The immediate object of the
lectures was to raise funds for establishing his observatory and
fitting it out with a fine telescope. The popular interest thus
excited in the science had an important effect in leading the
public to support astronomical research. If public support, based
on public interest, is what has made the present fabric of
American astronomy possible, then should we honor the name of a
man whose enthusiasm leavened the masses of his countrymen with
interest in our science.
The Civil War naturally exerted a depressing influence upon our
scientific activity. The cultivator of knowledge is no less
patriotic than his fellow-citizens, and vies with them in devotion
to the public welfare. The active interest which such cultivators
took, first in the prosecution of the war and then in the
restoration of the Union, naturally distracted their attention
from their favorite pursuits. But no sooner was political
stability reached than a wave of intellectual activity set in,
which has gone on increasing up to the present time. If it be true
that never before in our history has so much attention been given
to education as now; that never before did so many men devote
themselves to the diffusion of knowledge, it is no less true that
never was astronomical work so energetically pursued among us as
at the present time.
Pages:
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382