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diff --git a/16935-h/16935-h.htm b/16935-h/16935-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e6af4ac --- /dev/null +++ b/16935-h/16935-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,15704 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" + content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Thomas Henry Huxley - A + Sketch of His Life and Work by P. Chalmers Mitchell, M.A. + (Oxon.). + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- +p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } +h1,h2,h3,h4,h5 { text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } +hr { width: 65%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } +table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} +body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} +span.ralign { position: absolute; right: 10%; top: auto;} +.back {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%; font-size: smaller;} +.blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} +.pagenum {position: absolute; right: 5%; font-size: smaller; text-align: right;} /* page numbers */ +.center {text-align: center;} +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} +.u {text-decoration: underline;} +.caption {font-weight: bold; font-size: small;} +.figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} +.footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} +.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} +.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} +.fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} +.poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} +.poem br {display: none;} +.poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} +.poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} +.poem span.i1 {display: block; margin-left: 1em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} +// --> +/* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> + <body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Thomas Henry Huxley; A Sketch Of His Life +And Work, by P. Chalmers Mitchell + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Thomas Henry Huxley; A Sketch Of His Life And Work + +Author: P. Chalmers Mitchell + +Release Date: October 25, 2005 [EBook #16935] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY *** + + + + +Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, LN Yaddanapudi and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net (This file was made using scans of +public domain works from the University of Michigan Digital +Libraries.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="frontispiece" + id="frontispiece">[Frontispiece]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 301px;"> + <img src="images/ill-huxley-front.jpg" + alt="THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY-ill-huxley-front.jpg" + title="THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY" height="403" width="301" /> + <span class="caption">THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY</span> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <h3 style="text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"> + Leaders in Science + </h3> + <h1> + THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY + </h1> + <h2> + A SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND WORK + </h2> + <br /> + <br /> + + <h5> + BY + </h5> + <br /> + + <h3> + P. CHALMERS MITCHELL, M.A. (<i>Oxon.</i>) + </h3> + <br /> + <br /> + + <hr style="width: 15%;" /> + <h3> + G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS + </h3> + <br /> + + <div class="center"> + <table + style="text-align: center; width: auto; font-size: small;" + border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="15" summary=""> + <tbody> + <tr> + <td> + NEW YORK<br /> + 27 WEST TWENTY THIRD STREET<br /> + </td> + <td> + LONDON<br /> + 24 BEDFORD STREET STRAND<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2"> + The Knickerbocker Press<br /> + 1900 + </td> + </tr> + </tbody> + </table> + </div> + <hr /> + <div class="center"> + <span class="smcap">Copyright 1900</span><br /> + BY<br /> + G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS<br /> + <br /> + <br /> + <br /> + The Knickerbocker Press, New York + </div> + <br /> + <br /> + + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="v" id="v">[v]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-v.png" alt="" title="" height="82" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE">PREFACE</a> + </h2> + <p> + This volume is in no sense an intimate or authorised + biography of Huxley. It is simply an outline of the + external features of his life and an account of his + contributions to biology, to educational and social + problems, and to philosophy and metaphysics. In preparing + it, I have been indebted to his own Autobiography, to the + obituary notice written by Sir Michael Foster for the Royal + Society of London, to a sketch of him by Professor Howes, + his successor at the Royal College of Science, and to his + published works. The latter consist of many well-known + separate volumes which are familiar to all zoölogists, + and of a vast number of memoirs and essays scattered in + various scientific and general publications. The general + Essays were collected into nine volumes, revised by himself + in the later years of his life, and published by Messrs. + Macmillan. The Scientific Memoirs, thanks to the generous + enterprise of the same publishing firm, with which he was + so long associated, and to the pious labours of Sir Michael + Foster and Professor Ray Lankester, are in process of + reissue in the form of four volumes, two of which have now + appeared. These will contain all his important + contributions to science, with the exception of a large + <span class="pagenum"><a name="vi" id="vi">[vi]</a></span> + separate treatise on the <i>Oceanic Hydrozoa</i> published + by the Ray Society in 1859. There is also announced a + formal Biography, prepared by his son, so that future + admirers or students of Huxley's work will be in an + exceptionally favourable position. + </p> + <p class="smcap" style="margin-left: 1em;"> + London, 1900. <span class="ralign">P. CHALMERS + MITCHELL.</span> + </p> + <br /> + <br /> + <br /> + + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 337px;"> + <img src="images/ill-vi.png" alt="" title="" height="197" + width="337" /> + </div> + </div> + <br /> + <br /> + + <hr /> + <h2> + Leaders in Science + </h2> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="vii" + id="vii">[vii]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-vii.png" alt="" title="" height="84" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</a> + </h2> + <hr style="width: 15%;" /> + <p style="text-align: right;"> + PAGE + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#v">v</a></span><a + href="#PREFACE">PREFACE</a> + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p1">1</a></span>FROM SCHOOL + TO LIFE-WORK + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + Birth—Parentage—School-days—Choice of + Medical Profession—Charing Cross Hospital—End + of Medical Studies—Admission to Naval Medical + Service. + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p13">13</a></span>THE VOYAGE + OF THE RATTLESNAKE + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + The Objects of the Voyage—The Route—The + Naturalist and the Surgeon—Collecting and + Dredging—Stay in Sydney—Adventures with the + Natives—Comparison with Darwin's Voyage on the + <i>Beagle</i>. + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p30">30</a></span>FLOATING + CREATURES OF THE SEA + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + The Nature of Floating Life—Memoir on Medusæ + Accepted by the Royal Society—Old and New Ideas of + the Animal Kingdom—What Huxley Discovered in + Medusæ—His Comparison of them with Vertebrate + Embryos + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="viii" + id="viii">[viii]</a></span> + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p46">46</a></span>EARLY DAYS + IN LONDON + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + Scientific Work as Unattached + Ship-Surgeon—Introduction to London Scientific + Society—Translating, Receiving, and + Lecturing—Ascidians—Molluscs and the + Archetype—Criticism of Pre-Darwinian + Evolution—Appointment to Geological Survey. + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p67">67</a></span>CREATURES + OF THE PAST + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + Beginning Palæontological Work—Fossil Amphibia + and Reptilia—Ancestry of Birds—Ancestry of the + Horse—Imperfect European Series Completed by Marsh's + American Fossils—Meaning of Geological + Contemporaneity—Uniformitarianism and Catastrophism + Compared with Evolution in Geology—Age of the + Earth—Intermediate and Linear Types. + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p89">89</a></span>HUXLEY AND + DARWIN + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + Early Ideas on Evolution—Erasmus + Darwin—Lamarck—Herbert Spencer—Difference + between Evolution and Natural Selection—Huxley's + Preparation for Evolution—The Novelty of Natural + Selection—The Advantage of Natural Selection as a + Working Hypothesis—Huxley's Unchanged Position with + regard to Evolution and Natural Selection from 1860 to + 1894. + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p110">110</a></span>THE + BATTLE FOR EVOLUTION + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + Huxley's Prevision of the Battle—The Causes of the + Battle—The <i>Times</i> Review—Sir Richard Owen + <span class="pagenum"><a name="ix" id="ix">[ix]</a></span> + attacks Darwinism in the <i>Edinburgh + Review</i>—Bishop Wilberforce attacks in the + <i>Quarterly</i> Review—Huxley's Scathing + Replies—The British Association Debates at + Oxford—Huxley and + Wilberforce—Résumé of Huxley's Exact + Position with Regard to Evolution and to Natural Selection. + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a + href="#p128">128</a></span>VERTEBRATE ANATOMY + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + The Theory of the Vertebrate Skull—Goethe, Oken, + Cuvier, and Owen—Huxley Defends Goethe—His own + Contributions to the Theory—The Classification of + Birds—Huxley Treats them as "Extinct + Animals"—Geographical Distribution—Sclater's + Regions—Huxley's Suggestions. + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p144">144</a></span>MAN AND + THE APES + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + Objections to Zoölogical Discussion of Man's + Place—Owen's Prudence—Huxley's Determination to + Speak out—Account of his Treatment of <i>Man's Place + in Nature</i>—Additions Made by More Recent Work. + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p167">167</a></span>SCIENCE + AS A BRANCH OF EDUCATION + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + Science-Teaching Fifty Years Ago—Huxley's Insistence + on Reform—Science + Primers—Physiography—Elementary + Physiology—<i>The Crayfish</i>—Manuals of + Anatomy—Modern Microscopical Methods—Practical + Work in Biological Teaching—Invention of the Type + System—Science in Medical Education—Science and + Culture. + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p188">188</a></span>GENERAL + PROBLEMS OF EDUCATION + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="x" id="x">[x]</a></span> + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + Establishment of Compulsory Education in England—The + Religious Controversy—Huxley Advocates the Bible + without Theology—His Compromise on the + "Cowper-Temple" Clause—Influence of the New + Criticism—Science and Art Instruction—Training + of Teachers—University Education—The Baltimore + Address—Technical Education—So-called "Applied + Science"—National Systems of Education as + "Capacity-Catchers." + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p204">204</a></span>CITIZEN, + ORATOR, AND ESSAYIST + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + Huxley's Activity in Public Affairs—Official in + Scientific Societies—Royal + Commissions—Vivisection—Characteristics of his + Public Speaking—His Method of Exposition—His + Essays—Vocabulary—Phrase-Making—His Style + Essentially One of Ideas. + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p218">218</a></span>THE + OPPONENT OF MATERIALISM + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + Science and Metaphysics—Berkeley, Hume, and + Hobbes—Existence of Matter and Mind—Descartes's + Contribution—Materialism and Idealism—Criticism + of Materialism—Berkeley's Idealism—Criticism of + Idealism—Empirical Idealism—Materialism as + opposed to Supernaturalism—Mind and + Brain—Origin of Life—Teleology, Chance, and the + Argument from Design. + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p232">232</a></span>FREEDOM + OF THOUGHT + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + Authority and Knowledge in Science—The Duty of + Doubt—Authority and Individual Judgment in + Religion—The Protestant Position—Sir Charles + Lyell and the Deluge—Infallibility—The Church + and Science—Morality and Dogma—Civil and + Religious Liberty—Agnosticism and <span + class="pagenum"><a name="xi" id="xi">[xi]</a></span> + Clericalism—Meaning of Agnosticism—Knowledge + and Evidence—The Method of Agnosticism. + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p245">245</a></span>THE + BIBLE AND MIRACLES + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + Why Huxley Came to Write about the Bible—A <i>Magna + Charta</i> of the Poor—The Theological Use of the + Bible—The Doctrine of Biblical + Infallibility—The Bible and Science—The Three + Hypotheses of the Earth's History—Changes in the Past + Proved—The Creation Hypothesis—Gladstone on + Genesis—Genesis not a Record of Fact—The + Hypothesis of Evolution—The New + Testament—Theory of Inspiration—Reliance on the + Miraculous—The Continuity of Nature no <i>a + priori</i> Argument against Miracles—-Possibilities + and Impossibilities—Miracles a Question of + Evidence—Praise of the Bible. + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p261">261</a></span>ETHICS + OF THE COSMOS + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + Conduct and Metaphysics—Conventional and Critical + Minds—Good and Evil—Huxley's Last Appearance at + Oxford—The Ethical Process and the Cosmic + Process—Man's Intervention—The Cosmic Process + Evil—Ancient Reconciliations—Modern Acceptance + of the Difficulties—Criticism of Huxley's + Pessimism—Man and his Ethical Aspirations Part of the + Cosmos. + </p> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p275">275</a></span>CLOSING + DAYS AND SUMMARY + </p> + <p class="blockquot"> + Huxley's Life in London—Decennial Periods— + Ill-health—Retirement to + Eastbourne—Death—Personal + Appearance—Methods of Work—Personal + Characteristics—An Inspirer of Others—His + Influence in Science—A Naturalist by + Vocation—His Aspirations. + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p287">287</a></span><a + href="#INDEX">INDEX</a> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="xiii" + id="xiii">[xiii]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-xiiia.png" alt="" title="" + height="83" width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + ILLUSTRATIONS + </h2> + <hr style="width: 15%;" /> + <p> + <span class="ralign">PAGE</span> + </p> + <br /> + + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a + href="#frontispiece">Frontispiece</a></span> THOMAS HENRY + HUXLEY<br /> + <i>From a photograph by London Stereoscopic Company</i> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p64">64</a></span>THOMAS + HENRY HUXLEY, 1857<br /> + <i>Reproduced by permission from "Natural Science," + vol. vii., No. 42</i> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p98">98</a></span>SIR JOSEPH + DALTON HOOKER<br /> + <i>From a photograph by Elliott and Fry, London</i> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p146">146</a></span>CHARLES + DARWIN<br /> + <i>From the painting by Hon. John Collier in the + National Portrait Gallery</i> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a href="#p236">236</a></span>SIR + CHARLES LYELL<br /> + <i>From a photograph by London Stereoscopic Company</i> + </p> + <p> + <span class="ralign"><a + href="#p276">276</a></span>CARICATURE OF HUXLEY DRAWN BY + HIMSELF<br /> + <i>Reproduced by permission from "Natural Science," + vol. vii., No. 46.</i> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 203px;"> + <img src="images/ill-xiiib.png" alt="" title="" + height="47" width="203" /> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="xv" id="xv">[xv]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-xv.png" alt="" title="" height="82" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + LIST OF HUXLEY'S WRITINGS + </h2> + <hr style="width: 15%;" /> + <p> + This list is offered, not as a bibliography in the + technical sense, but as an indication of the sources in + which the vast majority of Huxley's scientific and general + work may be consulted most conveniently. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Scientific Memoirs of Thomas Henry Huxley</i>. + Edited by Professor Sir Michael Foster and Professor E. Ray + Lankester; in four volumes. London, Macmillan & Co.; + New York, D. Appleton. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + This magnificent collection is intended to contain all + Huxley's original scientific papers, brought together + from the multitude of scientific periodicals in which + they appeared, with reproductions of the original + illustrations. The only exception is the monograph on + <i>Oceanic Hydrozoa</i>. The first volume appeared in + 1898; the second in 1899, and the others are to follow + quickly. + </p> + </div> + <p> + <i>Collected Essays by T.H. Huxley</i>; nine volumes of the + Eversley Series. Macmillan & Co. London, 1893-95. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + This set, edited by Huxley himself, contains the more + important of his more general contributions to science + and his literary, philosophical, and political and + critical essays. Each volume has a preface specially + written, and the first volume contains his autobiography. + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="xvi" + id="xvi">[xvi]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + <i>The Oceanic Hydrozoa</i>; a description of the + Calycophoridæ and Physophoridæ observed during + the Voyage of H.M.S. <i>Rattlesnake</i> in the years + 1846-50, with a general introduction. Ray Society. London, + 1859. + </p> + <p> + <i>Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature</i>. Williams & + Norgate. London, 1863. + </p> + <p> + <i>On our Knowledge of the Causes of Organic Phenomena</i>; + being Six Lectures to Working Men. Hardwicke. London, 1863. + </p> + <p> + <i>Lectures on the Elements of Comparative Anatomy</i>. On + the Classification of Animals and the Vertebrate Skull. + Churchill & Sons. London, 1864. + </p> + <p> + <i>An Elementary Atlas of Comparative Osteology</i>. In + twelve plates. Williams & Norgate. London, 1864. + </p> + <p> + <i>Lessons in Elementary Physiology</i>. Macmillan & + Co. London, 1866. + </p> + <p> + <i>An Introduction to the Classification of Animals</i>. + Churchill. London, 1869. + </p> + <p> + <i>A Manual of the Anatomy of Vertebrated Animals</i>. + Churchill. London, 1871. + </p> + <p> + <i>A Course of Practical Instruction in Elementary + Biology</i>, assisted by H.N. Martin. Macmillan. London, + 1875. + </p> + <p> + <i>A Manual of the Anatomy of Invertebrated Animals</i>. + Churchill. London, 1877. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="xvii" + id="xvii">[xvii]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + <i>Lay Sermons, Essays, and Reviews</i>. Macmillan. London, + 1877. + </p> + <p> + <i>American Addresses, with a Lecture on the Study of + Biology</i>. Macmillan. London, 1877. + </p> + <p> + <i>Physiography, an Introduction to the Study of + Zoölogy</i>. International Scientific Series. Kegan + Paul. London, 1880. + </p> + <p> + <i>Introductory Primer</i>. Science Primers. Macmillan. + London, 1880. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin</i>. Edited by + his son, Francis Darwin. Volume II., with Chapter V. by + Professor Huxley on the Reception of the <i>Origin of + Species</i>. John Murray. London, 1887. + </p> + <p> + <i>Life of Richard Owen</i>. By his grandson. With an Essay + on Owen's Position in Anatomical Science, by T.H. Huxley. + John Murray. London, 1894. + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 305px;"> + <img src="images/ill-xvii.png" alt="" title="" + height="133" width="305" /> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p1" id="p1">[1]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-001.png" alt="" title="" height="86" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY + </h2> + <hr style="width: 15%;" /> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a> + </h2> + <h3> + FROM SCHOOL TO LIFE-WORK + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Birth—Parentage—School-days—Choice of + Medical Profession—Charing Cross Hospital—End + of Medical Studies—Admission to Naval Medical + Service. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Some men are born to greatness: even before their arrival + in the world their future is marked out for them. All the + advantages that wealth and the experience of friends can + bring attend their growth to manhood, and their success + almost loses its interest because of the ease with which it + is attained. Few of the leaders of science were in such a + position: many of them, such as Priestley, Davy, Faraday, + John Hunter, and Linnæus were of humble parentage, + and received the poorest education: most of them, like + Huxley himself, have come from parents who were able to do + little more for their children than set them out into life + along the ordinary educational avenues. In Huxley's boyhood + at least a comfortable income was necessary for this: in + every civilised country nowadays, state endowments, <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p2" id="p2">[2]</a></span> or + private endowments, are ready to help every capable boy, as + far as Huxley was helped, and in his progress from boyhood + to supreme distinction, there is nothing that cannot be + emulated by every boy at school to-day. The minds of human + beings when they are born into the world are as naked as + their bodies; it matters not if parents, grandparents, and + remoter ancestors were unlettered or had the wisdom of all + the ages, the new mind has to build up its own wisdom from + the beginning. We cannot even say with certainty that + children inherit mental aptitudes and capacities from their + parents; for as tall sons may come from short parents or + beautiful daughters from ugly parents, so we may find in + the capacities of the parents no traces of the future + greatness of their children. None the less it is + interesting to learn what we can about the parents of great + men; and Huxley tells us that he thinks himself to have + inherited many characters of his body and mind from his + mother. + </p> + <p> + Thomas Henry Huxley was born on the 4th of May, 1825, at + Ealing, then a little country village, now united to London + as a great suburb. He was the seventh child of George + Huxley, who was second master at the school of Dr. + Nicholson at Ealing. In these days private schools of + varying character were very numerous in England, and this + establishment seems to have been of high-class character, + for Cardinal Newman and many other distinguished men + received part of their education there. His mother, whose + maiden name was Rachel Withers, was, he tells us himself:<a + name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a + href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p3" id="p3">[3]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "A slender brunette of an emotional and energetic + temperament, and possessed of the most piercing black + eyes I ever saw in a woman's head. With no more education + than other women of the middle classes in her day, she + had an excellent mental capacity. Her most distinguishing + characteristic, however, was rapidity of thought. If one + ventured to suggest she had not taken much time to arrive + at any conclusion, she would say, 'I cannot help it. + Things flash across me.' That peculiarity has been passed + on to me in full strength: it has often stood me in good + stead: it has sometimes played me sad tricks, and it has + always been a danger. But, after all, if my time were to + come over again there is nothing I would less willingly + part with than my inheritance of 'mother wit.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + From his father he thinks that he inherited little except + an inborn capacity for drawing, "a hot temper, and that + amount of tenacity of purpose which unfriendly observers + sometimes call obstinacy." As it happened, this natural + gift for drawing proved of the greatest service to him + throughout his career. It is imperative that every + investigator of the anatomy of plants and animals should be + able to sketch his observations, and there is no greater + aid to seeing things as they are than the continuous + attempt to reproduce them by pencil or brush. + </p> + <p> + Huxley was christened Thomas Henry, and he was unaware why + these names were chosen, but he humorously records the + curious chance that his parents should have chosen for him + the "name of that particular apostle with whom he had + always felt most sympathy." + </p> + <p> + Of his childhood little is recorded. He remembers being + vain of his curls, and his mother's expressed regret that + he soon lost the beauty of early childhood. He attended for + some time the school at Ealing with which his father was + associated, but he has little to say for the training he + received there. He writes: + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p4" id="p4">[4]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "My regular school training was of the briefest, perhaps + fortunately: for, though my way of life has made me + acquainted with all sorts and conditions of men, from the + highest to the lowest, I deliberately affirm that the + society I fell into at school was the worst I have ever + known. We boys were average lads with much the same + inherent capacity for good and evil as any others; but + the people who were set over us cared about as much for + our intellectual and moral welfare as if they were + baby-farmers. We were left to the operation of the + struggle for existence among ourselves, and bullying was + the least of the ill practices current among us. Almost + the only cheerful reminiscence in connection with the + place which arises in my mind is that of a battle which I + had with one of my class-mates, who had bullied me until + I could stand it no longer. I was a very slight lad, but + there was a wild-cat element in me which, when roused, + made up for my lack of weight, and I licked my adversary + effectually. However, one of my first experiences of the + extremely rough and ready nature of justice, as exhibited + by the course of things in general, arose out of the fact + that <i>I</i>—the victor—had a black eye, + while he—the vanquished—had none, so that I + got into disgrace and he did not. One of the greatest + shocks I ever received in my life was to be told, a dozen + years afterwards by the groom who brought me my horse in + a stable-yard in Sydney, that he was my quondam + antagonist. He had a long story of family misfortune to + account for his position—but at that time it was + necessary to deal very cautiously with mysterious + strangers in New South Wales, and on enquiry I found that + the unfortunate young man had not only been 'sent out,' + but had undergone more than one colonial conviction." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Huxley was soon removed from school and continued his own + education for several years, by reading of the most + desultory sort. His special inclinations were towards + mechanical problems, and had he been able to follow his own + wishes there is little doubt but that he would have entered + on the profession of an engineer. It is probable that there + was a great deal more in his wishes than the familiar + inclination of a clever boy to <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p5" id="p5">[5]</a></span> engineering. All through + the pursuit of anatomy, which was the chief business of his + life, it was the structure of animals, the different + modifications of great ground-plans which they presented, + that interested him. But the opportunity for engineering + did not present itself, and at an exceedingly early age he + began to study medicine. Two brothers-in-law were doctors, + and this accidental fact probably determined his choice. In + these days the study of medicine did not begin as now with + a general and scientific education, but the young medical + student was apprenticed to a doctor engaged in practice. He + was supposed to learn the compounding of drugs in the + dispensary attached to the doctor's consulting-room; to be + taught the dressing of wounds and the superficial details + of the medical craft while he pursued his studies in + anatomy under the direction of the doctor. Huxley's master + was his brother-in-law, Dr. Salt, a London practitioner, + and he began his work when only twelve or thirteen years of + age. In this system everything depended upon the superior; + under the careful guidance of a conscientious and able man + it was possible for an apt pupil to learn a great deal of + science and to become an expert in the treatment of + disease. Huxley, however, had only a short experience of + this kind of training. He was taken by some senior student + friends to a post-mortem examination, and although then, as + all through his life, he was most sensitive to the + disagreeable side of anatomical pursuits, on this occasion + he gratified his curiosity too ardently. He did not cut + himself, but in some way poisonous matter from the body + affected him, and he fell into so bad a state of health + that he had to be sent into the country to recruit. He + lived for some time at a farmhouse in Warwickshire with + friends of <span class="pagenum"><a name="p6" + id="p6">[6]</a></span> his father and slowly recovered + health. From that time, however, all through his life, he + suffered periodically from prostrating dyspepsia. After + some months devoted to promiscuous reading he resumed his + work under his brother-in-law in London. He confesses that + he was far from a model student. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I worked extremely hard when it pleased me, and when it + did not,—which was a frequent case,—I was + extremely idle (unless making caricatures of one's + pastors and masters is to be called a branch of + industry), or else wasted my energies in wrong + directions. I read everything I could lay hands upon, + including novels, and took up all sorts of pursuits to + drop them again quite speedily." + </p> + </div> + <p> + It is almost certain, however, that Huxley underestimated + the value of this time. He stored his mind with both + literature and science, and laid the foundation of the + extremely varied intellectual interests which afterwards + proved to him of so much value. It is certain, also, that + during this time he acquired a fair knowledge of French and + German. It would be difficult to exaggerate the value to + him of this addition to his weapons for attacking + knowledge. To do the best work in any scientific pursuit it + is necessary to freshen one's own mind by contact with the + ideas and results of other workers. As these workers are + scattered over different countries it is necessary to + transcend the confusion of Babel and read what they write + in their own tongues. When Huxley was young, the great + reputation of Cuvier overshadowed English anatomy, and + English anatomists did little more than seek in nature what + Cuvier had taught them to find. In Germany other men and + other ideas were to be found. Johannes Mueller and Von Baer + were attacking the problems of <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p7" id="p7">[7]</a></span> nature in a spirit that + was entirely different, and Huxley, by combining what he + was taught in England with what he learned from German + methods, came to his own investigations with a wider mind. + But his conquest of French and German brought with it + advantages in addition to these technical gains. There is + no reason to believe that he troubled himself with + grammatical details and with the study of these languages + as subjects in themselves. He acquired them simply to + discover the new ideas concealed in them, and he by no + means confined himself to the reading of foreign books on + the subjects of his own studies. He read French and German + poetry, literature, and philosophy, and so came to have a + knowledge of the ideas of those outside his own race on all + the great problems that interest mankind. A good deal has + been written as to the narrowing tendency of scientific + pursuits, but with Huxley, as with all the scientific men + the present writer has known, the mechanical necessity of + learning to read other languages has brought with it that + wide intellectual sympathy which is the beginning of all + culture and which is not infrequently missed by those who + have devoted themselves to many grammars and a single + literature. The old proverb, "Whatever is worth doing is + worth doing well," has only value when "well" is properly + interpreted. Although the science of language is as great + as any science, it is not the science of language, but the + practical interpretation of it, that is of value to most + people, and there is much to be said for the method of + anatomists like Huxley, who passed lightly over grammatical + <i>minutiæ</i> and went straight with a dictionary to + the reading of each new tongue. + </p> + <p> + After a short period of apprenticeship, or sometimes <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p8" id="p8">[8]</a></span> during + the course of it, the young medical students "walked" a + hospital. This consisted in attending the demonstrations of + the physicians and surgeons in the wards of the hospital + and in pursuing anatomical, chemical, and physiological + study in the medical school attached to the hospital. A + large fee was charged for the complete course, but at many + of the hospitals there were entrance scholarships which + relieved those who gained them of all cost. In 1842 Huxley + and his elder brother, James, applied for such free + scholarships at Charing Cross Hospital. There is no record + in the books of the hospital as to what persons supported + the application. The entry in the minutes for September 6, + 1842, states that + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Applications from the following gentlemen (including the + two sons of Mr. George Huxley, late senior assistant + master in Ealing School), were laid before the meeting, + and their testimonials being approved of, it was decided + that those gentlemen should be admitted as free scholars, + if their classical attainments should be found upon + examination to be satisfactory." + </p> + </div> + <p> + It appears that the two Huxleys were able to satisfy the + probably unexacting demands of the classical examiners, for + they began their hospital work in October of the same year. + </p> + <p> + Those who know the magnificent laboratories and + lecture-rooms which have grown up in connection with the + larger London hospitals must have difficulty in realising + the humble arrangements for teaching students in the early + forties. What endowments there were—and Charing Cross + was never a richly endowed hospital—were devoted + entirely to the hospital as opposed to the teaching school. + There were no separate buildings for anatomy, physiology, + and so forth. <span class="pagenum"><a name="p9" + id="p9">[9]</a></span> At Charing Cross the dissecting-room + was in a cellar under the hospital, and subjects like + chemistry, botany, physiology, and so forth were crowded + into inconvenient side rooms. The teachers were not + specialists, devoting their whole attention to particular + branches of science, but were doctors engaged in practice, + who, in addition to their private duties and their work at + the hospital, each undertook to lecture upon a special + scientific subject. Huxley came specially under the + influence of Mr. Wharton Jones, who had begun to teach + physiology at the hospital a year before. Mr. Jones + throughout his life was engaged in professional work, his + specialty being ophthalmic surgery, but he was a devoted + student of anatomy and physiology, and made several + classical contributions to scientific knowledge, his + best-known discoveries relating to blood corpuscles and to + the nature of the mammalian egg-cell. But perhaps his + greatest claim to fame is that it was he who first imbued + Huxley with a love for anatomical science and with a + knowledge of the methods of investigation. At the end of + his first session, in 1843, Huxley received the first prize + in the senior physiology class, while his brother got a + "good conduct" prize. Of Wharton Jones Huxley writes: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The extent and precision of his knowledge impressed me + greatly, and the severe exactness of his method of + lecturing was quite to my taste. I do not know that I + have ever felt so much respect for anybody as a teacher + before or since. I worked hard to obtain his approbation, + and he was extremely kind and helpful to the youngster + who, I am afraid, took up more of his time than he had + any right to do. It was he who suggested the publication + of my first scientific paper—a very little + one—in the <i>Medical Gazette</i> of 1845, and most + kindly corrected the literary faults which abounded in it + short as it <span class="pagenum"><a name="p10" + id="p10">[10]</a></span>was. For at that time, and for + many years afterwards, I detested the trouble of writing + and would take no pains over it." + </p> + </div> + <p> + This little paper, although Huxley deprecates it, was + remarkable as the work of so young an investigator. In it + he demonstrated the existence of a hitherto unrecognised + layer in the inner root-sheath of hairs, a layer that has + been known since as Huxley's layer. + </p> + <p> + There is no record in the minutes of the hospital school + that Huxley gained any other school prizes. His name + reappears only in formal applications at the beginning of + each session for the renewal of his free scholarship. In + this respect he is in marked contrast to his + fellow-student, afterwards Sir Joseph Fayrer, who appears + to have taken almost every prize open to him. On the other + hand, his attainments in anatomy and physiology brought him + distinction in a wider field than the hospital school, for + he obtained, in the "honours" division of the first + examination for the degree of Bachelor of Medicine at the + University of London, the second place with a medal. And it + is certain that he was far from neglecting his strictly + professional work, although, no doubt, he devoted much time + to reading and research in pure science, for in the winter + of 1845-46, having completed his course at the hospital, he + was prepared to offer himself at the examination for the + membership of the Royal College of Surgeons; but, being as + yet under twenty-one years of age, could not be admitted as + a candidate. + </p> + <p> + It was now time for Huxley definitely to enter on his + profession. He would have preferred to continue his + investigations in London and to wait for the chance of a + teaching post in physiology, but it was necessary to earn a + living. One of those whom he consulted was <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p11" id="p11">[11]</a></span>his + fellow-student, Joseph Fayrer, who, hailing from Bermuda, + knew something of those who go down to the sea in ships. He + advised Huxley to write to Sir William Burnett, at that + time Director-General for the medical service of the navy, + for an appointment. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I thought this rather a strong thing to do," says Huxley + in his autobiography, "as Sir William was personally + unknown to me; but my cheery friend would not listen to + my scruples, so I went to my lodgings and wrote the best + letter I could devise. A few days afterwards I received + the usual official circular of acknowledgement, but at + the bottom was written an instruction to call at Somerset + House on such a day. I thought that looked like business, + so, at the appointed time I called and sent in my card, + while I waited in Sir William's ante-room. He was a tall, + shrewd-looking old gentleman, with a broad Scotch + accent—and I think I see him now as he entered with + my card in his hand. The first thing he did was to return + it with the frugal reminder that I should probably find + it useful on some other occasion. The second was to ask + whether I was an Irishman. I suppose the air of modesty + about my appeal must have struck him. I satisfied the + Director-General that I was English to the backbone, and + he made some enquiries as to my student career, finally + desiring me to hold myself ready for examination. Having + passed this, I was in Her Majesty's service, and entered + on the books of Nelson's old ship, the <i>Victory</i>, + for duty at Haslar Hospital, about a couple of months + after I made my application." + </p> + </div> + <p> + About the same time he passed the examination of the Royal + College of Surgeons and so became a fully qualified medical + man. Haslar Hospital was the chief naval hospital to which + invalided sailors were sent. There was a considerable staff + of young surgeons, as navy surgeons were usually sent for a + term to work in the hospital before being gazetted to a + ship in commission. In connection with the hospital, there + was a <span class="pagenum"><a name="p12" + id="p12">[12]</a></span>museum of natural history + containing a collection of considerable importance slowly + gathered from the gifts of sailors and officers. The museum + curator was an enthusiastic naturalist, and Huxley must + have had the opportunity of extending his knowledge of at + least the external characters of many forms of life + hitherto unknown to him. A few years later, the curator of + the museum, with the help of two of Huxley's successors, + published a <i>Manual of Natural History for the Use of + Travellers</i>, and it is certain that Huxley at least did + not lose at Haslar any of the enthusiasm for zoölogy + with which he had been inspired at the Charing Cross + Hospital. The chief of the hospital was Sir John + Richardson, an excellent naturalist, and well known as an + arctic explorer. He seems to have recognised the peculiar + ability of his young assistant, and although he was a + silent, reserved man, who seldom encouraged his assistants + by talking to them, he made several attempts to obtain a + suitable post for Huxley. Such a post was that of surgeon + to H.M.S. <i>Rattlesnake</i>, then about to start under the + command of Captain Owen Stanley for surveying work in the + Torres Straits. Captain Stanley had expressed a wish for a + surgeon who knew something of science, and, on the + recommendation of Sir John Richardson, obtained the post + for Huxley. There was, however, to be a special naturalist + attached to the expedition, but Huxley had the opportunity + he wanted. After a brief stay of seven months at the Haslar + Hospital he left it for his ship, and thus definitely + entered on his work in the world. + </p> + <div class="footnotes"> + <h3> + FOOTNOTES: + </h3> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + <a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a + href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> + This and many other details in this chapter are taken + from an autobiographical sketch in the first volume of + Huxley's collected essays published by Macmillan, + London, 1894. + </p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p13" id="p13">[13]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 399px;"> + <img src="images/ill-013.png" alt="" title="" height="84" + width="399" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a> + </h2> + <h3> + THE VOYAGE OF THE "RATTLESNAKE" + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + The Objects of the Voyage—The Route—The + Naturalist and the Surgeon—Collecting and + Dredging—Stay in Sydney—Adventures with the + Natives—Comparison with Darwin's Voyage on the + <i>Beagle</i>. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Her Majesty's ship the <i>Rattlesnake</i>, one of the old + class of 28-gun ships, sailed from Plymouth for the Torres + Straits and the Australian seas on December 12, 1846. Her + commander was Captain Owen Stanley, a young but + distinguished officer, the son of the Bishop of Norwich and + a brother of Dean Stanley, who afterwards played so great a + part in the social and religious history of England. She + carried a complement of 180 officers and men, and was + attended by the <i>Bramble</i> and the <i>Castlereagh</i>, + two small vessels of light draught, whose purpose was to + precede her in shallow waters. The young colonies of + Australia were developing commerce with the mother country, + and the business of the <i>Rattlesnake</i> was to survey + the waters round about the Torres Straits, that the passage + towards India on the homeward trip might be made safer. + Incidentally the vessel was to land a treasure of + £50,000 at the Cape of Good Hope, and another of + £15,000 at the Mauritius. The Admiralty Commissioners + left full <span class="pagenum"><a name="p14" + id="p14">[14]</a></span>powers to Captain Stanley to carry + out the details of his mission according to his own + judgment, but he was solemnly warned upon two points. Many + very unfortunate casualties had occurred when sailors came + in contact with the little-known savages of the southern + seas, and the Admiralty instructed him as follows: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "In stretching off from the Barrier Reefs to the + eastward, in order to explore the safety of the sea + intervening between them and Louisiade and New Guinea, + you will have occasion to approach these shores, in which + case you must constantly be on your guard against the + treacherous disposition of their inhabitants. All barter + for refreshments must be conducted under the eye of an + officer, and every pains be taken to avoid giving any + just cause of offence to their prejudices, especially + with respect to their women." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The second warning concerned grave international matters. + European politics were in the unsettled condition which, + after the illusive international courtesies of the Great + Exhibition of 1851, ended in the Crimean War, and it was + feared that in the event of hostilities breaking out, the + zeal of the officers for their country might tempt them to + transcend their peaceful occupation. The instructions with + regard to this ran as follows: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "In the event of this country being involved in + hostilities during your absence, you will take care never + to be surprised; but you are to refrain from any act of + aggression towards the vessels or settlements of any + nation with which we may be at war, as expeditions + employed on behalf of discovery and science have always + been considered by all civilised communities as acting + under a general safeguard." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The great scientific expeditions sent out in recent times + by the governments of Britain, Germany, and the <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p15" + id="p15">[15]</a></span>United States, were fitted with + every convenience for the staff of naturalists, and the + luxuries and comforts of civilisation attended them round + the world. The late Professor Mosely, for instance, who was + a naturalist on the English <i>Challenger</i> expedition, + told the present writer of a pleasant way in which a + peculiarity of the deep sea was made to pay toll to the + comfort of those on board ship. The great ocean depths all + over the world, under the burning skies of the tropics, or + below the arctic ice-fields, are extremely cold, the water + at the bottom always being only a few degrees above + freezing point. When the dredge brought up a sample of the + abysmal mud at a convenient time, it was used to ice the + wine for the officers' mess. There was, however, no cooled + champagne for Huxley. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Life on board Her Majesty's ships in those days," he + writes, "was a very different affair from what it is now, + and ours was exceptionally rough, as we were often many + months without receiving letters or seeing any civilised + people but ourselves. In exchange, we had the interest of + being about the latest voyagers, I suppose, to whom it + could be possible to meet with people who knew nothing of + fire-arms—as we did on the south coast of New + Guinea—and of making acquaintances with a variety + of interesting savage and semi-civilised people. But + apart from experience of this kind, and the opportunities + offered for scientific work, to me personally the cruise + was extremely valuable. It was good for me to live under + sharp discipline; to be down on the realities of + existence by living on bare necessities; to find out how + extremely well worth living life seemed to be when one + woke up from a night's rest on a soft plank with the sky + for canopy, and cocoa and weevilly biscuit the sole + prospect for breakfast; and more especially to learn to + work for the sake of what I got for myself out of it, + even if it all went to the bottom and I myself along with + it. My brother officers were as good fellows as sailors + ought to be, and generally are, but naturally they + neither knew nor cared anything about my pursuits, nor + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p16" + id="p16">[16]</a></span> understood why I should be so + zealous in pursuit of the objects which my friends the + middies christened 'Buffons,' after the title conspicuous + on a volume of the <i>Suites à Buffon</i> which + stood on my shelf in the chart-room." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Huxley was only the surgeon on board the + <i>Rattlesnake</i>, and his pursuit of natural history was + his own affair. There was a special naturalist appointed to + the expedition, no doubt chosen because four years earlier, + as assistant to Professor Jukes, he had been attached as + naturalist to the expedition of the <i>Fly</i> in the same + waters. His name was John MacGillivray, and he was the son + of an exceedingly able naturalist whose reputation has been + overshadowed by the greater names of the middle century. + William MacGillivray, the father, sometime professor at the + University of Aberdeen, was one of those driven by an + almost instinctive desire to the study of nature. In his + youth, when he was a poor lad, desiring to see as much as + possible of his native land, and above all to visit the + great museums and libraries of the south, he walked from + Aberdeen to London with no luggage but a copy of Smith's + <i>Flora Britannica</i>. He was an ardent botanist, a + collector of insects and molluscs, and one of the pioneers + in the anatomy of birds. There are many curious allusions + in his writings which seem to shew that he too was + beginning to doubt the fixity of species, and to guess at + the struggle for existence and survival of the fittest + which the great Darwin was the first to make a part of the + knowledge of the world. It must be confessed that his son + John, the companion of Huxley, had little of his father's + ability. He was three years older than Huxley, and broke + off his medical course at the University of Edinburgh to + sail in the <i>Fly</i>. After the return of the + <i>Rattlesnake</i>, he was appointed in 1852 as <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p17" + id="p17">[17]</a></span>naturalist to H.M.S. <i>Herald</i>, + then starting under Captain Denham for surveying work round + the shores of South America. He left that ship at Sydney, + and after many years' wandering about the southern seas, + accounts of which he communicated from time to time to + Sydney newspapers, he died in 1867. He was a zealous + collector of plants and animals, but apparently cared + little for the study of his captures, either in life, in + relation to their surroundings, like Darwin, or for the + structure of their bodies, like Huxley. The somewhat + unpleasing nature of his regard for animals appears in the + following story which he himself tells: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "While at dinner off Darnley Island near the Torres + Straits, news was brought that Dzum was under the stern + in a canoe, shouting out loudly for Dzoka (MacGillivray's + native name), and, on going up I found that he had + brought off the barit, which after a deal of trouble I + struck a bargain for and obtained. It was a very fine + specimen of Cuscus Maculatus, quite tame and kept in a + large cage of split bamboo. Dzum seemed very unwilling to + part with the animal, and repeatedly enjoined me to take + great care of it and feed it well, which to please him I + promised to do, although I valued it merely for its skin, + and was resolved to kill it for that purpose at my first + convenience." + </p> + </div> + <p> + On the other hand, MacGillivray paid great attention to + native languages, and collected vocabularies of some value. + To him was entrusted the task of writing an account of the + voyage, and it is from his rather dull pages, brightened by + illustrations from Huxley's sketches, that the incidents of + the voyage are taken. The references to Huxley in the + narrative are slight, and seem to shew that no great + intimacy existed between the two young men, the one a + naturalist by profession, the other as yet a surgeon, but + more devoted to natural history than the naturalist. Such + references <span class="pagenum"><a name="p18" + id="p18">[18]</a></span>as occur relate to Huxley's + constant occupations on shore, sketching natives and their + dwellings, and his apparatus on board for trawling, + dredging, and dissecting. + </p> + <p> + The voyage out was uneventful. The ship touched at Madeira + and at Rio de Janeiro, and then crossed the South Atlantic + to Simon's Town at the Cape of Good Hope, where the first + quantity of treasure was to be landed. There they found the + colony distressed by the long continuance of the Kaffir + war. Prices for everything were extortionate, and the + colonists had no mind for any affairs than their own, so + after a short stay the voyagers were glad to set out for + the Mauritius. That island, although in the possession of + Britain, still retained a strong impress of its French + occupation, and the travellers were interested by the + mixture of population inhabiting it.