5586. MUSEUMS, Maintenance of.—
Nobody can desire more ardently than myself,
to concur in whatever may promote useful science,
and I view no science with more partiality
than Natural History. But I have ever
believed that in this, as in most other cases,
abortive attempts retard rather than promote
this object. To be really useful we must
keep pace with the state of society, and not dishearten
it by attempts at what its population,
means, or occupations will fail in attempting.
In the particular enterprises for museums, we
have seen the populous and wealthy cities of
Boston and New York unable to found or
maintain such an institution. The feeble condition
of that in each of these places sufficiently
proves this. In Philadelphia alone, has this
attempt succeeded to a good degree. It has
been owing there to a measure of zeal and perseverance
in an individual rarely equalled; to
a population, crowded, wealthy, and more than
usually addicted to the pursuit of knowledge.
And, with all this, the institution does not
maintain itself.—
To Mr. De La Coste. Washington ed. v, 79.
(W.
1807)
