it impera- tive upon me to impose it upon the upper — for under the circumstances of the present age, and in this country more especially, the maintenance of a superior [ 149 ] N 2 DR. DAUBENT position^ and of superior moral influence^ involves the necessity of superior mental culture. The idea of imparting a special direction to the primary education of youth^ in accordance with their respective rank or future destination^ is not only in itself unphilosophical, but also in manifest contra- diction* to the principle which has always guided us in our schools and colleges — namely, that of exacting from all for whom a liberal education is designed, the same basis of classical and mathematical learning. And the adoption of an opposite principle, by the exclusion from the curriculum of any study which is admitted as an integral part of the training given to the people at large, must tend to the isolation of the class to which it is applied, and consequently weaken its connexion with those below it. In a Protestant community, for example, the legi- timate influence of the priest over the laity can only be duly maintained, by the ascendancy of his charac- ter, and by the extent of his information with re- spect to subjects on which the people with whom he mixes are able to estimate his superiority. By enlightening them on common matters, in which a little knowledge of Chemistry will afiFord them such material assistance, and thereby becoming * See Davison's Eemarks on this subject, and Father Newman's Discourses on University Education, p. 241, et seq. [>So] ON THE STUDY OF CHEMISTRY. the instrument of enabling them to better their own condition, and to economise their means of living, he paves his way to their confidence on subjects more strictly appertaining to his sacred profession. There seems to me also to be a peculiar propriety in thus iutercalatiag a somewhat fluctuating, though advancing science, like Chemistry, in a course of education, the principal elements of which, such as the mathematics or the literature of past ages, are little susceptible of change. A study of this description familiarizes the pupil with the idea of progress ; it exercises a distinct set of faculties, just as a new gymnastic exercise calls into play a new set of muscles ; and it guards against | that stagnation which is apt to supervene, when the mind is chiefly made the passive recipient of truths which rest upon authority. To those, indeed, who regard a knowledge of what other men have said and done the sole aim of education, the example of the Chinese may serve as an instructive warning. We here see a nation which has retrograded in the scale of civilisation, in consequence of having reposed entirely upon the wisdom of its ancestors ; of following implicitly those principles in the arts which had been handed down to it from an early period ; [ '5' ] DR. DAUBENT and of occupying its learned leisure chiefly in pon- dering over the intricacies of a language which, it would seem to require the labour of a life fully to master. It must indeed he confessed, in justice to this people, that they had a better excuse for their tenacity in adhering to their ancient paths, than other nations would be able to plead. Long before Europe had emerged from barbarism, China was in possession of the art of printing, of gun- powder, and of the mariner's compass — her popu- lation was clad in silks, a royal luxury even in the days of Queen Ehzabeth — ^had perfected the manu- facture of porcelain — and had brought agriculture and many of the industrial arts to a high pitch of perfec- tion. Her vast empire enjoyed a patriarchal govern- ment ; an aristocracy founded only upon the en- lightened principle of intellectual superiority, tested by public competition; a complete system of internal communication by roads and canals; and a code of laws, which, viewed even by the lights of the present day, is considered by good judges to savour through- out of practical sagacity and European good sense. Is it to be wondered at, that surrounded as she was with hordes of mere savages, and receiving no favourable report, if any, of nations more distant, China should have over-estimated both her material [ '53 ] ON THE STUDY OP CHEMISTRy. and her intellectual superiority, and should have imagined that in her palmy condition change was the only danger against which she had to guard? And yet, after ten centuries of stagnation, what is the spectacle this nation presents to us ? a population at once effeminate and degraded, inferior to ourselves even in those industrial arts, on which they chiefly plume themselves, and incapable of adopting to any extent the inventions of other nations — a monied class sordid and sensual — and a body of Literati in- different to all abstract science, and curious only on points of information which promise some palpable and immediate end of utility. It is of course foreign from my ijjtention to compare the philosophy of Confucius with that of Aristotle, or the literary productions of a Mongolian nation with those which emanated from the highest type of intellect which the human race probably has ever developed ; but the evil consequences I have pointed out seem to me to have arisen, not so much from the inferior character of the models held out for them to copy, as from their servile adherence to them. 