<a name="FNanchor_B_2" + id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" + class="fnanchor">[B]</a> + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Passing through the closely packed lines of shipping, + and landing as a stranger at Port Louis, perhaps the + first thing to engage attention is the strange mixture of + nations,—representatives, he might at first be + inclined to imagine, of half the countries of the earth. + He stares at a coolie from Madras with a breech-cloth and + a soldier's jacket, or a stately bearded Moor striking a + bargain with a Parsee merchant. A Chinaman with two + bundles slung on a bamboo hurries past, jostling a group + of young Creole exquisites smoking their cheroots at a + corner, and talking of last night's Norma, or the + programme of the evening's performance at the Hippodrome + in the Champ de Mars. His eye next catches a couple of + sailors reeling out of a grogshop, to the amusement of a + group of laughing negresses, in white muslin dresses of + the latest Parisian fashion, contrasting strongly with a + modestly attired Cingalese woman, and an Indian ayah with + her young charge. Amidst all this, the <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p19" + id="p19">[19]</a></span>French language prevails; and + everything more or less pertains of the French character, + and an Englishman can scarcely believe that he is in one + of the colonies of his own country." + </p> + </div> + <p> + From Mauritius they proceeded to the English-looking colony + of Tasmania, and after a few days set out for Sydney, + arriving there on July 16th. The surveying officers had + tedious work to do there, and Huxley stayed in Sydney for + three months. Then, and in the course of three other + prolonged stays in that town during the expedition, Huxley + entered into the society of the town and became a general + favourite. He is still remembered there, and the + accompanying illustration<a name="FNanchor_C_3" + id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" + class="fnanchor">[C]</a> is a copy of an original sketch of + himself, now in the possession of an Australian lady. He + drew it on the fly-leaf of a volume of Lytton's poems and + presented it on her birthday to the little daughter of a + friend. At Sydney, too, he met and gained the love of the + lady, then Miss Henrietta A. Heathorn, who afterwards + became his wife. + </p> + <p> + On October 11th the <i>Rattlesnake</i> sailed northwards to + begin the real work of the expedition. The great island of + New Guinea, lying to the north of Australia, is separated + from it only by the comparatively narrow Torres Straits. + Through these lies the natural route for the commerce + between Australia and the Northern Hemisphere. The eastward + prolongation of New Guinea, and the coast of Queensland, + enclose between them a great tropical sea which gradually + converges to the Straits. The waters are very tempestuous, + and the navigation is made more dangerous by the thousands + of coral islands and coral reefs that stud the <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p20" + id="p20">[20]</a></span>ocean. Following the shoreline of + Queensland, at a distance of from ten to one hundred and + fifty miles, and stretching for twelve hundred and fifty + miles, is the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, one of the + wonders of the world. The shelving floor of the ocean rises + nearly to the surface along this line, and vast colonies of + coral building creatures have formed their reefs up to the + water's edge along the ridge. The turbulent waves scouring + over this living mass have carved and moulded it into + millions of fantastic islands, sometimes heaping detached + masses of dead debris high above the surface of the water. + At low tide the most wonderful fields of the animal flowers + of the sea are exposed. Some of them form branching systems + of hard skeletons like stony trees, the soft, brightly + coloured animals dotted over the stems like buds. Others + form solid masses; others, again, rounded skull like + boulders, or elevations like toadstools. The colours of the + skeletons and the animals are vivid scarlets and purples + and greens. Sea anemones, shell-fish, and starfish of the + most vivid hues are as abundant as the corals. Brilliant + fish dart through the blossoms of the marine gardens, and + sea birds scream and wheel in the air. The whole region is + a paradise for the naturalist. Along the seaward side of + the reef the great ocean surges and thunders perpetually. + Between it and the shore the quiet channel glows under the + tropical skies. It was amid such scenes as these that the + <i>Rattlesnake</i> moved for nearly four years in the slow + work of taking soundings, fixing the exact position of + channels through the outer reef by slow triangular + measurements, and generally preparing for the safety of the + commerce of all nations. The ship went first up to Port + Curtis in Brisbane; then fetched back to Sydney. Its next + trip <span class="pagenum"><a name="p21" + id="p21">[21]</a></span>was south to the strait between + Tasmania and Australia, then back to Sydney; then again + along the Barrier Reef right up to the Torres Straits. + After work there, it returned again to Sydney, and then set + out for the Louisiade Archipelago, which stretches through + the coral sea south-eastward from New Guinea; then again to + the Australian shores of the Torres Straits, and finally + arrived in Sydney in March, 1850, where the Captain + suddenly died, and the ship was ordered to return to + England. + </p> + <p> + Throughout the voyage MacGillivray and Huxley busied + themselves with collecting animals on sea and on shore. + MacGillivray seems to have taken for his share of the spoil + chiefly such animals as provided shells or skins or + skeletons suitable for handing over to museums. Huxley + occupied himself incessantly with dissecting tools and with + the microscope, with results to be described in a later + chapter. The better equipped expeditions of modern times + were provided with elaborate appliances for bringing up + samples of living creatures from all depths of the floor of + the ocean, and with complicated towing nets for securing + the floating creatures of the surface of the seas. The + <i>Rattlesnake</i> naturalists had to content themselves + with simple apparatus devised by themselves. At an early + period of the voyage attempts were made to take deep + soundings, but no bottom was reached at a depth of two + thousand four hundred fathoms, and their later work was + confined to surface animals or to inshore dredging in + shallow waters. They began near Rio. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "None of the ship's boats could be spared, so I + [MacGillivray] hired one pulled by four negro slaves who, + although strong, active fellows, had great objections to + straining their backs at the oar, when the dredge was + down. No sieve having been <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p22" id="p22">[22]</a></span>supplied, we were + obliged to sift the contents of the dredge through our + hands—a tedious and superficial mode of + examination. Two days after, Mr. Huxley and I set to work + in Botafogo Bay, provided with a wire-gauze meat-cover + and a curious machine for cleaning rice; these answered + capitally as substitutes for sieves, and enabled us, by a + thorough examination of the contents of the dredge, to + detect some forty-five species of Mollusca and Radiata, + some of which were new to science." + </p> + </div> + <p> + By "new to science" MacGillivray meant no more than that + the particular genera and species had not been captured + before. Huxley, by his anatomical work, showed many of the + most familiar creatures in a light "new to science," by + revealing their true structure and relationships. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Among the acquisitions," MacGillivray goes on, "I may + mention a new species of Amphioxus, a genus of small + fishes exhibiting more anomalies than any other known to + Ichthyologists, and the lowest organisation found in the + class. It somewhat resembles the sand-eels of Britain in + habits, like them moving with extraordinary rapidity + through the sand. By dint of bribery and ridicule we had + at length managed to get our boatmen to work tolerably + well, and when we were alike well-roasted by the sun and + repeatedly drenched, besides being tired out and hungry, + they had become quite submissive, and exchanged their + grumbling for merriment." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The towing net repeatedly produced a rich harvest. It was + constructed by themselves, and consisted of a bag of the + bunting used for flags, two feet deep, the mouth being sewn + round a wooden hoop fourteen inches in diameter; three + pieces of cord, a foot and a half long, were secured to the + hoop at equal intervals and had their ends tied together. + This net was towed behind the ship by a stout cord. The + water passed through the meshes of the cloth and left + behind in the pocket any small floating animals. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p23" + id="p23">[23]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Excursions ashore to the little savage islands or to the + mainland were a source of constant interest, and it cannot + be doubted that the acquaintance Huxley thus gained with + many of the very low savages of Australia and New Guinea + prepared his mind for the revolutionary doctrine of descent + which he embraced a few years later. At the present time, + there are probably very few parts of earth where there are + yet to be found savages unaltered by civilisation. Some of + the low races with which Huxley came in contact are now + extinct. All the survivors have come in contact with white + races, and their habits and customs have been altered. + Before long the total extinction of these lower races is to + be expected, and there will then be left an enormous gap + between the lower animals and the dominant, aggressive, + yellow and white races which are spreading over the earth + and making the lower races perish before them, as the + smaller but more cunning European rat has exterminated the + native brown rat of Australia. In their various excursions + upon the Australian mainland they had no trouble of any + kind with the natives. These were at first suspicious of + the doings of the white men, and their total ignorance of + the use of firearms tempted them to rashness; but a few + friendly gifts, and the exercise of tact in negotiating + exchanges with them, made all the encounters pass off + pleasantly. On the other hand, in the Louisiade Archipelago + where the savages were of a higher type, difficulties + constantly occurred. On one occasion, in a bay on the south + side of Joannet Island the party was attacked. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "In the grey of the morning the look-outs reported the + approach of three canoes with about ten men in each. On + two or three persons shewing themselves in the bow of the + pinnace, in front of the rain awning, the natives ceased + paddling, as if <span class="pagenum"><a name="p24" + id="p24">[24]</a></span>baulked in their design of + surprising the large boat; but, after a short + consultation, they came alongside in their usual noisy + manner. After a stay of about five minutes only they + pushed off to the galley, and some more sham bartering + was attempted, but they had nothing to give in exchange + for the wares they so much coveted. In a short time the + rudeness and overbearing insolence of the natives had + risen to a pitch which left no doubt of their hostile + intentions. The anchor was got up, when some of the + blacks seized the painter, and others, in trying to + capsize the boat, brought the gunwale down to the water's + edge, at the same time grappling with the men to pull + them out, and dragging the galley inshore towards the + shoal-water. The bowman, with the anchor in his hand, was + struck on the head with a stone-headed axe. The blow was + repeated, but fortunately took effect only on the + wash-streak. Another of the crew was struck at with a + similar weapon, but warded off the blow, although held + fast by one arm, when, just as the savage was making + another stroke, Lieutenant Dayman, who up till now had + exercised the utmost forbearance, fired at him with a + musket. The man did not drop, although wounded in the + thigh. But even this, unquestionably their first + experience of firearms, did not intimidate the natives, + one of whom, standing on a block of coral, threw a spear + which passed across the breast of one of the boat's crew + and lodged in the bend of one arm, opening a vein. They + raised a loud shout when the spear was seen to take + effect, and threw several others which missed. Lieutenant + Simpson, who had been watching what was going on, then + fired from the pinnace with buckshot and struck them, + when, finding that the large boat, though at anchor, + could assist the smaller one, the canoes were paddled + inshore in great haste and confusion. Some more musket + shots were fired, and the galley went in chase + endeavouring to turn the canoes, so as to bring them + under fire of the pinnace's twelve-pounder howitzer, + which was speedily mounted and fired. The shot either + struck one of the canoes or went within a few inches of + the mark, on which the natives instantly jumped overboard + into the shallow water, making for the mangroves, which + they succeeded in reaching, dragging their canoes with + them. Two rounds of grape-shot crashing through the + branches dispersed the party, but afterwards they moved + two of the canoes out of <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p25" id="p25">[25]</a></span>sight. The remaining + one was brought out after breakfast by the galley under + cover of the pinnace, and was towed off to some distance. + The paddles having been taken out and the spears broken + and left in her, she was let go to drift down toward a + village whence the attacking party were supposed to have + come. Some blood in this canoe, although not the one most + aimed at, showed that the firing had not been + ineffective. This act of deliberate treachery was + perpetrated by persons who had always been well treated + by us, for several of the natives present were recognised + as having been alongside the ship in Coral Haven. This, + their first act of positive hostility, affords, I think, + conclusive evidence of the savage disposition of the + natives of this part of the Louisiade Archipelago when + incited by the hope of plunder, and shews that no + confidence should ever be reposed in them, unless, + perhaps in the presence of a numerically superior force, + or in the close vicinity of a ship. At the same time, the + boldness of these savages in attacking, with thirty men + in three canoes, two boats known to contain at least + twenty persons—even in the hopes of taking them by + surprise—and in not being at once driven off upon + feeling the novel and deadly effects of firearms, shews + no little amount of bravery." + </p> + </div> + <p> + On their last visit to Cape York, in the extreme north of + Australia, the party had the remarkable experience of + rescuing a white woman from captivity among the natives. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "In the afternoon some of our people on shore were + surprised to see a young white woman come up to claim + their protection from a party of natives from whom she + had recently made her escape, and who she thought would + otherwise bring her back. Of course she received every + attention, and was taken on board the ship by the first + boat, when she told her story which is briefly as + follows: Her name is Barbara Thomson. She was born at + Aberdeen in Scotland, and, along with her parents, + emigrated to New South Wales. About four years and a half + ago she left Moreton Bay with her husband in a small + cutter, called the <i>America</i>, of which he was the + owner, for the purpose of picking up some of the oil from + the wreck of a whaler, lost on <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p26" id="p26">[26]</a></span>the Bampton shoal, to + which place one of her late crew undertook to guide them; + their ultimate intention was to go on to Port Essington. + The man who acted as pilot was unable to find the wreck, + and after much quarreling on board in consequence, and + the loss of two men by drowning and of another who was + left on a small uninhabited island, they made their way + up to the Torres Straits, where, during a gale of wind + their vessel struck upon a reef on the eastern Prince of + Wales Island. The two remaining men were lost in + attempting to swim on shore through the surf, but the + woman was afterwards rescued by a party of natives on a + turtling excursion, who, when the gale subsided, swam on + board and supported her on shore between two of their + number. One of these blacks, Boroto by name, took + possession of the woman as his share of the plunder; she + was compelled to live with him, but was well treated by + all the men, although many of the women, jealous of the + attention shewn her, for a long time evinced anything but + kindness. A curious circumstance secured for her the + protection of one of the principal men of the tribe. This + person, acting upon the belief, universal throughout + Australia and the islands of the Torres Strait, so far as + hitherto known, that white people are the ghosts of the + aborigines, fancied that in the stranger he recognised a + long-lost daughter, and at once admitted her into the + relationship which he thought had formerly subsisted + between them. She was immediately acknowledged by the + whole tribe as one of themselves, thus securing an + extensive connection in relatives of all denominations. + The headquarters of the tribe being on an island which + all vessels passing through the Torres Strait from the + eastward must approach within two or three miles, she had + the mortification of seeing from twenty to thirty or more + ships go through every summer without anchoring in the + neighbourhood, so as to afford the slightest opportunity + of making her escape. Last year she heard of our two + vessels being at Cape York, only twenty miles distant + from some of the tribe who had communicated with us and + had been well treated, but they would not take her over + and watched her even more narrowly than before. On our + second and present visit, however, which the Cape York + people immediately announced by smoke signals to their + friends, she was successful in persuading some of her + more immediate <span class="pagenum"><a name="p27" + id="p27">[27]</a></span>friends to bring her across to + the mainland within a short distance of where the vessels + lay. The blacks were credulous enough to believe that as + she had been so long with them and had been so well + treated, she did not intend to leave them,—only + 'she felt a strong desire to see the white people once + more and shake hands with them': adding that she would be + certain to purchase some axes, knives, tobacco, and other + much-prized articles." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Although the external adventures of the <i>Rattlesnake</i> + party were less varied and exciting than might have been + expected in a voyage of four years in the tropic seas and + among barbarian tribes, the mental adventures through which + Huxley passed in the time must have been of the most + surprising kind. It was a four-years' course in the great + university of nature, and when he had finished it he was no + longer a mere student, capricious and unsettled in his + mental tastes and inclinations, but had set his face + steadily towards his future life-work. It is interesting to + compare the importance in Huxley's life of the + <i>Rattlesnake</i> voyage with the importance in Darwin's + life of the voyage on the <i>Beagle</i> undertaken some + fifteen years earlier. Huxley, when he started, was a young + surgeon with a taste of a vague kind for dissecting and for + drawing the peculiarities of structure of different animals + revealed by the knife and the microscope. Day after day, + month after month, year after year, in the abundant leisure + his slight professional duties left him, he dissected and + drew, dissected and drew, animal after animal, as he got + them from the dredge or tow-net, or from the surface of the + coral reefs. He was not in any sense of the word a + collecting naturalist. The identification and naming of + species interested him little. What he cared for was, he + tells us, "the architectural and engineering part of the + business: the working out of the wonderful unity <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p28" id="p28">[28]</a></span>of + plan in the thousands and thousands of divers living + constructions, and the modifications of similar apparatuses + to serve different ends." And so, on the + <i>Rattlesnake</i>, and in his work in continuation of the + <i>Rattlesnake</i> investigations,—which occupied + most of his time for a few years after his return to + London,—there was gradually growing up in his mind a + dim conception of the animal kingdom as a group of + creatures, not built on half a dozen or more separate plans + or types, each unconnected with the other, but as a varied + set of modifications of a single type. + </p> + <p> + When Darwin set out on the <i>Beagle</i>, unlike Huxley, he + was an enthusiastic collecting naturalist. He had wandered + from county to county in England adding new specimens to + his collections of butterflies and beetles. As the + <i>Beagle</i> went round the world visiting remote islands, + far from land in the centre of the waters, archipelagoes of + islands crowding together, islands hugging the shore of + continents, and the great continents of the old and new + worlds, he continued to collect and to classify. Gradually + the resemblances and differences between the creatures + inhabiting different parts of the earth began to strike him + as exhibiting an orderly plan. He saw that under apparently + the same conditions of food and temperature and moisture, + in different parts of the world the genera and species were + different, and that they were most alike in regions between + which there was the most recent chance of migrations having + taken place. In the quietness of England, while Huxley was + on the <i>Rattlesnake</i>, Darwin was slowly working + towards the explanation of all he had seen: towards the + conception that animals and plants had spread slowly from + common centres, becoming more and more different from each + other as they <span class="pagenum"><a name="p29" + id="p29">[29]</a></span>spread. He realised on his voyage + that species had come into existence by descent with + modification, and before long he was to publish to the + world in the <i>Origin of Species</i> a vast and convincing + bulk of evidence as to the actual fact of a common descent + for all the different existing organisms, and, in his + theory of natural selection, a reasonable explanation of + how the fact of evolution had come about. Darwin's greatest + ally in bringing the new idea before the world was Huxley, + and Huxley was teaching himself the absolute unity of the + living world. The two men were dissimilar in tastes and + temperament, and they were at work on quite different sides + of nature. When the time came, Huxley, with his commanding + knowledge of the structure of animals, was ready to support + Darwin and to illustrate and amplify his arguments by a + thousand anatomical proofs. It is a curious and dramatic + coincidence to realise that both men learned their very + different lessons under very similar circumstances in the + tropical seas of the Southern Hemisphere. + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 379px;"> + <img src="images/ill-029.png" alt="" title="" + height="178" width="379" /> + </div> + </div> + <div class="footnotes"> + <h3> + FOOTNOTES: + </h3> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + <a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a + href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> + <i>Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. "Rattlesnake</i>," + by John MacGillivray, F.R.G.S. 2 vols. T.W. Boone, + London, 1852. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + <a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a + href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> + This sketch was reproduced and described in <i>Natural + Science</i>, vol. vii., p. 381, and is now reproduced + here by the courtesy of the proprietors. + </p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p30" id="p30">[30]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-030.png" alt="" title="" height="83" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a> + </h2> + <h3> + FLOATING CREATURES OF THE SEA + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + The Nature of Floating Life—Memoir on Medusæ + Accepted by the Royal Society—Old and New Ideas of + the Animal Kingdom—What Huxley Discovered in + Medusæ—His Comparison of them with Vertebrate + Embryos. + </p> + </div> + <p> + As the <i>Rattlesnake</i> sailed through the tropical seas + Huxley came in contact with the very peculiar and + interesting inhabitants of the surface of the sea, known + now to naturalists as pelagic life or "plankton." Although + a poet has spoken of the "unvintageable sea," all parts of + the ocean surface teem with life. Sometimes, as in high + latitudes, the cold is so great that only the simplest + microscopic forms are able to maintain existence. In the + tropics, animals and plants are abundant, and sometimes by + their numbers colour great areas of water; or, as in the + drift of the Gulf Stream, make a tangle of animal and plant + life through which a boat travels only with difficulty. The + basis of the food supply of this vast and hungry floating + life is, as on land, vegetable life; for plants are the + only creatures capable of building up food from the gases + of the air and the simple chemical salts found dissolved in + water. Occasionally, in shallow or warm seas, marine <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p31" id="p31">[31]</a></span> + floating plants, large and visible like the sea-weeds of + the coast, form the floating masses known as Sargasso seas; + more often the plants are minute, microscopic specks + visible only when a drop of water is placed under the + microscope, but occurring in incredible numbers, and, like + the green vegetation of the earth, forming the ultimate + food-supply of all the living things around them. + Innumerable animals, great and small, live on the plants or + upon their fellows, and, however far he may be from land, + the naturalist has always abundant material got by his + daily use of the tow-net. This drifting population floats + at the mercy of the waves. Most of the animals are + delicate, transparent creatures, their transparency helping + to protect them from the attacks of hungry fellows. Nerves, + muscles, skin, and the organs generally are clear, pale, + and hardly visible. Such structures as the liver, the + reproductive organs, and the stomach, which cannot easily + become transparent, are grouped together into small knots, + coloured brown like little masses of sea-weed. Other + floating creatures are vividly coloured, but the hues are + bright blues and greens closely similar to the sparkling + tints of sea-water in sunlight. The different members of + this marine flotsam frequently rise and fall periodically: + some of them sinking by day to escape the light, others + rising only by day; others, again, appearing on the surface + in spring, keeping deep down in winter. Perhaps the + majority of them are phosphorescent, sometimes shining by + their own light, sometimes borrowing a glory from + innumerable phosphorescent bacteria with which they are + infested. Nearly every class of the animal kingdom + contributes members to this strange population. The young + forms of many fish, as for instance of conger, flying + gurnards, and some flatfish, are <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p32" id="p32">[32]</a></span>pelagic and have + colourless blood, and pale, transparent, gelatinous or + cartilaginous skeletons. The tadpole-like stages of the + sea-squirts, which in adult life are to be found attached + to rocks like weeds, drift about in the surface waters + until their time comes for settling down in life. Many + other Ascidians pass their whole life as pelagic creatures. + A few molluscs, many kinds of worms, echinoderms, and their + allies, crab and lobster-like creatures in innumerable + different stages of development, are to be found there, + while unnumbered polyps and jelly-fish are always present. + It would be difficult to imagine a better training for the + naturalist than to spend years, as Huxley did, working at + this varied assortment of living creatures. Huxley declared + that the difficulties of examining such flimsy creatures + had been exaggerated. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "At least, with a good light and a good microscope, with + the ship tolerably steady, I never failed in procuring + all the information I required. The great matter is to + obtain a good successive supply of specimens, as the more + delicate oceanic species are usually unfit for + examination within a few hours after they are taken." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Day after day, as the <i>Rattlesnake</i> crept from island + to island, Huxley examined the animals brought up by his + tow-net. He made endless dissections, and gradually + accumulated a large portfolio of drawings. Much of the time + he passed at Sydney was spent in libraries and museums, + comparing his own observations with the recorded + observations of earlier workers, and receiving from the + combination of his own work and the work of others new + ideas for his future investigations. It was all entirely a + labour of love; it lay outside the professional duties by + which he made his living, and for a <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p33" id="p33">[33]</a></span>long + time it seemed as if he was not even to gain reputation by + the discoveries he knew himself to be making. He writes in + his autobiography: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "During the four years of our absence, I sent home + communication after communication to the 'Linnæan' + Society, with the same result as that obtained by Noah + when he sent the raven out of his ark. Tired at last of + hearing nothing about them, I determined to do or die, + and in 1849 I drew up a more elaborate paper and + forwarded it to the Royal Society. This was my dove, if I + had only known it; but owing to the movements of the ship + I heard nothing of that either until my return to England + in the latter end of the year 1850, when I found that it + was printed and published, and that a huge packet of + separate copies awaited me. When I hear some of my young + friends complain of want of sympathy and encouragement, I + am inclined to think that my naval life was not the least + valuable part of my education." + </p> + </div> + <p> + This first successful paper was a memoir <i>On the Anatomy + and the Affinities of the Family of Medusæ</i>, and + was sent at Captain Stanley's suggestion to that officer's + father, the Bishop of Norwich, who communicated it to the + Royal Society. It is a curious circumstance that Huxley, + who afterwards met with so virulent opposition from + bishops, owed his first public success to one of them. + Professor Sir Michael Foster writes of this period in + Huxley's life: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The career of many a successful man has shewn that + obstacles often prove the mother of endeavour, and never + was this lesson clearer than in the case of Huxley. + Working amidst a host of difficulties, in want of room, + in want of light, seeking to unravel the intricacies of + minute structure with a microscope lashed to secure + steadiness, cramped within a tiny cabin, jostled by the + tumult of a crowded ship's life, with the scantiest + supply of books of reference, with no one at hand of whom + he could take counsel on the problems opening up before + him, he gathered for himself during these four years a + large mass of <span class="pagenum"><a name="p34" + id="p34">[34]</a></span>accurate, important, and in most + cases novel, observations and illustrated them with + skilful, pertinent drawings. Even his intellectual + solitude had its good effects: it drove him to ponder + over the new facts which came before him, and all his + observations were made alive with scientific thought." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Afterwards, in England, he received the Royal Medal of the + Royal Society for this memoir on Medusæ, sharing this + supreme distinction of scientific England with men so + illustrious as Joule, the discoverer of the relation + between force and heat, Stokes, the great investigator of + optical physics, and Humboldt, the traveller, all of whom + received medals in the same year. In making the + presentation to Huxley, the Earl of Rosse, then President + of the Royal Society, declared: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "In those papers you have for the first time fully + developed their structure (that of the Medusæ), and + laid the foundation of a rational theory for their + classification. In your second paper, on the anatomy of + Salpa and Pyrosoma, the phenomena have received the most + ingenious and elaborate elucidations, and have given rise + to a process of reasoning, the results of which can + scarcely yet be anticipated, but must bear in a very + important degree upon some of the most abstruse points of + what may be called transcendental physiology." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Many reasons make it difficult for us to realise, now, the + singular novelty and importance of Huxley's memoir on the + Medusæ. The first is a reason which often prevents + great discoveries in almost every subject from receiving in + after years their due respect. The years that have passed + since 1850 have seen not only the most amazing progress in + our knowledge of comparative anatomy, but almost a + revolution in the methods of studying it. Huxley's work has + been incorporated in the very body of science. A large + number of later investigators have advanced upon the lines + he laid down; and just as the superstructures of a great + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p35" + id="p35">[35]</a></span> building conceal the foundations, + so later anatomical work, although it has only amplified + and extended Huxley's discoveries, has made them seem less + striking to the modern reader. The present writer, for + instance, learned all that he knows of anatomy in the last + ten years, and until he turned to it for the purpose of + this volume he had never referred to Huxley's original + paper. When he did so, he found from beginning to end + nothing that was new to him, nothing that was strange: all + the ideas in the memoir had passed into the currency of + knowledge and he had been taught them as fundamental facts. + It was only when he turned to the text-books of anatomy and + natural history current in Huxley's time that he was able + to realise how the conclusions of the young ship-surgeon + struck the Fellows and President of the Royal Society as + luminous and revolutionary ideas. + </p> + <p> + In the first half of the century, a conception of the + animal kingdom prevailed which was entirely different from + our modern ideas. We know now that all animals are bound + together by the bond of a common descent, and we seek in + anatomy a clue to the degrees of relationship existing + among the different animals we know. We regard the animal + kingdom as a thicket of branches all springing from a + common root. Some of these spring straight up from the + common root unconnected with their fellows. Others branch + repeatedly, and all the branches of the same stem have + features in common. What we see in the living world is only + the surface of the thicket, the tops of the twigs; and it + is by examination of the structure of this surface that we + reconstruct in imagination the whole system of branches, + and know that certain twigs, from their likeness, meet each + other a little way down; that others are connected only + very deep down, and that others, again, spring free almost + from the beginning. The fossils of beds of rock of + different geological ages give us incomplete views of the + surface of the thicket of life, as it was in earlier times. + These views we have of the past aspects of the animal + kingdom are always much more incomplete than our knowledge + of the existing aspect; partly because many animals, from + the softness of their bodies, have left either no fossil + remains at all, or only very <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p36" id="p36">[36]</a></span>imperfect casts of the + external surfaces of their bodies; and partly because the + turning of any animal into a fossil, and its subsequent + discovery by a geologist, are occasional accidents; but, + although the evidence is much less perfect than we could + wish, there is enough of it to convince anatomists that + existing animals are all in definite blood-relationship to + each other, and to make them, in the investigation of any + new animal, study its anatomy with the definite view of + finding out its place in the family tree of the living + world. + </p> + <p> + When Huxley made his first discoveries, entirely different + ideas prevailed. The animal kingdom was supposed to offer a + series of types, of moulds, into which the Creator at the + beginning of the world had cast the substance of life. + These types were independent of each other, and had been so + since the beginning of things. Anatomists were concerned + chiefly with systematic work, with detecting and recording + the slight differences that existed among the numbers of + animals grouped around each type. No attempt was made to + see connection between type and type, for where these had + been separately created there was nothing to connect them + except possibly some idea in the mind of the Creator. This + apparently barren attitude to nature was stronger in men's + minds because <span class="pagenum"><a name="p37" + id="p37">[37]</a></span>it had inspired the colossal + achievements of Cuvier, a genius who, under whatever + misconceptions he had worked, would have added greatly to + knowledge. As we have seen in the first chapter, Huxley, + through Wharton Jones, and through his own reading, had + been brought under the more modern German thought of + Johannes Mueller and Von Baer. He had learned to study the + problems of living nature in the spirit of a physicist + making investigations into dead nature. In the anatomy of + animals, as in the structure of rocks and crystals, there + were to be sought out "laws of growth" and shaping and + moulding influences which accounted for the form of the + structures. To use the technical term, he was a + morphologist: one who studied the architecture of animals + not merely in a spirit of admiring wonder, but with the + definite idea of finding out the guiding principles which + had determined these shapes. + </p> + <p> + Not only was the prevailing method of investigation faulty, + but actual knowledge of a large part of the animal kingdom + was extremely limited. In the minds of most zoölogists + the animal kingdom was divided into two great groups: the + vertebrates and invertebrates. The vertebrate, or + back-boned, animals were well known; comparatively speaking + they are all built upon the type of man; and human + anatomists, who indeed made up the greater number of all + anatomists, using their exact knowledge of the human body, + had studied many other vertebrates with minute care, and, + from man to fishes, had arranged living vertebrates very + much in the modern order. But the invertebrates were a + vague and ill-assorted heap of animals. It was not + recognised that among them there were many series of + different grades of ascending complexity, and there <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p38" id="p38">[38]</a></span>was + no well-known form to serve as a standard of comparison for + all the others in the fashion that the body of man served + as a standard of comparison for all vertebrates. Here and + there, a few salient types such as insects and snails had + been picked out, but knowledge of them helped but little + with a great many of the invertebrates. The great + Linnæus had divided the animal kingdom into four + groups of vertebrates: mammals, birds, reptiles, and + fishes, but for the invertebrates he had done no more than + to pick out the insects as one group and to call everything + else "Vermes" or worms. The insects included all creatures + possessed of an external skeleton or hard skin divided into + jointed segments, and included forms so different as + insects, spiders, crabs, and lobsters. But Vermes included + all the members of the animal kingdom that were neither + vertebrates nor insects. Cuvier advanced a little. He got + rid of the comprehensive title Vermes—the label of + the rubbish-heap of zoölogists. He divided animals + into four great subkingdoms: Vertebrates, Mollusca, + Articulata, Radiata. These names, however, only covered + very superficial resemblances among the animals designated + by them. The word <i>Mollusca</i> only meant that the + creatures grouped together had soft bodies, unsupported by + internal or external articulated skeletons; and this + character, or, rather, absence of character, was applied + alike to many totally dissimilar creatures. The term + <i>Articulata</i> included not only Linnæus's insects + but a number of soft-skinned, apparently jointed, worm-like + animals such as the leech and earthworm. Lastly, the name + <i>Radiata</i> meant no more than that the organs of the + creatures so designated were more or less disposed around a + centre, as the sepals and petals of a flower are grouped + around the <span class="pagenum"><a name="p39" + id="p39">[39]</a></span>central pistil; and it included + animals so different as the starfish and sea-anemones and + Medusæ. The names used in the classification were not + only loosely applied but were based on the most superficial + observation, and took no account of the intimate structures + of the tissues and organs of the animals. With slight + modifications, due to individual taste or special knowledge + of small groups, later writers had followed Linnæus + and Cuvier. + </p> + <p> + It was with a view of the animal kingdom not much clearer + than this that Huxley began his work on the Medusæ of + the tropic seas. He began to study them no doubt simply + because they were among the most abundant of the animals + that could be obtained from the ship. He made endless + dissections and drawings, and, above all, studied their + minute anatomy with the microscope. They were all placed + among Cuvier's <i>Radiata</i>, but, as Huxley said in the + first line of his memoir: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Perhaps no class of animals has been investigated with + so little satisfactory and comprehensive result, and this + not for the want of patience and ability on the part of + the observers, but rather because they have contented + themselves with stating matters of detail concerning + particular genera and species, instead of giving broad + and general views of the whole class, considered as + organised upon a given type, and inquiring into its + relations with other families." + </p> + </div> + <p> + He found that fully developed Medusæ consisted each + of a disc with tentacles and vesicular bodies at the + margins, a stomach, and canals proceeding from it, and + generative organs. He traced this simple common structure + through the complications and modifications in which it + appeared in the different groups of Medusæ, in all + this work bringing out the prevailing features of <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p40" id="p40">[40]</a></span>the + anatomy in contrast to the individual peculiarities. He + shewed that microscopically all the complicated systems of + canals and organs were composed of two + "foundation-membranes," two thin webs of cells, one of + which formed the outermost layer of the body, while the + inner formed the lining of the stomach and canals in the + thinner parts of the body, such as the edges of the + umbrella-like disc, and towards the ends of the tentacles. + These thin webs formed practically all the body. In the + thicker parts there was interposed between them an almost + structureless layer of jelly, placed like padding between + the lining and the cloth of a coat. He shewed that + blood-vessels and blood were absent, in which he has been + confirmed by all other observers. He declared more + doubtfully against the existence of a special nervous + system, and it was not until long after, when the methods + of microscopic investigation were much more perfect, that + the delicate nerve-cells and nerve-fibres, which we now + know to exist, were discovered. + </p> + <p> + Having thus shewn the peculiar organisation of the group he + turned to seek out its allies among other families. The + Medusæ consisted essentially of two membranes + inclosing a variously shaped cavity inasmuch as all its + organs were so composed. The generative organs were + external, being variously developed processes of the two + membranes. The peculiar organs called + thread-cells—poisoned darts by the discharge of which + prey could be paralysed—were universally present. + What other families presented these peculiarities? + </p> + <p> + There are to be found abundantly in sea-water, and less + frequently in fresh water, innumerable forms of animal life + called Zoöphytes or animal plants because they occur + as encrusting masses like lichens, or <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p41" + id="p41">[41]</a></span>branched forests like moss, on the + surface of stones and shells. A common habit gave this set + of creatures their common name; but, although they were + grouped together, there was no greater affinity among them + than there is racial affinity among people who clothe + themselves for an evening party in the same conventional + dress. Huxley examined a large number of these, and picked + out from them two great families of polyps, the Hydroid and + Sertularian polyps, which each consist of colonies of + creatures very much like the little fresh-water hydra. He + shewed that the tubular body of these and the ring of + tentacles surrounding the mouth were composed of the same + two foundation-membranes of which all the organs of + Medusæ are composed. He found in them the poisoned + arrows or thread-cells of the Medusæ, and the same + external position of the reproductive organs. And, lastly, + he separated from all other creatures, and associated with + his new group, some of the strangest and most beautiful + animals of the tropic seas, known to science as the + Physophoridæ and the Diphyidæ. The best-known + of these is the "Portuguese man-of-war," the body of which + consists of a large pear-shaped vesicle which floats on the + water like a bladder. From the lower part of this depend + into the water large and small nutritive branches, each + ending in a mouth surrounded by a circle of waving + tentacles armed with batteries of thread-cells, while + another set of hanging protrusions bear the grape-like + reproductive organs. On the upper surface of the bladder is + fixed a purple sail of the most brilliant colour, by which + the floating creature is blown through the water. When the + weather is rough, the bladder empties, and the creature + sinks down into the quiet water below the waves, <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p42" id="p42">[42]</a></span> to + rise again when the storm is over. This, and its equally + wonderful allies, Huxley showed to be a complicated colony + of hydra-like creatures, each part being composed of two + membranes, and therefore essentially similar to + Medusæ. Thus, by a great piece of constructive work, + an assemblage of animals was gathered into a new group and + shewn to be organised upon one simple and uniform plan, + and, even in the most complex and aberrant forms, reducible + to the same type. The group, and Huxley's conception of its + structure, are now absolutely accepted by anatomists, and + have made one of the corner-stones of our modern idea of + the arrangement of the animal kingdom. With the exception + of sponges, concerning the exact relations of which there + is still dispute, and of a few sets of parasitic and + possibly degenerate creatures, all animals, the bodies of + which are multicellular, from the simple fresh-water hydra + up to man, are divided into two great groups. The structure + of the simpler of these groups is exactly what Huxley found + to be of importance in the Medusæ. The body wall, + from which all the organs protrude, consists merely of a + web of cells arranged in two sheets or membranes, and the + single cavity consists of a central stomach, surrounded by + these membranes, the cavity remaining simple or giving rise + to a number of branching canals. The members of this great + division of the animal kingdom are the creatures which + Huxley selected and placed together, with the addition of + the sea-anemones and the medusa-like Ctenophora, which, + indeed, he mentioned in his memoir as being related to the + others, but reserved fuller consideration for a future + occasion. This group is now called the Cœlenterata, + the name implying that the creatures are simply hollow + stomachs, and it is <span class="pagenum"><a name="p43" + id="p43">[43]</a></span>contrasted in the strongest way + with the group Cœlomata, in which are placed all the + higher animals, from the simplest worm up to man; animals + in which, in addition to the two foundation-membranes of + the Cœlenterata, there is a third + foundation-membrane, and in which, in addition to the + simple stomach cavity with its offshoots, there is a true + body-cavity or cœlome, and usually a set of spaces + and channels containing a blood-fluid. The older method of + naming groups of animals after some obvious superficial + character lingered on for some years in text-books and + treatises, but in this memoir the young ship-surgeon had + replaced it by the modern scientific method of grouping + animals together only because of real identity of + structure. + </p> + <p> + There is yet left to be noticed perhaps the most wonderful + of all the ideas in this first memoir by Huxley. In the + course of describing the two foundation membranes of the + Medusæ he remarks: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "It is curious to remark, that throughout, the outer and + inner membranes appear to bear the same physiological + relation to one another as do the serous and mucous + layers of the germ: the outer becoming developed into the + muscular system, and giving rise to the organs of offence + and defence: the inner on the other hand appearing to be + more closely subservient to the purposes of nutrition and + generation." + </p> + </div> + <p> + In the whole range of science it would be difficult to + select an utterance more prophetic of future knowledge than + these few words. Huxley had been reading the investigations + of Von Baer into the early development of back-boned + animals. He had learned from them the great generalisation, + that the younger stages of these animals resemble one + another more closely than the adult stages, and that in an + early stage in the development of all these animals the + beginning of the embryo <span class="pagenum"><a name="p44" + id="p44">[44]</a></span>consists of two layers of cells, in + fact of two foundation-membranes, one forming specially the + wall of the future digestive canal, the other forming the + most external portion of the future animal. In these days + nothing could have seemed a remoter or more unlikely + comparison than one instituted between Medusæ and the + embryonic stages of back-boned animals. But Huxley made it, + not allowing the evidence brought before his reason to be + swamped by preconceived ideas. At the time he did no more + than to make the comparison. It was much later that the + full importance of it became known, when more extended work + on the embryology of vertebrates and of the different + groups of the invertebrates had made it plain that the two + foundation-membranes of Huxley occur in all animals from + the Medusæ up to man. In the group of + Cœlenterata the organisation remains throughout life + as nothing more than a folding in and folding out of these + membranes. The early stages of all the higher animals + similarly consist of complications of the two membranes; + but later on there is added to them a third membrane. Thus + the group that Huxley gathered together comprises those + animals that as adults remain in a condition of development + which is passed through in the embryonic life of all higher + animals. The immense importance of this conclusion becomes + plain, and the conclusion itself seems obvious, when seen + in the light of the doctrine of descent. The group of + Cœlenterata represents a surviving, older condition + in the evolution of animals. Huxley himself, when on the + <i>Rattlesnake</i>, regarded evolution only as a vague + metaphysical dream, and he made the comparison which has + been described without any afterthought of what it implied. + In this we have the earliest authentic instance of the + peculiar integrity <span class="pagenum"><a name="p45" + id="p45">[45]</a></span>of mind which was so characteristic + of him in his dealings with philosophy and tradition. He + never allowed any weight of authority or any apparent + disturbance of existing ideas to alter the conclusions to + which his reason led him. This intellectual courage made + him fitted to be the leader in the battle for evolution and + against traditional thought, and we shall find again and + again in consideration of his work that it was the keynote + of his life. + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-045.png" alt="" title="" + height="178" width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p46" id="p46">[46]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-046.png" alt="" title="" height="84" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a> + </h2> + <h3> + EARLY DAYS IN LONDON + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Scientific Work as Unattached + Ship-Surgeon—Introduction to London Scientific + Society—Translating, Reviewing, and + Lecturing—Ascidians—Molluscs and the + Archetype—Criticism of Pre-Darwinian + Evolution—Appointment to Geological Survey. