Facsimile
CARL SCHURZ'S SPEECH
The next speaker was Carl Schurz, who
responded to the toast: “The progress of science
tends to international harmony.” He spoke as
follows:
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: Two things that fell
from the lips of the first two speakers struck me as
remarkably pertinent to our present situation. One was the
proverb quoted by our worthy chairman, that “stuffed
bodies see not secret things,” and, great orator that he is,
he did not fail to accompany the same with the illustration
of example. [Laughter.] The other was the
remark which formed the text of the eloquent
speech of Mr. Spencer, that too great continuity
and intensity of work will necessarily destroy your
physical constitution; and I am very sorry to see that
in this respect he himself appears more like an
American than an Englishman. [“Hear! hear.”] And I hope
that when he returns to his country his incessant
labors for the benefit of humanity will
sometimes by interrupted by pure relaxation. Mr.
Spencer never said a wiser word than this: — that the
ultimate result of all our efforts to protect men against the
consequences of their folly is to people the world with —
I will not say what he said, “fools” —
but I will say with dyspeptic philosophers. I, for my
part, have resolved to belong to that class.
Leaving the discussion of profound scientific
and philosophical problems to others who are more
reckless of their physical well-being, I prefer to call up
some pleasant personal memories which this distinguished
occasion brings to my mind. Some nineteen years
ago, shortly after the battle of Missionary Ridge, I was
camped with my command in winter quarters not far
from Chattanooga, where we had so little food for our
horses that many of them died, and so little salt that we
could scarcely make our beef and hard-tack palatable,
but I found in my effects a copy of Herbert
Spencer's “Social Statics,” and during those
long winter nights in my tent I studied them
by the light of a tallow candle, and for that delightful
luxury I shall never cease to be grateful to our
distinguished guests. [Applause.] I became convinced that
if the Southern people had read and
thoroughly digested that excellent work, there
would never have been any war for the dissolution
of the Union. [Applause.] I essayed to hammer the
fundamental principles of the “Social Statics” into the
heads of the soldiers; namely, that “every man is entitled
to the freedom of doing what he wills, provided he
interfere not with the same freedom of any other man.”
[Applause.]
I am supposed to respond to a sentiment touching the
effect that the progress of science has upon the harmony
of nations. Looking at it from a common-sense point of
view, I am moved to think that the effect
of that progress upon different nations is
very much as it may be upon different
portions of one people or upon different individuals.
Given a certain number of subjects of discussion between
different Nations or different individuals, if the
progress of science increases the number of
things upon which they agree, it will in the
same measure and at the same time diminish
the number of things upon which they disagree [laughter],
and thus lead them to a good understanding and
National harmony; and, going on further, if the
progress of science increases the number of subjects of
discussion between men and at the same time teaches
them how to dispose of those subjects by amicable and
peaceful reasoning, the less occasion there will be for
them to come to blows.
I take it that science and philosophy do not accomplish
their ends merely by enlightening the minds of men,
but that they must also influence their conduct,
and not only the conduct of a chosen
few but the conduct of the many; and in order to
influence the conduct of the many they
must be understood by the many. There
was a time when the investigations of science and their
results were carefully kept as a private possession
by certain social orders or select circles, treating
them as a mystery which could not
be exposed to the gaze and the understanding
of the multitude without profanation. That
time is happily behind us, but I suppose some
of us have seen the day when science and philosophy, at
least by a good many of its representatives, were
clothed in such darkness of formidable terminology, and
of obscure forms of speech, that they were entirely inaccessible
to the multitude; in fact, by many it was
considered that the man of science might
be accused of superficiality if he had discussed those
problems of philosophic and scientific research in a
language intelligible to the rest of mankind.
In the distinguished man who this evening honors us
we greet one of the foremost representatives of that
great development of thought which has burst the bonds
of the closet; we greet in him the great
apostle of the doctrine of Evolution; we greet
him as a hero of thought who has devoted his life to the
sublime task of vindicating the divine right of science
as against the intolerant authority of traditional belief.
[Applause.]
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1931.
This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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