'Truth,' says Milton, 'is compared in Scripture to a streaming fountain ; if her waters flow not in a per- petual progression, they sicken into a muddy pool of conformity and tradition ;' and all experience will serve to show, that wherever due provision has not! [ '53 ] DE. DAUBENT been made for advancement^ the seeds of decay are sure to find admittance. HencCj if on the one hand it be useful to impress upon the mind a reverence for the great lights that have illumined the walks of learning in former periods of the worldj it is not less desirable on the other that some of the studies pursued in early youth should have a tendency to encourage an independent search after Truth, and to induce the habit of interrogating nature as well as of leaning upon the traditions of men. With these sentiments, it may be supposed that I am not prepared to defend the system pursued in my own university tiU within the last two years, which consisted in merely securing the dehvery of lectures on Chemistry for the sake of those who might desire, of their own accord, to improve themselves in that science, without holding out any encouragement to its prosecution, or treating the subject as though it were considered in any sense an integral part of our scheme of education. In these respects, however. Chemistry was at least in no worse position than other branches of physical science, or even than the history and philosophy of modern times, no one of which studies was insisted upon, or even promoted amongst us by academical distinctions or emoluments. The defenders of this exclusive system might, in- [•54] ON THE STUDY OF CHEMISTRY. deed^ appeal to the long train of distinguished men whom the university had sent forth^ as a practical proof of its eflSicacy in refining and expanding the mental powers; and I am far from disputing the posi- tion^ that, supposing the attention of youth required to be limited to one description of literature, the great writers of antiquity deserve in many respects a preference over those of later times. There is a simple grandeur, an absence of all affectation and straining after effect, a native vigour and freshness about the early Greek writers in particular, which seem better calculated to win the sympathies of youth, and to induce habits of just thinking and correct taste, than the more elaborate and recondite productions of men of modern days. The faults, as well as the beauties of these authors, are those of precocious youth; and if we were to suppose a Being of a superior order to man to appear upon our globe, although his matured intellect might strike out deeper truths, and teem with loftier imagi- nations, his earlier thoughts might be imagined to find their most appropriate expression in the lan- guage of Homer or of Herodotus. Nevertheless, the advocates of a purely classical education appear to have overlooked certain consi- derations which are not without weight in arriving at a right conclusion on such a subject. [ '55 ] DE. DAUBENY In the first place^ as I have already remarked, it is desirable to train and develop the faculty, of minutely observing, of clearly apprehending, and of correctly classifying the objects that present them- selves ; talents which can be best fostered at an early period of life, and can in no way be more fuUy unfolded than by a course of chemical study. Secondly, the many urgent motives, of one kind or another, which force the student to plunge into active life immediately upon escaping from the tram- mels of the school or university, will often prevent his possessing any sound knowledge of physical science, if it be not made a part of his early education. Lastly, a very large proportion of mankind want the abihty to obtain that proficiency in any of the branches of learning cultivated at our universities, which is requisite to enable them to reap from their study the advantages anticipated. In an Institution intended to educate the youths of the country generally, however high the qualifi- cation for distinction may be raised, a low standard of attainments can alone be insisted upon ; and yet it is notorious, that a large proportion of the youths who resort to a university, although they are capable of reaching the prescribed point with little mental exertion, never aspire to go beyond it. Nor is this indifiference on their part to be ascribed, [ '56] our THE STUDY OF CHEMISTRY. primarily at least^ to indolence of disposition, or to de- ficiency in ordinary intelligence; for these very persons in after life will often evince much power of applica- tion, and soundness of judgment, in the capacity of magistrates, of parochial clergymen, or even of mem- bers of the legislature. Their previous intellectual torpor, so far as all academical studies were concerned, arose, I am convinced, in a great degree, from their incapacity to grapple with the deeper philosophy of the ancient world, or to imbibe any keen rehsh for its orators, its poets, or its historians. If to this inaptitude for literary pursuits be con- joined an equal disinclination for abstract studies or for the higher branches of the mathematics, one can readily understand, that such youths should make but little progress beyond the point to which they had already advanced at school, and that the time spent at the university should have been chiefly wasted in field sports, or even more frivolous occupations. Now it is for men of this character of mind that the study of the experimental sciences is particularly valuable, because the very practical tendency of their minds, which, to a certain extent, prevents them from profiting so largely from the favourite studies of a uni- versity, is the very quality most likely to befit them for the observation of external nature, and is, more- over, most commonly accompanied with that tact ['S7 ] DK. DAUBENY and sagacity whicli are most serviceable in its inter- pretation. Thus tlie recognition of Chemistry in a university like the one to which I belong, is little likely to detract unduly from the attention paid to the classical studies of the place; whilst its pursuit is only so much clear gain to the general stock of knowledge, as it would be chiefly confined, either to youths who are not hkely to apply themselves with any vigour and success to lite- rary subjects; to those who have a peculiar genius and aptitude for physical investigations; or, lastly, to the few who have energy and capacity enough to embrace both literature and science within the circle of their studies. It was not, therefore, vdthout good reason, that the University of Oxford, in the year 1849, determiued that henceforward the physical sciences should be made the subjects of examination, and be held out to its students as reckoning amongst the