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The <i>Rattlesnake</i> was paid off at Chatham on November + 9, 1850. In the natural course of events Huxley would have + been appointed before long to active service upon another + ship. But he had no intention of relapsing into the + position of a mere navy doctor; he had accumulated + sufficient scientific material to keep him employed on + scientific investigation for years, and so he applied to + the Admiralty to "be borne on the books" of H.M.S. + <i>Fisgard</i> at Woolwich,—that is to say, to be + appointed assistant-surgeon to the ship "for particular + service," so that he should not be compelled to live on + board, but might remain in town, and, with free access to + libraries and museums, work up the observations he had made + on the <i>Rattlesnake</i> into serious and substantial + contributions to science. His request was granted, largely + by the aid of his old chief, Sir W. Burnett, who continued + to take the most useful interest in the young man he had + originally <span class="pagenum"><a name="p47" + id="p47">[47]</a></span> nominated to the service. In a + letter to him Huxley described the investigations which he + desired to continue as being chiefly those on "the anatomy + of certain Gasteropod and Pteropod Mollusca, of Firola and + Atlantis, of Salpa and Pyrosoma, of two new Ascidians, + namely, Appendicularia and Doliolum, of Sagitta and certain + Annelids, of the auditory and circulatory organs of certain + transparent Crustacea, and of the Medusæ and Polyps." + His request was granted, and for the next three years + Huxley lived in London with his brother, on the exiguous + income of an assistant-surgeon, and devoted himself to + research. He became almost at once of the first rank among + English anatomists. The result of the paper on Medusæ + in the <i>Transactions of the Royal Society</i> was that he + was elected a Fellow of the Society on June 5, 1851, and a + year later received a Royal Medal of the Society. He made + many warm friendships both among the older and the younger + generations of scientific men. In his obituary notice of + Huxley, Sir Michael Foster wrote: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "By Edward Forbes, in whose nature there was much that + was akin to his own, and with whom he had some + acquaintance before his voyage, he was at once greeted as + a comrade, and with Joseph Dalton Hooker, to whom he was + drawn at the very first by their common experience as + navy surgeons, he began an attachment which, strengthened + by like biological aspirations, grew closer as their + lives went on. In the first year after his return, in the + autumn of 1851, he made the acquaintance of John Tyndall + at the meeting of the British Association at Ipswich, and + the three, Hooker, Huxley, and Tyndall, finding how much + in common were all their scientific views and desires, + formed then and there a triple scientific alliance." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Repeated efforts were made by these three, and by more + influential friends, to induce the Admiralty to contribute + to the expense of publishing Huxley's scientific <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p48" id="p48">[48]</a></span> + results, as they had given a pledge to encourage officers + who had done scientific work. These efforts lasted + unavailingly for nearly three years, and then, as Huxley + says: "The Admiralty, getting tired, I suppose, cut short + the discussion by ordering me to join a ship, which thing I + declined to do, and, as Rastignac, in the <i>Père + Goriot</i>, says to Paris, I said to London, <i>à + nous deux</i>." This light phrase conceals a courageous and + momentous decision. He was absolutely without private + resources, and having abandoned his professional work he + had no salary of any kind. For a year or so he supported + himself by writing reviews and popular scientific articles, + striving all the time not only to gain his bread but to + continue his scientific work and make it known to the + public. He desired to get a professorship of physiology or + of comparative anatomy, and as vacancies occurred he + applied, but unsuccessfully. At the same time, he tells us, + he and his friend, John Tyndall, were + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "candidates, he for the Chair of Physics, and I for that + of Natural History in the University of Toronto, which, + fortunately, as it turned out, would not look at either + of us. I say fortunately, not from any lack of respect + for the University of Toronto; but because I soon made up + my mind that London was the place for me, and hence I + have steadily declined the inducements to leave it which + have at various times been offered." + </p> + </div> + <p> + In these early years in London Huxley's work was most + varied. A large number of anonymous articles by him + appeared in the <i>Literary Gazette</i>, and in other + periodicals. He assisted to remove the insular narrowness + from English scientific work by translating many foreign + memoirs. With the collaboration of Mr. Henfrey, he edited a + series of scientific memoirs, all of <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p49" id="p49">[49]</a></span> + which were translated from foreign languages, and many by + his own pen. With the assistance of Mr. George Busk he made + a translation of Kölliker's <i>Histology</i>, a great + treatise on microscopic anatomy which played a large part + in the development of the modern English schools of anatomy + and physiology. He made some valuable contributions to Todd + and Bowman's <i>Cyclopædia of Anatomy</i>, an + elaborate publication now nearly forgotten and practically + superseded, but which was the standard anatomical work of + the middle of this century. He was unable to progress + rapidly with his work upon oceanic Medusæ, as he was + uncertain how to have it published; the Admiralty refused + to assist, and it was too lengthy for publication in the + volumes of the learned Societies. As a matter of fact, he + did not publish it until 1858, when it appeared as a + separate memoir. To the <i>Quarterly Journal of + Microscopical Science</i> and to the <i>Transactions of the + Royal and Linnæan Societies</i> he contributed a + large number of memoirs dealing with the microscopic + anatomy and relationships of invertebrates, and, lastly, he + gave a series of addresses at the Royal Institution, which + had been founded as a means by which leading men of science + might give accounts of their work to London society. + Abstracts of these lectures are published in the early + volumes of the <i>Proceedings of the Royal Institution</i> + and are interesting as shewing the kinds of zoölogical + subjects which were attracting the attention of Huxley and + which he considered of sufficient interest and importance + to bring to the notice of the general public. The first of + these lectures, and probably the first given in public by + Huxley, occurred on April 30, 1852, and was entitled + "Animal Individuality." The problem as to what is meant by + an individual had been raised in <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p50" id="p50">[50]</a></span> his mind by + consideration of many of the forms of marine life, notably + compound structures like the Portuguese man-of-war, and + creatures like the salps, which form floating chains often + many yards in length. He explained that the word + <i>individual</i> covers at least three quite different + kinds of conceptions. There is, first, what he described as + arbitrary individuality, an individuality which is given by + the mind of the observer and does not actually exist in the + thing considered. Thus a landscape is in a sense an + individual thing, but only so far as it is a particular + part of the surface of the earth, isolated for the time in + the mind of the person looking at it. If the observer shift + his position, the range of the landscape alters and becomes + something else. Next there are material, or practically + accidental individual things, such as crystals or pieces of + stone; and, lastly, there are living individuals which, as + he pointed out, were cycles. All living things are born + into the world, grow up, and die, and it was to the cycle + of life, from the egg to the adult which produces eggs, + that he gave the name individual. In a simple animal like + Hydra there is no difficulty in accepting this plain + definition of individuality; but Huxley went on to compare + with Hydra a compound creature like the Portuguese + man-of-war, which really is composed of a colony of + Hydra-like creatures, the different members of the colony + being more or less altered to serve different functions. + All these have come from the branching of a single simple + creature produced from an egg, and to the whole colony + Huxley gave the name of zoölogical individual. The + salps give a still wider interpretation to this view of + individuality. The original salp produced from the egg + gives rise to many salps, which may either remain attached + in a chain, or, <span class="pagenum"><a name="p51" + id="p51">[51]</a></span> breaking away from one another, + may live separately. Huxley extended the use of the word + <i>individual</i> so as to include as a single + zoölogical individual the whole set of creatures + cohering in chains or breaking apart, which had been + produced by budding from the product of a single egg-cell. + This subtle analysis of ideas delighted and interested his + contemporaries, and the train of logical examination of + what is meant by individuality has persisted to the present + time. Like all other zoölogical ideas, this has been + considerably altered by the conception of evolution. + Zoölogists no longer attempt to stretch logical + conceptions until they fit enormous and different parts of + the living world. They recognise that the living world, + because it is alive, is constantly changing, and that + living things pass through different stages or kinds of + individuality in the course of their lives. A single + egg-cell is one kind, perhaps the simplest kind, of + zoölogical individual; when it has grown up into a + simple polyp it has passed into a second grade of + individuality; when, by budding, the polyp has become + branched, a third grade is reached, and when the branches + have become different, in obedience to the different + purposes which they are to serve in the whole compound + creature, a still further grade is reached. Huxley's + attempt to find a meaning for individuality that would + apply equally to a single simple creature, to a compound + creature, and to the large number of separate creatures, + all developed by budding from one creature, is a striking + instance of his singular capacity for bringing apparently + dissimilar facts into harmony, by finding out the common + underlying principle, and, although we no longer accept + this particular conclusion, we cannot fail to notice in it + the peculiar powers of his mind. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p52" + id="p52">[52]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + A second and even more interesting Royal Institution + lecture dealt with the "Identity of Structure in Animals + and Plants." At the present time every educated person + knows that the life of animals and plants alike depends on + the fact that their bodies are composed of a living + material called protoplasm, a material which is identical + in every important respect in both kingdoms of the living + world. In the early fifties, scientific opinion was by no + means clear on this matter, and certainly public opinion + was most vague. Huxley discussed what was meant by + organisation, and shewed that in every essential respect + plants and animals alike were organised beings. Then he + went on to explain the cellular theory of Schwann, which + was then a novelty to a general audience. Schwann, in + studying the microscopic structure of plants, noticed that + their bodies were made up of little cases with firm walls; + these he called <i>cells</i>, and declared that the whole + body of the plant was composed of cells. As the walls of + these cells were the most obvious and visible feature, it + was supposed that they were the most essential part of the + structure, and there was some difficulty in applying the + cellular theory to the bodies of animals, as in most cases + there are no easily visible cell-walls in animal tissues. + As the result of his own observation, and from his reading + of the work of others, Huxley laid down in the clearest way + what is now accepted by everyone—that the presence of + walls is of minor importance, and that it is the slimy + contents of the cells, what is called "protoplasm," that is + the important element. He declared that the protoplasm of + animals was identical with the protoplasm of plants, and + that plants were "animals confined in wooden cases." He + agreed with Schwann that the cell, using the term to imply + the <span class="pagenum"><a name="p53" + id="p53">[53]</a></span> contents rather than the wall, was + of fundamental importance, and was the unit of structure of + the whole world of life. On the other hand, he declared + that it could not be looked at as the unit of function: he + denied that the powers and properties of a living body were + simply the sum of the powers and properties of the single + cells. In this opinion he was not followed by physiologists + until quite recently. For many years physiologists held + that cells were units of function just as much as they are + units of structure; but in the last ten years there has + been a strong return to the opinion of Huxley. + </p> + <p> + In 1851 two very important memoirs were published in the + <i>Transactions of the Royal Society</i>, which contained + the results of Huxley's observations of the interesting + animals known as "tunicates." The first of these papers + begins as follows: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The Salpæ, those strange gelatinous animals, + through masses of which the voyager in the great ocean + sometimes sails day after day, have been the subject of a + great controversy since the time of the publication of + the celebrated work of Chamisso, <i>De Animalibus + Quibusdam e Classe Vermium Linnæana</i>. In this + work there were set forth, for the first time, the + singular phenomena presented by the reproductive + processes of these animals,—phenomena so strange, + and so utterly unlike anything then known to occur in the + whole province of zoölogy, that Chamisso's admirably + clear and truthful account was received with almost as + much distrust as if he had announced the existence of a + veritable Peter Schlemihl." + </p> + </div> + <p> + According to Chamisso, salps appeared in two forms: + solitary forms, and forms in which a number of salps are + united into a long chain. Each salp of the aggregate form + contains within it an embryo receiving nutrition from the + mother by a connection similar to the <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p54" id="p54">[54]</a></span> + placenta by which the embryo of a mammal receives + nourishment from the blood of the mother. These embryos + grow up into the solitary form, and the solitary form gives + rise to a long chain of the aggregate form which developes + in the interior of the body. Chamisso compared this + progress to the development of insects. "Supposing," he + said, "caterpillars did not bodily change into butterflies, + but by a process of sexual breeding produced young which + grew into the ordinary adults, and that these adults, as + indeed they do, gave rise to caterpillars by sexual + reproduction, then there would be a true alternation of + generations." The first generation would give rise to a + second generation totally unlike itself, and this second + generation would reproduce, not its kind, but the first + generation; such an alternation of generations he stated to + occur among the salps. Huxley had an excellent opportunity + to study this question at Cape York in November, 1849. "For + a time the sea was absolutely crowded with Salpæ, in + all stages of growth, and of size very convenient for + examination." He was able to verify the general truth of + Chamisso's statement. The aggregate form of Salpa always + gives rise to the solitary salps, and the solitary salps + always give rise to chains of the aggregate salps. But the + process of reproduction he shewed to be quite different in + the two cases. The solitary salp produces in its interior a + little stolon or diverticulum which contains an outgrowth + from the circulatory system, and this stolon gradually + becomes pinched off into the members of the chain of the + aggregate form. The salps of the aggregate form are + therefore merely buds from the solitary form, and are not + produced in the ordinary way, by sexual generation. On the + other hand, each salp of the chain has within it <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p55" id="p55">[55]</a></span> a + true egg-cell. This is fertilised by a male cell, and + within the body of the parent, nourished by the blood of + the parent, grows up into the solitary form. There is then + an alternation of generations, but there are not two sexual + generations. The sexual generation of chain salps gives + rise to forms which reproduce by buds. From this + conclusion, with which all later observers have agreed, + Huxley went on to his theory of individuality. Different + names had been given to the two forms, but Huxley declared + that neither form was a true zoölogical individual; + they were only parts of individuals or organs, and the true + individual was the complete cycle involving both forms. + </p> + <p> + In addition to determining the interesting method of + reproduction, Huxley made an elaborate investigation of the + structure of Salpa. On one occasion only the + <i>Rattlesnake</i> came across a quantity of an allied + Ascidian, Pyrosoma, which had received its name from its + phosphorescence. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The sky was clear but moonless, and the sea calm; and a + more beautiful sight can hardly be imagined than that + presented from the deck of the ship as she drifted, hour + after hour, through this shoal of miniature pillars of + fire gleaming out of the dark sea, with an ever-waning, + ever brightening, soft bluish light, as far as the eye + could reach on every side. The Pyrosomata floated deep, + and it was only with difficulty that some were procured + for examination and placed in a bucketful of sea-water. + The phosphorescence was intermittent, periods of darkness + alternating with periods of brilliancy. The light + commenced in one spot, apparently on the surface of one + of the zoöids, and gradually spread from this as a + centre in all directions; then the whole was lighted up: + it remained brilliant for a few seconds, and then + gradually faded and died away, until the whole mass was + dark again. Friction at any point induces the light at + that point, and from thence the phosphorescence spreads + over the whole, while the creature is <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p56" id="p56">[56]</a></span> + quite freshly taken; afterwards, the illumination arising + from friction is only local." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Dealing with these creatures in the broad anatomical spirit + with which he had studied the Medusæ, Huxley shewed + the typical structure manifested in the different forms, + and that was common to them and the Ascidians or + sea-squirts of the seashore. In a second paper on + "Appendicularia and Doliolum" he made further contributions + to our knowledge of these interesting creatures. + Appendicularia is a curious little Ascidian, differing from + all the others in its possession of a tail. Earlier + observers had obtained it on various parts of the ocean + surface, but had failed entirely to detect its relationship + to the ordinary Ascidians. Chamisso got it near Behring's + Straits and thought that it was more nearly allied to + "Venus's Girdle," a Cœlenterate. Mertens, another + distinguished zoölogist, had declared that "the + relation of this animal with the Pteropods (a peculiar + group of molluscs) is unmistakable"; while Müller, a + prince among German anatomists, confessed that "he did not + know in what division of the animal kingdom to place this + creature." Huxley shewed that it possessed all the + characteristic features of the Ascidians, the same + arrangement of organs, the same kind of nervous system, a + respiratory chamber formed from the fore part of the + alimentary canal, and a peculiar organ running along the + pharynx which Huxley called the endostyle and which is one + of the most striking peculiarities of the whole group. The + real nature of the tail was Huxley's most striking + discovery. He pointed out that ordinary Ascidians begin + life as tiny tadpole-like creatures which swim freely by + the aid of a long caudal appendage; and that while these + better-known Ascidians lose their tails when they <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p57" id="p57">[57]</a></span> + settle down into adult life, the Appendiculariæ are + Ascidians which retain this larval structure throughout + life. Von Baer had shown that in the great natural groups + of higher animals some forms occur which typify, in their + adult condition, the larval state of the higher forms of + the group. Thus, among the amphibia, frogs have tails in + the larval or tadpole condition; but newts throughout life + remain in the larval or tailed condition. Appendicularia he + considered to be the lowest form of the Ascidians, and to + typify in its adult condition the larval stages of the + higher Ascidians. + </p> + <p> + By this remarkable investigation of the structure of the + group of Ascidians, and display of the various grades of + organisation, Huxley paved the way for one of the great + modern advances in knowledge. When, later on, the idea of + evolution was accepted, and zoölogists began hunting + out the pedigree of the back-boned animals, it was + discovered that Ascidians were modern representatives of an + important stage in the ancestry of vertebrate animals, and, + therefore, of man himself. There are few more interesting + chapters in genealogical zoölogy than those which + reveal the relationship between Amphioxus and fish on the + one hand, and Ascidians on the other; for fish are + vertebrates, and Ascidians, on the old view, are lowly + invertebrates. The details of these relationships have been + made known to us by the brilliant investigations of several + Germans, by Kowalevsky, a Russian, by the Englishmen Ray + Lankester and Willey, and by several Americans and + Frenchmen. But behind the work of all these lies the + pioneer work of Huxley, who first gathered the group of + Ascidians together, and in a series of masterly + investigations described its typical structure. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p58" + id="p58">[58]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Huxley's next great piece of work was embodied in a memoir + published in the <i>Transactions of the Royal Society</i> + in 1853, and which remains to the present day a model of + luminous description and far-reaching ideas. It was a + treatise on the structure of the great group of molluscs, + and displays in a striking fashion his method of handling + anatomical facts, and deducing from them the great + underlying principles of construction. The shell-fish with + which he dealt specially were those distinguished as + cephalous, because, unlike creatures such as the oyster and + mussel, they had something readily comparable with the head + of vertebrates. He began by pointing out what problems he + hoped to solve. The anatomy of many of the cephalous + molluscs was known, but the relation of structures present + in one to structures present in another group had not been + settled. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "It is not settled whether the back of a cuttle-fish + answers to the dorsal or ventral surface of a gasteropod. + It is not decided whether the arms and funnels of the one + have or have not their homologues in the other. The + dorsal integument of a Doris and the cloak of a whelk are + both called 'mantle,' without any evidence to show that + they are really homologous. Nor do very much more + definite notions seem to have prevailed with regard to + the archetypal molluscous form, and the mode in which (if + such an archetype exist) it becomes modified in the + different secondary types." + </p> + </div> + <p> + He had taken from the surface of the sea a number of + transparent shell-fish, and had been able to study the + structure and arrangement of their organs "by simple + inspection, without so much as disturbing a single beat of + their hearts." From knowledge gained in this fashion, and + from ordinary dissection of a number of common snails, + cephalopods, and pteropods, he was able to describe in a + very complete way the anatomical <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p59" id="p59">[59]</a></span> structure of cephalous + molluscs. The next natural step, he stated, would have been + to describe the embryonic development of the organs of + these different creatures in order that a true knowledge + might be gained of what were the homologous or really + corresponding parts in each. Having had no opportunity to + make such embryological studies for himself, he fell back + on numerous accounts of development by Kölliker, Van + Beneden, Gegenbauer, and others, and so gradually arrived + at a conception of what he called the "archetype" of the + cephalous molluscs. As the word <i>archetype</i> was + borrowed from old metaphysical ideas dating back to the + time of Plato, he took care to state that what he meant by + it was no more than a form embodying all that could be + affirmed equally respecting every single kind of cephalous + mollusc, and by no means an "idea" upon which it could be + supposed that animal forms had been modelled. He described + this archetype, and showed the condition of the different + systems of organs which it could be supposed to possess, + and how these organs were modified in the different + existing groups. This archetypal mollusc of Huxley's was a + creature with a bilaterally symmetrical head and body. On + the ventral side of the body it possessed a peculiar + locomotor appendage, the so-called foot, and the dorsal + surface of the body secreted a shell. Its nervous system + consisted of three pairs of ganglia or brains, one pair in + the head, one in the foot, and a third in the viscera. He + shewed how the widely different groups of cephalous + molluscs could be conceived as modifications of this + structure, and extended the conception so as to cover all + other molluscs. + </p> + <p> + Quite apart from the anatomical value of this paper, and + although all technical details have been omitted <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p60" id="p60">[60]</a></span> + here, it is necessary to say that merely as a series of + intricate anatomical descriptions and comparisons, this + memoir was one of the most valuable of any that Huxley + wrote. The working out of the theory of the archetype is + peculiarly interesting to compare with modern conceptions. + To those of us who began biological work after the idea of + evolution had been impressed upon anatomical work, it is + very difficult to follow Huxley's papers without reading + into them evolutionary ideas. In the article upon Mollusca, + written for the ninth edition of the <i>Encyclopædia + Britannica</i>, by Professor Ray Lankester, the same device + of an archetypal or, as Lankester calls it, a schematic + mollusc, is employed in order to explain the relations of + the different structures found in different groups of + molluscs to one another. Lankester's schematic mollusc + differs from Huxley's archetypal mollusc only as a finished + modern piece of mechanism, the final result of years of + experiment, differs from the original invention. The method + of comparing the schematic mollusc with the different + divergent forms in different groups is identical, and yet, + while the ideas of Darwin are accepted in every line of + Lankester's work, Huxley was writing six years before the + publication of <i>The Origin of Species</i>. There was + growing up in Huxley's mind, partly from his own attempts + to arrange the anatomical facts he discovered in an + intelligible series, the idea that within a group the + divergencies of structure to be found had come about by the + modification of an original type. Not only did he conceive + of such an evolution as the only possible explanation of + the facts, but he definitely used the word <i>evolution</i> + to convey his ideas. On the other hand, he was firmly + convinced that such evolution was confined within the great + groups. For each <span class="pagenum"><a name="p61" + id="p61">[61]</a></span> group there was a typical + structure, and modifications by defect or excess of the + parts of the definite archetype gave rise to the different + members of the group. Moreover, he confined this evolution + in the strictest possible way to each group; he did not + believe that what was called anamorphosis—the + transition of a lower type into a higher type—ever + occurred. To use his own words: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "If, however, all Cephalous Mollusca, <i>i.e.</i>, all + Cephalopoda, Gasteropoda, and Lamellibranchiata, be only + modifications by excess or defect of the parts of a + definite archetype, then, I think, it follows as a + necessary consequence, that no anamorphosis takes place + in this group. There is no progression from a lower to a + higher type, but merely a more or less complete evolution + of one type. It may indeed be a matter of very grave + consideration whether true anamorphosis ever occurs in + the whole animal kingdom. If it do, then the doctrine + that every natural group is organised after a definite + archetype, a doctrine which seems to me as important for + zoölogy as the theory of definite proportions for + chemistry, must be given up." + </p> + </div> + <p> + It is of great historical interest to notice how closely + actual consideration of the facts of the animal kingdom + took zoölogists to an idea of evolution, and yet how + far they were from it as we hold it now. It is fashionable + at the present time to attempt to depreciate the immense + change introduced by Darwin into zoölogical + speculation, and the method employed is largely partial + quotation, or reference to the kind of ideas found in + papers such as this memoir by Huxley. The comparison + between the types of the great groups and the combining + proportions of the chemical elements shows clearly that + Huxley regarded the structural plans of the great groups as + properties necessary and inherent in these groups, just as + the property of a chemical element to <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p62" id="p62">[62]</a></span> + combine with another chemical substance only in a fixed + proportion is necessary and inherent in the existing + conception of it. There was no glimmer of the idea that + these types were not inherent, but merely historical + results of a long and slow series of changes produced by + the interaction of the varied conditions of life and the + intrinsic qualities of living material. + </p> + <p> + In two lectures delivered at the Royal Institution in 1854 + and 1855, the one on "The Common Plan of Animal Forms," the + other on "The Zoölogical Arguments Adduced in Favour + of the Progressive Development of Animal Life in Time," + show, so far as the published abstracts go, the same + condition of mind. The idea of progressive development of + all life from common forms was not unknown to Huxley and + his contemporaries, but was rejected by them. In the first + of these two lectures he took four great groups of animals, + the Vertebrates, the Articulata, the Mollusca, and the + Radiata, and explained what was the archetype of each. He + shewed the distinctiveness of each plan of structure, and + then discussed the relations of the ideas suggested by Von + Baer to these archetypes. He stated explicitly that while + the adult forms were quite unlike one another, there were + traces of a common plan to be derived from a study of their + embryonic development. Such a trace of a common plan he had + himself suggested when he compared the foundation-membranes + of the Medusæ with the first foundation-membranes of + vertebrate embryos. This was going a long way towards + modern ideas; but he stopped short, and gave no hint that + he believed in the possibility of the development of one + plan from a lower or simpler plan. The second lecture dealt + with the kind of ideas which were crystallised in the + popular but striking work of Chambers, entitled <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p63" id="p63">[63]</a></span> + <i>Vestiges of Creation</i>. Chambers attacked the + theological view that all animals and plants had been + created at the beginning of the world, and maintained that + geological evidence showed the occurrence of a progressive + development of animal life. Huxley, like all + zoölogists and geologists who knew anything of the + occurrence of fossils in the rocks of past ages, agreed + with the general truth of the conception that a progressive + development had occurred which showed that the species now + existing were represented in the oldest rocks by species + now extinct. But the examples he brought forward were all + limited to evolution within the great groups, and did not + affect his idea that archetypes were fixed and did not pass + into each other. Moreover, he summed up strongly against + the suggestion that there was any parallel between the + succession of life in the past and the forms assumed by + modern animals in their embryological development. So far + as the present writer is able to judge from study of the + literature of this period, the possibility of evolution was + present in an active form in the minds of Huxley and of his + contemporaries, and in an extraordinary way they brought + together evidence which afterwards became of firstrate + importance; but the idea in its modern sense was rejected + by them. + </p> + <p> + In 1854 Huxley's uncomfortable period of probation came to + an end. Edward Forbes, who held the posts of + Palæontologist to the Geological Survey, and Lecturer + on General Natural History at the Metropolitan School of + Science Applied to Mining and the Arts, vacated these on + his appointment to the Chair of Natural History in the + University of Edinburgh, and Sir H. De La Beche, the then + Director-General of the Geological Survey, offered both the + posts to Huxley—who in June <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p64" id="p64">[64]</a></span> and July of that year + had given lectures at the school in place of Forbes. Huxley + says himself: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I refused the former point-blank, and accepted the + latter only provisionally, telling Sir Henry that I did + not care for fossils, and that I should give up natural + history as soon as I could get a physiological post. But + I held the office for thirty-one years, and a large part + of my work has been palæontological." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The salary of the post of Lecturer on Natural History was + scanty, but De La Beche, who evidently recognised Huxley's + genius, and was anxious to have him attached even against + his will to palæontological work, created a place for + him as Naturalist to the Geological Survey, by which a more + suitable income was found for him. His official duties were + at first in the Geological Museum of the Survey, but were + distinguished from those of the special + Palæontologist, Mr. Harvey. His income was now + assured, and for the rest of his life, until towards its + close, when he retired to Eastbourne, he lived the ordinary + life of a professional man of science in London. He was now + able to marry, and on July 21, 1855, he was married to a + lady whom he had met in Sydney in 1847, and whom he had not + seen since the <i>Rattlesnake</i> left Sydney finally in + the beginning of May, 1850. + </p> + <p> + During the years 1856, 1857, and 1858, he held the post of + Fullerian Professor of Physiology in the Royal Institution, + choosing as the title of his first two courses of lectures + Physiology and Comparative Anatomy, as he still cherished + the idea of being in the first place a physiologist. + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 321px;"> + <img src="images/ill-huxley-1857.jpg" + alt="THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY, 1857" title="" height="438" + width="321" /> <span class="caption">THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY, + 1857<br /> + Reproduced by permission from Natural Science, vol. + vii., No. 42</span> + </div> + </div> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Moreover," writes Professor Michael Foster, "like most + other young professional men of science, he had to eke + out his not too ample income by labours undertaken + chiefly for their <span class="pagenum"><a name="p65" + id="p65">[65]</a></span> pecuniary reward. He acted as + examiner, conducting for instance, during the years 1856 + to 1863, and again 1865 to 1870, the examinations in + physiology and comparative anatomy at the University of + London, making even an examination paper feel the + influence of the new spirit in biology; and among his + examinees at that time there was at least one who, + knowing Huxley's writings, but his writings only, looked + forward to the <i>viva voce</i> test, not as a trial but + as an occasion of delight. He wrote almost incessantly + for all editors who were prepared to give adequate pay to + a pen able to deal with scientific themes in a manner at + once exact and popular, incisive and correct. During this + period he was gradually passing from his first anatomical + love, the structure of the Invertebrates, to Vertebrate + work, and although he continued to take a deep interest + in the course of the progress of research in that group + of animals, the publication of his great work on oceanic + hydrozoa by the Ray Society was the last piece of + important work he wrote upon any anatomical subject apart + from vertebrates. His work in connection with the + Geological Survey naturally attracted his attention most + closely to vertebrates, and, towards the close of the + fifties, he was led to make a special study of vertebrate + embryology, a subject which the investigations of + Kölliker and others in Germany were bringing into + prominence. The first result of this new direction of his + enquiries was embodied in a Croonian Lecture delivered in + 1858 'On the Theory of the Vertebrate Skull.' Sir Richard + Owen, who was at that time the leading vertebrate + anatomist in England, had given his support to an + extremely complicated view of the skull as being formed + of a series of expanded vertebræ moulded together. + The theory was really a legacy from an old German school + of which the chief members were Goethe, the poet, and + Oken, a naturalist, who was more of a metaphysical + philosopher than of a morphologist. Huxley pointed out + the futility of attempting to regard the skull as a + series of segments, and of supporting this view by + trusting to superficial resemblances and abstract + reasoning, when there was a definite method by which the + actual building up of the skull might be followed. + Following the lines laid down by Rathke, another of the + great Germans from whose investigations he was always so + willing to find corroboration and assistance in his own + labours, he traced the <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p66" id="p66">[66]</a></span> actual development of + the skull in the individual. He shewed that the + foundations of the skull and of the backbone were laid + down in a fashion quite different, and that it was + impossible to regard both skull and backbone as + modifications of a common type laid down right along the + axis of the body. The spinal column and the skull start + from the same primitive condition, whence they + immediately begin to diverge. It may be true to say that + there is a primitive identity of structure between the + spinal or vertebral column and the skull; but it is no + more true that the adult skull is a modified vertebral + column than it would be to affirm that the vertebral + column is a modified skull." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Since this famous lecture, a number of distinguished + anatomists have studied the development of the skull more + fully; but they have not departed from the methods of + investigation laid down by Huxley, and their conclusions + have differed only in greater elaboration of detail from + the broad lines laid down by him. Apart from its direct + scientific value, this lecture was of importance as marking + the place to which Huxley had attained in the scientific + world. Two years later, it is true, the London + <i>Times</i>, referring to a famous debate at a meeting of + the British Association at Oxford, spoke of him as "a Mr. + Huxley"; but in the scientific world he was accepted as the + leader of the younger anatomists, and as one at least + capable of rivalling Owen, who was then at the height of + his fame. The Croonian Lecture was in a sense a deliberate + challenge to Owen, and in these days before Darwin, to + challenge Owen was to claim equality with the greatest name + in anatomical science. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p67" id="p67">[67]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-067.png" alt="" title="" height="84" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a> + </h2> + <h3> + CREATURES OF THE PAST + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Beginning Palæontological Work—Fossil + Amphibia and Reptilia—Ancestry of + Birds—Ancestry of the Horse—Imperfect + European Series Completed by Marsh's American + Fossils—Meaning of Geological + Contemporaneity—Uniformitarianism and Catastrophism + Compared with Evolution in Geology—Age of the + Earth—Intermediate and Linear Types. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Although Huxley took a post connected with Geology only + because it was the most convenient opening for him, it was + not long before he became deeply interested not only in the + fossils, which at first he despised, but in the general + problems of geology. He began by co-operation with Mr. + Salter in the determination of fossils for the Geological + Survey. The mere work of defining genera and species and + naming and describing new species appealed very little to + him. He had none of the collector's passion for new + species; his interest in a creature being not whether or no + it was new to science, but what general problems of biology + its structure helped to elucidate. While he assisted in the + routine work of determining the zoölogical position of + the fossils sent in to the museum by the Survey, he carried + investigations much farther than the duties of <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p68" id="p68">[68]</a></span> the + post required when interesting zoölogical problems + arose. His earliest notes were written in association with + his colleague, and consisted of technical descriptions of + some small fossils from the Downton Sandstones which were + supposed to be fish-shields. The peculiarities of structure + presented by these aroused his interest, and he began an + elaborate series of investigations upon palæozoic + fishes in general. Earlier zoölogists, such as the + great Agassiz, had devoted most of their attention to + careful and exact description of the different fossil + fishes with which they became acquainted. Huxley at once + began to investigate the relations that existed among the + different kinds of structure exhibited in the different + fish. He laid down the lines upon which future work has + been conducted, and, precisely as he did in the case of + molluscs, he started future investigators upon lines of + research the ends of which have not yet been reached. His + work upon <i>Devonian Fishes</i>, published in 1861, threw + an entirely new light upon the affinities of these + creatures, and still remains a standard work. + </p> + <p> + He made a similar, although less important, series of + investigations upon some of the great extinct Crustacea; + but, perhaps, his most important palæontological work + was done later, after he had been convinced by Darwin of + the fact of evolution. In 1855 he had expressed the opinion + that the study of fossils was hopeless if one sought in it + confirmation of the doctrine of evolution; but + five-and-twenty years' continuous work completely reversed + his opinion, and in 1881, addressing the British + Association at York he declared that "if zoölogists + and embryologists had not put forward the theory, it would + have been necessary for palæontologists to invent + it." In three special groups of <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p69" id="p69">[69]</a></span> animals his study of + fossils enabled him to assist in bridging over the gaps + between surviving groups of creatures by study of creatures + long extinct. He began to study the structure of the + Labyrinthodonts, a group of extinct monsters which received + their name from the peculiar structure of their teeth. He + published elaborate descriptions of Anthracosaurus from the + coal-measures of Northumberland, of Loxomma from the lower + carboniferous of Scotland, and of several small forms from + the coal-measures of Kilkenny, in Ireland, as well as + describing skulls from Africa and a number of fragmentary + bones from different localities. But in all this work it + was the morphology of the creatures that interested him, + and the light which their structure threw upon the + structure of each other and of their nearest allies. He + shewed that these monsters stood on the borderland between + fishes, amphibia, and reptiles, and he added much to our + knowledge of the true structure of these great groups. + Next, he turned to the extinct reptiles of the Mesozoic + age. It was generally believed that the Pterodactyls, or + flying reptiles, were the nearest allies of birds, but + Huxley insisted that the resemblances between the wings + were simply such superficial resemblances as necessarily + exist in organs adapted to the same purpose. About the same + time, Cope in America, and Phillips and Huxley, in England, + from study of the bones of the Dinosaurs, another great + group of extinct reptiles, declared that these were the + nearest in structure to birds. In association with the + upright posture, the ilium or great haunch-bone of birds + extends far forwards in front of the articulation of the + thigh-bone, so that the pelvis in this region has a + T-shape, the ilium forming the cross-bar of the T, and the + femur or thigh-bone the downward limb. Huxley <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p70" id="p70">[70]</a></span> + shewed that a large number of the Dinosaurs had this and + other peculiarities of the bird's pelvis, and separated + these into a group which he called the "Ornithoscelida," + seeing in them the closest representatives of the probable + reptilian ancestors of birds. While further work and the + discovery of a still greater number of extinct reptiles has + made it less probable that these were the actual ancestors + of birds, Huxley's work in this, as in the many other cases + we have shown, proved not only of great value in itself, + but led to a continually increasing series of + investigations by others. It is not always the pioneer that + makes the greatest discoveries in a new country, but the + work of the pioneer makes possible and easier the more + assured discoveries of his followers. + </p> + <p> + A third great piece of palæontological investigation + with which the name of Huxley will always be associated, is + the most familiar of all the instances taken from fossils + in support of the evolution of animals. This famous case is + the pedigree of the horse. In 1870, in an address delivered + to the Geological Society of London, Huxley had shewn that + there was a series of animals leading backwards from the + modern horse to a more generalised creature called + Anchitherium, and found in the rocks of the Miocene period. + He suggested that there were, no doubt, similar fossils + leading still further backwards towards the common + mammalian type of animal, with five fingers and five toes, + and went the length of suggesting one or two fossils which + might stand in the direct line of ancestry. But in 1876 he + visited America, and had the opportunity of consulting the + marvellous series of fossils which Professor Marsh had + collected from American Tertiary beds. Professor Marsh + allowed him the freest use of his materials and <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p71" id="p71">[71]</a></span> of + his conclusions, and the credit of the final result is to + be shared at least equally between Marsh and Huxley. The + final result was a demonstrative proof of the possible + course of evolution of the horse, given in a lecture + delivered by Huxley in New York on Sept. 22, 1876, and + illustrated by drawings from specimens in Marsh's + collection. The matter of the lecture has become so + important a part of all descriptive writing on evolution, + and the treatment is so characteristic of Huxley's + brilliant exposition, that it is worth while to make some + rather long quotations from it. The lecture was published + in the New York papers, and afterwards with other matter + formed a volume of <i>American Addresses</i>, published by + Macmillan, in London. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "In most quadrupeds, as in ourselves, the forearm + contains distinct bones called the radius and the ulna. + The corresponding region in the horse seems at first to + possess but one bone. Careful observation, however, + enables us to distinguish in this bone a part which + clearly answers to the upper end of the ulna. This is + closely united with the chief mass of the bone which + represents the radius, and runs out into a slender shaft + which may be traced for some distance downwards on the + back of the radius, and then in most cases thins out and + vanishes. It takes still more trouble to make sure of + what is nevertheless the fact, that a small part of the + lower end of the bone of the horse's forearm, which is + only distinct in a very young foal, is really the lower + extremity of the ulna. + </p> + <p> + "What is commonly called the knee of a horse is its + wrist. The 'cannon bone' answers to the middle bone of + the five metacarpal bones which support the palm of the + hand in ourselves. The 'pastern,' 'coronary,' and + 'coffin' bones of veterinarians answer to the joints of + our middle fingers, while the hoof is simply a greatly + enlarged and thickened nail. But, if what lies below the + horse's 'knee' thus corresponds to the middle finger in + ourselves, what has become of the four other fingers or + digits? We find in the places of the second and fourth + digits only two slender splint-like bones, about <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p72" id="p72">[72]</a></span> + two-thirds as long as the cannon bone, which gradually + taper to their lower ends and bear no finger joints, or, + as they are termed, phalanges. Sometimes small bony or + gristly nodules are to be found at the bases of these two + metacarpal splints, and it is probable that these + represent rudiments of the first and fifth digits. Thus + the part of the horse's skeleton which corresponds with + that of the human hand contains one overgrown middle + digit, and at least two imperfect lateral digits; and + these answer, respectively, to the third, the second, and + the fourth digits in man. + </p> + <p> + "Corresponding modifications are found in the hind limb. + In ourselves, and in most quadrupeds, the leg contains + two distinct bones, a large bone, the tibia, and a + smaller and more slender bone, the fibula. But, in the + horse, the fibula seems, at first, to be reduced to its + upper end; a short slender bone united with the tibia and + ending in a point below occupying its place. Examination + of the lower end of a young foal's shin-bone, however, + shews a distinct portion of osseous matter, which is the + lower end of the fibula; so that the apparently single + lower end of the shin-bone is really made up of the + coalesced ends of the tibia and fibula, just as the + apparently single lower end of the fore-arm bone is + composed of the coalesced radius and ulna. + </p> + <p> + "The heel of the horse is the part commonly known as the + hock; the hinder cannon bone answers to the middle + metatarsal bone of the human foot, the pastern, coronary, + and coffin bones, to the middle-toe bones; the hind hoof + to the nail, as in the fore foot. And, as in the fore + foot, there are merely two splints to represent the + second and fourth toes. Sometimes a rudiment of a fifth + toe appears to be traceable." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Having in the same fashion described the highly complicated + and peculiar structure of the teeth of modern horses, + Huxley proceeded: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "To anyone who is acquainted with the morphology of + vertebrated animals, these characteristic structures of + the horse show that it deviates widely from the general + structure of mammals; and that the horse type is, in many + respects, an extreme modification of the general + mammalian plan. The <span class="pagenum"><a name="p73" + id="p73">[73]</a></span> least modified mammals, in fact, + have the radius and ulna, the tibia and fibula, distinct + and separate. They have five distinct and complete digits + on each foot, and no one of these digits is very much + larger than the rest. Moreover, in the least modified + mammals, the total number of the teeth is very generally + forty-four, while in the horse the usual number is forty, + and, in the absence of the canines, it may be reduced to + thirty-six; the incisor teeth are devoid of the fold seen + in those of the horse; the grinders regularly diminish in + size from the middle of the series to its front end; + while their crowns are short, early attain their full + length, and exhibit simple ridges or tubercles, in place + of the complex foldings of the horse's grinders. + </p> + <p> + "Hence the general principles of the hypothesis of + evolution lead to the conclusion that the horse must have + been derived from some quadruped which possessed five + complete digits on each foot; which had the bones of the + forearm and of the leg complete and separate; and which + possessed forty-four teeth, among which the crown of the + incisors and grinders had a simple structure; while the + latter gradually increased in size from before backwards, + at any rate in the anterior part of the series, and had + short crowns. + </p> + <p> + "And if the horse had been thus evolved, and the remains + of the different stages of its evolution have been + preserved, they ought to present us with a series of + forms in which the number of the digits becomes reduced; + the bones of the forearm and leg gradually take on the + equine condition; and the form and arrangement of the + teeth successively approximate to those which obtain in + existing horses. + </p> + <p> + "Let us turn to the facts and see how far they fulfill + these requirements of the doctrine of evolution. + </p> + <p> + "In Europe abundant remains of horses are found in the + Quaternary and later Tertiary strata as far as the + Pliocene formation. But these horses, which are so common + in the cave-deposits and in the gravel of Europe, are in + all essential respects like existing horses, and that is + true of all the horses of the later part of the Pliocene + epoch. But, in the deposits which belong to the earlier + Pliocene, and later Miocene epochs, and which occur in + Britain, in France, in Germany, in Greece, in India, we + find animals which are extremely like <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p74" id="p74">[74]</a></span> + horses—which in fact are so similar to horses, that + you may follow descriptions given in works upon the + anatomy of the horse, upon the skeletons of these + animals—but which differ in some important + particulars. For example, the structure of their fore and + hind limbs is somewhat different. The bones, which, in + the horse are represented by two long splints, imperfect + below, are as long as the middle metacarpal and + metatarsal bones; and, attached to the extremity of each, + is a digit with three joints of the same general + character as those of the middle digit, only very much + smaller. These small digits are so disposed that they + could have had but very little functional importance, and + they must have been rather of the nature of the + dew-claws, such as are to be found in many ruminant + animals. The <i>Hipparion</i>, as the extinct European + three-toed horse is called, in fact presents a foot + similar to that of the American <i>Protohippus</i> except + that in <i>Hipparion</i> the smaller digits are situated + further back, and are of smaller proportional size than + in the <i>Protohippus</i>. + </p> + <p> + "The ulna is slightly more distinct than in the horse; + and the whole length of it, as a very slender shaft, + intimately united with the radius, is completely + traceable. The fibula appears to be in the same condition + as in the horse. The teeth of the <i>Hipparion</i> are + essentially similar to those of the horse, but the + pattern of the grinders is in some respects a little more + complex, and there is a depression on the face of the + skull in front of the orbit, which is not seen in + existing horses. + </p> + <p> + "In the earlier Miocene and perhaps in the Eocene + deposits of some parts of Europe, another distinct animal + has been discovered, which Cuvier, who first described + some fragments of it, considered to be a + <i>Palæotherium</i>, but as further discoveries + threw new light on its structure, it was recognised as a + distinct genus, under the name of <i>Anchitherium</i>. + </p> + <p> + "In its general characters the skeleton of + <i>Anchitherium</i> is very similar to that of the horse, + in fact Lartet and De Blainville called it + <i>Palæotherium equinum</i> or <i>Hippoides</i>; + and De Cristol, in 1847, said that it differed from + <i>Hipparion</i> in little more than the characters of + the teeth, and gave it the name of <i>Hipparitherium</i>. + Each foot possesses three complete toes: while the + lateral toes are much larger in proportion to the middle + toe than in <i>Hipparion</i>, and doubtless rested on the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p75" + id="p75">[75]</a></span> ground in ordinary locomotion. + The ulna is complete and quite distinct from the radius, + although firmly united with the latter. The fibula seems + also to have been complete; its lower end, though + intimately united with that of the tibia, is clearly + united with that of the latter bone. There are forty-four + teeth; the incisors have no strong pit. The canines seem + to have been well developed in both sexes. The first of + the seven grinders, which, as I have said, is frequently + absent, and, when it does exist, is small in the horse, + is a good-sized and permanent tooth, while the grinder + which follows it is but little larger than the hinder + ones. The crowns of the grinders are short, and, although + the fundamental pattern of the horse-tooth is + discernible, the front and back ridges are less curved, + the accessory pillars are wanting, and the valleys, much + shallower, are not filled up with cement." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Then, after describing his early efforts to trace the + descent of the horse from European fossils, Huxley goes on + to relate the new light thrown on the matter from the + American discoveries of Professor Marsh: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "You are all aware that, when your country was first + discovered by Europeans, there were no traces of the + existence of the horse in any part of the American + continent. The accounts of the conquest of Mexico dwell + on the astonishment of the natives of that country when + they first became acquainted with that astounding + phenomenon, a man seated upon a horse. Nevertheless, the + investigations of American geologists have proved that + the remains of horses occur in the most superficial + deposits of both North and South America, just as they do + in Europe. Therefore, for some reason or other,—no + feasible suggestion on that subject, so far as I know, + has been made,—the horse must have died out on this + continent at some period preceding the discovery of + America. Of late years there has been discovered in your + Western territories that marvellous accumulation of + deposits, admirably adapted for the preservation of + organic remains, to which I referred the other evening, + and which furnishes us with a consecutive series of + records of the fauna of the older half of the Tertiary + epoch, for which we <span class="pagenum"><a name="p76" + id="p76">[76]</a></span> have no parallel in Europe. The + researches of Leidy and others have shewn that forms + allied to the <i>Hipparion</i> and the + <i>Anchitherium</i> are to be found among these remains. + Rut it is only recently that the admirably conceived and + most thoroughly and patiently worked-out investigations + of Professor Marsh have given us a just idea of the vast + fossil wealth and of the scientific importance of these + deposits. I have had the advantage of glancing over the + collections in Yale Museum; and I can truly say that, so + far as my knowledge extends, there is no collection from + any one region and series of strata comparable, for + extent, or for care with which the remains have been got + together, or for their scientific importance, to the + series of fossils which he has deposited there. This vast + collection has yielded evidence bearing on the question + of the pedigree of the horse of the most striking + character. It tends to show that we must look to America + rather than to Europe for the original seat of the equine + series; and that the archaic forms and successive + modifications of the horse's ancestry are far better + preserved here than in Europe. + </p> + <p> + "Professor Marsh's kindness has enabled me to put before + you a diagram, every figure of which is an actual + representation of some specimen which is to be seen at + Yale at this present time. + </p> + <p> + "The succession of forms which he has brought together + carries us from the top to the bottom of the Tertiaries. + Firstly, there is the true horse. Next we have the + American Pliocene form of the horse (<i>Pliohippus</i>): + in the conformation of its limbs it presents some very + slight deviations from the ordinary horse, and the crowns + of the grinding teeth are shorter. Then comes the + <i>Protohippus</i>, which represents the European + <i>Hipparion</i>, having one large digit and two small + ones on each foot, and the general characters of the + forearm and leg to which I have referred. But it is more + valuable than the European <i>Hipparion</i> for the + reason that it is devoid of some of the peculiarities of + that form—peculiarities which tend to show that the + European <i>Hipparion</i> is rather a member of a + collateral branch than a form in the direct line of + succession. Next, in the backward order in time, is the + <i>Miohippus</i>, which corresponds pretty nearly with + the <i>Anchitherium</i> of Europe. It presents three + complete toes—one large median and two smaller + lateral ones: <span class="pagenum"><a name="p77" + id="p77">[77]</a></span> and there is a rudiment of that + digit which answers to the little finger of the human + race. + </p> + <p> + "The European pedigree of the horse stops here; in the + America Tertiaries, on the contrary, the series of + ancestral equine forms is continued into the Eocene + formations. An older Miocene form, called + <i>Mesohippus</i>, has three toes in front, with a large + splint-like rudiment representing the little finger; and + three toes behind. The radius and ulna, the tibia and + fibula, are distinct, and the short crowned molar teeth + are <i>Anchitherioid</i> in pattern. + </p> + <p> + "But the most important discovery of all is the + <i>Orohippus</i> which comes from the Eocene formation, + and is the oldest member of the equine series yet known. + Here we find four complete toes on the front limb, three + toes on the hind limb, a well-developed ulna, a + well-developed fibula, and short-crowned grinders of a + simple pattern. + </p> + <p> + "Thus, thanks to these important researches, it has + become evident that, so far as our present knowledge + extends, the history of the horse type is exactly and + precisely that which could have been predicted from a + knowledge of the principles of evolution; and the + knowledge we now possess justifies us completely in the + anticipation that, when the still lower Eocene deposits, + and those which belong to the Cretaceous period have + yielded up their remains of ancestral equine animals, we + shall find, first, a form with four complete toes and a + rudiment of the innermost or first digit in front, with + probably a rudiment of the fifth digit in the hind foot; + while, in the older forms, the series of digits will be + more and more complete until we come to the five-toed + animals, in which, if the doctrine of evolution is well + founded, the whole series must have taken its origin." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Just as Huxley was successful, when only the ancestry to + Miocene times was known, in predicting the discovery of + older forms in the older Miocene and upper Eocene, so his + prediction of older Eocene forms carrying the chain back to + five-toed creatures proved correct. One of the new links + was indeed discovered before his lecture had passed through + the press, and he was able to add in a footnote some + details of the structure of the <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p78" id="p78">[78]</a></span> four-toed Eohippus from + the lower Eocene beds. Further discoveries have connected + these with the five-toed ancestors of the Tapirs, and there + is the strongest reason to suppose that we now know as + nearly as possible the line of ancestry of the horse back + to the primitive forms common to all the higher mammals. It + would, of course, be beyond possibility of proof that the + exact fossils described were the actual ancestors of the + horse; but that they are exceedingly close allies of these, + and that among them some actual ancestors exist cannot + reasonably be doubted. + </p> + <p> + Although he had embarked upon geological work with some + distaste, Huxley became very closely associated with it as + years went on, and indeed, about the seventies, had + abandoned his intention to devote himself specially to + physiology, and declared himself to be in the first place a + palæontologist. In 1876 he had accomplished so much + that the Geological Society gave him its chief distinction, + awarding him the Wollaston Medal in recognition of his + services to geological science. He acted as Secretary to + the Geological Society from 1859 to 1862, and he was + President from 1868 to 1870. In 1862, the President being + incapacitated, Huxley delivered as Deputy-President the + Presidential Address. This address is famous in the history + of geology, because for the first time it stated clearly + and in permanent form a doctrine now taken as a first + principle in all geological text-books. A large part of + geology is the attempt to read the past history of the + earth from the evidence given by the successive strata of + rocks that form its crust. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "It is mathematically certain that, in any given vertical + linear section of an undisturbed series of sedimentary + deposits, the bed which lies lowest is the oldest. In + many other vertical <span class="pagenum"><a name="p79" + id="p79">[79]</a></span> linear sections of the same + series, of course corresponding beds will occur in a + similar order." + </p> + </div> + <p> + It is of the utmost importance to determine whether or no + the same series occurring vertically in the same order in + different parts of the earth were deposited at the same + time. To explain the problem, Huxley took the following + concrete example: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The Lias of England and the Lias of Germany, the + Cretaceous rocks of Britain and the Cretaceous rocks of + Southern India, are termed by geologists + 'Contemporaneous' formations; but whenever any thoughtful + geologist is asked whether he means to say that they were + deposited at the same time, he says, 'No, only within the + same great epoch.' And if, in pursuing the enquiry, he is + asked what may be the approximate value in time of a + 'great epoch'—whether it means a hundred years, or + a thousand, or a million, or ten million years—his + reply is, 'I cannot tell.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + Most of the standard writers on palæontology had + assumed that the presence in two beds at different parts of + the world of the same fossils implied that the beds were + contemporaneous, that they had been formed at the same + time. Huxley pointed out that the fact of identical fossils + being present was, on the whole, evidence against the beds + having been formed at the same time. Even some of the older + writers who believed in species having been created at + definite places at definite times had seen that time must + have been required for sets of animals to wander from the + places in which they had come into existence. The newer + theory of evolution was equally opposed to the notion of + the appearance of similar animals at the same time on + far-distant parts of the earth. For such reasons he + proposed to reject the use of the word + <i>Contemporaneous</i> as applied to rockbeds in different + localities which contained the <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p80" id="p80">[80]</a></span> same fossils, and to + replace it by the word <i>Homotaxial</i>, which meant no + more than that the beds occupied corresponding places in + the geological history of the earth. Huxley did not pretend + that these arguments were entirely original: they + represented the drift of the best geological opinion, and + he seized hold of them and set them down as permanent + geological truths. + </p> + <p> + In 1869, in a Presidential Address to the Geological + Society, Huxley took up one of the burning questions of the + day. In the early part of the century, the discoveries of + geologists had been the occasion of great distress to those + good people who clung to a literal interpretation of + everything in the Bible. Long before the doctrine of + evolution and the descent of man from lower animals had + taken practical shape, there had been a battle royal + between geologists who declared that the earth was many + million years old, and had been inhabited at least by + animals and plants for enormous periods, and those who + clung to the traditional chronology which placed the date + of creation only a few thousand years from now. The + continued progress of geology, and the sturdy championship + of it by men like Sedgwick, Chalmers, and Buckland, who + were at the same time reputable theologians and + distinguished men of science, had decided the battle in + favour of the conclusions of science, and it was accepted + generally that the earth was almost indefinitely old. At + the same time, another and more strictly scientific dispute + had been in progress. The older school of geologists, + looking on the face of the world, and seeing it scarred by + mighty fissures, displaying huge distortions of the beds in + the crust, had argued that geological change had taken + place by a series of mighty catastrophes. The tremendous + results which they saw seemed to them <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p81" id="p81">[81]</a></span> only + possible on the theory that unusual and gigantic displays + of force had caused them. On the other hand, Hutton and + Lyell attempted to find adequate explanation of the + greatest changes in the slow forces which may be seen in + operation at the present time. Slow movements of upheaval + and depression, amounting at most to an inch or two in a + century, may be shown to be actually in existence now, and + such slow changes acting for very many centuries would + account for the raising of continents above the sea, so + that old sea-bottoms became the surface of the land, and + for the depression of land areas so that new sedimentary + rocks might be deposited upon them. They shewed how air and + water slowly crumbled away the hardest rocks, and how + rivers deepened their beds steadily but excessively slowly; + and they held that while great catastrophic changes might + occasionally have occurred, there was ample evidence of the + present operation of forces which, granted sufficient time + for their operation, would have made the crust of the earth + such as it is. This doctrine of <i>Uniformitarianism</i>, + of the action of similar forces in the past and present + history of the earth, had almost completely triumphed over + the older catastrophic views. As Huxley put it, the school + of catastrophe put no limit to the violence of forces which + had operated; the uniformitarians put no limit to the + length of time during which forces had operated. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Catastrophism has insisted upon the existence of a + practically unlimited bank of force, on which the + theorist might draw; and it has cherished the idea of + development of the earth from a state in which its form, + and the forces which it exerted, were very different from + those which we now know. + </p> + <p> + "Uniformitarianism, on the other hand, has with equal + justice insisted upon a practically unlimited bank of + time, ready to <span class="pagenum"><a name="p82" + id="p82">[82]</a></span> discount any quantity of + hypothetical paper. It has kept before our eyes the power + of the infinitely little, time being granted, and has + compelled us to exhaust known causes before flying to the + unknown." + </p> + </div> + <p> + But there was a third influence at work in geology, an + influence which may best be described in Huxley's own + words: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I shall not make what I have to say on this head clear + unless I diverge, or seem to diverge, for a while, from + the direct path of my discourse so far as to explain what + I take to be the scope of geology itself. I conceive + geology to be the history of the earth, in precisely the + same sense as biology is the history of living beings; + and I trust you will not think that I am overpowered by + the influence of a dominant pursuit if I say that I trace + a close analogy between these two histories. + </p> + <p> + "If I study a living being, under what heads does the + knowledge I obtain fall? I can learn its structure, or + what we call its Anatomy; and its development, or the + series of changes it passes through to acquire its + complete structure. Then I find that the living being has + certain powers resulting from its own activities, and the + interaction of these with the activities of other + things—the knowledge of which is Physiology. Beyond + this, the living being has a position in space and time, + which is its Distribution. All these form the body of + ascertainable facts which constitute the <i>status + quo</i> of the living creature. But these facts have + their causes; and the ascertainment of these causes is + the doctrine of Ætiology. + </p> + <p> + "If we consider what is knowable about the earth, we + shall find that such earth-knowledge—if I may so + translate the word geology—falls into the same + categories. + </p> + <p> + "What is termed stratigraphical geology is neither more + nor less than the anatomy of the earth; and the history + of the succession of the formations is a history of the + succession of such anatomies, or corresponds with + development, as distinct from generation. + </p> + <p> + "The internal heat of the earth, the elevation and + depression of its crust, its belching forth of vapours, + ashes, and lava, are <span class="pagenum"><a name="p83" + id="p83">[83]</a></span> its activities, in as strict a + sense as are warmth and the movements and products of + respiration the activities of an animal. The phenomena of + the seasons, of the trade-winds, of the Gulf Stream, are + as much the results of the reaction between these inner + activities and outward forces, as are the budding of the + leaves in spring, and their falling in autumn the effects + of the interaction between the organisation of a plant + and the solar light and heat. And, as the study of the + activities of the living being is called its physiology, + so are these phenomena the subject matter of an analogous + telluric physiology, to which we sometimes give the name + of meteorology; sometimes of physical geography, + sometimes that of geology. Again, the earth has a place + in space and time, and relations to other bodies in both + these respects, which constitute its distribution. This + subject is usually left to the astronomer; but a + knowledge of its broad outlines seems to me to be an + essential constituent of the stock of geological ideas. + </p> + <p> + "All that can be ascertained concerning the structure, + succession of conditions, actions, and position in space + of the earth, is the matter of its natural history. But, + as in Biology, there remains the matter of reasoning from + these facts to their causes, which is just as much + science as the other, and indeed more; and this + constitutes geological ætiology. + </p> + <p> + "Having regard to this general scheme of geological + knowledge and thought, it is obvious that geological + speculation may be, so to speak, anatomical and + developmental speculation, so far as it relates to points + of stratigraphical arrangement which are out of reach of + direct observation; or, it may be physiological + speculation so far as it relates to undetermined problems + relative to the activities of the earth; or, it may be + distributional speculation, if it deals with + modifications of the earth's place in space; or, finally, + it will be ætiological speculation if it attempts + to deduce the history of the world, as a whole, from the + known properties of the matter of the earth, in the + conditions in which the earth has been placed." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Huxley then proceeded to shew that uniformitarianism and + catastrophism had neglected this last and most important + branch of geology, the attempt to trace the <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p84" id="p84">[84]</a></span> + interaction of causes which had brought the world into its + present condition. He gave a striking display of the wide + knowledge of his reading by going back to the foundation of + this branch of modern science, and giving a masterly + account of the then little-known treatise of Immanuel Kant, + who in 1775 had written <i>An Attempt to Account for the + Constitutional and Mechanical Origin of the Universe upon + Newtonian Principles</i>. Next he declared that evolution + embraced all that was sound in both catastrophism and + uniformitarianism while rejecting the arbitrary limits and + assumptions of both. + </p> + <p> + Finally he came to the great question to which these + observations upon the existing schools of geology had led. + The most distinguished physicist of the age, then Sir + William Thomson, now Lord Kelvin, and Huxley's immediate + successor in the Presidential Chair of the Royal Society, + had stated that the English school of geology had assumed + an impossible age for the earth. By physical reasonings, + Thomson stated that he was able to prove "That the existing + state of things on the earth—all geological history + showing continuity of life—must be limited within + some such period of time as one hundred million years." + This pronouncement had been received with acclamation by + those who feared the geological and biological sciences, as + a sign of internal dissensions within the house of science. + Huxley, then, as all through the latter part of his life, + at once constituted himself the champion of science, and, + taking Thomson's arguments one by one, shewed by a series + of masterly deductions from known facts that there was a + great deal to be said for the other side, and that + physicists were as little certain as geologists could be of + the exact duration of time that had elapsed since the dawn + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p85" + id="p85">[85]</a></span> of life. His plea for more time + since the cooling of the globe than physicists were willing + to allow remains one of the classics of geological + literature. But he carried the question much farther. The + inference which was widely drawn by the enemies of + evolution from the arguments of Sir William Thomson was + that if geologists had overestimated the age of the cooled + earth there was not time for the evolution of animals and + plants to have taken place. Huxley pointed out a fact which + should be quite obvious, but which even yet is frequently + neglected. The evidence for the gradual appearance of life + in the past history of the earth depends simply on the fact + that the successive forms of life appear in successive + strata, and the length of time taken for these changes + simply depends upon the length of time which was taken up + by the formation of the strata. Our only reason for + supposing the evolution of life, made plain by fossil + records, to have taken place very slowly is that geologists + have stated that the deposition of the strata took place + very slowly. Whether these strata were deposited slowly or + less slowly, we know that the forms of life changed at the + same rate. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Biology takes her time from geology. The only reason we + have for believing in the slow rate of change in living + forms is the fact that they persist through a series of + deposits which, geology informs us, have taken a long + while to make. If the geological clock is wrong, all the + naturalist will have to do is to modify his notion of the + rapidity of change accordingly; and I venture to point + out that, when we are told that the limitation of the + period during which living beings have inhabited this + planet to one, two, or three hundred million years + requires a complete revolution in geological speculation, + the <i>onus probandi</i> rests on the maker of the + assertion, who brings forward not a shadow of evidence in + its support." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Perhaps, although this is now an old controversy, it is + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p86" + id="p86">[86]</a></span> worth while to recall that the + keenness of Huxley's language was not directed against Sir + William Thomson, between whom and Huxley there was no more + than the desire to argue out an interesting scientific + question upon which their conclusions differed, but between + Huxley and those outsiders who were always ready to turn + any dubious question in science into an argument + discrediting the general conclusions of science. + </p> + <p> + The last time that Huxley occupied the Presidential Chair + of the Geological Society was in 1870, and he occupied his + Presidential address by a review of the "old judgments" + which he had given in the course of his first address in + 1862. The address was entitled "Palæontology and + Evolution," and the most important part of it was a + complete withdrawal of the fears he had expressed that + geology would not supply definite evidence of the + transformation of species. Important discoveries had come + thick and fast; and, at least in the case of the higher + vertebrates, he declared that, however one might "sift and + criticise them," they left a clear balance in favour of the + doctrine of the evolution of living forms one from another. + But, with his usual critical spirit, examining arguments + that bore against a conclusion for which he hoped almost + more stringently than arguments apparently favourable to + what he expected to be true, Huxley made an important + distinction, the value of which becomes more and more + apparent as time goes on. In the first flush of enthusiasm + for Darwinism, zoölogists and palæontologists + allowed their zeal to outrun discretion in the formation of + family trees. They examined large series of living or + extinct creatures, and so soon as they found gradations of + structure present, they arranged their <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p87" id="p87">[87]</a></span> + specimens in a linear series, from the simplest to the most + complex, and declared that the arrangement was a + representation of the family tree. The fact that the line + of descent apparently could have followed along the + direction they suggested they were inclined to take as + evidence that it had so followed. Huxley made the most + careful distinction between what he called intermediate + types and types with a right to be placed in linear order, + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Every fossil which takes an intermediate place between + forms of life already known may be said, so far as it is + intermediate, to be evidence in favour of evolution, + inasmuch as it shews a possible road by which evolution + may have taken place. But the mere discovery of such a + form does not, in itself, prove that evolution took place + by and through it, nor does it constitute more than a + presumptive evidence in favour of evolution in general. + The fact that <i>Anoplotheridæ</i> are intermediate + between pigs and ruminants does not tell us whether the + ruminants have come from the pigs or the pigs from the + ruminants, or both from <i>Anoplotheridæ</i>, or + whether pigs, ruminants, and <i>Anoplotheridæ</i>; + alike may not have diverged from some common stock. + </p> + </div> + <p> + A familiar instance will make the point at issue plain. + Everyone knows that in many respects, in the structure of + the skeleton, and the curve of the backbone, and in the + development of the brain, the man-like monkeys, the gorilla + and its allies, are intermediate between man and the lower + monkeys. In the early days of evolution it was assumed + frequently that the gorilla, etc., were therefore to be + regarded as ancestors of man, and they appear as such in + more than one well-known treatise on evolutionary biology. + We now know that it is exceedingly probable that the + gorilla and its allies, although truly intermediate types, + and truly shewing a possible path of evolution from the + brute to man, <span class="pagenum"><a name="p88" + id="p88">[88]</a></span> are not the actual ancestors of + man, but cousins, descendants like man from some more or + less remote common ancestor. And the tendency of recent + advances in knowledge is more and more to throw stress on + the value of Huxley's distinction, and to minimise + confusion between "intermediate" and truly ancestral types. + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 357px;"> + <img src="images/ill-088.png" alt="ill-088.png" title="" + height="180" width="357" /> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p89" id="p89">[89]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-089.png" alt="ill-089.png" title="" + height="81" width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a> + </h2> + <h3> + HUXLEY AND DARWIN + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Early Ideas on Evolution—Erasmus + Darwin—Lamarck—Herbert + Spencer—Difference between Evolution and Natural + Selection—Huxley's Preparation for + Evolution—The Novelty of Natural + Selection—The Advantage of Natural Selection as a + Working Hypothesis—Huxley's Unchanged Position with + regard to Evolution and Natural Selection from 1860 to + 1894. + </p> + </div> + <p> + From our attempt to place together as much as possible of + Huxley's geological work in the last chapter, it followed + that we anticipated much that falls properly within this + chapter. The year 1859, the date of publication of <i>The + Origin of Species</i>, is a momentous date in the history + of this century, as it was the year in which there was + given to the world a theory that not only revolutionised + scientific opinion, but altered the trend of almost every + branch of thought. To understand this great change, and the + part played in it by Huxley, it is necessary to be quite + clear as to what Darwin did. In the first place, he did not + invent evolution. The idea that all the varied structures + in the world, the divergent forms of rocks and minerals and + crystals, the innumerable trees and herbs that cover the + face of the earth like a mantle, and all the animal <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p90" id="p90">[90]</a></span> host + of creatures great and small that dwell on the land or dart + through the air or people the waters,—that all these + had arisen by natural laws from a primitive unformed + material was known to the Greeks, was developed by the + Romans, and even received the approval of early Christian + Fathers, who wrote long before the idea had been invented + that the naive legends of the Old Testament were an + authoritative and literal account of the origin of the + world. After a long interval, in which scientific thought + was stifled by theological dogmatism, the theory of + evolution, particularly in its application to animals, + began to reappear, long before Darwin published <i>The + Origin of Species</i>. Buffon, the great French naturalist, + and Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of Charles, had + expressed in the clearest way the possibility that species + had not been created independently, but had arisen from + other species. Lamarck had worked out a theory of descent + in the fullest detail, and regarded it as the foundation of + the whole science of biology. He taught that the beginning + of life consisted only of the simplest and lowest plants + and animals; that the more complex animals and plants arose + from these, and that even man himself had come from + ape-like mammals. He held that the course of development of + the earth and of all the creatures upon it was a slow and + continuous change, uninterrupted by violent revolutions. He + summed up the causes of organic evolution in the following + propositions<a name="FNanchor_D_4" id="FNanchor_D_4"></a><a + href="#Footnote_D_4" class="fnanchor">[D]</a>: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "1. Life tends by its inherent forces to increase the + volume of each living body and of all its parts up to a + limit determined by its own needs. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p91" + id="p91">[91]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "2. New wants in animals give rise to new movements which + produce organs. + </p> + <p> + "3. The development of these organs is in proportion to + their employment. + </p> + <p> + "4. New developments are transmitted to offspring." + </p> + </div> + <p> + He supported especially the last two propositions by a + series of examples as to the effects of use and disuse; and + the most famous of these, the theory that giraffes had + produced their long necks by continually stretching up + towards the trees on which they fed, is well known to + everyone. However, the ingenious speculations of Lamarck + were unsupported by a sufficient range of actual knowledge + of anatomy, and lacked experimental proof. He entirely + failed to convince his contemporaries; and Darwin himself, + in a letter to Lyell, declared that he had gained nothing + from two readings of Lamarck's book. There can be little + doubt but that several Continental writers, in particular + Haeckel, have exaggerated Lamarck's services to the + development of the idea of evolution. On the other hand, + Lyell, although he strongly opposed the ideas of Lamarck + and some curious notions of progressional creation due to + the great Agassiz, had prepared the way for Darwin by his + advocacy of natural causes and slow changes in opposition + to the catastrophic and miraculous views in vogue. Above + all, Herbert Spencer had argued most strenuously in favour + of evolution. Thus, in an important passage quoted by Mr. + Clodd from the <i>Leader</i> of March 20, 1852, Spencer had + written as follows: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Those who cavalierly reject the theory of evolution, as + not adequately supported by facts, seem quite to forget + that their own theory is not supported by facts at all. + Like the majority of men who are born to a given belief, + they demand the most rigorous proof of any adverse + belief, but assume that their own <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p92" id="p92">[92]</a></span> + needs none. Here we find, scattered over the globe, + vegetable and animal organisms numbering, of the one kind + (according to Humboldt) some 320,000 species, and of the + other, some 2,000,000 species (see Carpenter); and if to + these we add the numbers of animal and vegetable species + that have become extinct, we may safely estimate the + number of species that have existed, and are existing, on + the earth, at no less than ten millions. Well, which is + the most rational theory about these ten millions of + species? Is it most likely that there have been ten + millions of special creations; or is it most likely that + by continual modifications, due to change of + circumstances, ten millions of varieties have been + produced, as varieties are being produced still?... Even + could the supporters of the development hypothesis merely + shew that the origination of species by the process of + modification is conceivable, they would be in a better + position than their opponents. But they can do much more + than this. They can shew that the process of modification + has effected, and is effecting, decided changes in all + organisms subject to modifying influences.... They can + shew that in successive generations these changes + continue, until ultimately the new conditions become the + natural ones. They can shew that in cultivated plants, + domesticated animals, and in the several races of men, + such alterations have taken place. They can show that the + degrees of difference so produced are often, as in dogs, + greater than those on which distinctions of species have + been founded. They can shew, too, that the changes daily + taking place in ourselves—the facility that attends + long practice, and the loss of aptitude that begins when + practice ceases,—the strengthening of the passions + habitually gratified, and the weakening of those + habitually curbed,—the development of every + faculty, bodily, moral, intellectual, according to the + use made of it—are all explicable on this + principle. And thus they can shew that throughout all + organic nature there is at work a modifying influence of + the kind they assign as the cause of these specific + differences; an influence which, though slow in its + action, does, in time, if the circumstances demand it, + produce marked changes—an influence which, to all + appearance, would produce in the millions of years, and + under the great varieties of condition which geological + records imply, any amount of change." + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p93" + id="p93">[93]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + These and many other instances which might be brought + together from the published writings of the half-century + before the publication of the <i>Origin</i>, show + conclusively that the idea of evolution was far from new, + and that all through the first part of this century + dissatisfaction with the doctrine of the fixity of species + and of their miraculous creation was growing. The great + contribution of Darwin was this: First, by his theory of + natural selection, he brought together the known facts of + variation, of struggle for existence, and of adaptation to + varying conditions, in such a way that they provided men + with a rational and known cause, a cause the operation of + which could be seen, for the origin of species by means of + preservation of favoured races. Next, as to the origin of + species, he brought together not only proofs of the actual + operation of natural selection, but a body of evidence in + favour of the fact of evolution that was, beyond all + comparison, more striking than had been adduced by any + earlier philosophical or biological writer. He convinced + naturalists that evolution was by far the most probable way + in which the living world had come to be what it is, and he + made them turn to examination of the animal and vegetable + kingdoms with a lively hope that the past history of the + living world was not an insoluble problem. Darwin's + doctrine brought a new life into biological study, and the + result of the incomparably greater bulk of investigation + that followed the year 1859 was a continual increase of + evidence in favour of the probability of evolution, until + now the whole scientific world, and the majority of those + who are unscientific, are content to accept evolution as + the only reasonable explanation of the living world. It is + well to remember that while Darwin, by bringing forward the + theory of struggle for <span class="pagenum"><a name="p94" + id="p94">[94]</a></span> existence and resulting survival + of the fittest, was the actual cause of the present assured + position of evolution as a first principle of science, it + by no means follows that the survival of the fittest has + become similarly a first principle of science. At cross + roads a traveller may choose the right path from a quite + unsatisfactory reason. Darwin himself, in the act of + bringing forward his own theory of natural selection, + admitted the possibility of the co-operation of many other + agencies in evolution, and at various times during the + course of his life he was inclined to attach, now more now + less, importance to these additional agencies. Huxley, as + we shall soon come to see, never wavered in his adhesion to + the facts of evolution after 1859; but, from first to last, + regarded natural selection as only the most probable cause + of the occurrence of evolution. Other naturalists, of whom + the best-known are Weismann in Germany, Ray Lankester in + England, and W.K. Brooks in America, have come to attach a + continually increasing importance to the purely Darwinian + factor of natural selection; while others again, such as + Herbert Spencer in England, and the late Professor Cope and + a large American school, have advocated more and more + strongly the importance of what may be called the + Lamarckian factors of evolution,—the inherited + effects of increased or diminished use of organs, the + direct influence of the environment, and so forth. From the + fact that Darwin has persuaded the world of the truth of + evolution, evolution is often called Darwinism; and in this + historically just though scientifically inaccurate sense of + the term, Huxley was a strict Darwinian, a Darwinian of the + Darwinians. From the facts that, although natural selection + had been formulated by several writers before Darwin, and + had been simultaneously <span class="pagenum"><a name="p95" + id="p95">[95]</a></span> elaborated by Wallace and Darwin, + the <i>Origin of Species</i> was the foundation of the + modern acceptation of evolution, and natural selection was + the key-note of the origin of species, natural selection + may be called Darwinism with both historical and scientific + accuracy; and in this sense of the term Huxley was a + Darwinian; a convinced but free-thinking and broad-minded + Darwinian, who was far from persuaded that his tenet had a + monopoly of truth, and who delighted in shewing the + distinctions between what seemed to him probable and what + was proved, and in absorbing from other doctrines whatever + he thought worthy to be absorbed. The present writer has + thought it so important to distinguish between these two + sides of the word <i>Darwinism</i>, that for the sake of + clearness he has stated what he believes to be the truth of + Huxley's relation to Darwin before beginning detailed + exposition of it. + </p> + <p> + In consideration of Huxley's position before 1859, the most + interesting feature of his zoölogical work is the + gradual preparation that it was making in his mind for the + doctrine of the <i>Origin</i>. He was like an engineer + boring a tunnel through a mountain, but ignorant of how + near he was to the pleasant valley on the other side; and, + above all, ignorant how rapidly he was being met by a much + more mighty excavation from the other side. To use what is + perhaps a more exact simile: he was like a child with half + the pieces of a puzzle-map, slowly linking them together as + far as they would fit, and quite ignorant that presently + the remaining half would suddenly be given him, and with + almost no trouble would at once fit into the gaps he had + necessarily left, and transform a meaningless pattern into + a perfect and intelligible whole. Let us consider some + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p96" + id="p96">[96]</a></span> of these map pieces. The ultimate + picture was the conception of the whole world of life, past + and present, as a single family tree growing up from the + simplest possible roots, and gradually spreading out first + into the two main branches of animals and plants, and then + into the endless series of complicated ramifications that + make up living and extinct animals and plants. Huxley was + piecing together the scattered fragments, and gradually + learning to see here and there whole branches, as yet + separate at their lower ends, but in themselves shapely, + and showing a general resemblance to one another in the + gradual progression from simple to complex. The greatest of + these branches that he had pieced together was the group of + Medusæ and their allies, now known as + Cœlenterates. He had formed similar branches for the + Molluscs and minor branches for the Salps and Ascidians, + and, in his general lectures on the whole animal kingdom, + he had shadowed out the broad arrangement of the main + divisions, or, as he called them, <i>types</i>. He had seen + in each particular branch the clearest evidence of the laws + of growth which had directed its development, and had + realised that these laws of growth, consisting of gradual + modifications of common typical structures, were identical + in the different branches. He had taken clear hold of Von + Baer's conception that the younger stages of different + types were more alike than the adult stages, and here and + there he had made comparisons between the younger stages or + simplest forms of his different branches, and had shown + that, without completely realising it, he was ready for the + idea that just as the separate pieces could be arranged to + form orderly branches, so the separate branches might come + to be arranged as a single tree. And finally, in his + lectures <span class="pagenum"><a name="p97" + id="p97">[97]</a></span> on "Protoplasm and Cells," and on + the "Common Structure of the Animal and Plant Kingdoms," he + had reached the conclusion that the two main divisions of + the living world were formed of the same stuff, displayed + in identical fashion the elementary functions of life, and + were creatures of the same order. But, notwithstanding this + close approach to modern conceptions, he was not an + evolutionist. When, in public, he expressed deliberate + convictions, these convictions were against the general + idea of evolution, until very shortly before 1859. In this + opposition he was supported partly by the critical + scepticism of his mind, which in all things made him + singularly unwilling to accept any theories of any kind, + but chiefly from the fact that the books of the two chief + supporters of evolutionary conceptions impressed him very + unfavourably. Huxley writes: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I had studied Lamarck attentively, and I had read the + <i>Vestiges</i> with due care; but neither of them + afforded me any good ground for changing my negative and + critical attitude. As for the <i>Vestiges</i>, I confess + that the book simply irritated me by the prodigious + ignorance and thoroughly unscientific habit of mind + manifested by the writer. If it had any influence on me + at all, it set me against evolution; and the only review + I ever have qualms of conscience about, on the ground of + needless savagery is one I wrote on the <i>Vestiges</i> + while under that influence. With respect to the + <i>Philosophie Zoologique</i>, it is no reproach to + Lamarck to say that the discussion of the species + question in that work, whatever might be said for it in + 1809, was miserably below the level of the knowledge of + half a century later. In that interval of time, the + elucidation of the structure of the lower animals and + plants had given rise to wholly new conceptions of their + relations; histology and embryology, in the modern sense, + had been created; physiology had been reconstituted; the + facts of distribution, geological and geographical, had + been prodigiously multiplied and reduced to order. To any + biologist whose studies had carried <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p98" id="p98">[98]</a></span> + him beyond mere species-mongering, in 1850 one-half of + Lamarck's arguments were obsolete, and the other half + erroneous or defective, in virtue of omitting to deal + with the various classes of evidence which had been + brought to light since his time. Moreover his one + suggestion as to the cause of the gradual modification of + species—effort excited by change of + conditions—was, on the face of it, inapplicable to + the whole vegetable world. I do not think that any + impartial judge who reads the <i>Philosophie + Zoologique</i> now, and who afterwards takes up Lyell's + trenchant and effective criticism (published as far back + as 1830) will be disposed to allot to Lamarck a much + higher place in the establishment of biological evolution + than that which Bacon assigns to himself in relation to + physical science generally—<i>buccinator + tantum</i>". + </p> + </div> + <p> + On the other hand, Huxley's friendship with Darwin and with + Lyell began to make him less certain about the fixity of + species. He tells us that during his first interview with + Darwin, which occurred soon after his return from the + <i>Rattlesnake</i>, he + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "expressed his belief in the sharpness of the lines of + demarcation between natural groups and in the absence of + transitional forms, with all the confidence of youth and + imperfect knowledge. I was not aware at that time that he + had been many years brooding over the species question; + and the humorous smile which accompanied his gentle + answer, that such was not altogether his view, long + haunted and puzzled me." + </p> + </div> + <p> + An elaborate study of Lyell's works helped largely in + destroying this youthful confidence, and a letter written + by Lyell and quoted by Huxley in the chapter he + communicated to Darwin's <i>Life and Letters</i>, states + that in April, 1856, "when Huxley, Hooker, and Wollaston + were at Darwin's last week they (all four of them) ran a + tilt against species; further I believe, than they are + prepared to go." Another quotation from Huxley's essay on + <i>The Reception of the Origin of Species</i> will make + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p99" + id="p99">[99]</a></span> it plain beyond all doubt that he + was not a Darwinian before Darwin. + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 343px;"> + <img src="images/ill-hooker.jpg" + alt="SIR JOSEPH DALTON HOOKER" title="" height="427" + width="343" /> <span class="caption">SIR JOSEPH DALTON + HOOKER</span> + </div> + </div> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Thus, looking back into the past, it seems to me that my + own position of critical expectancy was just and + reasonable, and must have been taken up, on the same + grounds, by many other persons. If Agassiz had told me + that the forms of life which had successively tenanted + the globe were the incarnations of successive thoughts of + the Deity; and that He had wiped out one set of these + embodiments by an appalling geological catastrophe as + soon as His ideas took a more advanced shape, I found + myself not only unable to admit the accuracy of the + deductions from the facts of palæontology, upon + which this astounding hypothesis was founded, but I had + to confess my want of means of testing the correctness of + his explanation of them. And besides that, I could by no + means see what the explanation explained. Neither did it + help me to be told by an eminent anatomist that species + had succeeded one another in time, in virtue of a + 'continuously operative creational law'. That seemed to + me to be no more than saying that species had succeeded + one another in the form of a vote-catching resolution, + with 'law' to please the man of science and 'creational' + to draw the orthodox. So I took refuge in that + <i>thätige Skepsis</i> which Goethe has so well + defined; and, reversing the apostolic precept to be all + things to all men, I usually defended the tenability of + the received doctrines when I had to do with the + transmutationists, and stood up for the possibility of + transmutation among the orthodox—thereby, no doubt, + increasing an already current, but quite undeserved, + reputation for needless combativeness." + </p> + </div> + <p> + What transformed Huxley's views and the views of his + contemporaries who accepted Darwinism was not so much the + evidence in favour of evolution contained in the + <i>Origin</i>, as theilluminating doctrine of natural + selection which for the first time supplied naturalists + with a reasonable explanation of how evolution might have + come about, both in the animal and vegetable <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p100" id="p100">[100]</a></span> + kingdoms. As soon as this reason was provided them, they + turned to the store of facts within their own knowledge, + and rapidly arranged the evidence which had been lurking + only partly visible in favour of the fact of evolution. It + cannot be disputed that here and there earlier writers than + Darwin and Wallace had suggested the possibility of natural + selection acting upon existing variations so as to cause + survival of the fittest. MacGillivray, the Scots + naturalist, and the father of Huxley's companion on the + <i>Rattlesnake</i>, had published suggestions which came + exceedingly near to Darwin's theory. In 1831 Mr. Patrick + Matthew had published a work on <i>Naval Architecture and + Timber</i>, and in it had stated the essential principle of + the Darwinian doctrine of struggle and survival. Still + earlier, in 1813, a Dr. W.C. Wells, in a paper to the Royal + Society on "A White Female, Part of whose Skin Resembles + that of a Negro," had, as Darwin himself freely admitted, + distinctly recognised the principle of natural + selection—but applied it only to the races of man, + and to certain characters alone. Finally, long before + either of these, Aristotle himself had written, in + <i>Physics</i>, ii., 8: "Why are not the things which seem + the result of design, merely spontaneous variations, which, + being useful, have been preserved, while others are + continually eliminated as unsuitable?" None of these + foreshadowings were supported by lengthy evidence, nor + worked out into an elaborate theory; and it was not until + Darwin had done this that we can say the birth of natural + selection really took place. Huxley writes: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The suggestion that new species may result from the + selective action of external conditions upon the + variations from their specific type which individuals + present,—and which we call 'spontaneous,' because + we are ignorant of their causation,—is <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p101" id="p101">[101]</a></span> + as wholly unknown to the historian of scientific ideas as + it was to biological specialists before 1858." + </p> + </div> + <p> + But that suggestion is the central idea of the origin of + species, and contains the quintessence of Darwinism. + </p> + <p> + Some weeks before the <i>Origin</i> was published, Darwin + wrote to Huxley, sending him a copy of the work, and asking + him for the names of eminent foreigners to whom it should + be sent. In the course of his letter he wrote: "I shall be + intensely curious to hear what effect the book produces on + you," and it was clear that he had no very confident + expectation of a favourable opinion. Huxley replied the day + before the <i>Origin</i> was published, saying that he had + finished the volume, and stating that it had completely + convinced him of the fact of evolution, and that he fully + accepted natural selection as a "true cause for the + production of species." Darwin, in a letter to Wallace, + telling of his doubts and fears concerning the reception of + his book, had added the postscript: "I think I told you + before that Hooker is a complete convert. If I can convert + Huxley, I shall be content." When he received Huxley's + letter he replied at once: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Like a good Catholic who has received extreme unction, I + can now sing <i>Nunc Dimittis</i>. I should have been + more than contented with one quarter of what you have + said. Exactly fifteen months ago, when I first put pen to + paper for this volume, I had awful misgivings, and + thought perhaps I had deluded myself, like so many have + done; and I then fixed in my mind three judges, on whose + decision I determined mentally to abide. The judges were + Lyell, Hooker, and yourself. It was this which made me so + excessively anxious for your verdict. I am now contented, + and can sing my <i>Nunc Dimittis</i>." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The effect of the new theory on Huxley's mind has been + expressed most fully and clearly by himself: + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p102" + id="p102">[102]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I imagine that most of my contemporaries who thought + seriously about the matter were very much in my own state + of mind—inclined to say to Mosaists and + Evolutionists, 'a plague on both your houses!' and + disposed to turn aside from an interminable and + apparently fruitless discussion to labour in the fertile + fields of ascertainable fact. And I may, therefore, + further suppose that the publication of the Darwin and + Wallace papers in 1858, and still more that of the + <i>Origin</i> in 1859, had the effect upon them of that + of a flash of light which, to a man who has lost himself + in a dark night, suddenly reveals a road which, whether + it takes him straight home or not, certainly goes his + way. That which we were looking for and could not find, + was a hypothesis respecting the origin of known organic + forms, which assumed the operation of no causes but such + as could be proved to be actually at work. We wanted, not + to pin our faith to that or any other speculation, but to + get hold of clear and definite conceptions which could be + brought face to face with facts and have their validity + tested. The <i>Origin</i> provided us with the working + hypothesis we sought. Moreover, it did us the immense + service of freeing us for ever from the + dilemma—refuse to accept the creation hypothesis, + and what have you to propose that can be accepted by any + cautious reasoner? In 1857 I had no answer ready, and I + do not think that anyone else had. A year later, we + reproached ourselves with dulness for being perplexed by + such an enquiry. My reflection, when I first made myself + master of the central idea of the <i>Origin</i> was, 'how + exceedingly stupid not to have thought of that.' I + suppose that Columbus's companions said much the same + when he made the egg to stand on end. The facts of + variability, of the struggle for existence, of adaptation + to conditions, were notorious enough; but none of us had + suspected that the road to the heart of the species + problem lay through them, until Darwin and Wallace + dispelled the darkness, and the beacon-fire of the + <i>Origin</i> guided the benighted. + </p> + <p> + "Whether the particular shape which the doctrine of + evolution, as applied to the organic world, took in + Darwin's hands, would prove to be final or not, was, to + me, a matter of indifference. In my earliest criticisms + of the <i>Origin</i> I ventured to point out that its + logical foundation was insecure so long as <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p103" id="p103">[103]</a></span> + experiments in selective breeding had not produced + varieties which were more or less infertile; and that + insecurity remains up to the present time. But, with any + and every critical doubt which my sceptical ingenuity + could suggest, the Darwinian hypothesis remained + incomparably more probable than the creation hypothesis. + And if we had none of us been able to discern the + paramount significance of some of the most patent and + notorious of natural facts, until they were, so to speak, + thrust under our noses, what force remained in the + dilemma—creation or nothing? It was obvious that, + hereafter, the probability would be immensely greater + that the links of natural causation were hidden from our + purblind eyes, than that natural causation should be + unable to produce all the phenomena of nature. The only + rational course for those who had no other object than + the attainment of truth, was to accept 'Darwinism' as a + working hypothesis, and see what could be made of it. + Either it would prove its capacity to elucidate the fact + of organic life, or it would break down under the strain. + This was surely the dictate of common sense, and for once + common-sense carried the day. The result has been that + complete <i>volte-face</i> of the whole scientific world + which must seem so surprising to the present generation. + I do not mean to say that all the leaders of biological + science have avowed themselves Darwinians; but I do not + think that there is a single zoölogist, or botanist, + or palæontologist, among the multitude of active + workers of this generation, who is other than an + evolutionist profoundly influenced by Darwin's views. + Whatever may be the ultimate fate of the particular + theory put forth by Darwin, I venture to affirm that, so + far as my knowledge goes, all the ingenuity and all the + learning of hostile critics has not enabled them to + adduce a solitary fact of which it can be said that it is + irreconcilable with the Darwinian theory. In the + prodigious variety and complexity of organic nature, + there are multitudes of phenomena which are not deducible + from any generalisation we have yet reached. But the same + may be said of every other class of natural objects. I + believe that astronomers cannot yet get the moon's + motions into perfect accordance with the theory of + gravitation." + </p> + </div> + <p> + These quotations make plain the historical fact that <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p104" id="p104">[104]</a></span> + Huxley was convinced of evolution because Darwin, by his + theory of natural selection, brought forward an actual + cause that could be seen in operation, and that was + competent to produce new species. As soon as the "flash of + light" came, it revealed to Huxley the vast store of + evidence that he had unconsciously accumulated, and it set + him at once to work collecting more evidence. If we bear in + mind the distinction between evolution and natural + selection, the well-known subsequent history of the + relations between Huxley and what was known popularly as + Darwinism becomes clear and intelligible. From first to + last he accepted evolution; from first to last he accepted + natural selection as by far the most reasonable hypothesis + that had been brought forward, and as infinitely more in + accordance with the observed facts of nature than any + theory of the immediate action of supernatural creative + power. As time went on, and the influence of Darwin's + theory made evolution acceptable to a wider and wider range + of people, until it passed into the common knowledge of the + world, that confusion of which we have spoken arose between + evolution and Darwin's particular theory. And as knowledge + grew, and the number of biologists increased in the + striking fashion of this last half-century, while the + evidence for evolution continued to increase with an + unexpected rapidity, every detail of the purely Darwinian + theory became more and more subjected to rigid scrutiny. + Most educated people, unless their education has been + largely in an experimental science, find difficulty in + understanding the relation in the minds of naturalists + between "authority" and "knowledge." We do not <i>know</i>, + for instance, that the structure of the Medusæ + consists essentially of two foundation-membranes, because + Huxley, one of the <span class="pagenum"><a name="p105" + id="p105">[105]</a></span> greatest authorities in anatomy + that the world has seen, told us that it was so. We know it + because, Huxley having told us that it was so, we are able + at any time with a microscope and dissecting needles to + observe the fact for ourselves. It is true, that unless we + are making a special study of the Medusæ we do not + repeat the observation in the case of so many different + forms of Medusæ as Huxley studied; but it is partof + our training to observe for ourselves in a sufficient + number of cases to test the correspondence between + statement and fact before we accept the generalisation of + any authority. And we learn, or at least have the + opportunity of learning, in the whole habit of our lives as + naturalists, to distinguish carefully between knowledge of + which personal observation is an essential part, and + opinion or belief which may or may not be based upon + authority, but which in any case is devoid of the + corroboration of personal observation. When a piece of new + anatomical or physiological work is published in a + technical journal, it is read by a large number of + anatomists and physiologists, and if the work is apparently + of an important kind, bearing on the general problems that + even specialists have to follow, they all at once set to + work in their laboratories to make corroborative + dissections or experiments, and it is part of every modern + account of a biological discovery to tell exactly the + methods by which results were got, in order that this + process of corroboration may be set about easily. The + question as to whether or no natural selection were the + sole or chief cause, or indeed a cause at all, of evolution + is not yet, and perhaps never will be, a matter of + knowledge in the scientific sense. At the most, we can see + for ourselves only that selection does bring about changes + at least as great as the differences <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p106" id="p106">[106]</a></span> + between natural species. The evidence for this we have + before our eyes, if we choose to see, on a stock farm; in + the breeding yards of any keeper of "fancy" animals; or in + the nursery gardens of any florist. So far, Huxley accepted + the Darwinian principle as a definite contribution to + knowledge; and so far the whole body of biologists has + followed him. Beyond this the truth of the Darwinian + principle is a matter of inference or judgment; of + balancing probabilities and improbabilities. In multitude + of counsellors there is said to be wisdom, and what we + learn from the counsellors of biology all over the world is + that some maintain that natural selection is the only + probable agency in effecting evolution, and that it is + competent to account for all the changes which we know to + have taken place; others hold that its probable influence + has been over-rated; and others, again, think that it has + been one of the many causes that have brought about the + kaleidoscopic variety of organic nature. Huxley remained to + the last among those who distinguished in the clearest way + between natural selection as an exceedingly ingenious and + probable hypothesis, and a proved cause; and he was always + careful, especially when he was writing for or speaking in + the presence of those who like himself accepted the fact of + evolution as proven, to distinguish between this + provisional hypothesis as to how evolution had come about, + and definite knowledge that it had come about in this way. + Two passages from Huxley's writings, one written in 1860 in + the <i>Westminster Review</i>, and the second written in + 1893, in the preface to the volume of his collected essays + which contained a reprint of the <i>Westminster</i> + article, will make plain the continuity of Huxley's + attitude: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "There is no fault to be found with Mr. Darwin's method, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p107" + id="p107">[107]</a></span> then; but it is another + question whether he has fulfilled all the conditions + imposed by that method. Is it satisfactorily proved, in + fact, that species may be originated by selection? That + there is such a thing as natural selection? That none of + the phenomena exhibited by species are inconsistent with + the origin of species in this way? If these questions can + be answered in the affirmative, Mr. Darwin's view steps + out of the rank of hypotheses into those of proved + theories; but, so long as the evidence at present adduced + falls short of enforcing that affirmation, so long, to + our minds, must the new doctrine be content to remain + among the former—an extremely valuable, and in the + highest degree probable, doctrine; indeed, the only + extant hypothesis which is worth anything in a scientific + point of view; but still a hypothesis, and not yet the + theory of species. + </p> + <p> + "After much consideration, and assuredly with no bias + against Mr. Darwin's views, it is our clear conviction + that, as the evidence stands, it is not absolutely proven + that a group of animals having all the characters + exhibited by species in nature, has ever been originated + by selection, whether natural or artificial. Groups + having the morphological character of species, distinct + and permanent races, in fact, have been so produced over + and over again; but there is no positive evidence at + present that any group of animals has, by variation and + selective breeding, given rise to another group which was + in the least degree infertile with the first. Mr. Darwin + is perfectly aware of this weak point, and brings forward + a multitude of ingenious and important arguments to + diminish the force of the objection. We admit the value + of these arguments to the fullest extent; nay, we will go + so far as to express our belief that experiments, + conducted by a skilful physiologist, would very probably + obtain the desired production of mutually more or less + infertile breeds from a common stock in a comparatively + few years; but still, as the case stands at present, this + little 'rift within the lute' is not to be disguised or + overlooked."—(<i>Westminster Review</i>, 1860.) + </p> + <p> + "We should leave a very wrong impression on the reader's + mind if we permitted him to suppose that the value of + Darwin's work depends wholly on the ultimate + justification of the theoretical views which it contains. + On the contrary, if they were <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p108" id="p108">[108]</a></span> disproved + to-morrow, the book would still be the best of its + kind—the most compendious statement of well-sifted + facts bearing on the doctrine of species that has ever + appeared. The chapters on variation, on the struggle for + existence, on instinct, on hybridism, on the imperfection + of the geological record, on geographical distribution, + have not only no equals, but, so far as our knowledge + goes, no competitors, within the range of biological + literature. And viewed as a whole, we do not believe + that, since the publication of Von Baer's <i>Researches + on Development</i>, thirty years ago, any work has + appeared calculated to exert so large an influence, not + only on the future of biology, but in extending the + domination of science over regions of thought into which + she has, as yet, hardly penetrated."—(<i>Ibid.</i>) + </p> + <p> + "Those who take the trouble to read the essays published + in 1859 and 1860, will, I think, do me the justice to + admit that my zeal to secure fair play for Mr. Darwin did + not drive me into the position of a mere advocate; and + that, while doing justice to the greatness of the + argument, I did not fail to indicate its weak points. I + have never seen any reason for departing from the + position which I took up in these two essays; and the + assertion which I sometimes meet with nowadays that I + have 'recanted' or changed my opinions about Mr. Darwin's + views is quite unintelligible to me. + </p> + <p> + "As I have said in the seventh essay, the fact of + evolution is to my mind sufficiently evidenced by + palæontology; and I remain of the opinion expressed + in the second, that until selective breeding is + definitely proved to give rise to varieties infertile + with one another, the logical foundation of the theory of + natural selection is quite incomplete. We still remain + very much in the dark about the causes of variation; the + apparent inheritance of acquired characters in some + cases; and the struggle for existence within the + organism, which probably lies at the bottom of both these + phenomena."—(1893, <i>Preface</i>.) + </p> + </div> + <p> + Finally, when he was awarded the Darwin Medal of the Royal + Society, on November 30, 1894, in the course of an address + at the anniversary dinner of the Society, he said, as + reported in the <i>Times</i> next day: + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p109" + id="p109">[109]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I am as much convinced now as I was thirty-four years + ago that the theory propounded by Mr. Darwin, I mean that + which he propounded—not that which has been + reported to be his by too many ill-instructed, both + friends and foes—has never yet been shewn to be + inconsistent with any positive observations, and if I may + use a phrase which I know has been objected to, and which + I use in a totally different sense from that in which it + was first proposed by its first propounder, I do believe + that on all grounds of pure science it 'holds the field' + as the only hypothesis at present before us which has a + sound scientific foundation.... I am sincerely of opinion + that the views which were propounded by Mr. Darwin + thirty-four years ago may be understood hereafter as + constituting an epoch in the intellectual history of the + human race. They will modify the whole system of our + thought and opinion, our most intimate convictions. But I + do not know, I do not think anybody knows, whether the + particular views he held will be hereafter fortified by + the experience of the ages which come after us.... + Whether the particular form in which he has put before us + the Darwinian doctrines may be such as to be destined to + survive or not, is more, I venture to think, than anybody + is capable at this present moment of saying." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Further details of Huxley's relation to natural selection + may be gained from an interesting chapter in Professor + Poulton's volume on <i>Charles Darwin</i> (Cassell and Co., + London, 1896). + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 227px;"> + <img src="images/ill-109.png" alt="" title="" + height="110" width="227" /> + </div> + </div> + <div class="footnotes"> + <h3> + FOOTNOTES: + </h3> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + <a name="Footnote_D_4" id="Footnote_D_4"></a><a + href="#FNanchor_D_4"><span class="label">[D]</span></a> + See E. Clodd's <i>Pioneers of Evolution</i>, London, + 1897, and Osborn's <i>From the Greeks to Darwin</i>, + New York, 1896. + </p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p110" id="p110">[110]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-110.png" alt="" title="" height="82" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a> + </h2> + <h3> + THE BATTLE FOR EVOLUTION + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Huxley's Prevision of the Battle—The Causes of the + Battle—The <i>Times</i> Review—Sir Richard + Owen attacks Darwinism in the <i>Edinburgh + Review</i>—Bishop Wilberforce attacks in the + <i>Quarterly Review</i>—Huxley's Scathing + Replies—The British Association Debates at + Oxford—Huxley and + Wilberforce—Résumé of Huxley's Exact + Position with Regard to Evolution and to Natural + Selection. + </p> + </div> + <p> + When Huxley wrote thanking Darwin for the first copy of the + <i>Origin</i>, he warned him of the annoyance and abuse he + might expect from those whose opinions were too suddenly + disturbed by the new exposition of evolution, and assured + him of the strongest personal support: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I trust you will not allow yourself to be in any way + disgusted or annoyed by the considerable abuse and + misrepresentation which, unless I greatly mistake, is in + store for you. Depend upon it, you have earned the + lasting gratitude of all thoughtful men; and as to the + curs which will bark and yelp, you must recollect that + some of your friends, at any rate, are endowed with an + amount of combativeness which (though you have often and + justly rebuked it) may stand you in good stead. + </p> + <p> + "I am sharpening my claws and beak in readiness." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Huxley was absolutely right in his prediction as to the + magnitude of the prejudices to be overcome before <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p111" id="p111">[111]</a></span> + evolution became accepted, and for the next thirty years of + his life he was the leader in the battle for Darwinism. It + was natural that the new views, especially in their + extension to man himself, should arouse the keenest + opposition. To those of the present generation, who have + grown up in an atmosphere impregnated by the doctrine of + descent, the position of the world in 1860 seems "older + than a tale written in any book." As we have tried to shew + in the preceding chapter, biological science was partially + prepared; the mutability of species and the orderly + succession of organic life were in the air. But the + application of the doctrine to man came as a greater shock + to civilised sentiment than would have occurred a century + earlier. It came as a disaster even to the clearest and + calmest intellects, for it seemed to drag down to the dirt + the nobility of man. Out of the fierce flame of the French + Revolution, there had come purged and clean the conception + of man as an individual and soul. As this century advanced, + the conception of the dignity and worth of each individual + man, rich or poor, bond or free, had spread more and more + widely, bearing as its fruit the emancipation of slaves, + the spread of political freedom, the amelioration of the + conditions of the dregs of humanity, the right of all to + education, the possibility of universal peace based on the + brotherhood of man; and all that was best in philosophy and + in political practice seemed bound up with a lofty view of + the unit of mankind. Carlyle himself, to whom many of the + freest and noblest spirits in Europe were beginning to look + as to an inspired prophet, could see in it nothing but a + "monkey damnification of mankind." The dogmatic world saw + in it nothing but a deliberate and malicious assault upon + religion. The Church of England in <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p112" id="p112">[112]</a></span> particular was + beginning to recover from a long period of almost + incredible supineness, and there was arising a large body + of clergy full of faith and zeal and good works, but quite + unacquainted with science, who frankly regarded Darwin as + Antichrist, and Huxley and Tyndall as emissaries of the + devil. Against evolutionists there was left unused no + weapon that ignorant prejudice could find, whether that + prejudice was inspired by a lofty zeal for what it + conceived to be the highest interests of humanity, or by a + crafty policy which saw in the new doctrine a blow to the + coming renewed supremacy of the Church. To us, now, it may + seem that Huxley had "sharpened his beak and claws" with + the spirit of a gladiator rather than with that of the mere + defender of a scientific doctrine; but a very short study + of contemporary literature will convince anyone that for a + time the defenders of evolution had to defend not only what + they knew to be scientific truth, but their personal and + private reputation. The new doctrine, like perhaps all the + great doctrines that have come into the world, brought not + peace but a sword, and had to be defended by the sword. + Darwin had not the kind of disposition nor the particular + faculties necessary for a deadly contest of this kind; he + was interested indeed above all things in convincing a few + leading naturalists of the truth of his opinions; but, that + done, he would have been contented to continue his own work + quietly, in absolute carelessness as to what the world in + general thought of him. Huxley, on the other hand, was + incapable of restraining himself from propagating what he + knew to be the truth; his reforming missionary spirit was + not content simply with self-defence; it drove him to be a + bishop <i>in partibus infidelium</i>. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p113" + id="p113">[113]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + By a curious and interesting accident, Huxley had the + opportunity of beginning his propagandism by writing the + first great review of <i>The Origin of Species</i> in the + <i>Times</i>, at that period without question the leading + journal in the world. Huxley's own account of this happy + chance is given in <i>Darwin's Life and Letters</i>, vol. + ii. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The <i>Origin</i> was sent to Mr. Lucas, one of the + staff of the <i>Times</i> writers at that day, in what I + suppose was the ordinary course of business. Mr. Lucas, + though an excellent journalist, and at a later period + editor of <i>Once a Week</i>, was as innocent of any + knowledge of science as a babe, and bewailed himself to + an acquaintance on having to deal with such a book, + whereupon he was recommended to ask me to get him out of + his difficulty, and he applied to me accordingly, + explaining, however, that it would be necessary for him + formally to adopt anything I might be disposed to write, + by prefacing it with two or three paragraphs of his own. + </p> + <p> + "I was too anxious to seize on the opportunity thus + offered of giving the book a fair chance with the + multitudinous readers of the <i>Times</i> to make any + difficulty about conditions; and being then very full of + the subject, I wrote the article faster, I think, than I + ever wrote anything in my life, and sent it to Mr. Lucas, + who duly prefixed his opening sentences. When the article + appeared, there was much speculation as to its + authorship. The secret leaked out in time, as all secrets + will, but not by my aid; and then I used to derive a good + deal of innocent amusement from the vehement assertions + of some of my more acute friends, that they knew it was + mine from the first paragraph." "As the <i>Times</i> some + years since referred to my connection with the review, I + suppose there will be no breach of confidence in the + publication of this little history." + </p> + </div> + <p> + This review was one of the few favourable notices, and + naturally it delighted Darwin greatly. He wrote to Hooker + about it: "Have you seen the splendid essay and notice of + my book in the <i>Times</i>? I cannot avoid a strong + suspicion that it is by Huxley; but I <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p114" id="p114">[114]</a></span> + have never heard that he wrote in the <i>Times</i>. It will + do grand service." On the same day, writing to Huxley + himself, he said of the review: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "It included an eulogium of me which quite touched me, + although I am not vain enough to think it all deserved. + The author is a literary man and a German scholar. He has + read my book attentively; but, what is very remarkable, + it seems that he is a profound naturalist. He knows my + barnacle book and appreciates it too highly. Lastly, he + writes and thinks with quite uncommon force and + clearness; and, what is even still rarer, his writing is + seasoned with most pleasant wit. We all laughed heartily + over some of the sentences.... Who can it be? Certainly I + should have said that there was only one man in England + who could have written this essay, and that you were the + man; but I suppose that I am wrong, and that there is + some hidden genius of great calibre; for how could you + influence Jupiter Olympus and make him give you three and + a half columns to pure science? The old fogies will think + the world will come to an end. Well, whoever the man is, + he has done great service to the cause." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The essay in the <i>Times</i> was followed shortly + afterwards by a "Friday Evening Discourse" in 1860 on + "Species, Races, and their Origin," in which Huxley, + addressing a cultivated audience, laid the whole weight of + his brilliant scientific reputation on the side of + evolution. Next, in April, 1860, he published a long + article in the <i>Westminster Review</i>, then a leading + organ of advanced opinion, on <i>The Origin of Species</i>, + some quotations from which article were made in the last + chapter. Apart from its strong support of the doctrine of + evolution, its whole-hearted praise of Darwin's + achievements, and the clear way in which, while it showed + the value of natural selection as the only satisfactory + hypothesis in the field, it gave reasons for regarding it + strictly as an hypothesis, the review is specially <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p115" id="p115">[115]</a></span> + interesting as a contrast to reviews which appeared about + the same time in the <i>Edinburgh Review</i> and in the + <i>Quarterly</i>. Both these were not only exceedingly + unfavourable, but were written in a spirit of personal + abuse singularly unworthy of their authors and still more + of their subject. The review in the <i>Edinburgh</i> had + come as a particularly great shock to Darwin, Huxley, and + their friends. Sir Richard Owen, in many ways, was at that + time the most distinguished anatomist in England. He had + been an ardent follower of Cuvier, and in England had + carried on the palæontological work of the great + Frenchman. He was a personal friend of the court, a + well-known man in the best society, and in many ways a + worthy upholder of the best traditions of science. In the + particular matter of species, he was known to be by no + means a firm supporter of the orthodox views. When Darwin's + paper was read at the Linnæan Society, and afterwards + when the <i>Origin</i> was published, the verdict of Owen + was looked to with the greatest interest by the general + public. For a time he wavered, and even expressed himself + of the opinion that he had already in his published works + included a considerable portion of Darwin's views. But two + things seemed to have influenced him: First, Wilberforce, + the Bishop of Oxford, and Sedgwick and Whewell, the two + best-known men at Cambridge, urged him to stamp once for + all, as he only could do, upon this "new and pernicious + doctrine." Secondly, combined with his great abilities, he + had the keenest personal interest in his own position as + the leader of English science, and had no particular + friendship for men or for views that seemed likely to + threaten his own supreme position. In a very short time he + changed from being neutral, with a tendency in favour <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p116" id="p116">[116]</a></span>of + the new views, to being a bitter opponent of them. In + scientific societies and in London generally, naturally + enough he constantly came across the younger scientific + men, such as Huxley and Hooker, who had declared for + Darwin, and he made the irretrievable mistake of for a time + attempting to disguise his opposition while he was writing + the most bitter of all the articles against Darwinism. That + appeared in the <i>Edinburgh Review</i> in April, 1860, and + the range of knowledge it displayed, and the form of + arguments employed, naturally enough betrayed the secret of + its authorship, although Owen for very long attempted to + conceal his connection with it. Darwin, who had the most + unusual generosity towards his opponents, found this review + too much for him. Writing to Lyell soon after its + publication, he said: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I have just read the <i>Edinburgh</i>, which, without + doubt is by ——. It is extremely malignant, + clever, and, I fear, will be very damaging. He is + atrociously severe on Huxley's lecture, and very bitter + against Hooker. So we three <i>enjoyed</i> it together. + Not that I really enjoyed it, for it made me + uncomfortable for one night; but I have quite got over it + to-day. It requires much study to appreciate all the + bitter spite of many of the remarks against me; indeed I + did not discover all myself. It scandalously + misrepresents many parts. He misquotes some passages, + altering words within inverted commas.... It is painful + to be hated in the intense degree with which + —— hates me." + </p> + </div> + <p> + As Owen was still alive when this letter was published in + <i>Darwin's Life</i>, the authorship of the review was not + actually mentioned; but it is necessary to mention it, as + it justifies the sternness with which Huxley exposed Owen + on an occasion shortly to be described. The review in the + <i>Quarterly</i> was written by Wilberforce, the Bishop of + Oxford, in July, 1860, and almost at once <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p117" id="p117">[117]</a></span> + the authorship of it became known to Darwin's friends. In + connection with this, Huxley wrote in 1887, in <i>Darwin's + Life and Letters</i>: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I doubt if there was any man then living who had a + better right (than Darwin) to expect that anything he + might choose to say on such a question as the Origin of + Species would be listened to with profound attention, and + discussed with respect. And there was certainly no man + whose personal character should have afforded a better + safeguard against attacks, instinct with malignity and + spiced with shameless impertinences. Yet such was the + portion of one of the kindest and truest men that it was + ever my good fortune to know; and years had to pass away + before misrepresentation, ridicule, and denunciation + ceased to be the most notable constituents of the + majority of the multitudinous criticisms of his work + which poured from the press. I am loth to rake up any of + these ancient scandals from their well-deserved oblivion; + but I must make good a statement which may seem + overcharged to the present generation, and there is no + <i>pièce justificative</i> more apt for the + purpose or more worthy of such dishonour than the article + in the <i>Quarterly Review</i> for July, 1860. Since Lord + Brougham assailed Dr. Young, the world has seen no such + specimen of the insolence of a shallow pretender to a + Master in Science as this remarkable production, in which + one of the most exact of observers, most cautious of + reasoners, and most candid of expositors, of this or any + other age, is held up to scorn as a 'flighty' person who + endeavours to 'prop up his utterly rotten fabric of guess + and speculation,' and whose 'mode of dealing with nature' + is reprobated as 'utterly dishonourable to natural + science.' And all this high and mighty talk, which would + have been indecent in one of Mr. Darwin's equals, + proceeds from a writer whose want of intelligence, or of + conscience, or of both, is so great, that, by way of an + objection to Mr. Darwin's views, he can ask, 'Is it + credible that all favourable varieties of turnips are + tending to become men'; who is so ignorant of + palæontology that he can talk of the 'flowers and + fruits' of the plants of the carboniferous epoch; of + comparative anatomy, that he can gravely affirm the + poison apparatus of venomous snakes to be 'entirely + separate from the <span class="pagenum"><a name="p118" + id="p118">[118]</a></span>ordinary laws of animal life, + and peculiar to themselves'; of the rudiments of + physiology, that he can ask, 'what advantage of life + could alter the shape of the corpuscles into which the + blood can be evaporated?' Nor does the reviewer fail to + flavour this outpouring of incapacity with a little + stimulation of the <i>odium theologicum</i>. Some inkling + of the history of the conflicts between astronomy, + geology, and theology leads him to keep a retreat open by + the proviso that he cannot 'consent to test the truth of + Natural Science by the Word of Revelation,' but for all + that he devotes pages to the exposition of his conviction + that Mr. Darwin's theory 'contradicts the revealed + relation of the creation to its Creator,' and is + 'inconsistent with the fulness of His glory.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + In a footnote to this passage, Huxley wrote that he was not + aware when writing these lines that the authorship of the + article had been avowed publicly. He adds, however: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Confession unaccompanied by penitence, however, affords + no ground for mitigation of judgment; and the kindliness + with which Mr. Darwin speaks of his assailant, Bishop + Wilberforce, is so striking an exemplification of his + singular gentleness and modesty, that it rather increases + one's indignation against the presumption of his critic." + </p> + </div> + <p> + As a matter of fact Wilberforce was a man of no particular + information in letters or in philosophy, and his knowledge + of science was of the vaguest: a little natural history + picked up from Gosse, the naturalist of the seashore, in + the course of a few days' casual acquaintance at the + seaside, and some pieces of anatomical facts with which he + was provided, it is supposed, by Owen, for the purposes of + the review. But he bore a great name, and misused a great + position; he was a man of facile intelligence, smooth, + crafty, and popular, and in this case he was convinced that + he was doing the best possible for the great interests of + religion <span class="pagenum"><a name="p119" + id="p119">[119]</a></span> by authoritatively denouncing a + man whose character he was incapable of realising, and on + whose work he was incompetent to pronounce an opinion. + Against an enemy of this kind, Huxley was implacable and + relentless. He was constitutionally incapable of tolerating + pretentious ignorance, and he had realised from the first + that there could be no question of giving and taking + quarter from persons who were more concerned to suppress + doctrines they conceived to be dangerous than to examine + into their truth. On the other hand, much as Huxley + disliked Owen's devious ways, and although in after life + there occurred many and severe differences of opinion + between Huxley and Owen, Huxley had a sincere respect for + much of Owen's anatomical and palæontological work, + and when, in 1894, Owen's <i>Life</i> was published, one of + the most interesting parts of it was a long, fair, and + appreciative review by Huxley of Owen's contributions to + knowledge. + </p> + <p> + The middle of 1860, however, was not a time for Huxley, in + his capacity as Darwin's chief defender, to make truce with + the enemy. In England a certain number of well-known + scientific men had given a general support to Darwinism. + From France, Germany, and America there had come some + support and a good deal of cold criticism, but most people + were simmering with disturbed emotions. The newspapers and + the reviews were full of the new subject; political + speeches and sermons were filled with allusions to it. + Wherever educated people talked the conversation came round + to the question of evolution. Were animals and plants the + results of special creations, or were they, including man, + the result of the gradual transformations of a few simple + primitive types evolving under the stress of some such + force as Darwin's natural selection? To many <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p120" id="p120">[120]</a></span> + people it seemed to be a choice between a world with God + and a world without God; and the accredited defenders of + religion gathered every force of argument, of + misrepresentation, conscious and unconscious, of + respectability, and of prejudice to crush once for all the + obnoxious doctrine and its obnoxious supporters. In the + autumn of that year it fell that the meeting of the British + Association, then coming into prominence as the annual + parliament of the sciences, was to be held at Oxford. It + was inevitable that evolution should be debated formally + and informally in the sessions of the Association, and it + must have seemed to the orthodox that there, in that + beautiful city, its air vibrant with tinkling calls to + faith, its halls and libraries crowded with the devout and + the learned, its history and traditions alike calling on + all to defend the old fair piety, in such an uncongenial + air, the supporters of evolution must be overwhelmed. + Almost the whole weight of the attack had to be resisted by + Huxley. In the various sectional meetings he had combat + after combat with professors and clerics. Of these + dialectic fights the most notable were one with Owen on the + anatomical structure of the brain, and another with + Wilberforce upon the general question of evolution. Owen + contended that there were anatomical differences not merely + of degree but of kind between the brain of man and the + brain of the highest ape, and his remarks were accepted by + the audience as a complete and authoritative blow to the + theory of descent. Huxley at once met Owen with a direct + and flat contradiction, and pledged his reputation to + justify his contradiction with all due detail on a further + occasion. As a matter of fact, he did justify the + contradiction, and no anatomist would now dream of + attempting the support of the proposition <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p121" id="p121">[121]</a></span> + rashly made by Owen; but, at the time, the position of Owen + and the sympathies of the audience took away much of their + effect from Huxley's words. Two days later, Wilberforce, in + a scene of considerable excitement, made a long, eloquent, + and declamatory speech against evolution and against + Huxley. From the incomplete reports of the debate that were + published, it is difficult to gain a very clear idea of the + Bishop's speech; but it is certain that it was eloquent and + facile, and that it appealed strongly to the religious + prejudices of the majority of the audience. He ended by a + gibe which, under ordinary circumstances, might have passed + simply as the rude humour of a popular orator, but which in + that electric atmosphere stung Huxley into a retort that + has become historical. He asked Huxley whether he was + related by his grandfather's or grandmother's side to an + ape. Huxley replied: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + I asserted, and I repeat, that a man has no reason to be + ashamed of having an ape for his grandfather. If there + were an ancestor whom I should feel shame in recalling, + it would be a <i>man</i>, a man of restless and versatile + intellect, who, not content with an equivocal success in + his own sphere of activity, plunges into scientific + questions with which he has no real acquaintance, only to + obscure them by an aimless rhetoric, and distract the + attention of his hearers from the real point at issue by + eloquent digressions, and skilled appeals to religious + prejudice. + </p> + </div> + <p> + An eye-witness has told the present writer that Huxley's + speech produced little effect at the time. In the minds of + those of the audience best qualified to weigh biological + arguments, there was little doubt but that he had refuted + Owen, and simply dispelled the vaporous effusions of the + Bishop; but the majority of the audience retained the old + convictions. The combat was removed to a wider tribunal. + From that time forwards Huxley, <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p122" id="p122">[122]</a></span> by a series of + essays, addresses, and investigations, continued almost to + the end of his life, tried to convince, and succeeded in + convincing, the intellectual world. At the risk of wearying + by repetition we shall again insist upon the side of + Darwinism that Huxley fought for and triumphed for. + </p> + <p> + Long before the time of Darwin and Huxley, almost at the + beginning of recorded thought, philosophers busied + themselves with the wonderful diversity of the living world + and with speculations as to how it had assumed its present + form. From the earliest times to this century, theories as + to the living world fell into one or other of two main + groups. The key-note of one group was the fixity of + species: the belief that from their first appearance + species were separate, independent entities, one never + springing from another, new species never arising by the + modification in different directions of descendants of + already existing species. The key-note of the other group + of theories was the idea of progressive change: that + animals and plants as they passed along the stream of time + were continually being moulded by the forces surrounding + them, and that the farther back the mind could go in + imagination the fewer and simpler species would be; until, + in the first beginning, all the existing diverse kinds of + living creatures would converge to a single point. It may + be that, on the whole, the idea of fixity prevailed more + among thinkers with a religious bias; but for the most part + the theories were debated independently of the tenets of + any faith, Christian or other. There were sceptical + defenders of fixity and religious upholders of evolution. + However, in Christian countries, from the time of the + Reformation onwards, a change in this neutrality of + religion to theories of the living world took place. As + Pascal <span class="pagenum"><a name="p123" + id="p123">[123]</a></span> prophesied, Protestantism + rejected the idea of an infallible Church in favour of the + idea of an infallible book, and, because it happened that + this book included an early legend of the origin of the + world in a form apparently incompatible with evolution, + Protestantism and, to a lesser and secondary extent, + Catholicism, assumed the position that there was no place + for evolution in a Christian philosophy. At the end of last + century, and up to the middle of this century, the problem + was not raised in any acute form. The chief anatomists and + botanists were occupied with the investigation and + discovery of facts, and, in an ordinary way, without taking + any particular trouble about it, accepted more or less + loosely the idea that species were fixed. Now and then an + evolutionist propounded his views; but, as a rule, he + supported them with a knowledge of facts very much inferior + to that possessed by the more orthodox school. Then came + Herbert Spencer, reasserting evolution in the old broad + spirit, not merely in its application to species, but as + the guiding principle of the whole universe from the + integrations of nebulæ into systems of suns and + planets to the transformations of chemical bodies. Before + his marvellous generalisations had time to grip biologists, + there came Darwin; and Darwin brought two things: first, a + re-statement of the fact of evolution as applied to the + living world, supported by an enormous body of evidence, + new and old, presented with incomparably greater force, + clearness, patience, and knowledge than had ever been seen + before; and, second, the exposition of the principle of + natural selection as a mechanism which might have caused, + and probably did cause, evolution. + </p> + <p> + Huxley, as has been shewn, like many other anatomists, was + ready for the general principle of evolution. <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p124" id="p124">[124]</a></span> + In fact, so far as it concerned the great independent types + which he believed to exist among animals, he was more than + prepared for it. Let us take a single definite example of + his position. In his work on the Medusæ, he had shewn + how a large number of creatures, at first sight diverse, + were really modifications of a single great type, and he + used language which, now that all zoölogists accept + evolution in the fullest way, requires no change to be + understood: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "What has now been advanced will, perhaps, be deemed + evidence sufficient to demonstrate,—first, that the + organs of these various families are traceable back to + the same point in the way of development; or, secondly, + when this cannot be done, that they are connected by + natural gradations with organs which are so traceable; in + which case, according to the principles advanced in 57, + the various organs are homologous, and the families have + a real affinity to one another and should form one + group.... It appears, then, that these five families are + by no means so distinct as has hitherto been supposed, + but that they are members of one great group, organised + upon one simple and uniform plan, and, even in their most + complex and aberrant forms, reducible to the same type. + And I may add, finally, that on this theory it is by no + means difficult to account for the remarkable forms + presented by the Medusæ in their young state. The + Medusæ are the most perfect, the most + individualised animals of the series, and it is only in + accordance with what very generally obtains in the animal + kingdom, if, in their early condition, they approximate + towards the simplest forms of the group to which they + belong." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Such words, written before 1849, only differ from those + that would have been written by a convinced evolutionist by + a hair's breadth. But Huxley was not an evolutionist then: + it was Darwin's work, containing a new exposition of + evolution and the new principle of natural selection, that + convinced him, not of natural selection but of evolution. + At Oxford, in 1860, it was <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p125" id="p125">[125]</a></span> for evolution, and + not for natural selection, that he spoke; and throughout + his life afterwards, as he expressed it, it was this + "ancient doctrine of evolution, rehabilitated and placed + upon a sound scientific foundation, since, and in + consequence of, the publication of <i>The Origin of + Species</i>," that furnished him with the chief inspiration + of his work. The clear accuracy of his original judgment + upon Darwin's work has been abundantly justified by + subsequent history. Since 1859 the case for evolution has + become stronger and stronger until it can no longer be + regarded as one of two possible hypotheses in the field, + but as the only view credible to those who have even a + moderate acquaintance with the facts. In 1894, thirty years + after the famous meeting at Oxford, the British Association + again met in that historic town. The President, Lord + Salisbury, a devout Churchman and with a notably critical + intellect, declared of Darwin: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "He has, as a matter of fact, disposed of the doctrine of + the immutability of species.... Few now are found to + doubt that animals separated by differences far exceeding + those that distinguish what we know as species have yet + descended from common ancestors." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Huxley, in replying to the address, used the following + words: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "As he noted in the Presidential Address to which they + had just listened with such well deserved interest, he + found it stated, on what was then and at this time the + highest authority for them, that as a matter of fact the + doctrine of the immutability of species was disposed of + and gone. He found that few were now found to doubt that + animals separated by differences far exceeding those + which they knew as species were yet descended from a + common ancestry. Those were their propositions; those + were the fundamental principles of the doctrine of + evolution." + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p126" + id="p126">[126]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + On the other hand, Huxley all through his life, while + holding that natural selection was by far the most probable + hypothesis as to the mode in which evolution had come + about, maintained that it was only a hypothesis, and, + unlike evolution, not a proved fact. In 1863, in a course + of lectures to workingmen, he declared: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I really believe that the alternative is either + Darwinism or nothing, for I do not know of any rational + conception or theory of the organic universe which has + any scientific position at all beside Mr. Darwin's.... + But you must recollect that when I say I think it is + either Mr. Darwin's hypothesis or nothing; that either we + must take his view, or look upon the whole of organic + nature as an enigma, the meaning of which is wholly + hidden from us; you must understand that I mean that I + accept it provisionally, in exactly the same way as I + accept any other hypothesis." + </p> + </div> + <p> + In 1878 he wrote: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "How far natural selection suffices for the production of + species remains to be seen. Few can doubt that, if not + the whole cause, it is a very important factor in that + operation; and that it must play a great part in the + sorting out of varieties into those which are transitory + and those which are permanent." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The difficulty in accepting natural selection as more than + a hypothesis is simply that we have no experimental + knowledge of its being able to produce the mutual + infertility which is so striking a character of species. + This difficulty is, in the first place, the difficulty of + proving a negative. It might be possible to prove that its + operation actually does produce species; it will always be + impossible to prove that, in the past, natural selection, + and no other known or unknown <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p127" id="p127">[127]</a></span> agency or + combination of agencies, had a share in the process. All + naturalists are now agreed that, as a matter of historical + fact, it was the propounding of natural selection by Darwin + that led to the acceptance of evolution, to the fact that + evolution "takes its place alongside of those accepted + truths which must be reckoned with by philosophers of all + schools." The difficulty as to natural selection still + exists, and there is no better way to express it than in + Huxley's words, written in the early sixties: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "But, for all this, our acceptance of the Darwinian + hypothesis must be provisional so long as one link in the + chain of evidence is wanting; and, so long as all the + animals and plants certainly produced by selective + breeding from a common stock are fertile with one + another, that link will be wanting; for, so long, + selective breeding will not be proved to be competent to + do all that is required of it to produce natural + species.... I adopt Mr. Darwin's hypothesis, therefore, + subject to the production of proof that physiological + species may be produced by selective breeding; just as a + physical philosopher may accept the undulatory theory of + light, subject to the proof of the existence of the + hypothetical ether; or as the chemist adopts the atomic + theory, subject to the proof of the existence of atoms; + and for exactly the same reasons, namely, that it has an + immense amount of <i>prima facie</i> probability; that it + is the only means at present within reach of reducing the + chaos of observed facts to order; and, lastly, that it is + the most powerful instrument of investigation which has + been presented to the naturalists since the invention of + the natural system of classification, and the + commencement of the systematic study of + embryology."—<i>Man's Place in Nature</i>, p. + 149.<a name="FNanchor_E_5" id="FNanchor_E_5"></a><a + href="#Footnote_E_5" class="fnanchor">[E]</a> + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnotes"> + <h3> + FOOTNOTES: + </h3> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + <a name="Footnote_E_5" id="Footnote_E_5"></a><a + href="#FNanchor_E_5"><span class="label">[E]</span></a> + Further details on the subject of this chapter may be + obtained in Clodd's excellent volume, <i>Pioneers of + Evolution</i>, where an account of the history of the + idea of evolution from the earliest times is given; and + in Poulton's <i>Charles Darwin and the Theory of + Natural Selection</i>, where there is a particularly + valuable chapter upon Huxley's relation to Darwinism. + </p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p128" id="p128">[128]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-128.png" alt="" title="" height="86" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a> + </h2> + <h3> + VERTEBRATE ANATOMY + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + The Theory of the Vertebrate Skull—Goethe, Oken, + Cuvier, and Owen—Huxley Defends Goethe—His + Own Contributions to the Theory—The Classification + of Birds—Huxley Treats them as "Extinct + Animals"—Geographical Distribution—Sclater's + Regions—Huxley's Suggestions. + </p> + </div> + <p> + We have seen that some of the most important of the + contributions made by Huxley to zoölogical knowledge + were in the field of the lower animals, especially of those + marine forms for the study of which he had so great + opportunities on the <i>Rattlesnake</i>. A great bulk of + his zoölogical work, however, related to the group of + back-boned animals. These, by their natural affinities and + anatomical structure, are more closely related to man, and, + as Huxley began his scientific work as a medical student, + the groundwork of all his knowledge was study of the + anatomy and physiology of man. Moreover, throughout the + greater part of his working life, he had more to do with + the extinct forms of life. The vertebrate animals, from the + great facility for preservation which their hard skeleton + presents, as well as from the extremely important + anatomical characters of the skeleton, bulk more largely in + the study of palæontology than does any other group. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p129" + id="p129">[129]</a></span> In each of the great groups of + vertebrate animals, in fishes, amphibia, reptiles, birds, + and mammals, Huxley did important work. Much of this is + embodied in his treatise on <i>Vertebrate Anatomy</i>, but + to some particular parts of it special attention may now be + directed, as much because these serve as excellent examples + of his method of work as because of their intrinsic + importance. + </p> + <p> + The skull is the most striking feature in the skeleton of + vertebrate animals, and to the theory and structure of the + vertebrate skull Huxley paid special attention, and his + views and summary of the views of others form the basis of + our modern knowledge. This work was put before the public + in the course of a series of lectures on Comparative + Anatomy given in 1863, while Huxley was Hunterian Professor + at the Royal College of Surgeons, and the beginnings of it + were contained in a Croonian lecture to the Royal Society + in 1858. + </p> + <p> + The theory of the skull which held the field was known as + the vertebral theory. The great bulk of the nervous system + of vertebrate animals consists of a mass of tissue lying + along the dorsal line of the body and enclosed in a + cartilaginous or bony sheath. The nerve tissue is the brain + and spinal cord; the sheath is the skull in front and the + vertebral column along the greater part of the length of + the animal. The brain may be taken simply as an anterior + portion of the nerve mass, corresponding in a general way + to an expansion of the spinal cord in the region of the + anterior limbs and an expansion in the region of the hind + limbs, the latter indeed having recently been shown in some + extinct creatures to surpass the brain in size. In a + similar simple fashion the skull may be taken as an + expanded anterior part of the vertebral column, serving as + an expanded box for the brain, just as in the regions of + the pectoral <span class="pagenum"><a name="p130" + id="p130">[130]</a></span> and pelvic expansions of the + cord there are similar expansions of the surrounding bony + case. We know now, from greater knowledge of its + embryological development, that the brain contains + structures quite peculiar to itself, and differs from the + spinal cord in kind as well as in size; but, at the same + time, when the vertebral theory of the skull was + inaugurated, embryological knowledge and the importance of + its relation to anatomical structure were less considered. + What Huxley did was to show that the skull, in its mode of + origin and real nature, was not merely an expanded portion + of the vertebral column, but that it differed from it in + kind. + </p> + <p> + The hypothesis of the vertebral structure of the skull was + due both to Goethe, the great German poet, and Oken, a most + able but somewhat mystic German anatomist. An attempt had + been made by a well-known English anatomist to cast on + Goethe the stigma of having tried to rob Oken of the credit + for this theory. Huxley set that matter finally at rest, + disproving and repelling with indignation the unworthy + suggestion. Oken gave out his theory in 1807, and described + how it had been first suggested to his mind by the accident + of picking up a dried and battered sheep's skull, in which + the apparent vertebral structure was very obvious, as, + indeed, anyone may see at a glance. It was in 1820, long + after the theory had been made current, that the poet first + publicly narrated that in a similar way he had long before + come to the same conclusion; but Huxley was able to show + that, although announcing it later, Goethe had in reality + anticipated the anatomist. A passage occurs in a letter to + a friend, of a date in 1790, which admits of no doubt. "By + the oddest happy chance, my servant picked up a bit of an + animal's skull <span class="pagenum"><a name="p131" + id="p131">[131]</a></span> in the Jews' cemetery at Venice, + and, by way of a joke, held it out to me as if he were + offering me a Jew's skull. I have made a great step in the + formation of animals." It is an interesting trait in + Huxley's character, to find him zealous in defence of the + reputation of a great man, even although that man had been + dead more than half a century; but it may be added that his + just zeal was at least stimulated by the fact that the + maligner of Goethe was Owen, the conduct of whom, with + regard to Darwin and Huxley, Huxley had had just reason for + resenting. + </p> + <p> + The theory, then, which had dropped stillborn from Goethe, + but which Oken developed, was simply that the skull + consisted of a series of expanded vertebræ. Each + vertebra consists of a basal piece or centrum, the anterior + and posterior faces of which are closely applied to the + face of an adjoining vertebra, and of a bony arch or ring + which encloses and protects the nervous cord. Oken supposed + that there were four such vertebræ in the skull, the + centra being firmly fused and the arches expanded to form + the dome of the skull. Quite correctly, he divided the + skull into four regions, corresponding to what he called an + ear vertebra, at the back, through which the auditory + nerves passed; a jaw vertebra, in the sphenoidal region, + through which the nerves to the jaws passed; an eye + vertebra in front, pierced by the optic nerves, and again + in front a nose vertebra, the existence of which he doubted + at first. Quite rightly, he discriminated between the + ordinary bones of the skull and the special structures + surrounding the inner ear which he declared to be additions + derived from another source. So far it cannot be doubted + that the vertebral theory made a distinct advance in our + knowledge of the skull. It was to a certain extent, <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p132" id="p132">[132]</a></span> + however, thrown into disrepute by various fantastic + theories with which Oken surrounded it. Later on, Cuvier + removed from it these wilder excrescences, and amplified + the basis of observation upon which the underlying theory + of the unity of type of the skull throughout the + vertebrates was based. Cuvier, however, came to reject the + theory, except so far as it applied to the posterior or + occipital segment of the skull. Later on, Owen resuscitated + the theory, first throwing doubt on the merit of Goethe, + and then suggesting that Oken, instead of relying on the + observed facts, had deduced the whole theory from his own + imagination. Owen, although he made no new contribution to + fact or theory in this matter, practically claimed the + whole credit of it as a scientific hypothesis. + </p> + <p> + When Huxley took up the subject, the position was that the + vertebral theory was in full possession of the field, under + the auspices of Owen. Huxley began afresh from observed + facts. The first object of his investigation was to settle + once for all the question as to whether the skulls of all + vertebrates were essentially modifications of the same + type. He took in succession the skulls of man, sheep, bird, + turtle, and carp, and showed that in all these there were + to be distinguished the same four basi-cranial regions: the + basi-occipital, basi-sphenoid, pre-sphenoid, and ethmoid. + These were essentially identical with the centra of the + four vertebræ of Oken. Similarly, he showed the + composition of the lateral and dorsal walls, proving the + essential identity of the structures involved and of their + relations to the nerve exits in the great types he had + chosen. In the series of lectures delivered before the + College of Surgeons, he extended his observations to a much + larger series of vertebrates, and substantially laid <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p133" id="p133">[133]</a></span> + down the main lines of our knowledge of the skull. In two + important respects his statements were not merely a + codification of existing knowledge, but an important + extension of it. He distinguished the different modes in + which the jaws may be suspended to the skull, and + established for these different kinds of suspensoria the + names which have ever since been employed. He proved + clearly what had been suggested by Oken, that the region of + the ear is a lateral addition to the skull, and he + distinguished in it three bones, his names for which have + since become the common property of anatomists. Finally, he + made it plain beyond any possible doubt that the skulls of + all vertebrates were built upon a common plan. + </p> + <p> + Having established the facts, he proceeded to enquire into + the theory. There was now a new method for investigating + such problems, the method of embryology, which, + practically, had not been available to Oken, and of which + neither Cuvier nor Owen had made proper use. By putting + together the investigations of a number of embryologists, + by adding to these himself, and, lastly, by interpreting + the facts which his investigations into comparative anatomy + had brought to light, he shewed that the vertebral theory + could not be maintained. He shewed, by these methods, that, + though both skull and vertebral column are segmented, the + one and the other, after an early stage, are fashioned on + lines so different as to exclude the possibility of + regarding the details of each as mere modifications of a + common type. "The spinal column and the skull start from + the same primitive condition, whence they immediately begin + to diverge." "It may be true to say that there is a + primitive identity of structure between the spinal or + vertebral column and the skull; but it is no more true + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p134" + id="p134">[134]</a></span> that the adult skull is a + modified vertebral column than it would be to affirm that + the vertebral column is a modified skull." Taking the + embryological facts, he shewed that the skull arose out of + elements quite different from those of the vertebral + column. The notochord alone is common to both. The skull is + built up of longitudinal cartilaginous pieces, now known as + the "parachordals" and "trabeculæ," of sense capsules + enclosing the nose and ear, and of various roofing bones. + In the historical development of the skull three grades + become apparent; a primitive stage, as seen in Amphioxus, + where there is nothing but a fibrous investment of the + nervous structures; a cartilaginous grade, as seen in the + skate or shark, where the skull is formed of cartilage, + very imperfectly hardened by earthy deposits; a bony stage, + seen in most of the higher animals. He shewed that in + actual development of the higher animals these historical + grades are repeated, the skull being at first a mere + membranous or fibrous investment of the developing nervous + masses, then becoming cartilaginous, and, lastly, bony. He + made some important prophetic remarks as to the probable + importance that future embryological work would give to the + distinction between cartilage and membrane bones—a + prophecy that has been more than fully realised by the + investigations of Hertwig and of others. Our present + knowledge of the skull differs from Huxley's conception + practically only in a fuller knowledge of details. We know + now that throughout the series there is a primitive set of + structures common to all animals higher in the scale than + Amphioxus, and forming the base and lateral walls of the + skull. This is termed the Chondrocraninm, because it is + laid down in cartilage; it is composed of the separate + elements which <span class="pagenum"><a name="p135" + id="p135">[135]</a></span> Huxley indicated, and, in + different animals, as Huxley suggested, the exact limits of + the ossification of the primitive cartilages differ in + extent, but occur in homologous situations. This primitive + skull is roofed over by a series of membrane bones which + have no connection in origin with the other portions of the + skull, and which have no representative in the vertebral + column, but which are the direct descendants of the bony + scales clothing the external skin in cartilaginous fishes. + In one respect only was Huxley erroneous. Partly by + inadvertence, and partly because the minute details of + vertebrate embryology became really familiar to + zoölogists only after the elaborate work of Balfour of + Cambridge, Huxley, in his account of the formation of the + first beginnings of the skeleton in the embryo, made + confusion between the walls of the primitive groove, which, + in reality, give rise to the nervous structures, and those + embryonic tissues which form the skeletal system. + </p> + <p> + The next great piece of work which we may take as typical + of Huxley's contributions to vertebrate anatomy, is his + classical study on the classification of birds. The great + group of birds contains a larger number of species than is + known in any other group of vertebrates, and, in this vast + assemblage of forms there is strikingly little anatomical + difference. The ostrich and the humming-bird might perhaps + be taken as types of the extremest differences to be found, + and yet, although these differ in size, plumage, + adaptations, habits, mode of life, and almost everything + that can separate living things, the two conform so closely + to the common type of bird structure that knowledge of the + anatomy of one would be a sufficient guide, down to minute + details, for dissection of the other. None <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p136" id="p136">[136]</a></span> + the less, there are hundreds of thousands of species of + birds between these two types. It is not surprising that to + reduce this vast assemblage of similar creatures to an + ordered system of classification has proved one of the most + difficult tasks attempted by zoölogists. Before + Huxley, it had been attempted by a number of distinguished + zoölogists; but, for the most part, these had relied + too much on merely external characters and on superficial + modifications in obvious relation to habits. When Huxley, + in the course of a set of lectures on Comparative Anatomy, + was about to approach the subject of birds he was asked by + a zoölogist how he proposed to treat them. "I intend," + he replied, "to treat them as extinct animals." By that he + meant that it was his purpose to make a prolonged study of + their skeletal structures the basis of his grouping, + following the lines which Cuvier, Owen, and he himself had + pursued so successfully in the case of the fossil remains + of vertebrates. The result was that this first systematic + study of even one set of the anatomical characters of the + group completely reformed the method by which all + subsequent workers have tried to grapple with the problem; + ornithology was raised from a process akin to + stamp-collecting to a reasoned scientific study. The + immediate practical results were equally important. He was + able to shew that among the innumerable known forms there + were three grades of structure. The lowest had already been + recognised and named by Haeckel; it consisted of the + Saururæ, or reptile-like, birds, and contained a + single fossil form, Archæopteryx, distinguished from + all living birds by the presence of a hand-like wing in + which the metacarpal bones were well developed and freely + movable, and by the possession of a long lizard-like tail + actually exceeding <span class="pagenum"><a name="p137" + id="p137">[137]</a></span> in length the remainder of the + spinal column. The next group of Ratites, although it + contained only the Ostrich, Rhea, Emu, Cassowary, and + Apteryx, he shewed to be equivalent in anatomical coherence + to the third great group of Carinates, which includes the + vast majority of living birds. In his arrangement of the + latter group, he laid most stress on the characters of the + bony structures which form the palate, and by this simple + means was able to lay down clearly at least the main lines + of a natural classification of the group. + </p> + <p> + Huxley's work upon birds, like his work in many other + branches of anatomy, has been so overlaid by the + investigations of subsequent zoölogists that it is + easy to overlook its importance. His employment of the + skeleton as the basis of classification was succeeded by + the work of others who made a similar use of the muscular + anatomy, of the intestinal canal, of the windpipe, of the + tendons of the feet, and many other structures which + display anatomical modifications in different birds. The + modern student finds that all these new sets of facts are + much greater in bulk than the work of Huxley, and it is + easy for him to remain in ignorance that they were all + suggested and inspired by the method which Huxley employed. + He finds that further research has supplanted some of + Huxley's conclusions, and it is easy for him to remain in + ignorance that the conclusions themselves suggested the + investigations which have modified them. Huxley's + anatomical work was essentially living and stimulating, and + too often it has become lost to sight simply because of the + vast superstructures of new facts to which it gave rise. + </p> + <p> + Closely associated with vertebrate anatomy is the subject + of geographical distribution. In 1857 the study of this + important department of zoölogy was placed on <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p138" id="p138">[138]</a></span> a + scientific basis, practically for the first time, by a + memoir on the geographical distribution of birds published + in the <i>Journal</i> of the Linnæan Society of + London. It was known in a general way that different kinds + of creatures were found in different parts of the world, + but little attempt had been made to map out the world into + regions characterised by their animal and vegetable + inhabitants, as the political divisions of the world are + characterised by their different governments and policies. + Mr. Sclater, who two years later became secretary of the + Zoölogical Society of London, in his memoir introduced + the subject in the following words: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "It is a well-known and universally acknowledged fact + that we can choose two portions of the globe of which the + respective fauna and flora shall be so different that we + should not be far wrong in supposing them to have been + the result of distinct creations. Assuming, then, that + there are, or may be, more areas of creation than one, + the question naturally arises how many of them are there, + and what are their respective extents and boundaries; or, + in other words, what are the most natural primary + ontological divisions of the earth's surface?" + </p> + </div> + <p> + Mr. Sclater's answer was that there are six great regions; + Neotropical, Nearctic, Palæarctic, Ethiopian, Indian, + and Australian, and his answer, with minor alterations and + the addition of a great wealth of detail, has been accepted + by zoölogy. + </p> + <p> + Two years later, however, Darwin gave a new meaning and a + new importance to Sclater's work, by the new interpretation + he caused to be placed on the words "centres of creation." + Sclater's facts and areas remained the same; Darwin + rejected the idea of separate creations in the older sense + of the words, and laid stress on the impossibility of + accounting for the resemblances within a region and for the + differences between regions <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p139" id="p139">[139]</a></span> by climatic + differences and so forth. He raised the questions of modes + of dispersal and of barriers to dispersal, of similarities + due to common descent, and of the modifying results + produced by isolation. He gave, in fact, a theory of the + "creations" which Mr. Sclater had shewn to be a probable + assumption. It was in the nature of things that Huxley + should make a contribution to a set of problems so novel + and of so much importance to zoölogy. In 1868, in the + course of a memoir on the anatomy of the gallinaceous birds + and their allies, he made a useful attempt, nearly the + first of its kind, to correlate anatomical facts with + geographical distribution. Having shewn the diverging lines + of anatomical structure that existed in the group of + creatures he had been considering, he went on to shew that + there was a definite relation between the varieties of + structure and the different positions on the surface of the + globe occupied at the present time by the creatures in + question. He made, in fact, the geographical position a + necessary part of the whole idea of a species or of a + group, and so introduced a conception which has become a + permanent part of zoölogical science. + </p> + <p> + With regard to the number and limits of the zoölogical + regions into which the world may be divided, Huxley raised + a number of problems which have not yet reached a full + solution. Mr. Sclater had divided the world into six great + regions: the Nearctic, including the continent of North + America, with an overlap into what is called South America + by geographers; the Palæarctic, comprising Europe and + the greater part of Asia; the Oriental, containing certain + southern portions of Asia, such as India south of the + Himalayas and many of the adjacent islands; the Ethiopian, + including Africa, <span class="pagenum"><a name="p140" + id="p140">[140]</a></span> except north of the Sahara, and + Madagascar; the Australian, containing Australia and New + Zealand and some of the more southeastern of the islands of + Malay; the Neotropical, including South America. Huxley + first called attention to certain noteworthy resemblances + between the Neotropical and the Australian regions of + Sclater, and held that a primary division of the world was + into <i>Arctogæa</i>, comprising the great land + masses of the Northern Hemisphere with a part of their + extension across the equator, and <i>Notogæa</i>, + which contained Australia but not New Zealand and South + America. Although this acute suggestion has not been + generally accepted as a modification of Mr. Sclater's + scheme, it called attention in a striking fashion to some + very remarkable features in the distribution of animals. + Subsequent writers have considerably extended Huxley's + conception of the similarities to be found among the more + southern land areas. They have pointed out that the most + striking idea of the distribution of land and water on the + surface of the globe is to be got by considering the globe + alternately from one pole and from the other. In the south, + a clump of ice-bound land, well within the Antarctic + Circle, surrounds the pole. All else is a wide domain of + ocean broken only where tapering and isolated tongues of + land, South America, the Cape, Australia, lean down from + the great land masses of the north. On the other hand, all + the great land masses expand in the Northern Hemisphere, + and shoulder one another round the North Pole. America is + separated from Asia only by the shallowest and narrowest of + straits; an elevation of a few fathoms would unite + Greenland with Europe. Science points definitely to some + part of the great northern land area as the centre of life + for at least the larger terrestrial forms of <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p141" id="p141">[141]</a></span> + life. We know that these arose successively, primitive + birds like the ostriches being older than higher forms like + the parrots and singing birds; the pouched marsupials + preceding the antelopes and the lion; the lemurs coming + before the man-like apes. Each wave of life spread over the + whole area producing after its kind; then, pressing round + the northern land area, it met a thousand different + conditions of environment, different foods, enemies, and + climates, and broke up into different genera and species. + But there was never a wave of life that was not followed by + another wave. In the struggle for existence between the + newer and the older forms, the older forms were gradually + driven southwards towards the diverging fringes of the land + masses. The vanquished left behind them on the field of + battle only their bones, to become fossils. Sometimes + succeeding waves swept along to the extreme limits of the + land, and many early types were utterly destroyed. But + others found sanctuary in the ends of the South, and such + survivors of older and earlier types of life cause a + similarity between the southern lands that Huxley called + Notogæa, although the extent of his region must be + increased. + </p> + <p> + Recently, however, there has been a recurrence to Huxley's + suggested union of South America and Australia, based on + new evidence of a direct kind, quite different from that + which had just been given. Various groups of naturalists + have stated that there are similarities between the + invertebrate inhabitants of Australia and of South America + of a kind which makes the existence of a direct land + connection in the Southern Hemisphere extremely probable. + Moreover, Ameghino has recently described some marsupial + fossils from South America which, he states, belong to the + Australian <span class="pagenum"><a name="p142" + id="p142">[142]</a></span> group of Dasyuridæ, and + Oldfield Thomas has described a new mammal from South + America which is unlike the opossums of America and like + the diprotodonts of Australia. So that, while the general + opinion has been against Huxley's division, Notogæa, + in the strict meaning which he gave to it, there has + recently been an opinion growing in its favour. + </p> + <p> + Huxley also made minor alterations in Mr. Sclater's scheme + by forming an additional circumpolar region for the + Northern Hemisphere, and by elevating New Zealand into a + separate region, distinct from Australia. On these points + there is a balance of opinion against his views. + </p> + <p> + Before leaving the subject of Huxley's contributions to + vertebrate anatomy, the actual details of which would + occupy far too much space, it is necessary to mention the + great importance to zoölogy of the new terms and new + ideas he introduced into classification. His mind was, + above all things, orderly and comprehensive, and while, in + innumerable minute points, from the structure of the palate + of birds to the structure of the roots of human hair + (actually the subject of Huxley's first published + contribution to scientific knowledge), he added to the + number of known facts, he did even more important work in + co-ordinating and grouping together the known body of + facts. To him are due not only the names, but the idea, + that the mammalian animals fall into three grades of + ascending complexity of organisation: the reptile-like + Prototheria, which lay large eggs, and which have many + other reptilian characters; the Metatheria, or marsupial + animals; the Eutheria, or higher animals, which include all + the common animals from the mole or rabbit up to man. In a + similar fashion, he grouped the vertebrates into three + divisions, <span class="pagenum"><a name="p143" + id="p143">[143]</a></span> and named them: Ichthyopsida, + which include the fish and Amphibia, creatures in which the + aquatic habit dominates the life history and the anatomical + structure; Sauropsida, including birds and reptiles, on the + close connection between which he threw so much light; + Mammalia. + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 340px;"> + <img src="images/ill-143.png" alt="" title="" + height="157" width="340" /> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p144" id="p144">[144]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-144.png" alt="" title="" height="85" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</a> + </h2> + <h3> + MAN AND THE APES + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Objections to Zoölogical Discussion of Man's + Place—Owen's Prudence—Huxley's Determination + to Speak out—Account of his Treatment of <i>Man's + Place in Nature</i>—Additions Made by More Recent + Work. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Even before the publication of <i>The Origin of Species</i> + there was a considerable nervousness in the minds of the + more orthodox as to discussions on the position of the + human species in zoölogical classification. Men of the + broadest minds, such as Lyell, who himself had suffered + considerably from outside interference with the scientific + right to publish scientific conclusions, was strongly + opposed to anything that seemed to tend towards breaking + down the barrier between man and the lower creatures. Sir + William Lawrence, a very distinguished and able man, had + been criticised with the greatest severity, and had been + nearly ostracised, for a very mild little book <i>On + Man</i>; and Huxley tells us that the electors to the Chair + of a Scotch University had refused to invite a + distinguished man, to whom the post would have been + acceptable, because he had advocated the view that there + were several species of man. The court political leaders, + and society generally, resented <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p145" id="p145">[145]</a></span> strongly anything + that seemed at all likely to disturb the somewhat narrow + orthodoxy prevalent in those times; and, as there were + comparatively few posts open to scientific men, and + comparatively greater chances of posts being made for men + of talent and ability who adhered to the respectable + traditions, those who tampered with so serious a question + as the place of man were likely to burn their fingers + severely. However, the difficulties of discussing these + problems were much greater immediately after 1859. One of + the most surprising things in the history of this century + is the sudden intensity of the opposition of the public, + particularly the respectable and religious public, to + zoölogical writing upon man, immediately after the + publication of the <i>Origin</i>. Before that time + anatomists did not necessarily hesitate to point out the + close resemblance between the anatomy of man and that of + the higher apes, and the difficulties anatomists had in + making anatomical distinction of value between them. Thus + Professor Owen, who, as a writer, was rather unusually + nervous about expressing facts to which any objection might + be raised by those outside the strictly scientific world, + had written the following paragraph in the course of an + essay on the characters of the class Mammalia, published, + in 1857, in the <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the + Linnæan Society</i>: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Not being able to appreciate or conceive of the + distinction between the psychical phenomena of a + chimpanzee and of a Boschisman or of an Aztec, with + arrested brain-growth, as being of a nature so essential + as to preclude a comparison between them, or as being + other than a difference of degree, I cannot shut my eyes + to the significance of that all-pervading similitude of + structure—every tooth, every bone, strictly + homologous—which makes the determination of the + difference between <i>Homo</i> and <i>Pithecus</i> the + anatomist's difficulty." + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p146" + id="p146">[146]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + It is true, he went on to explain his belief in the + existence of certain characters in the brain which seemed + to him to justify the separation of man in a different + group from that in which the apes were placed; but it is + certain that he regretted having said anything which seemed + to support the Darwinian view; and, two years later, when + the opposition to Darwin was in its acutest stage, Owen + withdrew his words. His "Reade Lecture," delivered in the + University of Cambridge, was in all respects a reprint of + the essay from which we have just quoted, but the + apparently dangerous words were omitted. More than that, + the points insisted on in the essay as being sufficient for + the purpose of separating man in zoölogical + classification were elevated into a reason against descent. + Although Huxley, in several addresses and publications, + disproved the existence of the alleged differences, and + although Sir William Flower gave an actual demonstration + shewing the essential identity of the brain of man and of + the apes in the matter in question, Owen never admitted his + error. + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 321px;"> + <img src="images/ill-darwin.jpg" alt="CHARLES DARWIN" + title="" height="479" width="321" /> <span + class="caption">CHARLES DARWIN<br /> + From the painting by Hon. John Collier in the National + Portrait Gallery</span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + It is not surprising that, if an anatomist so distinguished + and acute as was Owen allowed his judgment to be completely + overborne by the storm of prejudice against Darwinism, + those who were not anatomists should have held up to + ridicule all idea of comparison between man and the apes. + In <i>The Origin of Species</i> itself, no elaborate + attempt had been made to set forth the anatomical arguments + in favour of or against a community of descent for man and + the apes. But it was made sufficiently plain, and the + public laid hold of the point eagerly, that the doctrine of + descent was not meant to exclude man from the field of its + operation. Huxley, in the course of his ordinary work as + Professor of Biology, had, among many other subjects, + naturally <span class="pagenum"><a name="p147" + id="p147">[147]</a></span> turned his attention to the + anatomy and classification of the higher animals. When + Owen's essay appeared, he found that he was unable to agree + with many of the conclusions contained in it, and had set + about a renewed investigation of the matter. Thus it + happened that, when the question became prominent, in 1860, + Huxley was ready with material contributions to it. He + believed, moreover, that, as Darwin was not specially + acquainted with the anatomy and development of vertebrates, + there was an opportunity for doing a real service to the + cause of evolution. Accordingly, in 1860, he took for the + subject of a series of lectures to workingmen the "Relation + of Man to the Lower Animals," and, in 1862, expanded the + lectures into a volume called <i>Man's Place in Nature</i>. + When it was ready, he was prepared to say with a good + conscience that his conclusions "had not been formed + hastily or enunciated crudely." + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I thought," he wrote in the preface to the 1894 edition, + "I had earned the right to publish them, and even fancied + I might be thanked, rather than reproved, for so doing. + However, in my anxiety to promulgate nothing erroneous, I + asked a highly competent anatomist and very good friend + of mine to look through my proofs, and, if he could, + point out any errors of fact. I was well pleased when he + returned them without any criticism on that score; but my + satisfaction was speedily dashed by the very earnest + warning, as to the consequences of publication, which my + friend's interest in my welfare led him to give; but, as + I have confessed elsewhere, when I was a young man there + was just a little—a mere + <i>soupçon</i>—in my composition of that + tenacity of purpose which has another name, and I felt + sure that all the evil things prophesied would not be so + painful to me as the giving up of that which I had + resolved to do, upon grounds which I conceived to be + right. So the book came out, and I must do my friend the + justice to say that his forecast was completely + justified. The Boreas of criticism blew his hardest <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p148" id="p148">[148]</a></span> + blasts of misrepresentation and ridicule for some years; + and I was even as one of the wicked. Indeed, it surprises + me, at times, to think how anyone who had sunk so low + could have emerged into, at any rate, relative + respectability." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Further, in the same preface, Huxley strongly advises + others to imitate his action in this matter. There are now, + and no doubt there always will be, truths "plainly obvious + and generally denied." Whoever attacks the current ideas is + certain, unless human nature changes greatly, to encounter + a bitter opposition, and there will always be those among + his friends who recommend him to temper truth by prudence. + Huxley's advice is different: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "If there is a young man of the present generation who + has taken as much trouble as I did to assure himself that + they are truths, let him come out with them, without + troubling his head about the barking of the dogs of St. + Ernulphus. <i>Veritas prævalebit</i>—some + day; and, even if she does not prevail in his time, he + himself will be all the better and wiser for having tried + to help her. And let him recollect that such great reward + is full payment for all his labour and pains." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Although they were written so long ago, the lectures on + "Man's Place in Nature" are still the best existing + treatise on the subject, and we shall give an outline of + them, mentioning the chief points in which further work has + been done. Information concerning the man-like apes was + scattered in very different places, in the grave records of + scientific societies, in the letters of travellers and + missionaries, in the reports of the zoölogical + societies which had been in possession of living specimens. + The facts had to be sifted out from a great mass of + verbiage and unfounded statement. With a characteristic + desire for historical accuracy, more usual in a man of + letters than in an anatomist, Huxley began <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p149" id="p149">[149]</a></span> + with a study of classical and mediæval legends of the + existence of pigmies and man-like creatures; but, while + recognising that legends of satyrs and fauns were presages + of the discovery of man-like apes, he was unable to find + any actual record earlier than that contained in + Pigafetta's <i>Description of the Kingdom of Congo</i>, + drawn up from the notes of a Portuguese sailor and + published in 1598. The descriptions and figures in this + work apparently referred to chimpanzees. From this date + onwards he traces the literature of the animals in + question, and then proceeds to give an account of them. + </p> + <p> + There are four distinct kinds of man-like apes: in Eastern + Asia the Orangs and the Gibbons (although some later + writers differ from Huxley in removing the Gibbons from the + group of anthropoids); in Western Africa, the Chimpanzees + and the Gorillas. All these have certain characters in + common. They are inhabitants of the old world; they all + have the same number of teeth as man, possessing four + incisors, two canines, four premolars, and six true molars + in each jaw, in the adult condition, while the milk + dentition, as in man, consists of twenty teeth,—four + incisors, two canines, and four molars in each jaw. Since + Huxley wrote, a large bulk of additional work upon teeth + has been published, and we now know that man and the + anthropoid apes display the same kind of degenerative + specialisation in their jaws. Simpler and older forms of + mammals had a much larger number of teeth, and these + differed among themselves more than the teeth of the higher + forms. In the Anthropoids and Man, the jaws are + proportionately shorter and less heavy than in simpler + forms, and, in correspondence with this, the number of the + teeth has become reduced, while the teeth themselves tend + to form a more even row. The canine or <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p150" id="p150">[150]</a></span> + eye-teeth are relatively smaller in the gorilla than in + primitive mammals; they are still smaller in the lower + races of man; while in ordinary civilised man they do not + project above the others. The shortening of the jaw is + still proceeding, and, although in lower races of man the + last molar or wisdom tooth is almost as large as the molars + in front of it, in the higher races the wisdom tooth is + much smaller and frequently does not develop at all, or + begins to decay very soon after its appearance. If the + process of extinction of lower races were to proceed much + further, so that civilised white races became the only + human inhabitants of the earth, then the gap between the + Anthropoids and Man would be wider than it now is; man + would be characterised by the presence of one tooth less + than the anthropoids, just as the anthropoids and some + lower monkeys are characterised by having one tooth less + than monkeys still lower. + </p> + <p> + In all, the nostrils have a narrow partition and look + downwards as in man. The arms are always longer than the + legs, the difference being greatest in the orang and least + in the chimpanzee. We know now that in the lower races of + man, the arms are proportionately longer than in higher + races, and it has recently been shewn that, although there + is a general proportion between the length of the long + bones and the height of the whole body in man, so that the + height may be calculated with an average error from these + bones, yet the probable error is greater when the + calculation is made from the arms than when it is made from + the legs. In fact, the length of arm as compared to the + length of leg and to whole height is a more variable + feature in man than the length of leg. + </p> + <p> + In all the anthropoids, the forelimbs end in hands <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p151" id="p151">[151]</a></span> + with longer or shorter thumbs, and the great toe, always + smaller than in man, is far more movable and can be opposed + like a thumb to the other toes. Since Huxley wrote, a + considerable amount of evidence has been collected shewing + that partial opposability of the toe in man is not + uncommon, and that there is evidence as to a tendency to + increase of length of the great toe within historical + times. None of the great apes have tails, and none of them + have the cheek pouches common among lower monkeys. + </p> + <p> + Huxley then gives an account of the natural history of + these animals, an account which still remains the best in + literature. He sums up the habits of the Asiatic forms as + follows: + </p> + <ol> + <li> + They may readily move along the ground in the erect, or + semi-erect position, and without direct support from the + arms. + </li> + <li> + They may possess an extremely loud voice, so loud as to + be readily heard one or two miles. + </li> + <li> + They may be capable of great viciousness and violence + when irritated; and this is especially true of adult + males. + </li> + <li> + They may build a nest to sleep in. + </li> + </ol> + <p> + He finds the same general characters in the case of the + gorilla and chimpanzee, but in their case there was not + quite so reliable evidence upon which to go. + </p> + <p> + Although, since Huxley wrote, there has been much greater + opportunity of studying anthropoid apes, both in + confinement and in their native haunts, there is not much + to add to his account. Some little time ago, the world was + interested by the assertion of a clever American that he + had discovered a kind of language used by the higher apes, + and that he was able to communicate with them. Mr. Garnier, + the person in question, <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p152" id="p152">[152]</a></span> declared his + intention of going out to tropical Africa and establishing + himself in a strong cage in the forests inhabited by + gorillas and chimpanzees, in the hope that, impelled by + curiosity, they would look upon him as we look on monkeys + in a zoölogical garden, and that he would thus be able + to make his knowledge and records of monkey language more + perfect. As a matter of fact he went to Africa, and on his + return published a volume which aroused the indignation of + naturalists. There was internal evidence that he had gone + no further than the garden of a coast station, and his + pretended account of the habits of monkeys as they lived in + their native haunts contained nothing that was not already + known. There is no doubt but that the anthropoid apes, like + many other animals, use modulations of their voice to + express emotional states; that, in fact, they have + love-cries and cries of warning, of alarm, and of pleasure; + but there is not the smallest evidence to suppose that in + the case of the anthropoids these cries approach more + nearly to speech than the cries of any other of the higher + mammals. + </p> + <p> + Since Huxley's volume was published, a large amount of + information has been published by Darwin, Romanes, and + others upon the mental capacities of anthropoids kept in + confinement, and the result of this has been to prove that + the anthropoids, in especial the chimpanzees, possess + mental powers more akin to those of man than are to be + found in the most intelligent of the quadrupeds. We may + cite some instances of these higher powers. Vosmaern had a + tame female orang-outang that was able to untie the most + intricate knot with fingers or teeth, and took such + pleasure in doing it that she regularly untied the shoes of + those who came near her. The female chimpanzee called + Sally, that lived <span class="pagenum"><a name="p153" + id="p153">[153]</a></span> for many years in the + Zoölogical Society's Gardens in London, was taught by + its keeper and by Romanes an interesting variety of + "tricks" involving at least the rudiments of what may be + called human intelligence. Among other feats, it would pick + up from the floor and present to the keeper or to a + visitor, a stated number of straws up to five. Many monkeys + seem nearly purely destructive in their dealings with + objects within their reach; but Leutemann tells of an + orang-outang which "tried to put to its proper use whatever + was given to him. To my great surprise he attempted to put + on a pair of gloves. He supported himself on a light + walking cane and, when it bent under him, made ridiculous + motions to right it again." Brehm tells of a chimpanzee: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "After eating, he at once begins to clean up. He holds a + stick of wood in front of him, or puts his hands in his + master's slippers, and slides about the room, then takes + a cloth and scrubs the floor. Scouring, sweeping, and + dusting are his favourite occupations; and, when he once + gets hold of the cloth, he never wants to give it up." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Falkenstein has given a detailed description of a gorilla + which was remarkable for his delicacy in eating. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "He would take a cup or glass with the greatest care, + using both hands to carry it to his mouth, and setting it + down so carefully that I do not remember having lost a + single piece of crockery through him, though we had never + tried to teach him the use of such vessels, wishing to + bring him to Europe as nearly in his natural condition as + possible." + </p> + </div> + <p> + These and a multitude of similar observations which have + been made since Huxley wrote are typical of the increase of + our knowledge on the habits and capacities of the + anthropoid apes. They all serve to show that in <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p154" id="p154">[154]</a></span> + them the instinct for experimental investigation of + everything with which they are surrounded, and their + imitative faculties are peculiarly great. The importance of + this, from the point of view of Huxley's argument, is + great. The difference between the instincts of the lower + animals and the intelligence of man is that instincts are + to a large extent fixed and mechanical. The proper + performance of an instinct demands the presence of exactly + the right external conditions for its accomplishment. In + the absence of these conditions, the call to perform the + instinctive action is equally great, and results in useless + performances. In many of the higher animals these elaborate + instincts are more general in their character, and are + supplemented by a considerable but varying aptitude for + modification of instinctive action to suit varieties of + surrounding circumstances. As this intelligence becomes + more and more developed, the blind, mechanical instinct + becomes weaker. A large number of instances might be given + of such instincts modified by dawning intelligence. The + chief factors in producing the change are, as has been + shewn by Professor Groos, the possession of a general + instinct to imitate and to experiment, and the existence of + a period of youth in which the young creature may practise + these instincts, and so prepare itself for the more serious + purposes of adult life. The anthropoid apes seem to possess + these experimental instincts to an extent much greater than + that observed in any other class of animals, and, as they + have a long period of youth, they have the opportunity of + putting them into practice to the fullest possible extent. + </p> + <p> + From the natural history of the anthropoid apes, Huxley + passed to consideration of their relation to man, prefacing + his observations with a passage defending the <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p155" id="p155">[155]</a></span> + utility of the enquiry, a passage necessary enough in these + days of prejudice, but now chiefly with historical + interest: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "It will be admitted that some knowledge of man's + position in the animate world is an indispensable + preliminary to the proper understanding of his relations + to the universe; and this again resolves itself in the + long run into an enquiry into the nature and the + closeness of the ties which connect him with those + singular creatures whose history has been sketched in the + preceding pages. + </p> + <p> + "The importance of such an enquiry is, indeed, + intuitively manifest. Brought face to face with these + blurred copies of himself, the least thoughtful of men is + conscious of a certain shock; due perhaps not so much to + disgust at the aspect of what looks like an insulting + caricature, as to the awakening of a sudden and profound + mistrust of time-honoured theories and strongly rooted + prejudices regarding his own position in nature, and his + relations to the underworld of life; while that which + remains a dim suspicion for the unthinking, becomes a + vast argument, fraught with the deepest consequences, for + all who are acquainted with the recent progress of the + anatomical and physiological sciences." