  We do not mean by the title above, Christian Science, which so many love; And, against which we have no thought to inveigh, Because it is accomplishing some good in its day, By teaching us to see that the power of the mind Controls our bodies more than others find. By science, we mean all knowledge gained From whatever source it may be attained; By inventions, laws, medicine, therapeutics, Sociology, geology, astronomy, epizootics, Geography, orthography, mentality, logics, Government, devilment, war and fratricide; And this list might be multiplied if we tried. But of all those things we cannot make review. For ages men did not know that the earth was round; It was supposed to flat, and all the ground Rested on the back of one man, whose picture is found Still in old geographies, standing under his load, With his feet upon the back of some large toad, Or tortoise; and, that the sun was slipped clean Back west to east, at night by us unseen, In the chariot of the Sun-god with his team Of steeds as swift as if they were run by steam. These views by them held sacred were impressed On others who even speculatively guessed, That there might be error in the sacred book, Or else those who read failed to look Deep enough into lines between lines, Where sometimes most information one finds. Shaking off their fear, daring men began to peer, Into the upper air with telescopes, far and near; Until upon them dawned beyond escape, By the picture on the moon and its shape, That, book or no book, the world was a globe. And, to fully prove it, they toiled and strove, Till Columbus the Great, did daringly navigate Far enough to see it and stop the debate. That one hazardous stroke by this brave man Struck the shackles from science and began A new era, in which truth conquers belief, And consecrated error dies to our relief. The door now being thrown open wide, men pried, And delved into nature with rapid stride. By the light of astronomy as their guide, It was discovered that those specks that shine High up in the heavens at the night time Are suns and worlds that in their orbits move Around greater centers in distance so high As not to be seen as when through glass we spy. That all those moving worlds by one supreme law Of gravitation yield their obedience in awe. To the bottom of the sea men dived to find The wrecks of ages there accumulated by time, As old ocean waves roll over them its slime. Into the strata of the rocks marking each age As time passed written on them page by page, The history of the earth before the historic age; Men have dug up fossils for scholar and sage. With silken thread, they drew lightning from the sky, And harnessed it up our trade and commerce to ply. By microscope and tools chemists use, The varied elements have been made to fuse Into numerous new substances by man used In the varied arts to which existence imparts The glories of the times from which we start. The doctor, with his scalpel and his knife, Discovers new means for preserving human life. The inventor with his machines, human labor to supply, To the plowman who plods on his weary way; To the weaver who with his hands from day to day, His cloth he did weave in the old-fashioned way. The builder with his bricks of sand and clay Once made with mud securely encased in hay His stone, plaster, lumber, hardware and nails, All made by machinery which little labor entails. The merchant with his cargo laden in a ship, Propelled by steam as over the deep they slip. The baker with his ovens and pans, Bakes and makes his bread without hands. All these with telegraph and telephones supplied, Carrying messages as over wires they slide, With lightning speed, bringing to each his need, Shortening time and obliterating space, As each against the other runs his race, For gains in the occupations they chase. The grave lawyer sitting wise at his desk, Dictating to stenographers things he may suggest, About cases in court or making a report, Of some opinion great in matters of weight About all the business to which they relate In the matters and things of those who wait Their troubles to tell and business to state. The iron horse on tracks of belted steel, With throttle and valve, and whistle peal Rolling over the land, propelled by steam, Crossing mountain, valley and stream, On tracks, rails and bridges of steel. The flying machine shot up in mid air Sailing over continents in feats they dare, Rivaling the plumed eagle in his flight, Or those swift birds that pass in a night, From out their abodes beyond human sight. The magic needle that points to the pole, Guiding navigation on oceans untold; And those brave adventurers seeking the pole, Where the earth on its axis turns, To find that for which their ambition burns: Losing their crew in the cold, wintry snow, Too weak from hunger, them to follow. And onward, how far can the genius of man go? With Edison, the wizard, putting on a show Of actors, scenes and stage, singing as they go, Talking and walking, dancing and playing airs On every instrument that man’s skill prepares All through a little machine, run by a wheel; And electric apparatus he did conceal, From watching eyes his invention might steal. And, there’s Marconi, flashing across land and sea His messages of glad tidings without wires on tree, Or pole, and nothing to guide his machine, So far as any one has yet seen. If such men had appeared in the olden day, Before Columbus had marked out the way, They surely would have burned at the stake, For witchcraft and all for conscience’ sake. Yet with the strides men have made, With sickle, sword, guns, knife and spade, With piston, valve, gears, driver and wheel, Driven by light, electricity, steam and heated steel, Their thought flying upon the world to reveal The acts and doings of nature and of man, From ocean to ocean all over the broad land And even over the wide extended seas we expand, With telegraphic cables from land to land, Bringing all the forces of nature
|
|