qualifications, not only for a simple degree, but also for certain aca- demical distinctions. But something more than this will be required, if we woxdd secure to these branches of study their proper place in such a body as our own. In order to afford effectual encouragement to any department of learning, substantial rewards are necessary, and fortunately the liberality of our founders and benefac- [^58] ON- THE STUDY OP CHEMISTEY, tors has supplied us with means ample enough^ if judiciously applied, to spread their fertilising influ- ence over every field of intellectual culture, instead of being limited, as at present, to a few. At any rate, as I have observed in another place,* no one can have a right to pronounce the atmosphere of Oxford uncongenial to the investigation of physical truth, until it has been ascertained what would be the result, supposing a certain proportion of our Fellowships were awarded as prizes for scientific ac- quirements j and supposing, as would be the natural consequence, that the student who distinguished himself in this line were placed, in the estimation of his cotemporaries, on the same level as if he had bestowed a similar amount of mental exertion upon pursuits of a literary character. If this rule were adopted, there seems to me^ no reason why Oxford should not rank as high in phy- sical science as she has long done in other departments of human knowledge; for I, for one, cannot understand why the contemplation and study of nature should not be carried on at least as well within the retire- ment of an university, as amidst the noise and bustle of a crowded metropolis. * See a Pamphlet entitled, Can Physical Science find a Home in an English University ? Oxford: Vincent, 1854. [ '59 ] DR. DAUBENY It would rather seeing that for the prosecution of experiments requiring often considerable abstraction of mind, as well as long continued exertion; and pro- mising no immediate result, beyond the pleasure of arriving at a new truth, the pecuniary resources of our coUegiate establishments, and the exemption they afford from the cares and distractions of ordinary life, supply the most ample facilities ; and that whUst the prospect of attaining a fellowship might attract students into this path of research, the possession of one would afterwards enable them to dedicate their lives to its prosecution. And this application of our academical funds is, I contend, entirely in harmony with an enlightened view of the objects for which they were designed ; for although the older universities of the realm were, doubtless, primarily intended, as those of later crea- tion are, for the purposes of edtication, they, from the very first, aimed at something beyond it. The entire tendency of the collegiate system — the foundation of fellowships — their tenure extending far beyond the period to which the education of their holders could be supposed to be prolonged, and in most cases, indeed, without any limitation as to the period of their retention — are circumstances, all of which imply, that the views of our Founders con- templated the creation of a permanent body of men [ i6o 1 ON THB STUDY OF CHEMISTRY. devoted to the prosecution of literary and scientific objects^ under the presiding influence of religion.* * Although the Bill now before Parhament for furthering the good government of the University and of the Colleges has in general my hearty concurrence, there are, nevertheless, two provisions in it which I cannot but consider as detrimental to the interests of Oxford, whether regarded in the Ught of a focus of Uterature, or as a nursery of education. I allude to the clause fixing a limit to the tenure of Fellowships, and to that rendering residence, except in a few particular cases, compulsory upon those who enjoy them. The former of these appears to be calculated to check the growth of a class of men, at present perhaps not very numerous, but which it is highly important to foster — those I mean who devote them- selves to literary and scientific occupations without any ulterior object in life ; nor can it fail to damp the exertions even of others who come to us for education, since it will deprive the academical emolu- ments, which are held out to them as the rewards of success, of a con- siderable portion of their value. It ought not to be overlooked, that a Fellowship is coveted less on account of its pecuniary amount, than for the security it aflfords, that its possessor may hold it on for any length of time, if his neces- sities or ill success in life should render it of importance for him to retaiD it. It thus serves as a guarantee to the disinterested and unambitious student, that he will be free to prosecute his favourite pursuits so long as he pleases, in comparative indifference as to their bearing upon the practical concerns of life, or on his own future advancement in it. And with respect to the abuses complained of at present in the tenure of Fellowships, I have sufficient faith in the working of the Bill to conceive, that when Colleges have the power of selecting candidates from the whole University, the cases will be few, where a Fellow shall linger on, as a burden to his Society, beyond the period which the interests of learning would justify ; and if this were to happen now and then, the evil would be small, compared to that of spreading abroad the feeling, that inasmuch as the provision made for study is henceforward to cease at the period of life when it may be most wanted, the application of any portion of the means supplied [ '61 ] DR. DAUBENT There is, indeed, no other possible explanation of their motives, unless we were to adopt the monastic to obtain other thsca personal objects ■would be an act of impru- dence. On the other hand, the clause compelling residence strikes me as either unnecessary or injurious ; unnecessary when the Fellowships are properly bestowed, and of an injiirious'tendenoy when they are not. Supposing, for instance, the successful candidate to possess literary tastes and attainments, why seek to compel him