marine examinations; but, not estimating, properly, the pressure of water, at different depths, is crushed to death during the first experiment. How important, then, to gather from science the light necessary to protect us from the delusions of an excited imagination, and to guide us in the way of safe and profitable enterprise !

II. When occupied with inventions, in any department of the arts, the inventor ought to be informed of the improvements which have been already made in that department; otherwise, he may consume his time, labor, and money, in merely reproducing what has long existed; and that, too, perhaps, in a preferable form.

In

III. He must have sufficient acquaintance with the sciences related to his pursuits, to resolve the various questions which will occur, in the progress of an invention. It is obvious, that, after the first and most important step is taken, in the inventive process; after the important principle has been mastered, and light seems to shed itself over the whole inquiry; many obstacles are still to be overcome, many unexpected difficulties are to be met, many toilsome days and nights consumed in nice adjustments and alterations. some instances, utter failure has resulted, at this stage of the process, for the want of the requisite knowledge; and in others, important inventions have been arrested and painfully delayed, from the same cause. It is stated, that, after Fulton had securely achieved, in his own opinion, the invention of the steam-boat, months were consumed by him in making the necessary calculations upon the resistance of fluids, in order to ascertain what was the best form of the boat, to secure a successful issue to his experiment. It is also stated, by Judge Story,* who, in the course of his judicial labors, has had occasion to examine the history of the cardmachine of Whittemore, and of the nail-machine invented by Perkins, that half the labors of those ex

*See Lecture before the Boston Mechanics' Institution, November, 1829.

traordinary men would have been saved, if they had been originally instructed in the principles of mechanical science. "It is certain," he adds, "that, with his later acquirements in science, one of them would not have laid aside, for a long time, the creations of his own genius, as if in despair that it could ever attain maturity." If it be objected, here, that inventions are often made by men unacquainted with science, we may admit it, without impairing, materially, the force of our argument. Accident will sometimes cast up important improvements, in such a way, that the artist can hardly fail to seize upon them. It will generally be found, however, even in these cases, that the invention is not matured, without the aid of the man of science. But, in a large proportion of instances, improvements are not only perfected, but originally made, by him. It has often happened, that substances and processes, though brought to light, have remained unemployed, for centuries, owing to the want of some sagacious and enlightened mind, to apply them to their appropriate uses. And when we trace the history of Inventors, what names do we find most illustrious on the roll? Are they not the names of Archimedes, Galileo, Huygens, Hooke, Otto, Guericke, Volta, Franklin, Watt, Davy, Wollaston, and others, names more eminent in science than even in art. The truth is, that but comparatively few inventions have been produced by accident, or by uninstructed artisans. They are generally made by persons of competent knowledge, who are in pursuit of them. What en

abled Watt to make his improvement on the steamengine, but those hints which he derived from the chemical lectures of Dr. Black,* and those mathematical and mechanical attainments which he derived from constant and arduous study? Even Arkwright, who has often been quoted as an instance of an uninstruct

In a work lately published, extracts are given from some of the papers of Mr. Watt, denying his indebtedness to Black. Whatever may be the fact, Watt doubtless owed his invention to study, not accident.

ed inventor, is now known to have been a man perfectly conversant with machinery, and to have devoted at least five years to the invention of the spinning jenny; and then, he was obliged to call in the aid of others. Sir H. Davy discovered his admirable safety lamp, by which so many lives have been saved in the English mines, only after a long series of philosophical experiments, on which he bestowed the utmost powers of his great mind. And it is stated, by Lord Brougham, that the new process of sugar-refining, by which more money has been made, in a shorter time and with less risk and trouble, than was ever, perhaps, gained from an invention, before, was discovered by a most accomplished chemist, and was the fruit of a long course of experiments, in the progress of which, known philosophical principles were constantly applied, and one or two new principles ascertained.*

A brief survey of the history of the arts will conduct us to the same conclusion. We shall find, that improvements in these arts have generally been preceded by discoveries in science; and that, when the latter has slumbered, the former have remained nearly stationary. In the long lapse of time which intervened from Archimedes to Galileo, scarcely one important discovery was made, in mechanical philosophy; and it is not a little curious, that, during the same period, hardly any progress was made, in the mechanic arts. The same night which shrouded the genius of discovery seemed to brood over the talent for invention. No sooner, however, did Galileo perceive those great truths which have immortalized his name as a philosopher, than he began to apply some of them to the combinations of art; and the impulse which he gave to the spirit of discovery extended itself to invention, and has rendered the progress of science and art, ever since, one and indivisible. It is within the last seventy-five years, however, that this connexion has been most striking and apparent. During this period, chemistry has taken its rank among the

*See Lord Brougham's Discourse on the Advantages of Science.

sciences; unprecedented advances have been made in mechanics and physics; and even geology, mineralogy, and physiology, have received most important and unexpected accessions. Now, it is precisely during this same period, that the useful arts have pressed forward, with the most rapid strides. Scarcely a discovery has been made in science, which has not forthwith been turned to some useful account. The steam-engine; the use of chlorine, in bleaching; the varied and important applications of platinum, chrome, iodine, and other substances, which have been brought to light entirely by the researches of the chemist; are but a few among many instances of the service which has been rendered to the arts of industry, by the labors and discoveries of science.

We have thus enumerated some of the practical advantages which flow from the application of science to the arts. There are other advantages, of a moral and intellectual character, which are entitled to at least a passing notice. The habit of studying the theory as well as the practice of an art, cannot but have the happiest influence, in enlarging and liberalizing the mind. It leads the artist to regard his occupation as something more than mechanical drudgery; as a liberal and intellectual pursuit, fitted to exercise the powers of his mind, and to raise his thoughts from the humble workmanship of man to that vaster mechanism, which bespeaks the wisdom and power of the Almighty. It affords unfailing topics for reflection and conversation, during his hours of labor, and provides resources of an intellectual character, on which he can draw, in seasons of leisure and at the advance of old age. It seems, indeed, high time, that the years which have hitherto been employed by the apprentice, in learning the mere handicraft of his art, should be employed, in part at least, in studying its principles, and in tracing the operation of those principles throughout the works of Nature. It is more than time, that a higher moral and intellectual taste should be cultivated among the artisans of every coun

try, and that hours, now wasted in dissipation or frittered away in frivolous reading and conversation, should be devoted to the acquisition of knowledge and the cultivation of virtue. In an age like this, when every species of manual labor is rendered more and more precarious, by the changes which are perpetually taking place in the arts, it is the obvious interest of the laboring man, to prepare himself, by reading and reflection, either to embrace a new employment, or to conform himself to sudden and unexpected vicissitudes. Independent, however, of interest, there are higher considerations, which address him as an intelligent and immortal being, and which urge him to embrace the opportunities for improvement which have been vouchsafed him by a kind Providence, even in his ordinary avocations.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPLES, IN PART I.

INTRODUCTION.

I. Though naturally inferior to many of the animals, in strength and agility, man becomes their superior, by means of the Arts.

II. These Arts are, in the first instance, suggested by necessity; afterwards, they are improved by Science.

III. The application of Science to the Arts has been neglected, to the prejudice, both of the philosopher and the artisan. The discoveries of the one have often remained unproductive, for the want of practical knowledge; and the manual skill of the other has frequently accomplished little, because it required the aid and guidance of Science.

THE ARTS DEPENDENT ON SCIENCE.

I. Material substances are subject to fixed laws. II. They cannot be employed, except in obedience to those laws.