萬物簡史 第113期:勢不兩立的科學(xué)(21)

Owen would never again do important research, butthe latter half of his career was devoted to oneunexceptionable pursuit for which we can all begrateful. In 1856 he became head of the naturalhistory section of the British Museum, in whichcapacity he became the driving force behind thecreation of London's Natural History Museum. Thegrand and beloved Gothic heap in South Kensington,opened in 1880, is almost entirely a testament to hisvision.

歐文再也沒有從事重要的研究，但在后半生致力于一件非同尋常的事，我們對此表示感激。1856年，他成為大英博物館自然史部主任，在那個崗位上推動了倫敦自然史博物館的創(chuàng)建。那棟位于南肯辛頓的宏偉而可愛的哥特式建筑物于1880年向公眾開放，幾乎完全成了他遠見卓識的見證。

Before Owen, museums were designed primarily for the use and edification of the elite, andeven then it was difficult to gain access. In the early days of the British Museum, prospectivevisitors had to make a written application and undergo a brief interview to determine if theywere fit to be admitted at all. They then had to return a second time to pick up a ticket—that isassuming they had passed the interview—and finally come back a third time to view themuseum's treasures.

歐文之前，博物館主要供少數(shù)精英使用和陶冶情操，連他們也很難進門。大英博物館建立之初，想?yún)⒂^的人不得不寫一份申請書，經(jīng)過一個簡單的面試，才能決定他們是否適合進場。然后，他們還得回來取票——那就是說，假如他們的面試獲得通過的話——最后再次回來觀看博物館里的寶貝。

Even then they were whisked through in groups and not allowed to linger. Owen's plan was towelcome everyone, even to the point of encouraging workingmen to visit in the evening, and todevote most of the museum's space to public displays. He even proposed, very radically, toput informative labels on each display so that people could appreciate what they wereviewing. In this, somewhat unexpectedly, he was opposed by T. H. Huxley, who believed thatmuseums should be primarily research institutes. By making the Natural History Museum aninstitution for everyone, Owen transformed our expectations of what museums are for.

即使到了那個時刻，他們也只能集體參觀，被趕著快速往前走，不得隨便停留。歐文的計劃是人人都受歡迎，甚至鼓勵工人們利用晚上時間來參觀。他把博物館絕大部分的地方用來陳列公開展品。他甚至很激進地提出為每件展品安放說明，以便讓人們欣賞自己眼前的東西。他在這個問題上遭到了T.H.赫胥黎的反對，這是有點兒沒有想到的。赫胥黎認為，博物館主要應(yīng)當是研究機構(gòu)。通過把自然史博物館變成人人可去的地方，歐文改變了我們原先建博物館的目的。