McCormack, T. J.

OpenSIUC

MISCELLANEOUS.JOSEPH LE CONTE.(1823-1901.)In the death of Prof. Joseph Le Conte on July 6th last, the American scientificworld has lost one of its most conspicuous and interesting figures. In him therepassed away a rare and ingenuous inquirer of the olden type, which held the uni-versality of Leibnitz and Thomas Young as their ideal, and never lost touch withthe general movement of human thought to inhume itself in specialisation. Hisinterests embraced all fields,—physics, geology, biology, the theory of evolution,philosophy, and scientific theology,—r'™"— and his expositions and labors in each, ,of these departments, while not epoch-making in their character, were allmarked by originality and indepen-dence of thought ; they stood quiteapart from the common run of manu-factured professional products, andwere distinguished by a simplicity andlucidity of presentation that could notfail to assure them the success theyhave achieved. One need but glance,even now, years after their appear-rnce, at his Elements of Geology andhis work on Sight in the InternationalScientific Series, to appreciate thecharm and scientific solidity of thesebooks. His work on Religioti andScience (1874), one of the first to con-sider that ancient conflict from a calmand unhysterical point of view, has be-come celebrated. Professor Le Conte'sviews on this subject are familiar tothe readers of The Oj>e?t Court andThe Monist, to which he several times contributed (The Monist, Vol. I., No. 3;Vol. v.. No 4 ; Vol. VI., No. 3. The Open Court, No. 191), and his views on theidea of God came again recently into prominence through Professor Royce's latestwork. It was the ethical and religious side of science, in fact, that claimed hishighest interest always, and it was his mastery of science that lent tone and author-JosEPH Le Conte.MISCELLANEOUS. 499ity to his utterances on ethical questions, where the same opinions from smattererswould have been unlistened to.In his religious development Prof. Joseph Le Conte started from the orthodoxfaith of traditional Christianity ; but his views widened with the growth of hisscientific knowledge. He wrote for The Alojiist, not merely for business reasons,but because he took a deep interest in its aims and methods. In a personal inter-view with the editor of llie Monist, Joseph Le Conte frankly expressed his readi-ness to accept tne monistic solution of the soul-problem, while to the God-ideahe assented without reserve. Prof. Joseph Le Conte was a deeply religious manand as much a theologian as a geologist and botanist. His development is charac-teristic of the scientific type of men, and his life is a noble instance which, we areconfident, is a prophetic symptom of the future.Prof. Joseph Le Conte was born February 26, 1823, in Liberty County, Geor-gia He was a purely American product, like his brother John Le Conte, likeJoseph Henry and the late Professors Cope and Rowland. He came of a distin-guished family, of French Huguenot descent, and also one of affluence. He waseducated in Georgia, one of his teachers having been the celebrated Americanstatesman, Alexander H. Stephens, and was graduated from Franklin College, inthe University of Georgia, afterwards receiving a medical education in New Yorkand studying in Cambridge under the great naturalist Agassiz.Professor Le Conte has left us, in his memoir of his brother (1894) which wefortunately have at hand, a delightful account of his own boyhood days, whichshows us an environment from which talent might well have sprung, and whichwe cannot refrain from quoting here at some length. It gives us a delightful in-sight, not only into the moral and educational atmosphere of a family from whichseveral bright minds have come, but also into the more cheerful aspects of thepatriarchal life of the South before the war, which was not always so bad as it ispainted.John Le Conte, of whom Joseph speaks in this memoir, was- the first to noticeand explain the beautiful phenomena of sensitive flames now so familiar to phys-icists, and to introduce by his discovery a new method of research which in thehands of Barrett, Tyndall, Koenig, and others has revolutionised the science ofacoustics. Louis Le Conte, the father of John and Joseph Le Conte, was the elderbrother of Major John Eatton Le Conte, a name also well known in the history ofAmerican science. He was born in 1782, was graduated at Columbia, and in 1810took possession of the large Georgia plantation left him by his father.Prof. Joseph Le Conte speaks as follows of his home and surroundings : ' ' Lib-erty County was originally settled by a colony of English Puritans, who have lefttheir strong impress on the character of the people of that county even to the pres-ent day. A more intelligent and moral community I have never seen. It receivedits name of Liberty in recognition of the fact that it was the first colony in Georgiato raise the flag of independence on the breaking out of the war of the Revolution,in 1776."Our father, Louis, lived on his plantation and devoted himself entirely tothe care and management of his large property and to the passionate pursuit ofscience in nearly all departments, but especially in those of chemistry and botany,in both of which his knowledge was both extensive and accurate. The large atticof his plantation-house was fitted up as a chemical laboratory, in which he carriedon researches daily. I well remember what a privilege it was to us boys to be per-500 THE OPEN COURT.mitted sometimes to be present, and with what silent awe and tiptoe steps we,especially John, followed him about and watched these mysterious experiments."His devotion to botany was even, if possible, still more intense. A largearea of several acres of enclosed premises was devoted to the maintenance of a bo-tanical and floral garden, widely known at that time as one of the best in the UnitedStates, and often visited by botanists, both American and foreign. Far removedfrom any city (Savannah was near forty miles distant), this garden was used onlyfor scientific study and refined enjoyment. It was the never-ceasing delight of thechildren. The tenderest memories cluster around it, especially about the imageof our father in his daily walks there after breakfast, sipping his last cup of coflfee,enjoying its beauty, planning improvements, and directing the labor of the oldnegro gardener, 'Daddy Dick.' It is, alas, in ruins now, but some