to do that, to which his own inclinations would naturally prompt him, and from which he would only be drawn a.side, when, as in the case of a lawyer or physician, his studies could be more advantageously prosecuted elsewhere ? On the other hand, supposing the Fellowship to be filled up with- out due reference to the claims of merit, the enforcement of residence would have the effect of fixing at the University men of uncongenial habits, whose presence must be equally detrimental to themselves and to others. It would indeed be a singular act of inconsistency in the members of the Legislature, if, when they felt themselves authorized by consi- derations of public utility to overrule the injunctions of foimders with respect to matters in which the most earnest reformers within our walls have felt themselves precluded, from conscientious motives, from proposing changes ; they should at the same time compel us to return to our statutes on a point, whereiu the altered condition of Society reconciles the most scrupulous of our members to that de- parture from their strict letter which has long taken pla<;e. The enforcement of residence upon Fellows, beyond the amount necessary for the purposes of instruction, and of carrying on the concerns of the College, could only have reference, in the minds of Founders, either to the advancement of learning, or to the observance of monastic discipline. So far as the former was their object, it would at present be suffi- ciently consulted by the many inducements to residence which the University holds out to the real student ; if the latter made any part of their intentions. Parliament, in the nineteenth century, can hardly desire to go out ot its way to further them, by inculcating, or rendering more Inveterate, those conventual habits and feelings, which cause [ 162 ] ON THE STUDY OP CHEMISTRY. view of these Institutions, which the perverse inge- nuity of a few persons of late years has ventured to uphold ; but which was disavowed by their own Members at the time of the Reformation, as a plea of exemption from the common fate which then awaited the Religious Houses; and which seems to have been repudiated by the earliest and most catholic-minded of our Founders, in the distinct prohibition which their statutes contain against any member of a conventual establishment holding a position within our colleges. I should apologise, Gentlemen, for detaining you so long on these topics, if I did not feel, that the English universities not only are, but will be reco- gnised by you all, as national estabhshments — national, not only because there is perhaps no one in an assembly like the present whose nearest relatives may not at some time or other be assisted in their education by the scholarships, or rewarded for their religious observancea to be regarded, not as the proper preparation for the duties of life, but as its sole business ; this latter being the only assignable ground for enforcing residence in Colleges, on persons not fitted or disposed to avail themselves to any extent of the means and appliances for literary occupation which Oxford so abimdantly affords. P.S. June 10th. The above clauses are, I am happy to see, ex- cluded from the Bill " as amended in Committee and on re-com- mitment," but provisions of a similar tendency seem still to be left within the powers with which the Commissioners are to be invested. [ 163 ] DR DAUBEST exertions by the fellowships, of which we have the disposal; but also because the existence of a high standard of education anywhere within our common country is a national benefit even to those who do not directly partake of it. It would seem a happy circumstance, that ia a country of great proprietors like our own, some portion of the land should have been removed from the grasp of individuals, by being held, as it were, in mortmain for the benefit of the community at large ; and not less so, that amongst a nation so absorbed ia the pursuit of wealth, and holding out to all classes such strong temptations to plunge into active ife at as early a period as possible, establishments should exist, by the aid of which the educated classes may be induced to linger a little over those studies, which exert a generous and ennobling influence upon the character of a people, and tend to counteract the too practical and utQitarian tendencies of the age in which we live. The genius of Oxford, indeed, has, I beheve, on many occasions operated beneficially upon the general surface of Enghsh society. May we not also hope that, in return, those without her walls may react with advan- tage upon the university itself, by putting forth so strong an expression of public opinion, as may induce our Members to hold for the future in equal esteem, [ '64.1 ON THE STUDY OP CHEMISTRY. and to foster with an equal degree of encouragement, each one of the liberal branches of intellectual culture. Should such hereafter be the case, and should the application of a portion of our endowments to the advancement of physical science be admitted as a natural consequence of such a view, great indeed would be the stimulus thus afforded to this class of pursuits, and great the advancement in the sciences which might be expected to accrue. The English universities might then again become, as they were of old, the principal seats of physical research, as well as the main repositories of existing knowledge in the country ; and as at the present time the amateurs of science at Oxford wend their way to the Royal Institution to obtain the first announcement of the researches of a Faraday, so it may happen that at some future day the iahabitants of the metropolis may be induced to crowd to our University, in order to become acquainted with the discoveries worked out by some new Roger Bacon, within the cloisters of his Academic Home. [ -65 ] eg.! no p o H I I o 02 iz; o n Hi § a o CO 00 CO •a .2 '-' S^ II II II II §2 sees' o »o I WHKtn -* ® s g.S.S ffl 1 f=^ m o " S s M ^ oo H OO s II II II s s e i-t -tj) ^ O CO r-i ,-( CO (O C» o cooo s CO QO (M T-i G0