INCUBATING LANGERS

Since the recent elevation of William L. Langer to the Coolidge professorship of History only gives him an expected promotion and an impressive title, he can dispense with congratulations. Rather, they should go to the Coolidge Chair whose reputation will be enhanced from its association with a man who is rapidly becoming the Napoleon of modern European historians and to President Conant who has effectively stilled the persistent rumors that other colleges are trying to bribe Mr. Langer away from Cambridge.

Although Harvard would like to place an order for a dozen more Langers, no institution can turn out more than an incomplete chassis. There are places which could teach a man to locate most of the facts which appear in his books, "Alliances and Alignments" and "The Diplomacy of Imperialism". There are places which could teach a man to memorize broad trends and the fundamentals of elocution for classroom work. Yet these important qualifications are inadequate.

A Langer must know how to make a coherent picture out of thousands of disconnected facts, how to critically appraise his field, and how to acquaint others with his knowledge. Only a flesh and blood individual, trained by flesh and blood teachers, can knead the plastic and indigestible thing called knowledge into beneficial roughage. His skill is acquired through an active mind as well as learned lessons. Because of deficiencies in the English language which even Copey has been unable to rectify, this part of a Langer must be described as personality, inspiration, genuineness. When it is missing, students might just as well forsake the classroom for the printed page.

Although Professor Langer has done nothing to deserve dissection, he is too positive an exhibit to neglect. He has learned the fundamentals that can be taught. He has benefitted from teachers like Archie Coolidge. Yet this preparation alone could not have stirred his classes to intellectual acrobatics nor augured him a prospective future as a Harvard figure besides the Briggs, the Shalers, and the James. His career demonstrates that the man is fully as important as any standards which can be devised to produce teachers.