XXII
333
HERMANN VON HELMHOLTZ
wise. But all this has long since been changed. In science
Germany is no longer dependent upon her neighbours: in ex-
perimental investigation she is the peer of the foremost nations
and keeps in the main well abreast of them, sometimes leading
and sometimes following. This the country owes to the co-
operation of many eager workers; but it naturally honours
most the few whose names are most closely connected with
the actual successes. Of these some have already left us for
ever: others still remain, and we hope long to have them
with us.
The greatest among all these, the acknowledged repre-
sentative of this period of progress and well-earned fame, the
scientific leader of Germany, is Hermann von Helmholtz, whose
seventieth birthday we celebrate to-day after he has for nearly
half a century astonished the scientific world by the number,
the depth, and the importance of his investigations. To the
countless tributes of admiration and gratitude which will this
day be laid at his feet we would with all modesty add our
own. As Germans we are glad and proud to claim as our
countryman one whose name we deem worthy to be placed
among the noblest names of all times and all nations, con-
fident that subsequent generations will confirm our judgment.
As men we cherish the same feelings of admiration and
gratitude. Other nations, too, will join us in paying honour
to him to-day, as indeed they have done in the past. For
although nations may appear narrow-minded in political
affairs, men have not wholly lost the sense of a common
interest in matters scientific: a Helmholtz is regarded as one
of the noblest ornaments of humanity.
Let us try to recall the achievements for which we to-day
do him honour. Here we at once feel how impossible it is to
make others share fully in our admiration if they are not
themselves in a position to appreciate his work. It is a
mistake to suppose that the importance of an investigator's
work can be gauged by stating what problem he has solved.
A man must see a picture, and must see it with the eyes of
an artist, before he can fully appreciate its value.
Even so
scientific investigations have a beauty of their own which can
be enjoyed as well as understood; but in order to enjoy it a
man must understand the investigation and steep himself in