art; the object in either case is to discover the relation between form
or structure and function or essential effect. It was no chance
utterance of Agassiz when he said that a year or two of natural
history, studied as he understood it, would give the best kind of
training for any other sort of mental work.

The following passages will illustrate Agassiz's ideals and practice
in teaching, the emphasis being laid upon his dealings with special
students. A few biographical details are introduced in order to round
out our conception of the personality of the teacher himself. Toward
the close, certain of his opinions are given in his own words.

I would call special attention to an extract from Boeckh's
_Encyclopadie_, and another from the _Symposium_ of Plato, on
pp. 69-74, and to the similarity between the method of study there
enjoined upon the student of the humanities, or indeed of all art and
nature, and the method imposed by Agassiz upon the would-be
entomologist who was compelled first of all to observe a fish. In
reforming the mind it is well to begin by contemplating some structure
we never have seen before, concerning which we have no, or the fewest
possible, preconceptions.




II

AGASSIZ AT NEUCHATEL

[Footnote: From E. C. Agassiz, _Louis Agassiz, his Life and