of the grandcamelia japonica trees, of which there were eight or ten, still remain. I said 'trees,'for in December, 1891, I visited the old place and measured some of these. Thelargest, a double white, measured fifty-four inches in girth, ten inches from theground where the first branches came off. In bygone days I have seen at least onethousand pure white blossoms five inches in diameter and double to the center onit at once."To supply this garden he made many excursions, often with visiting bot-anists or collectors, sometimes lasting several days, and always returning ladenwith botanical treasures. As evidence of his keen perception of the true affinitiesof plants, it is noteworthy that although the Linnean system was at that timeuniversally used, yet even at this early day he always spoke of the affinities ofplants in terms of their natural orders." Nor was he neglectful of other departments of science. This was well shownin the composition of his large library of scientific books and periodicals. In fact,his love of nature was so spontaneous and passionate that it could not but extendin all directions. Mathematics, astronomy, physics, geology, and zoology alikeengaged his attention. I remember well the intense enthusiasm with which heread Lyell's Principles of Geology when first published. I remember, too, his de-light in working out the most complex mathematical puzzles ; such, for example,as magic squares. The boys were all ardent gunners, but under his influence wenever failed to observe carefully what we shot. Every new form of bird or beastwas brought home in triumph to be determined in name and affinities by him." Nor was he wanting in kinds of culture other than scientific. His trainingin Latin, for example, was so thorough that he read it at sight almost as readily asEnglish."It is easy to see from the above sketch that Louis Le Conte was one of atype of scholars now almost extinct. Such simple, disinterested love of truth forits own sake, such open-eyed, yet thoughtful, observation in all directions, suchpassionate love of nature, and all combined with such utter forgetfulness of selfand absence of any ambition or vanity or reputation. Those who knew him best,but especially his brother. Major John Le Conte, affirmed that he made many im-portant discoveries in both chemistry and botany, yet he never published a line,but freely gave away his new things in the latter science to his many correspond-ents in New York."Here, then, until his death, in 1838, he lived his simple, quiet life of intel-lectual culture and beneficent activity, administering the affairs of an estate withtwo hundred slaves with firmness and kindness, daily directing their labor, visitingthe sick, and caring for the old. His medical knowledge was of inestimable valueMISCELLANEOUS. 5OIto him now, not only on his own place, but to the poor of the surrounding country,who were unable to pay for medical service. His plantation was on the bordersof the pine barrens of Mcintosh County, inhabited only by a shiftless class of'Pine Knockers.' For twenty miles about, in pure charity, he visited these peoplein their sickness ; and in chronic cases even bringing their children to his ownhouse, as the only hope of their recovery. In order to diminish their sense of de-pendence and to cultivate in them, if possible, a sense of self-respect he sometimesrequired of them in return some light work, as picking of cotton or gathering ofcorn. He was looked up to by these poor people as a being of another order fromthemselves." It is easy to imagine the passionate love, the reverence, approaching to fearand even to worship, with which he inspired his children. The effect of such alife and such a character on young John is simply inestimable. To the day of hisdeath John looked back on his father with the greatest love and reverence and uponhis influence as the greatest of all influences in forming his character ; and, in-deed, of all the children John most resembled his father."I have dwelt somewhat on the life and character of Louis Le Conte, notonly because of its paramount influence on his children, especially John, but alsobecause such a life and such a character ought not to go wholly unrecorded."Such was the father as described in Joseph Le Conte's own words, and suchthe environment of two of the most prominent and lovable figures in the history ofAmerican science. They both put to splendid usury the talents entrusted them, andleft an unostentatious yet distinct impress on American thought and education :John Le Conte was the "father of the University of California," which he wascalled to organise, and Joseph Le Conte was the second pillar and mainstay of thatinstitution, in which from 1869 he held the professorship of Geology and NaturalHistory, and an honorary professorship of Biology. Professor Le Conte remainedactive in his literary, educational, and scientific labors to the last, and died sud-denly while on a geological excursion in the Yosemite Valley, at the age of seventy-eight. T. J. McC.THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA BIBLICA.A MONUMENT OF BIBLICAL SCHOLARSHIP.^Theology is frequently discredited, not only by progressive liberals but also byconservative believers, and placed in an unfavorable contrast to religion. Religionis frequently praised as the genuine article, while theology is blamed for all theevils that appear under certain circumstances to crop out from religion. This viewis utterly unjustified and unjustifiable, and is based upon a radical misconceptionof the nature of theology. Actually, it is held only by those whose judgments arethe product of their sentiments, and who allow themselves to be carried away byprejudices. The truth is that if theology were better known there would be fewermisconceptions of religion. If a man like Ingersoll had been familiar with modernXEncycloptedia Biblica. A Critical Dictionary of the Literary, Political, and Religious His-tory, the Archaeology, Geography, and Natural History of the Bible. Edited by the Rev. T. K.Cheyne, M. A., D. D., and J. Sutherland Black, M. A., LL. D. New York : The Macmillan Com-pany. London: Adam and Charles Black. Vol. I., A to D, pages, sxviii, 572, 1S99; Vol. II., Eto K, pages, 772, 1901. Price, $5.00 each.

Joseph Le Conte.

http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1349&context=ocj

Joseph Le Conte.

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

OpenSIUC