{ title: 'Clarkson Integrator. (Potsdam, N.Y.) 1920-current, February 01, 1920, Page 5, Image 5', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/np00010001/1920-02-01/ed-1/seq-5/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00010001/1920-02-01/ed-1/seq-5.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00010001/1920-02-01/ed-1/seq-5/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00010001/1920-02-01/ed-1/seq-5/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
Image provided by: Northern NY Library Network
to the engineer worth the time re- quired for its acquisition? If we ask our Harvard friend and critic where- in lies our alleged inferiority, he will say that we have missed the cultural training which gives the real aroma to life; and he will probably define cul- ture as largely a knowledge of litera- ture, particularly of the classics,—a definition altogether too narrow, it would seem. Culture means enlight- enment,—a knowledge of, and an in- telligent interest in all of the activities and accomplishments of mankind, both past and present. A knowledge of history is essential if one would understand the great political move- ments of the present day; biography is replete with inspiration; philosophy and science are necessary to clear reasoning, and to an understanding of the world in which we live; poetry and prose are to the mind what music and painting are to the ear and eye. To the broadly educated man, at least a casual acquaintance with the won- ders of modern science is as impor- tant as familiarity with Smollett ami Fielding; the economic principles pro- pounded by Adam Smith are as sig- nificant as Latin syntax; and an in- terest in the nature studies of John Burroughs, or an appreciation of art, adds fully as much to the pleasure of life as the ability to read the Odyssey in the original; while he who does not read the news of the day (history in the making) is at least as ignorant as one who has never heard of Theo- critus. Reading, as a means of broadening our general education, is accessible to all, and it is also one of the most pleasurable forms of recreation. There is one custom of the classical under- graduate which I wish could be adopted by every scientific student: that is the formation of a general library in addition to his technical works. It need be only three or four well selected books at the start, but the possession of these few books will do more than access to a dozen public libraries to promote an interest in lit- erature, and to unlock the door to a new world of inexhaustible treasure. And even when our object in reading is relaxation rather than information, there is more entertainment in Dick- ens than in an inferior novelist; and for excitement, the most lurid modern \thriller\ becomes rather insipid in comparison with that favorite of Roosevelt's, \The Saga of King Olaf.*' Sir John Herschel, the great English scientist, writes: \If I were to pray for a taste which should stand me in stead under every variety of circumstances, and be a source of happiness and cheerfulness to me through life, and a shield against its ills, however things might go amiss, and the world frown upon me, it would be a taste for reading. * *' * Give a man this taste, and the means of gratifying it, and you can hardly fail of making a happy man, unless, indeed, you put into his hands a most perverse selection of books. You place him in contact with the best society in every period of his- tory—with the wisest, the wittiest— with the tenderest, the bravest, and the purest characters that have adorn- ed humanity. You make him a deni- zen of all nations—a contemporary of all ages. The world has been created for him. It is hardly possible but the character should take a higher and better tone from the constant habit of associating in thought with a class of thinkers, to say the least of it, above the average of humanity. It is mor- ally impossible but that the manners should take a tinge of good breeding and civilization from having constant- ly before one's eyes the way in which the best-bred and best-informed men have talked and conducted themselves in their intercourse with each other. There is a gentle but irresistible coercion in a habit of reading, well- directed, over the whole tenor of a man's character and conduct, which is not the less effectual because it works insensibly, and because it is really the 4 last thing he dreams of. It cannot, in short, be better summed up than in the words of the Latin poet: 'Emollit mores, nee sinit esse feros.' It civilizes the conduct of men—and suffers them not to remain barbar- ous.\ Another form of attainment, in which many of us are deficient, is the ability to express ourselves in good English. One would think that, if this could be taught in college, such instruction would reach its perfection in the great classical universities of England; and yet the complaint was trade in the British army, during the war, that some of the subaltern offi- cers from these great universities could not write a clear report. Even \greatsmen corresponding to our honor men, wrote with redundant words but obscure meaning. I have inst received a letter from one of our large engineering corporations, say- ing, \We. need men * * * who can also satisfy other people that their judgment is correct.\ There is many a man of sound ideas, whose advance- ment is hindered, and whose field of accomplishment is limited, because he cannot express himself in clear, cor- rect, and forceful English,—because he is unable to impress himself on others. If Clarkson men will form the habit of contributing to this maga- zine, the publicity given to their ar- ticles will form a great incentive to clearness, unity, and conciseness in their writing. Also the effort required will quicken their appreciation of the mastery of style shown by our great authors. /Ajid is it too much to hope that such writing may even improve their spelling? Of all the different forms of cul- ture, art might seem the most difficult of attainment for the engineer, and yet many of our distinguished Amer- ican painters were educated as engi- neers. Paul Dougherty was a gradu- ate of the Brooklyn Polytechnic, Charles H. Woodbury, another of our great marine artists, received the M. E. degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Frick, the steel king, was interested in painting as a young man, and in later life built for himself the finest private art gallery in the world. F. Hopkinson Smith was a man of international reputation as a civil engineer, author, and painter. And if we wish to go back to earlier times, Leonardo da Vinci, born in 1452, was the greatest engineer of his time, and skilled in music, as well as being one of the world's most famous painters and sculptors. He was one of the first mechanical engineers to attempt to perfect a flying machine. Michael Angelo, a contemporary of da Vinci, was even more famous as a sculptor, and was well known as a painter, poet, architect, and military engineer. Personal skill in any form of art, except music, may seldom be attainable by the engineer, but an ap- preciation of art, which will be its own reward, can be developed by those who will avail themselves of such op- portunities as may occur for reading and especially for observation. Cultural knowledge, which is mere- ly another name for a broad and lib- eral education, has a certain material value, in that it enables us to meet on terms of equality, in social intercourse, with men of all professions, and to bear a creditable part in any social circle. It is an aid in forming friend- ships which may prove of great im- portance. But its chief worth must lie in the multiplying of our sources of enjoyment. Dr. Johnson said: \A desire of knowledge is the natural feeling of mankind; and every human being, whose mind is not debauched, will be willing to give all that he has to get knowledge.\ Every profes- sional man needs recreation—a change of thought and interest. There is such a thing as fatigue of mind as well as fatigue of metals. The ac- quirement of general knowledge de- pends upon the use we make of these recreation hours, in reading, conver- sation, or observation. The impor- 5