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Huxley then proceeded to elaborate the argument from + development for the essential identity of man and the apes. + This argument has now become more or less familiar to us + all, as it has gained additional support from recent + extension of embryological knowledge, and as it has been + used in every work on evolution since Huxley first laid + stress on it. The adult forms of animals are much more + complex than their embryonic stages, and the series of + changes passed through in attaining the adult condition + make up the embryological history of the animal. Huxley + took the embryology of the dog as an example of the process + in the higher animals generally, and as it had been worked + out in <span class="pagenum"><a name="p156" + id="p156">[156]</a></span> detail by a set of + investigators. The dog, like all vertebrate animals, begins + its existence as an egg; and this body is just as much an + egg as that of a fowl, although, in the case of the dog, + there is not the accumulation of nutritive material which + bloats the egg of the hen into its enormous size. Since + Huxley wrote, it has been shewn clearly that among the + mammalian animals there has been a gradual reduction in the + size of the egg. The ancestors of the mammals laid large + eggs, like those of birds or reptiles; and there still + exist two strange mammalian creatures, the Ornithorhynchus + and Echidna of Australia, which lay large, reptilian-like + eggs. The ancestors of most living mammalia acquired the + habit of retaining the eggs within the body until they were + hatched; and, as a result of this, certain structures which + grow out from the embryo while it is still within the egg + and become applied to the inner wall of the porous shell + for the purpose of obtaining air, got their supply of + oxygen, not from the outer air, but from the blood-vessels + of the maternal tissues. When this connection (called the + placenta) between embryo and mother through the egg-shell + became more perfect, not only oxygen but food-material was + obtained from the blood-vessels of the mother; and, in + consequence, it became unnecessary for the eggs to be + provided with a large supply of food-yolk. Among existing + marsupial animals, which, on the whole, represent a lower + type of mammalian structure than ordinary mammals, there is + more food-yolk than in ordinary mammals, and less food-yolk + than in the two egg-laying mammals. In the ordinary + mammals, such as the rabbit, dog, monkey, and man, there is + practically no yolk whatever deposited in the egg; the egg + is of minute size, and the embryo obtains most of its food + from the maternal blood. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p157" + id="p157">[157]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + The small egg of the mammal divides into a number of cells, + which form a hollow sphere; on the upper surface of this + the development of organs begins with the formation of a + depression which indicates the future middle line of the + animal, and is, in fact, the beginning of the nervous + system. Under this is formed a straight rod of gelatinous + material, the foundation of the vertebral column, and the + body of the embryo is gradually pinched off from the + surface of the hollow sphere. After tracing the details of + this process, Huxley proceeded as follows: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The history of the development of any other vertebrate + animal, lizard, snake, frog or fish, tells the same + story. There is always, to begin with, an egg, having the + same essential structure as that of the dog; the yolk of + that egg always undergoes division, or segmentation, as + it is often called; the ultimate products of that + segmentation constitute the building materials for the + body of the young animal; and this is built up round a + primitive groove, in the floor of which a notochord is + developed. Furthermore, there is a period in which the + young of all these animals resemble one another, not + merely in outward form, but in all essentials of + structure, so closely, that the differences between them + are inconsiderable, while in their subsequent course they + diverge more and more widely from one another. And it is + a general law, that, the more closely any animals + resemble one another in adult structure, the longer and + the more intimately do their embryos resemble one + another; so that, for example, the embryos of a snake and + of a lizard remain like one another longer than do those + of a snake and of a bird; and the embryos of a dog and of + a cat remain like one another for a far longer period + than do those of a dog and a bird; or of a dog and an + opossum; or even than those of a dog and a monkey." + </p> + </div> + <p> + This general rule, that the longer the paths of embryonic + development of two animals keep identical the <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p158" id="p158">[158]</a></span> + more nearly the two animals are related, when Huxley wrote, + was founded on a much smaller number of facts than now are + known. Since 1860 an enormous bulk of embryological + investigation has been published, and the total result has + been to confirm Huxley's position in the fullest possible + way. A certain number of exceptions have been found, but + these exceptions are so obviously special adaptations to + special circumstances that their existence only makes the + general truth of the proposition more clear. The most + common kind of exception occurs when two closely related + animals live under very different conditions. For instance, + many marine animals have close allies that in comparatively + recent times have taken to live in fresh water. The + conditions of life in fresh water are very different, + especially for delicate creatures susceptible to rapid + changes of temperature, or unable to withstand strong + currents. Thus most of the allies of the fresh-water + crayfish, which live in the sea, lay eggs from which there + are soon hatched minute, almost transparent larvæ, + exceedingly unlike the adult. In the comparatively equable + temperature of sea-water, and in the usual absence of + strong currents, these small larvæ, as Huxley shewed + later in his volume on the <i>Crayfish</i>, live a free + life, obtaining their own food, and by a series of slow + transformations gradually acquire the adult form. In fresh + water, however, the delicate larvæ would be unable to + live, and the mode of development is different. The series + of slow transformations is condensed, and takes place + almost entirely inside the egg-shell; so that, when + hatching occurs, the young crayfish is exceedingly like the + adult. Apart from such special cases, it is true that the + study of development affords a clear test of closeness of + structural affinity. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p159" + id="p159">[159]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Huxley then proceeds to discuss the development of man. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Is he something apart? Does he originate in a totally + different way from dog, bird, frog, and fish, thus + justifying those who assert him to have no place in + nature, and no real affinity with the lower world of + animal life? Or does he originate in a similar germ, pass + through the same slow and gradually progressive + modifications, depend on the same contrivances for + protection and nutrition, and finally enter the world by + the help of the same mechanism? The reply is not doubtful + for a moment, and has not been doubtful any time these + thirty years. Without question, the mode of origin, and + the early stages of the development of man are identical + with those of animals immediately below him in the scale; + without doubt, in these respects, he is far nearer the + apes than the apes are to the dog." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Then, on lines with which, by continuous repetition and + expansion by authors subsequent to him, we have now become + familiar, Huxley compared, stage by stage, the development + of man with that of other animals, and shewed, first, its + essential similarity, and then that in every case where it + departed from the development of the dog it resembled more + closely the development of the ape. He went on to review + the anatomy of man: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Thus, identical in the physical processes by which he + originates,—identical, in the early stages of his + formation—identical in the mode of his nutrition + before and after birth, with the animals which lie + immediately below him in the scale,—Man, if his + adult and perfect structure be compared with theirs + exhibits, as might be expected, a marvellous likeness of + organisation. He resembles them as they resemble one + another—he differs from, them as they differ from + one another. And, though these differences cannot be + weighed and measured, their value may be readily + estimated; the scale or standard of judgment, touching + that value, being afforded and <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p160" id="p160">[160]</a></span> expressed by the + system of classification of animals now current among + zoölogists." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Having explained the general system of zoölogical + classification, he tried to dispel preliminary prejudice by + inducing his readers or bearers to take an outside view of + themselves. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Let us endeavour for a moment to disconnect our thinking + selves from the mask of humanity; let us imagine + ourselves scientific Saturnians, if you will, fairly + acquainted with such animals as now inhabit the earth, + and employed in discussing the relations they bear to a + new and singular 'erect and featherless biped,' which + some enterprising traveller, overcoming the difficulties + of space and gravitation, has brought from that distant + planet for our inspection, well preserved, may be, in a + cask of rum. We should all, at once, agree upon placing + him among the mammalian vertebrates; and his lower jaw, + his molars, and his brain, would leave no room for + doubting the systematic position of the new genus among + those mammals whose young are nourished during gestation + by means of a placenta, or what are called the placental + mammals. + </p> + <p> + "Further, the most superficial study would at once + convince us that, among the orders of placental mammals, + neither the whales, nor the hoofed creatures, nor the + sloths and ant-eaters, nor the carnivorous cats, dogs, + and bears, still less the rodent rats and rabbits, or the + insectivorous moles and hedgehogs, or the bats, could + claim our <i>Homo</i> as one of themselves. + </p> + <p> + "There would remain, then, but one order for comparison, + that of the apes (using that word in its broadest sense), + and the question for discussion would narrow itself to + this—Is Man so different from any of these apes + that he must form an order by himself? Or does he differ + less from them than they differ from one + another,—and hence must take his place in the same + order with them? + </p> + <p> + "Being happily free from all real or imaginary personal + interest in the results of the enquiry thus set afoot, we + should proceed to weigh the arguments on one side and on + the other, with as much judicial calmness as if the + question related to a <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p161" id="p161">[161]</a></span> new opossum. We + should endeavour to ascertain, without seeking either to + magnify or diminish them, all the characters by which our + new mammal differed from the apes; and if we found that + these were of less structural value than those which + distinguish certain members of the ape order from others + universally admitted to be of the same order, we should + undoubtedly place the newly discovered tellurian genus + with them." + </p> + </div> + <p> + In pursuit of this method, and taking the gorilla as the + type for immediate comparison with man, he passed in review + the various anatomical structures, shewing that in every + case man did not differ more from the gorilla than that + differed from other anthropoids. We shall take a few + examples of his method and results, reminding our readers, + however, that Huxley carried his comparisons into every + important part of the anatomical structure. + </p> + <p> + There is no part of the skeleton so characteristically + human as the bones which form the pelvis, or bony girdle of + the hips. The expanded haunch-bones form a basin-like + structure which affords support to the soft internal + viscera during the habitually upright position, and gives + space for the attachment of the very large muscles which + help man to assume and support that attitude. In the + gorilla this region differs considerably from that in man. + The haunch-bones are narrower and much shallower, so that + they do not form so convenient a supporting basin; they + have much less surface for the attachment of muscles. The + gibbon, however, differs more vastly from the gorilla than + that differs from man. The haunch-bones are flat and + narrow, and totally devoid of any basin-like formation; the + passage through the pelvis is long and narrow, and the + ischia have outwardly curved prominences, which, in <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p162" id="p162">[162]</a></span> + life, are coated by callosities on which the animal + habitually rests, and which are coarse, corn-like patches + of skin wholly absent in the gorilla, in the chimpanzee, in + the orang, and in man. + </p> + <p> + In the characters of the hands, the feet, and the brain, + certain real or supposed structural distinctions between + man and the apes had been relied upon. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Man has been defined as the only animal possessed of two + hands terminating his fore-limbs, and of two feet + terminating his hind-limbs, while it has been said that + all the apes possess four hands; and he has been affirmed + to differ fundamentally from all the apes in the + characters of his brain, which alone, it has been + strangely asserted and reasserted, exhibits the + structures known to anatomists as the posterior lobe, the + posterior cornu of the lateral ventricle, and the + hippocampus minor. + </p> + <p> + "That the former proposition should have gained general + acceptance is not surprising—indeed, at first + sight, appearances are much in its favour; but, as for + the second, one can only admire the surpassing courage of + its enunciator, seeing that it is an innovation which is + not only opposed to generally and justly accepted + doctrines, but which is directly negatived by the + testimony of all original enquirers who have specially + investigated the matter; and that it has neither been, + nor can be, supported by a single anatomical preparation. + It would, in fact, be unworthy of serious refutation + except for the general and natural belief that deliberate + and reiterated assertions must have some foundation." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The last remarks referred, of course, to the statements of + Owen, which had made a great impression at the time and the + result of which still lingers in some of the worse-informed + treatises attacking evolution. Huxley gave a lucid account + of the general structure and arrangement of the brain in + the vertebrate series, explaining the well-known fact that + from fish up to man the general ground-plan of the brain is + identical, but that there is a progressive increase in the + complexity <span class="pagenum"><a name="p163" + id="p163">[163]</a></span> and in the size of some parts + compared with others. Next, he showed that, so far from its + being possible to erect any barrier in the structure of the + brain between man and the apes, there exists among the + mammals an almost complete series of gradations from brains + a little higher than that of the rabbit to brains a little + lower than that of man. He laid great stress on + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "the remarkable circumstance that though, so far as our + present knowledge extends, there <i>is</i> one structural + break in the series of forms of simian brains, this + hiatus does not lie between man and the man-like apes, + but between the lower and the lowest simians; or, in + other words, between the old-and new-world apes and + monkeys, and the lemurs. Every lemur which has yet been + examined, in fact, has its cerebellum partially visible + from above, and its posterior lobe, with the contained + posterior cornu and hippocampus minor, more or less + rudimentary. Every marmoset, American monkey, old-world + monkey, baboon, or man-like ape, on the contrary, has its + cerebellum entirely hidden, posteriorly, by the cerebral + lobes, and possesses a large posterior cornu, with a + well-developed hippocampus minor." ... "So far from the + posterior lobe, the posterior cornu, and the hippocampus + minor being structures peculiar to, and characteristic of + man, as they have over and over again been asserted to + be, even after the publication of the clearest + demonstration of the reverse, it is precisely these + structures which are the most marked cerebral characters + common to man with the apes. They are among the most + distinctly simian peculiarities which the human organism + exhibits." ... "Man differs from the chimpanzee or the + orang, so far as cerebral structure goes, less than these + do from the monkeys, and the difference between the + brains of the chimpanzee and of man is almost + insignificant, when compared with that between the + chimpanzee brain and that of a lemur." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Although Huxley found no structural differences between the + brains of man and of anthropoid apes, he was careful to lay + great stress on the important difference <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p164" id="p164">[164]</a></span> + in size and weight. A full-grown gorilla is nearly twice as + heavy as a European woman, and yet the heaviest known + gorilla brain probably does not exceed twenty ounces in + weight, while healthy adult human brains probably never + weigh less than thirty-one or thirty-two ounces. This + difference is not of systematic importance; for cranial + capacities shew that relatively and absolutely there is a + greater difference in brain-weight between the lowest and + highest human beings than there is between the highest ape + and the lowest human being. + </p> + <p> + In dealing with the suggestion that man differs from the + apes in being bimanous, while the apes are quadrumanous, + Huxley first explained and discussed what the exact + differences between hands and feet are. He shewed that in + man the foot is absolutely distinguished from the hand by + three structural points, although the two organs are + similar in general ground-plan. These structural points + are: + </p> + <ol> + <li> + The arrangement of the tarsal bones. + </li> + <li> + The possession of a short flexor and short extensor + muscle of the digits. + </li> + <li> + The possession of a muscle named <i>peronæus + longus</i>. + </li> + </ol> + <p> + Then he described the foot of the gorilla, and shewed that + although it was superficially hand-like, it possessed all + the structural characters that distinguish a foot from a + hand. Tracing the structure of the foot downwards through + the series of anthropoids and monkeys, he established + clearly that, while important differences existed in nearly + every single creature, the differences between the gorilla + and man were not greater than those between the gorilla and + other anthropoids, and less than between the gorilla and + lower monkeys. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p165" + id="p165">[165]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + This wonderful series of lectures ranks very high among the + important works of Huxley. It is true that a considerable + proportion of the work was not absolutely original, but it + had all been specially verified by him. It was a task + undertaken with the greatest courage, and with a care equal + to the courage; and it settled conclusively for all time + the impossibility of making between man and the anthropoids + any anatomical barriers greater than those which exist + between the different although closely related members of + any of the other family groups in the animal kingdom. The + advance of knowledge has only added to the details of + Huxley's argument; it has not made any reconstruction of it + necessary. A writer on the same subject to-day would to all + certainty make use of the same general methods. The chief + differences, perhaps, that would be made are two: First, + greater stress would be laid on the distinction, first made + by Huxley himself, between intermediate and linear types. + (See p. 87). To use the popular phrase, a great deal of + water has passed under the bridges since the separation of + man from the ape-like progenitors common to him and to the + existing anthropoids. It has already been pointed out that + the gradual extinction of lower races of man is widening + the apparent gap between existing man and existing apes; + and evidence accumulates that many still more primitive and + more ape-like races of man than the lowest existing savages + have disappeared from the surface of the earth. Moreover, + we know that existing anthropoids are the degenerate and + scattered remnants of what was once a much more widely + spread and more important group. We have some reason for + believing the contrary, and no reason for believing that + the surviving anthropoids represent the most man-like apes + that have lived. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p166" + id="p166">[166]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + The second great point in which a modern writer would amend + Huxley's statement of the case is more purely anatomical. + One result of Darwin's work has been that anatomists attend + much more closely to the slight variations of anatomical + structure to be found among individuals of the same + species. A comparison between an individual human body and + the body of an individual gorilla is not now considered + sufficient. The comparison must be made between the results + of dissection of a very large number of men and of a very + large number of gorillas. The anatomy of a type is not the + anatomy of an individual; it is a kind of central point + around which there oscillate the variations presented by + the individuals belonging to the type. So far as this newer + method has been applied, it has been found that the + variations of the gorilla type frequently, in the case of + individual organs, overlap the variations of the human + type, and that the structure of man differs from the + structure of any anthropoid type only in that the abstract + central point of its variations is slightly different from + the abstract central point of the variations presented by + individual orangs, gorillas, and chimpanzees. + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 302px;"> + <img src="images/ill-166.png" alt="" title="" + height="152" width="302" /> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p167" id="p167">[167]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-167.png" alt="" title="" height="85" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</a> + </h2> + <h3> + SCIENCE AS A BRANCH OF EDUCATION + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Science-Teaching Fifty Years Ago—Huxley's + Insistence on Reform—Science + Primers—Physiography—Elementary + Physiology—<i>The Crayfish</i>—Manuals of + Anatomy—Modern Microscopical + Methods—Practical Work in Biological + Teaching—Invention of the Type System—Science + in Medical Education—Science and Culture. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Less than half a century ago, there was practically no + generally diffused knowledge of even the elements of + science and practically no provision for teaching it. + Medical students, in the course of their professional + education, received some small instruction in botany, + chemistry, and physiology; in the greater universities of + England and the Continent there were not in all a dozen + professorships of science apart from special branches of + medicine; in the Scottish universities there were one or + two dreamy chairs of "Natural and Civil History," the + occupiers of which were supposed to dispense instruction in + half a dozen sciences. There was no scientific teaching at + the public schools; there were practically no books + available for beginners in science, and even the idea of + guides to laboratory work had not been invented. Huxley, + addressing in 1854 a particularly select audience in St. + Martin's Hall, London, spoke to them of the + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p168" + id="p168">[168]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "utter ignorance as to the simplest laws of their own + animal life, which prevails among even the most highly + educated persons in this country." "I am addressing," he + said, "I imagine, an audience of cultivated persons; and + yet I dare venture to assert that, with the exception of + those of my hearers who may chance to have received a + medical education, there is not one who could tell me + what is the meaning and use of an act which he performs a + score of times every minute, and whose suspension would + involve his immediate death:—I mean the act of + breathing—or who could state in precise terms why + it is that a confined atmosphere is injurious to health." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The power to express the precise meaning of even a common + physiological act is probably not yet possessed by all + educated people: but no one can doubt that there is now a + very generally diffused knowledge of and interest in the + ordinary processes of living bodies. It is almost + impossible for any of us to escape some amount of + scientific education at school, at college, from lectures, + or from books. Certainly those of us who have a natural + inclination towards knowledge of that kind can hardly fail + to have the opportunity of acquiring it. Every library + abounds in elementary and advanced scientific books; every + university and many schools have their lectures and + laboratories for science, and there is scientific teaching + involved in every educational curriculum. To attempt a + complete account of how this radical change in the attitude + of the world to science has come about would be to attempt + to write the history of European civilisation in the last + half-century. A thousand causes have been contributory; but + among these causes two have been of extraordinary + importance—an idea and a man. The idea is the + conception of organic evolution, and the man was Huxley. + The idea of evolution clothed <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p169" id="p169">[169]</a></span> the dead bones of + anatomy with a fair and living flesh, and the new body left + the dusty corners of museums to pervade the world, arousing + the attention and interest of all. A large part of the + prodigious mental activities of Huxley was devoted to + compelling the world to take an interest in biological + science. Had his life-work been no more than this side of + it, it would have been of commanding importance. A mere + enumeration of the modes in which he assisted in arousing + attention to science among all classes would fill many + pages. Almost before he was settled in London, in the + lecture from which we quoted at the beginning of this + chapter he urged the "educational value of the natural + history sciences." In 1869 in a speech in Liverpool; in + 1870 at University College, London; in 1874 as his + Rectorial address in the University of Aberdeen; in 1876 at + the opening ceremonial of the Johns Hopkins University at + Baltimore; in the same year at South Kensington; in 1877 in + a separate essay; in 1881 in an address to the + International Medical Congress: at these different times + and addressing different and important audiences he + continued to urge the absolute necessity of a knowledge of + nature. A well-known and eloquent passage from an address + on "a liberal education" delivered to working men in 1868 + contains the gist of his reiterated argument: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Suppose it were perfectly certain that the life and + fortune of every one of us would, one day or other, + depend on his winning or losing a game of chess, don't + you think that we should all consider it to be a primary + duty to learn at least the names and the moves of the + pieces; to have a notion of a gambit, and a keen eye for + all the means of giving and getting out of check? Do you + not think that we should look with a disapprobation + amounting to scorn upon the father who <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p170" id="p170">[170]</a></span> + allowed his son, or the state which allowed its members, + to grow up without knowing a pawn from a knight? + </p> + <p> + Yet it is a very plain and elementary truth, that the + life, the fortune, and the happiness of every one of us, + and more or less of those who are connected with us, do + depend upon our knowing something of the rules of a game + infinitely more difficult and complicated than chess. It + is a game which has been played for untold ages, every + man and woman of us being one of the two players in a + game of his or her own. The chess-board is the world, the + pieces are the phenomena of the universe, the rules of + the game are what we call the laws of nature. The player + on the other side is hidden from us. We know that his + play is always fair, just, and patient. But also we know, + to our cost, that he never overlooks a mistake, or makes + the smallest allowance for ignorance. To the man who + plays well, the highest stakes are paid, with that sort + of overflowing generosity with which the strong shows + delight in strength, and one who plays ill is + checkmated—without haste, but without remorse." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Huxley wished that this scientific education should begin + at an early period of every child's training. In 1869 he + wrote: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Let every child be instructed in those general views of + the phænomena of nature for which we have no exact + English name. The nearest approximation to a name for + what I mean which we possess is physical geography; the + Germans have a better, 'Erdkunde' (earth knowledge or + geology in its etymological sense), that is to say, a + general knowledge of the earth, and what is on it and in + it and about it. If anyone who has experience of the ways + of young children will call to mind their questions, he + will find that so far as they can be put in any + scientific category, they will come under this head of + 'Erdkunde.' The child asks, 'What is the moon, and why + does it shine?' 'What is this water, and where does it + run?' 'What is the wind?' 'What makes these waves in the + sea?' 'Where does this animal live, and what is the use + of that plant?' And if not snubbed and stunted by <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p171" id="p171">[171]</a></span> + being told not to ask foolish questions, there is no + limit to the intellectual craving of a young child; nor + any bounds to the slow but solid accretion of knowledge + and development of the thinking faculty in this way. To + all such questions, answers which are necessarily + incomplete, though true as far as they go, may be given + by any teacher whose ideas represent real knowledge and + not mere book learning: and a panoramic view of nature, + accompanied by a strong infusion of the scientific habit + of mind, may thus be placed within the reach of every + child of nine or ten." + </p> + </div> + <p> + In 1880 Huxley, in association with Professor Roscoe, the + chemist, and Professor Balfour Stewart, the physicist, took + a great practical step toward securing the widest possible + extension of elementary knowledge in science. They became + general editors, for the English publishing house of + Macmillan, of a series of "Science Primers." These were + written in simple language, suitable for those with no + preliminary knowledge of science, but were the work of the + chief authorities in the leading branches of science. They + were published at what was then the phenomenally cheap + price of a shilling, and they sold in almost incredible + numbers. Huxley himself wrote the introductory volume to + this great series of tracts, taking for his subject the + simplest and most natural phenomena of the world and the + simplest chains of cause and effect that can be observed + around us. The keynote of the little book was that + knowledge of nature could be gained only by observation and + experiment, and that for these the ordinary things in the + world around us provided ample material. A few years later + he wrote a more advanced volume on the same subject. He had + now found an English name for the German <i>Erdkunde</i>, + and his book on <i>Physiography</i> was simply an account + of the leading things and forces of <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p172" id="p172">[172]</a></span> + nature. A traveller set down in a foreign land will at once + get into difficulties unless he has provided himself with a + guide to the geography, the manners and customs, and the + regulations of the country in which he finds himself. + Huxley's aim was to provide a similar guide to nature; an + outline of elementary knowledge of the world into which we + all come as strangers. He wrote of force and energy, of the + forms of water, of heat and cold, of the atmosphere, of + winds and tides and weather, and of the main features of + the lives of plants and animals. There was nothing new in + what he wrote; he simply took from the chief sciences their + leading principles and elementary facts, and set them forth + in plain and simple language so that all could read and + understand. The novelty was that an attempt should be made + to bring these facts within the reach of all. The idea + proved extremely infectious; in Europe and America, in many + languages and by many authors, Huxley's main lines were + followed, with the result that a new branch of education, + and almost of science, was created. + </p> + <p> + The body of man and the processes of life, in the earlier + part of the century, were almost as unknown to most people + as were the structure of the earth and the great processes + of nature. What was known of human anatomy and physiology + was contained in ponderous treatises, written in difficult + and technical language suitable only for students of + medicine and doctors. It was thought to be not only + unnecessary but slightly coarse for those not in the + profession to know anything of the viscera of digestion, + circulation, and so forth. Huxley laid low this great + superstition by his <i>Elementary Lessons in + Physiology</i>, a little volume first published in 1866, + which ran through many <span class="pagenum"><a name="p173" + id="p173">[173]</a></span> editions. In it he wrote + primarily for teachers and learners in boys' and girls' + schools, and selected from the great bulk of knowledge and + opinion called human physiology only the important and + well-established truths. So successful was he in his + selection that, notwithstanding the immense increase in + knowledge since he wrote, the book still remains an + adequate and useful elementary treatise, and by this time + must have given their main knowledge of the human body to + hundreds and thousands of readers who otherwise would have + remained ignorant. + </p> + <p> + The books of which we have been writing were addressed to + the general public, but, in addition, Huxley wrote several, + of which three are specially important, for those students + who devote themselves specially to anatomy. <i>The + Crayfish</i>, his famous volume in the International + Scientific Series, has been called by Professor Howes, the + assistant and successor of Huxley at the Royal College of + Science, "probably the best biological treatise ever + written." Many naturalists have written elaborate + monographs on single animals: Lyonet worked for years on + the willow caterpillar, Strauss Durckheim devoted an even + minuter attention to the common cockchafer, and the great + Bojanus investigated almost every fibre in the structure of + the tortoise. The volumes produced by these anatomists were + valuable and memorable, and occupy an honoured place in the + library of science, but Huxley's aim was wider and greater. + He showed how careful study of one of the commonest and + most insignificant of animals leads, step by step, from + every-day knowledge to the widest generalisations and the + most difficult problems of zoölogy. He made study of a + single creature an introduction to a whole science, and + taught <span class="pagenum"><a name="p174" + id="p174">[174]</a></span> students to regard any form of + life not merely as a highly complicated and deeply + interesting anatomical study, but as a creature that is + only one out of an innumerable host of living things, every + fibre in its body, every rhythm in its functions + proclaiming the degree and nature of its relationship to + other animals. R. Louis Stevenson, writing of his native + town, tried to give "a vision of Edinburgh, not as you see + her, in the midst of a little neighbourhood, but as a boss + upon the round world, with all Europe and the deep sea for + her surroundings. For every place is a centre to the earth, + whence highways radiate, or ships set sail for foreign + ports; the limit of a parish is not more imaginary than the + frontier of an empire." It is this wider sweep, this + attempt to see and to teach not merely the facts about + things but the relations of these facts to the similar + facts in other things, that makes the difference between + the new knowledge and the old. The questions to be asked + and answered are not merely, What are the structures in + this animal? but, How and why do they come to be what they + are? Huxley was a ruthless enemy of the books and teachers + which or who made the mere acquisition of details of + knowledge their chief object. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I remember," he wrote, "in my youth there were + detestable books which ought to have been burned by the + hands of the common hangman, for they contained questions + and answers to be learned by heart, of this sort, 'What + is a horse? The horse is termed <i>Equus caballus</i>; + belongs to the class Mammalia; order, Pachydermata; + family, Solidungula.' Was any human being the wiser for + learning that magic formula? Was he not more foolish + inasmuch as he was deluded into taking words for + knowledge?" + </p> + </div> + <p> + Huxley himself admitted his difficulty in remembering <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p175" id="p175">[175]</a></span> + apparently meaningless facts, and occasionally aided his + memory by inventing for them a humorous significance. + Professor Howes relates a story of this kind. While + examining the papers of candidates for some examination, + Huxley came across one in which the mitral or bicuspid + valve of the heart was erroneously described as being + placed in the right cavity. "Poor little beggar," said + Huxley; "I never could get them myself until I reflected + that a bishop could never be in the right." This insistence + on the uselessness of formal knowledge applied only to + those who were being taught or who were learning from books + or lectures. Of the value and discipline of knowledge of + facts gained at first hand from objects themselves either + in original investigation or with the aid of books, Huxley + had the highest possible opinion. By such a method of work + alone he believed it possible to distinguish what we + believe on authority from what we have convinced ourselves + to be true, and, as we shall see later, he regarded it as + the most important duty of a man to have acquired the habit + of classifying the mass of ideas in his brain into those + which he knew and those which he thought to be true from + having read or heard or imagined them. + </p> + <p> + The two other of the three great treatises for anatomical + students are the <i>Manual of the Anatomy of Vertebrated + Animals</i>, published in 1871, and the <i>Manual of the + Anatomy of Invertebrated Animals</i>, published in 1877. Of + these two volumes it is sufficient to say that they formed + the chief introduction to the study of animal zoölogy + for many years, and that a large number of the best-known + zoölogists of the end of this century received from + them their first instruction in the science. As text-books + they have been <span class="pagenum"><a name="p176" + id="p176">[176]</a></span> superseded lately by larger + volumes in which there is found more space for some of the + recent advances in knowledge, especially comparative + embryology, and the more intricate knowledge of the + structure of the soft parts of marine invertebrates made + possible by the newer and more successful methods of + preserving delicate tissues. Just before Huxley ceased his + regular work as a teacher at the Royal College of Science, + there arrived a series of marine embryos, beautifully + preserved and prepared for microscopic work by the + zoölogists at the International Zoölogical + Station at Naples. Huxley is reported to have exclaimed at + their beauty, and to have said: "You young men cannot + realise your advantages; you have brought to you for study + at your leisure in London, creatures that I had to lash my + microscope to the mast to get a glimpse of." Huxley's books + were written for students with fewer advantages, and, + naturally, laid more stress on the harder skeletal parts + and such structures as could be more easily preserved; but + with this inevitable limitation they still serve as + luminous and comprehensive guides to the subjects of which + they treat. There is no doubt but that if he had been a + younger man when the new technical methods made their + appearance, he would have adopted them and their results in + his volumes. One of the first great pieces of work which + utilised methods more like those now used in all + laboratories than those employed during the greater part of + Huxley's life as a teacher was the classical investigation + by Van Beneden into the changes in the egg of Ascaris which + accompany the process of fertilisation. When Huxley read + the memoir he exclaimed, "All this by the use of glacial + acetic acid—is it possible!" At once, Professor Howes + relates, he repeated the whole investigation <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p177" id="p177">[177]</a></span> + himself, and, when satisfied, declared that the "history of + the histological investigation of the future would be the + history of its methods." Not only have the chemical + substances used in preparing tissues for examination + greatly increased since Huxley's time as an active worker, + but a very important method of investigation has come into + general use. In Huxley's time tissues or animals too large + or too opaque to be examined microscopically as whole + structures were either teased by needles or were cut with a + razor by hand into comparatively thick slices. The process + of cutting, however practised the operator, was tedious and + uncertain, and it was almost impossible to cut a piece of + tissue into a series of thin slices without losing or + destroying considerable portions. Microtomes, with various + accessory mechanical appliances, have now been invented, + and by means of these not only are slices of great tenuity + made with ease, but there is little difficulty in cutting + the most delicate organism into a ribbon of consecutive + slices. Such new methods have made almost a revolution in + the study of zoölogy, particularly of the lower forms + of life and of the embryonic stages of higher animals, and + books written before these methods became common have + naturally been superseded. + </p> + <p> + Huxley did far more for the teaching of science than the + preparation of books, however useful these were. He was the + practical inventor of the laboratory system of teaching + zoölogical science, and all over the world the methods + invented by him have been adopted in university + laboratories and technical schools. He had always declared + that since zoölogy was a physical science, the method + of studying it must needs be analogous to that which is + followed in other physical sciences. <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p178" id="p178">[178]</a></span> + If a man wishes to be a chemist, it is necessary not only + that he should read chemical books and attend chemical + lectures, but that he should actually perform the + fundamental experiments in the laboratory for himself, and + thus learn exactly what the words which he reads in his + books and hears from his teachers, mean. "If you want a man + to be a tea-merchant, you don't tell him to read books + about China or about tea, but you put him into a + tea-merchant's office where he has the handling, the + smelling, and the tasting of tea. Without the sort of + knowledge which can be gained only in this practical way, + his exploits as a tea-merchant will soon come to a bankrupt + termination." The great and obvious difficulty in the + practical teaching of biology appeared to be the immense + number of different kinds of animals and plants in + existence. A human life would not suffice for the + examination of a hundredth part of these. Huxley met the + difficulty by the "type" system. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "There are certainly more than 100,000 species of + insects, and yet anyone who knows one insect, if a + properly chosen one, will be able to have a fair + conception of the structure of the whole. I do not mean + to say he will know that structure thoroughly, or as well + as is desirable that he should know it; but he will have + enough real knowledge to enable him to understand what he + reads, to have genuine images in his mind of these + structures which become so variously modified in all the + forms of insects he has not seen. In fact, there are such + things as types of form among animals and vegetables, and + for the purpose of getting a definite knowledge of what + constitutes the leading modifications of animal and plant + life, it is not needful to examine more than a + comparatively small number of animals and plants." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The type system in itself was not absolutely new. + Rolleston, the Linacre professor at Oxford, in his + <i>Forms</i> <span class="pagenum"><a name="p179" + id="p179">[179]</a></span> <i>of Animal Life</i> had + devised the method of teaching comparative anatomy by the + study of a graded series of animals. But his method + depended on the existence of a series of dissections and + preparations made by a skilled craftsman; the tradition of + teaching by authority instead of by investigation was + maintained, although the authority of books and lectures + was aided by museum specimens in glass bottles, the actual + basis of the book being a series of dissections prepared by + Mr. Charles Robertson, Rolleston's laboratory assistant, + for the great International Exhibition of 1861. The + authorities of Huxley's students were to be found in nature + itself. The green scum from the nearest gutter, a handful + of weed from a pond, a bean-plant, some fresh-water mud, a + frog, and a pigeon were the ultimate authorities of his + course. His students were taught how to observe them, and + how to draw and record their observations. However familiar + the objects, each student had to verify every fact afresh + for himself. The business of the teacher was explanation of + the methods of verification, insistence on the + accomplishment of verification. It was a training in the + immemorial attitude of the scientific mind, codified by + Huxley and made an integral part in national education. + </p> + <p> + As a matter of fact it was comparatively late in his life + as a teacher that Huxley had complete opportunity for + putting into practice his scheme for the laboratory + teaching of biology. In 1854 there was no laboratory + attached to the Natural History Department of the School of + Mines. Lectures alone were given, and the only opportunity + the student had of any practical acquaintance with the + facts was in a short interview with the professor at the + lecture table after <span class="pagenum"><a name="p180" + id="p180">[180]</a></span> the lecture. This condition + continued practically to 1872. But a few years before that + Huxley and his colleagues got up a kind of pronunciamento + deploring the existing state of affairs. In his evidence + before the Royal Commission of 1870 Huxley said: "There is + a complete want in the School of Mines, as it now exists, + of any means of teaching several of the subjects + practically. For example, I am set there to teach natural + history without a biological laboratory and without the + means of shewing a single dissection." Against strong + internal opposition and at considerable pecuniary loss + Huxley and some of his colleagues succeeded, in 1872, in + getting the School of Mines transferred to South + Kensington, where it became the Royal College of Science. + For the first course of instruction given in the new + buildings, Huxley obtained the aid of Prof. M. Foster, + Prof. Rutherford, and Prof. Ray Lankester. The laboratory + course originated by Huxley and shaped by him with these + three distinguished assistants became the model of the + regular courses given subsequently, and, with various + slight modifications, has since been adopted almost + universally. Later on, Huxley described it as follows: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I lecture to a class of students daily for about four + months and a half, and my class have, of course, their + text-books; but the essential part of the whole teaching, + and that which I regard as really the most important part + of it, is a laboratory for practical work, which is + simply a room with all the appliances needed for ordinary + dissection. We have tables properly arranged in regard to + light, microscopes and dissecting instruments, and we + work through the structure of a certain number of plants + and animals. As, for example, among the plants we take + the yeast-plant, a Protococcus, a common mould, a Chara, + a fern, and some flowering plant; among animals we + examine such things as an Amœba, a Vorticella, and + a fresh-water <span class="pagenum"><a name="p181" + id="p181">[181]</a></span> polyp. We dissect a starfish, + an earthworm, a snail, a squid, and a fresh-water mussel. + We examine a lobster and a crayfish, and a black beetle. + We go on to a common skate, a codfish, a frog, a + tortoise, a pigeon, and a rabbit, and that takes us about + all the time we have to give. The purpose of this course + is not to make skilled dissectors, but to give every + student a clear and definite conception, by means of + sense images, of the characteristic structure of each of + the leading modifications of the animal kingdom; and that + is perfectly possible by going no further than the length + of that list of forms which I have enumerated. If a man + knows the structure of the animals I have mentioned, he + has a clear and exact, however limited apprehension of + the essential features of the organization of all those + great divisions of the animal and vegetable kingdoms to + which the forms I have mentioned severally belong. And it + then becomes possible to him to read with profit; because + every time he meets with the name of a structure, he has + a definite image in his mind of what the name means in + the particular creature he is reading about, and + therefore the reading is not mere reading. It is not mere + repetition of words; but every term employed in the + description, we will say of a horse, or of an elephant, + will call up the image of the things he had seen in the + rabbit, and he is able to form a distinct conception of + that which he has not seen, as a modification of that + which he has seen." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Huxley himself was originally a medical man; all through + his life he was chiefly interested in the biological + sciences which underlie a scientific practice of medicine, + and as teacher and examiner he had much to do with the + shaping of medical education in London. Acting in various + public capacities, as a member of commissions dealing with + medical education, or as a witness before them, in magazine + articles and in public speeches he made many contributions + to the problems to be faced in medical education. Some of + these related to the conditions peculiar to medical + training in London. In the greatest city of the world there + was <span class="pagenum"><a name="p182" + id="p182">[182]</a></span> during Huxley's life and there + is still nothing comparable with the great universities of + Europe and America, of Scotland and Ireland. Some dozen + hospitals, supported partly by endowments, partly by + charities, attempt each to maintain a complete, independent + medical school. As the requirements of medical education in + staff, laboratories, and general equipment has advanced, + these hospitals have made heroic efforts to advance with + them. Notwithstanding the zeal and public spirit of the + staff and managers of the hospitals, this want of system + has naturally resulted in a multiplication of inefficient + institutions and a number of makeshift arrangements. Huxley + repeatedly urged the concentration of all this diffuse + effort into a few centres, but this inevitable reform has + not yet become possible. + </p> + <p> + A second important consideration, and one that has a much + wider application, relates to the kind of person by whom + the scientific sides of medical teaching should be given. + Primitively, all the instruction to medical students was + given by those actually engaged in the practice of + medicine. Huxley was strongly of the opinion that the + teachers of anatomy, physiology, chemistry, and so forth, + should be specialists devoted to these subjects for life, + and not merely surgeons and physicians who engaged in + teaching until their practice grew sufficiently to + monopolise their attention. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I get every year," he said, "the elaborate reports of + Henle and Meissner—volumes of I suppose 400 pages + altogether—and they consist merely of abstracts of + the memoirs and works which have been written on Anatomy + and Physiology—only abstracts of them. How is a man + to keep up his acquaintance with all that is doing in the + physiological world—in a world advancing with + enormous strides every day and every hour—if he has + to be distracted with the cares of practice?" + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p183" + id="p183">[183]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + There would always be found men, he declared, who would + make the choice between the wealth which may come by + successful practice and a modest competency, when that + modest competency was to be combined with a scientific + career and the means of advancing knowledge. It was to + those who made the latter choice that he would entrust the + teaching of the sciences underlying medicine; partly + because from the mere mechanical reason of time these men + would be better able to keep pace with the most recent + advances in knowledge, and partly because their teaching + would be stimulated by their own work in advancing + knowledge. In this great matter the world is rapidly + advancing towards the standard of Huxley; as each new + appointment is made it becomes more and more probable that + the man chosen will be a teacher and investigator rather + than a practitioner. + </p> + <p> + In another general question of the politics of medical + education Huxley took a strong line, and the tendency of + change is toward his view. One of the first results of the + awakening of medical education in the middle of this + century was a tendency to throw an almost intolerable + burden of new subjects upon the medical student. In the + revolt from the old apprenticeship system, in which the + student, from the very first, gave his chief attention to + practice, and was left almost to himself to pick up a + scanty knowledge of the principles and theories underlying + his profession, the pendulum swung too far the other way, + and there was almost no branch of the biological and + physical sciences in which he was not expected to go + through a severe training. On the old system the greater + part of his time was spent in the wards of the hospital; on + the new system it was only at an advanced stage of his + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p184" + id="p184">[184]</a></span> career that he entered the wards + at all, a great part of his time and energy being spent in + the purely scientific teaching of the medical college. + Huxley, although he had largely aided in the overthrow of + the happy-go-lucky older system, of which Mr. Bob Sawyer + was no exaggerated type, was equally severe on the reckless + extensions of the new system. "If I were a despot," he + said, "I would cut down the theoretical branches to a very + considerable extent." He would discard comparative anatomy + and botany, materia medica, and chemistry and physics, + except as applied to physiology, from the medical student's + course. At first sight, this seems a hard saying, but it is + to be remembered that at that time the normal curriculum of + a medical student lasted only four years, a space of time + barely sufficient for the necessary minimum of purely + medical and surgical work. Huxley's view was that chemistry + and physics, botany and zoölogy, should be part of the + general education, not of the special medical education; he + wished students to spend one or two years after their + ordinary career at school in work on these elementary + scientific subjects, and then to begin their medical course + free from the burden of extra-professional subjects. With + certain limits due to the different local conditions in + different teaching centres Huxley's system is being + adopted. In most cases the authorities in medical education + are unable to leave the whole responsibility of the + elementary education in science to the schools from which + medical students come, as the conditions under which + scientific subjects are still taught in schools leave much + to be desired. The average length of the medical curriculum + has been extended and the elementary scientific subjects + are taken first, sometimes at the medical <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p185" id="p185">[185]</a></span> + colleges, sometimes in the scientific departments of + universities. The interesting general point of view is that + Huxley, although himself a biologist and teacher of + biology, took too broad an outlook on the general policy of + education to insist upon his own subject to the detriment + of the precise practical objects of the training of medical + students. + </p> + <p> + In the days of Huxley's greatest activity, while by the + natural force of events and by his special efforts science + was becoming more and more recognised as a necessary and + important branch of general education, the cry was raised + against it that scientific education was not capable of + giving what is called culture. A scientific man was + regarded as a mere scientific specialist, and science was + considered to have no place in, and in fact to be an enemy + of, "liberal education." In 1880, at Birmingham, Huxley + attacked this view in a speech delivered at the opening of + the Mason College. Sir Josiah Mason, the benevolent founder + of that great institution, had made it one of the + conditions of the foundation that the College should make + no provision for "mere literary instruction and education." + This gave Huxley a text for raising the whole question of + the relation of science to culture. He declared that he + held very strongly by two convictions. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The first is, that neither the discipline nor the + subject matter of classical education is of such direct + value to the student of physical science as to justify + the expenditure of valuable time on either; and the + second is, that for the purpose of attaining real + culture, an exclusively scientific education is at least + as effectual as an exclusively literary education." + </p> + </div> + <p> + He quoted from Matthew Arnold, then in the zenith of his + fame as a chief apostle of culture, and shewed <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p186" id="p186">[186]</a></span> + that there were two propositions involved in the "literary" + view of culture. The first was that a "criticism of life" + was the essence of culture; the second, that literature + contained the materials which sufficed for the construction + of such a criticism. With the first proposition he had no + dispute, taking the view that culture was something quite + different from learning or technical skill. "It implies the + possession of an ideal, and the habit of critically + estimating the value of things by comparison with a + theoretic standard. Perfect culture should supply a + complete theory of life, based upon a clear knowledge alike + of its possibilities and its limitations." Against the + second proposition he urged in the first place that it was + self-evident that after having learned all that Greek, + Roman, and Eastern antiquity have thought and said, and all + that modern literature has to tell us, it was still + necessary to have a deeper foundation for criticism of + life. An acquaintance with what physical science had done, + particularly in later years, was as necessary to criticism + of life as any of the literary materials. Next, following + the biological habit of examining anything by studying its + development, he shewed how the connection between "culture" + and study of classical literature had come into existence. + For many centuries Latin grammar, with logic and rhetoric, + studied through Latin, were the fundamentals of education. + A liberal education was possible only through study of the + language in which all or nearly all the materials for it + were written. With the changes produced by the Renascence + there came a battle between Latin and Greek, and Greek came + to be part of a liberal education. Later on, there came a + similar battle between the classical and modern languages, + and now the <span class="pagenum"><a name="p187" + id="p187">[187]</a></span> modern languages have included + and absorbed all the necessary material for knowledge and + criticism. Those who cling to classics as the basis of + culture and education are clinging to old weapons long + after these have ceased to be effective, simply because at + one time in history only these weapons were available in + the struggle for knowledge. + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 356px;"> + <img src="images/ill-187.png" alt="" title="" + height="180" width="356" /> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p188" id="p188">[188]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-188.png" alt="" title="" height="85" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</a> + </h2> + <h3> + GENERAL PROBLEMS OF EDUCATION + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Establishment of Compulsory Education in + England—The Religious Controversy—Huxley + Advocates the Bible without Theology—His Compromise + on the "Cowper-Temple" Clause—Influence of the New + Criticism—Science and Art + Instruction—Training of Teachers—University + Education—The Baltimore Address—Technical + Education—So-called "Applied + Science"—National Systems of Education as + "Capacity-Catchers." + </p> + </div> + <p> + In the last chapter, the special relation of Huxley to + scientific education was described, and, naturally enough, + it is in special connection with scientific education that + his influence is best known. But he was keenly interested + in all the larger problems of general, university, and + technical education, and he played a great part in shaping + the lines upon which these problems have been solved in + England. + </p> + <p> + In the years immediately before 1870, all England was + wrestling with the great problem of elementary education, + in the arrangements for which it was far behind not only + the leading European countries but even its sister-kingdom, + Scotland. In 1870 there came into operation an Act of + Parliament for the regulation of elementary education under + the supervision of locally elected school boards. Hitherto + elementary <span class="pagenum"><a name="p189" + id="p189">[189]</a></span> education had been controlled by + the Established Church, and by other denominational + religious bodies, and the quality and quantity of the + instruction provided, for financial and various other + reasons, had been extremely unsatisfactory. But a long and + furious battle had raged around the religious question; + elementary education was now to be national, compulsory, + and universal; where religious bodies maintained schools + that complied with certain fixed standards of efficiency, + attendance of children at these was to be regarded as + satisfactory, and in addition to the ordinary subjects, + such theological and religious teaching as the supporting + bodies chose might be added. But in the schools for all and + sundry, under the control of boards representing the whole + population, and deriving that part of their income + represented by the subscriptions of the religious bodies in + the denominational schools from public rates, levied on the + whole population, was any definite creed to be inculcated? + The extreme Church party, perhaps naturally, held that the + creed established by law in the land should be taught in + these new schools; extreme supporters of other creeds, and + a majority of ordinary people of all creeds or of no + creeds, objected to a new establishment of a sectarian + doctrine, even though that sectarian doctrine were the + doctrine of the national religion. The final result of the + dispute as codified in the Act of Parliament was what was + known as the Cowper-Temple Clause: "No religious catechism + or religious formulary which is distinctive of any + particular denomination shall be taught in the school." The + actual value of any clause, however it may appear to be a + fair compromise, depends on the spirit in which it is + practically interpreted, and no sooner had the Act been + passed <span class="pagenum"><a name="p190" + id="p190">[190]</a></span> than the battle was renewed + again over the interpretation of the clause. Many of the + Church controversialists held that the liberal or more + advanced party intended to exclude all reference to the + Bible or to religion, on the plea that some sect could be + found to which the most attenuated expression of religion + would appear to be against the plain meaning of the clause, + and Huxley, who had been in the forefront of the + controversy, and who was a candidate for the first London + School Board, was decried as an enemy of the Bible and of + all religion and morality because he had expressed what he + called a secular interpretation of the clause. In an + article published in the <i>Contemporary Review</i> + immediately after the election, Huxley explained precisely + what he took the clause to mean, and, afterwards, at all + events during the existence of the Board to which he was + elected, succeeded in carrying out his intentions in the + main. + </p> + <p> + His first general point was to deprecate the action of + those extremists of both sides who tried to make the + education of children a mere battle-ground of religious + dogmas. He then laid down what he conceived to be the lines + of most general utility upon which, under the provisions of + the Act, the education of children should be conducted. In + the foreground he placed physical training and drill, as of + supreme importance to young children, especially in the + case of the poor children of large towns. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "All the conditions of the lives of such are unfavourable + to their physical well-being. They are badly lodged, + badly housed, badly fed, and live from one year's end to + another in bad air, without a chance of a change. They + have no play-grounds; they amuse themselves with marbles + and chuck-farthing, instead of cricket and + hare-and-hounds; and if it were <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p191" id="p191">[191]</a></span> not for the + wonderful instinct which leads all poor children of + tender years to throw themselves under the feet of + cab-horses whenever they can, I know not how they would + learn to use their limbs with agility." + </p> + </div> + <p> + This, humanitarianism as it was, was not the mere emotional + sentiment of the typical humanitarian; he went on to give + the soundest practical reasons for physical development. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Whatever doubts people may entertain about the efficacy + of natural selection, there can be none about artificial + selection; and the breeder who should attempt to make, or + keep up, a fine stock of pigs, or sheep, under the + conditions to which the children of the poor are exposed, + would be the laughing stock even of the bucolic mind. + Parliament has already done something in this direction + by declining to be an accomplice in the asphyxiation of + school children. It refuses to make any grant to a school + in which the cubical contents of the school-room are + inadequate to allow of proper respiration." + </p> + </div> + <p> + He wished to see physical training put on the same system. + </p> + <p> + The second great point upon which he laid stress was the + necessity of providing training in domestic economy, + cookery, and other household accomplishments, for poor + girls. These demands of Huxley seem simple and obvious, now + that by his efforts and the efforts of others they have + been accomplished, but in England, even thirty years ago, + it required more than an ordinary prevision and boldness to + insist upon them. + </p> + <p> + Huxley passed next to the burning question of the time. He + treated it in the broadest and least sectarian spirit. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The boys and girls for whose education the School Boards + have to provide, have not merely to discharge domestic + duties, <span class="pagenum"><a name="p192" + id="p192">[192]</a></span> but each of them is a member + of a social and political organisation of great + complexity, and has, in future life, to fit himself into + that organisation, or be crushed by it. To this end it is + surely needful, not only that they should be made + acquainted with the elementary laws of conduct, but that + their affections should be trained, so as to love with + all their hearts that conduct which tends to the + attainment of the highest good for themselves and their + fellow-men, and to hate with all their hearts that + opposite course of action which is fraught with evil." + </p> + </div> + <p> + He then proceeded to point out the distinction between the + affection which is called religion, and the science which + is called theology, and, without entering into the question + as to whether the latter were or were not a true science, + he insisted on the danger of a confusion between the two. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "We are divided into two parties—the advocates of + so-called 'religious' teaching on the one hand, and those + of so-called 'secular' teaching on the other. And both + parties seem to me to be not only hopelessly wrong, but + in such a position that if either succeeded completely, + it would discover, before many years were over, that it + had made a great mistake and done serious evil to the + cause of education. For, leaving aside the more + far-seeing minority on either side, what the religious + party is crying for is mere theology, under the name of + religion; while the secularists have unwisely and + wrongfully admitted the assumption of their opponents, + and demand the abolition of all religious teaching, when + they only want to be free of theology—burning your + ship to get rid of the cockroaches." ... "If I were + compelled to choose for one of my own children, between a + school in which real religious instruction is given, and + one without it, I should prefer the former, even though + the child might have to take a good deal of theology with + it. Nine-tenths of a dose of bark is mere half-rotten + wood; but one swallows it for the sake of the particles + of quinine, the beneficial effect of which may be + weakened, but is not destroyed, by the wooden dilution, + unless in the case of a few <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p193" id="p193">[193]</a></span> exceptionally + tender stomachs. Hence, when the great mass of the + English people declare that they want to have the + children in the elementary schools taught the Bible, and + when it is plain from the terms of the Act, the debates + in and out of Parliament, and especially the emphatic + declarations of the Vice-President of the Council that it + was intended that such Bible-teaching should be + permitted, unless good cause for prohibiting it could be + shewn, I do not see what reason there is for opposing + that wish." + </p> + </div> + <p> + He went on to explain that, although he had always been + strongly in favour of secular education, by that term he + meant only education without theology, and he praised the + English Bible in language as noble as has ever been applied + to it by the most ardent of theologians. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The Pagan moralists lack life and colour, and even the + noble Stoic, Marcus Antoninus, is too high and refined + for an ordinary child. Take the Bible as a whole; make + the severest deductions which fair criticism can dictate + for shortcomings and positive errors; eliminate, as a + sensible lay-teacher would do, if left to himself, all + that is not desirable for children to occupy themselves + with; and there still remains in this old literature a + vast residuum of moral beauty and grandeur. And then + consider the great historical fact that, for three + centuries, this book has been woven into the life of all + that is best and noblest in English history; that it has + become the national epic of Britain, and is as familiar + to noble and simple, from Land's End to John-o'-Groat's + House, as Dante and Tasso once were to the Italians; that + it is written in the noblest and purest English, and + abounds in exquisite beauties of mere literary form; and, + finally, that it forbids the veriest hind who never left + his village to be ignorant of the existence of other + countries and other civilisations, and of a great past, + stretching back to the furthest limits of the oldest + nations in the world. By the study of what other book + could children be so much humanised and made to feel that + each figure in that vast historical procession fills, + like themselves, but a momentary space <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p194" id="p194">[194]</a></span> + in the interval between two eternities; and earns the + blessings and the curses of all time, according to its + effort to do good and hate evil, even as they also are + earning their payment for their work." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Lastly, he laid down the lines of the general education to + be given. He pointed out that already in the existing + schools a very considerable burden of work was imposed on + the children in the form of catechism, lists of the kings + of Israel, geography of Palestine, and that when these + fantastic modes of education had been eliminated there was + plenty of time and energy to be employed. The instruction + in physical training was more than half play; that in the + domestic subjects had an engrossing interest of its own. He + proposed, first, the necessary discipline in the means for + acquiring knowledge, the tools for employing it, that is to + say, reading, writing, and arithmetic. After that, he + believed that a certain amount of knowledge, of + intellectual discipline, and of artistic training should be + conveyed in the elementary schools, and for these purposes + he proposed to teach some rudiments of physical science, + drawing, and singing. + </p> + <p> + In most respects the progress of primary education in + England has been a continuous progress along these lines + suggested by Huxley, and he may be regarded as in this + fashion one of the great shapers of the destinies of his + race, for nothing can have a bearing more important on the + character and fate of a race than the manner of training + provided for the masses of individuals composing it. It is + only in the matter of the religious instruction that the + course of events has been widely different from the neutral + exposition of the Bible as suggested by him. In 1870 a + great majority of the people of England who reflected upon + the <span class="pagenum"><a name="p195" + id="p195">[195]</a></span> matter at all, and all those who + accepted current ideas without reflection, accepted the + Bible as an inspired, direct, and simple authority on all + great matters of faith and morality. Therefore, when + Huxley, as by far the most important man among those who + advocated a secular education, was an advocate and not in + the least an opponent of Bible teaching, they were well + content to let the matter rest. There were, it is true, a + certain number of zealots who entered the boards with the + avowed purpose, on the one hand, of getting as much + dogmatic teaching and interpretation added as it might be + possible to smuggle in, and, on the other, to reduce the + simplest Bible teaching to a minimum. But the vast majority + of persons were out of sympathy with these fanaticisms. + Since 1870, however, a gradual change has occurred in the + attitude of the majority to the Bible in England. The + growth of the new criticism and of knowledge of it has + produced the result that now only a small minority of + reflecting people in England accept the Bible in the old + simple way; the majority thinks that it requires + interpretation and explanation by the authority of the + Church. And so a new battle over dogma has begun; moderate + Church people no longer accept the compromise of Huxley, + but strive for an interpretation which must be dogmatic, + and there is a new dispute as to what may be regarded as + undenominational religion. When a majority of reasonable + persons accepted Huxley's suggestions of simple Bible + teaching they did so not because they believed, as he did, + that the Bible was simply great literature, great + tradition, and great morality, but because they believed it + to be direct, inspired authority. It is a curious + coincidence that Huxley himself did so much to spread + knowledge of the new criticism, <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p196" id="p196">[196]</a></span> and that a first + result of this diffusion was to overthrow the compromise + arranged largely by his influence, and which for many years + provided a middle way in which sensible persons avoided the + extremes of theological and anti-theological zealots. + </p> + <p> + Early in the course of his career as a member of the London + School Board, Huxley crystallised his views as to the + general policy of education in a phrase which perhaps has + done more than any other phrase ever invented to bring home + to men's minds the ideal of a national system of education. + "I conceive it to be our duty," he said, "to make a ladder + from the gutter to the university along which any child may + climb." We have seen the nature of his views as to the + lowest rungs of this ladder; we may now turn to his work + and views as to the higher stages. He expressed these views + in occasional speeches and articles, and he had many + important opportunities in aiding to carry them into actual + practice. He was a member of a number of important Royal + Commissions: Commission on the Royal College of Science for + Ireland, 1866; Commission on Science and Art Instruction in + Ireland, 1868; Royal Commission on Scientific Instruction + and the Advancement of Science, 1870-75; Royal Commission + to enquire into the Universities of Scotland, 1876-78; + Royal Commission on the Medical Acts, 1881-82. From the + beginning, he was closely associated with the Science and + Art Department, the operations of which threw a web of + education, intermediate between primary and university + education, all over Britain. A number of the teachers under + that department were trained by him, and as examiner to the + department he took the greatest care to reduce to a minimum + the evils necessarily attendant on the mode of payment by + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p197" + id="p197">[197]</a></span> results. A certain number of + teachers made it their chief effort to secure the largest + possible number of grants. Huxley regarded these as + poachers of the worst kind, and did all he could to foil + them. He did all he could to promote systematic practical + instruction in the classes, and to aid teachers who desired + to learn their business more thoroughly. He insisted again + and again upon the popular nature of the classes; their + great advantage was that they were accessible to all who + chose to avail themselves of them after working hours, and + that they brought the means of instruction to the doors of + the factories and workshops. The subjects which he + considered of most importance were foreign languages, + drawing, and elementary sciences, and he wished them to be + used first of all by those who were handicraftsmen and who + therefore left the elementary schools at the age of + thirteen or fourteen. + </p> + <p> + In a lecture given at the formal opening of the Johns + Hopkins University at Baltimore in 1876, and in a Rectorial + address to the University of Aberdeen two years earlier, + Huxley laid down the general lines of university education + as he conceived it. He began by supposing that a good + primary education had already been received. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Such an education should enable an average boy of + fifteen or sixteen to read and write his own language + with ease and accuracy, and with a sense of literary + excellence derived from the study of our classic writers; + to have a general acquaintance with the history of his + own country and with the great laws of social existence; + to have acquired the rudiments of the physical and + psychological sciences, and a fair knowledge of + elementary arithmetic and geometry. He should have + obtained an acquaintance with logic rather by example + than by precept; <span class="pagenum"><a name="p198" + id="p198">[198]</a></span> while the acquirement of the + elements of music and drawing should have been a pleasure + rather than work." + </p> + </div> + <p> + He had not much to say for secondary or intermediate + education, partly because at that time, in England at + least, the secondary schools were in a hopeless state of + incapacity, and differed from primary schools not only in + their greater expense, their adaptation to the class-spirit + which demanded the separation of the boys of the upper and + middle classes from those in the lower ranks of society, + but chiefly in the futility of the education given at the + majority of them. But where intermediate schools did exist, + he demanded that they should keep on the same wide track of + general knowledge, not sacrificing one branch of knowledge + for another. He held that the elementary instruction to + which he had referred embraced all the real kinds of + knowledge and mental activity possible to man. The + university could add no new fields of mental activity, no + new departments of knowledge. What it could do was to + intensify and specialise the instruction in each + department. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Thus literature and philology, represented in the + elementary school by English alone, in the university + will extend over the ancient and modern languages. + History, which like charity, best begins at home, but, + like charity, should not end there, will ramify into + anthropology, archæology, political history, and + geography, with the history of the growth of the human + mind and of its products, in the shape of philosophy, + science, and art, and the university will present to the + student libraries, museums of antiquities, collections of + coins, and the like, which will efficiently subserve + these studies. Instruction in the elements of political + economy, a most essential but hitherto sadly neglected + part of elementary education, will develop in the + university into political economy, sociology, and law. + Physical science will have its great divisions, of <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p199" id="p199">[199]</a></span> + physical geography, with geology and astronomy; physics; + chemistry and biology; represented not merely by + professors and their lectures, but by laboratories in + which the students, under guidance of demonstrators, will + work out facts for themselves and come into that direct + contact with reality which constitutes the fundamental + distinction of scientific education. Mathematics will + soar into its highest regions; while the high peaks of + philosophy may be scaled by those whose aptitude for + abstract thought has been awakened by elementary logic. + Finally, schools of pictorial and plastic art, of + architecture, and of music will offer a thorough + discipline in the principles and practice of art to those + in whom lies nascent the rare faculty of æsthetic + representation, or the still rarer powers of creative + genius." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Early in the seventies the problems connected with what is + called technical education became prominent in the minds of + the most far-seeing of this nation. It became plain that + England was not advancing with the same strides as some + other nations in arts and manufactures, and the most + obvious difference between England and the rivals whose + advance was causing anxiety lay in her deficiency in + education. Science or knowledge of nature lies at the root + of all the arts and manufactures, and it was our relation + to scientific teaching and research that required + investigation. Naturally enough, Huxley took the keenest + interest in this question and made large contributions to + its solution, contributions which have not yet been put + completely into operation. He insisted most strongly upon a + point that we as a nation have not yet completely grasped. + There is no difference between applied science and any + other kind of science. The chemistry of manufactures, the + physics of industrial machinery, the biology of agriculture + and of fisheries, are not different from other chemistries + and physics and <span class="pagenum"><a name="p200" + id="p200">[200]</a></span> biologies. They are merely + special cases of the application of the same general fund + of knowledge, and the same general principles of + investigation. Huxley wished that the term "applied + science" had never been invented, or that it could be + destroyed. A man cannot study the chemistry of dyeing or + make advances in it unless he be a thoroughly trained + chemist in the full sense of the word. More than that, many + of the greatest discoveries, using the word "great" as + applied to commercial advantage rather than to abstract + progress in knowledge, have been made by those who were + pursuing research for its own sake rather than for any + immediate commercial advantage to be derived from it. Hence + he regarded it of vital importance, from the mere point of + view of the prosperity of the country, that there should be + a sufficiently large number of scientific men provided with + the means for research in the shape of income and + appliances. The most immediately utilitarian fashion for + the nation to encourage science, was to encourage science + in its highest and most advanced aspects. This meant the + endowment of research and the support of universities and + other institutions in which research might be conducted, + and Huxley strove unceasingly for the benefit of all such + great organisations. One of the last public occasions of + his life was his appearance as leader of a deputation to + urge upon the government the formation of a real university + in London which should unite the scattered institutions of + that great city and promote the highest spheres of the + pursuit of knowledge. He held the view, strongly, that a + useful combination was to be made by uniting the functions + of teaching and investigation. A teacher taught better when + his mind was kept fresh by the advances he himself was + making, <span class="pagenum"><a name="p201" + id="p201">[201]</a></span> and an investigator, by having a + moderate amount of teaching to do, gained from the need of + forcing his mind from time to time to take broad surveys of + the whole field a part of which he was engaged in tilling. + The first great object, then, in promoting science so as to + reap the most direct national advantage from it, was to + encourage science in its highest and widest forms. It + cannot be said that England has yet learned this lesson. + The number of institutions in Germany where advanced + investigation is continuously pursued is absolutely and + relatively greater than the number in England. + </p> + <p> + The second part of technical education is that to which + general attention is more commonly given. It consists of + the kind of training to be given to the great army of + workers in the country. In regard to this, as in regard to + research work, Huxley insisted on the absence of + distinction between technical or applied science and + science without such a limiting prefix. So far as technical + instruction meant definite teaching of a handicraft, he + believed that it could be learned satisfactorily only in + the workshop itself. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The workshop is the only real school for a handicraft. + The education which precedes that of the workshop should + be entirely devoted to the strengthening of the body, the + elevation of the moral faculties, and the cultivation of + the intelligence; and, especially, to the imbuing of the + mind with a broad and clear view of the laws of that + natural world with the components of which the + handicraftsman will have to deal. And, the earlier the + period of life at which the handicraftsman has to enter + into the actual practice of his craft, the more important + is it that he should devote the precious hours of + preliminary education to things of the mind, which have + no direct and immediate bearing on his branch of + industry, though they lie at the foundation of all the + realities." + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p202" + id="p202">[202]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + He compared his own handicraft as an anatomist with the + handicrafts of artisans, and declared that the kind of + preliminary training he would choose for himself or for his + pupils was precisely the training he would provide for + them. He did not wish that one who proposed to be a + biologist should learn dissection during his school-days; + that would come later, and, in the meantime, broader and + deeper foundations had to be laid. These were the ordinary + subjects of a liberal education: physical training, + drawing, and a little music, French and German, the + ordinary English subjects, and the elements of physical + science. Against such costly schemes of education for the + whole population of a nation, many objections have been + urged. Of these, perhaps the chief is that the majority of + human beings even in the most civilised country are not + capable of profiting by or taking an interest in, or + certainly of advancing far in, most subjects. Huxley met + such objections in a spirit of the widest statesmanship. + There were two reasons for making the general education of + all what he called a liberal education. The first was that, + even in a liberal education such as he advocated, no + subject was pursued beyond the broad elementary stages, and + that during the early years of life, while the framework + and the character were forming, it was of first-rate + importance not to stunt either by lack of material. The + second great principle was that until any individual had + had the opportunity, it was impossible to say whether or no + he would profit much or little, and the gain to the whole + nation by not missing any of those who were born with + unusual natural capacity was more than worth the cost of + affording opportunities to all. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The great mass of mankind have neither the liking, nor + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p203" + id="p203">[203]</a></span> the aptitude, for either + literary or scientific or artistic pursuits; nor, indeed, + for excellence of any sort. Their ambition is to go + through life with moderate exertion and a fair share of + ease, doing common things in a common way. And a great + blessing and comfort it is that the majority of men are + of this mind; for the majority of things to be done are + common things, and are quite well enough done when + commonly done. The great end of life is not knowledge but + action. What men need is as much knowledge as they can + assimilate and organise into a basis for action; give + them more and it may become injurious. One knows people + who are as heavy and stupid from undigested learning as + others are from over-fulness of meat and drink. But a + small percentage of the population is born with that most + excellent quality, a desire for excellence, or with + special aptitude of some sort or another.... Now, the + most important object of all educational schemes is to + catch these exceptional people, and turn them to account + for the good of society. No man can say where they will + crop up; like their opposites, the fools and the knaves, + they appear sometimes in the palace, and sometimes in the + hovel; but the great thing to be aimed at, I was almost + going to say, the most important end of all social + arrangements, is to keep these glorious sports of Nature + from being either corrupted by luxury or starved by + poverty, and to put them into the position in which they + can do the work for which they are specially fitted.... I + weigh my words when I say that if the nation could + purchase a potential Watt or Davy or Faraday, at the cost + of a hundred thousand pounds down, he would be dirt cheap + at the money." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The beginning and end of the whole matter was that a + national system of education was above all things a + "capacity-catcher," designed to secure against the loss of + the incalculable advantages to be gained by cultivating the + best genius born in the land. + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 182px;"> + <img src="images/ill-203.png" alt="" title="" height="47" + width="182" /> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p204" id="p204">[204]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-204.png" alt="" title="" height="82" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</a> + </h2> + <h3> + CITIZEN, ORATOR, AND ESSAYIST + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Huxley's Activity in Public Affairs—Official in + Scientific Societies—Royal + Commissions—Vivisection—Characteristics of + his Public Speaking—His Method of + Exposition—His + Essays—Vocabulary—Phrase-Making—His + Style Essentially one of Ideas. + </p> + </div> + <p> + A great body of fine work in science and literature has + been produced by persons who may be described as typically + academic. Such persons confine their interest in life + within the boundaries of their own immediate pursuits; they + are absorbed so completely by their avocations that the + hurly-burly of the world seems needlessly distracting and a + little vulgar. No doubt the thoughts of those who cry out + most loudly against disturbance by the intruding claims of + the world are, for the most part, hardly worth disturbing; + the attitude to extrinsic things of those who are absorbed + by their work is aped not infrequently by those who are + absorbed only in themselves. None the less it is important + to recognise that a genuine aversion from affairs is + characteristic of many fine original investigators, and it + is on such persons that the idea of the simple and + childlike nature of philosophers, a simplicity often + reaching real incapacity for the affairs of life, is <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p205" id="p205">[205]</a></span> + based. There was no trace of this natural isolation in the + character of Huxley. He was not only a serious student of + science but a keen and zealous citizen, eagerly conscious + of the great social and political movements around him, + with the full sense that he was a man living in society + with other men and that there was a business of life as + well as a business of the laboratory. We have seen with + what zeal he brought his trained intelligence to bear not + only on his own province of scientific education, but on + the wider problems of general education, and yet the time + he gave to these was only a small part of that which he + spared from abstract science for affairs. In scientific + institutions as in others, there is always a considerable + amount of business, involving the management of men and the + management of money, and Huxley's readiness and aptitude + led to his being largely occupied with these. For many + years he was Dean of the Royal College of Science at South + Kensington, and for a considerable time he served the + Geological Society and the Royal Society as secretary. In + all these posts, Huxley displayed great capacity as a + leader of men and as a manager of affairs, and contributed + largely to the successful working of the institutions which + he served. + </p> + <p> + In England, when troublesome questions press and seem to + call for new legislation, it frequently happens that the + collection and sifting of evidence preliminary to + legislation is a task for which the methods and routine of + Parliament are unsuitable. The Queen, acting through her + responsible advisers, appoints a Royal Commission, + consisting of a small body of men, to which is entrusted + the preliminary task of collecting and weighing evidence, + or of making recommendations on evidence already collected. + To such honourable <span class="pagenum"><a name="p206" + id="p206">[206]</a></span> posts Huxley was repeatedly + called. He served on the following Commissions: 1. Royal + Commission on the Operation of Acts relating to Trawling + for Herrings on the Coast of Scotland, 1862. 2. Royal + Commission to Enquire into the Sea Fisheries of the United + Kingdom, 1864-65. 3. Commission on the Royal College of + Science for Ireland, 1866. 4. Commission on Science and Art + Instruction in Ireland, 1868. 5. Royal Commission on the + Administration and Operation of the Contagious Diseases + Acts, 1870-71. 6. Royal Commission on Scientific + Instruction and the Advancement of Science, 1870-75. 7. + Royal Commission on the Practice of Subjecting Live Animals + to Experiments for Scientific Purposes, 1876. 8. Royal + Commission to Enquire into the Universities of Scotland, + 1876-78. 9. Royal Commission on the Medical Acts, 1881-82. + 10. Royal Commission on Trawl, Net, and Beam-Trawl Fishing, + 1884. This is a great record for any man, especially for + one in whose life work of this kind was outside his + habitual occupation. It was no doubt in special recognition + of the important services given his country by such work, + as well as in general recognition of his distinction in + science, that he was sworn a member of Her Majesty's Privy + Council, so attaining a distinction more coveted than the + peerage. + </p> + <p> + The voluminous reports of the Commissions shew that Huxley, + very far from being a silent member of them, took a large + part in framing the questions which served to direct + witnesses into useful lines, and that his clear and orderly + habit of thought proved as useful in the elucidation of + these subjects as they were in matters of scientific + research. For the most part, the problems brought before + the Commissions have lost their interest for readers of + later years, but there are matters still <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p207" id="p207">[207]</a></span> + unsettled on which the opinions of Huxley as expressed then + remain useful. The Commission of 1876, for instance, dealt + with vivisection, a matter on which the conscience of the + ordinary man is not yet at rest. Although Huxley was + intensely interested in the problems of physiology, and + although at one time he hoped to devote his life to them, + fortune directed otherwise, and the investigations for + which he is famed did not in any way involve the kind of + experiments known as vivisection. The greater part of his + work was upon the remains of creatures dead for thousands + of years or upon the lifeless skeletons of modern forms. On + the other hand, he was keenly interested in the progress of + physiological science, he had personal acquaintance with + most of the distinguished workers in physiology of his time + at home and abroad, and from this knowledge of their + character and aspirations he was well able to judge of the + wholesale and reckless accusations brought against them. He + was a man full of the finest humanity, with an unusual + devotion to animals as pets, and with knowledge of the + degrees of pain involved in experimenting on living + creatures. He insisted strongly on the necessity of + limiting or abolishing pain, wherever it was possible; he + agreed that any experiments which involved pain should not + be permitted for the purpose of demonstrating known + elementary facts. But, from his knowledge of the + incalculable benefits which had been gained from + experimental research, and from his confidence in those who + conducted it, he declined to give support to the misguided + fanatics who desired to make such experimental research a + penal offence, even when conducted by the most skilled + experts for the highest purposes. + </p> + <p> + Huxley contributed his share to the great questions <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p208" id="p208">[208]</a></span> + which agitated the public not only by service on + Commissions, but by delivering a large number of public + addresses and writing a large number of essays on topics of + special interest. Much of his work on scientific, + educational, and general subjects took its first shape in + the form of addresses given to some public audience. + University audiences in England, Scotland, and America were + familiar to him, and from time to time he addressed large + gatherings of a mixed character. But probably his favourite + audience was composed of working men, and he had the + greatest respect for the intelligence and sympathy of + hearers who like himself passed the greater portion of + their time in hard work. Professor Howes, his pupil, + friend, and successor, writes of him: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "He gave workmen of his best. The substance of <i>Man's + Place in Nature</i>, one of the most successful and + popular of his writings, and of his <i>Crayfish</i>, + perhaps the most perfect zoölogical treatise ever + published, was first communicated to them. In one of the + last communications I had with him, I asked his views as + to the desirability of discontinuing the workmen's + lectures at Jermyn Street, since the development of + workmen's colleges and institutes was regarded by some as + rendering their continuance unnecessary. He replied, + almost with indignation, 'With our central situation and + resources we ought to be in a position to give the + workmen that which they cannot get elsewhere,' adding + that he would deeply deplore any such discontinuance." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Huxley had no natural facility for speech. He tells us that + at first he disliked it, and that he had a firm conviction + that he would break down every time he opened his mouth. + The only two possible faults of a public speaker which he + believed himself to be without, were "talking at random and + indulging in rhetoric." With practice, he lost this earlier + hesitancy, <span class="pagenum"><a name="p209" + id="p209">[209]</a></span> and before long became known as + one of the finest speakers of his time. Certain natural + gifts aided him; his well-set figure and strong features, + of which the piercing eyes and firm, trap-like mouth were + the most striking, riveted attention, while his voice had a + wide range and was beautifully modulated. But it was above + all things the matter and not the manner of his speech that + commanded success. He cared little or nothing for the + impression he might make—everything for the ideas + which he wished to convey. He was concerned only to set + forth these ideas in their clear and logical order, + convinced in his own mind that, were the facts as he knew + them placed before the minds of his hearers, only one + possible result could follow. The facts had convinced him: + they must equally convince any honest and intelligent + person placed in possession of them. He had not the + smallest intention of overbearing by authority or of + swaying by skilfully aroused emotion. Such weapons of the + orator seemed to him dishonest in the speaker and most + perilous to the audience. For him, speaking on any subject + was merely a branch of scientific exposition; when emotion + was to be roused or enthusiasm to be kindled the + inspiration was to come from the facts and not from the + orator. The arts he allowed himself were those common to + all forms of exposition; he would explain a novel set of + ideas by comparison with simpler ideas obvious to all his + listeners; and he sought to arrest attention or to drive + home a conclusion by some brilliant phrase that bit into + the memory. These two arts, the art of the phrase-maker and + the art of explaining by vivacious and simple comparison, + he brought to a high perfection. The fundamental method of + his exposition was simply <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p210" id="p210">[210]</a></span> the method of + comparative anatomy, the result of a habit of thinking + which makes it impossible to have any set of ideas brought + into the mind without an immediate, almost unconscious, + overhauling of the memory for any other ideas at all + congruous. In a strict scientific exposition Huxley would + choose from the multitude of possible comparisons that most + simple and most intelligible to his audience; when in a + lighter vein, he gave play to a natural humour in his + choice. Instances of his method of exposition by comparison + abound in his published addresses. Let us take one or two. + In the course of an address to a large mixed audience so + early in his public career as 1854, in making plain to them + the proposition, somewhat novel for those days, that the + natural history sciences had an educational value, he + explained that the faculties employed in that subject were + simply those of the common sense of every-day life. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The vast results obtained by Science are won by no + mystical faculties, by no mental processes other than + those which are practised by every one of us, in the + humblest and meanest affairs of life. A detective + policeman discovers a burglar from the marks made by his + shoe, by a mental process identical with that by which + Cuvier restored the extinct animals of Montmartre from + fragments of their bones. Nor does that process of + induction and deduction by which a lady, finding a stain + of a peculiar kind on her dress, concludes that somebody + has upset the inkstand thereon, differ in any way, in + kind, from that by which Adams and Leverrier discovered a + new planet." + </p> + </div> + <p> + In one of his addresses to working men on <i>Man's Place in + Nature</i> he shewed that from time to time in the history + of the world average persons of the human race have + accepted some kind of answer to the insoluble riddles of + existence, but that from time to <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p211" id="p211">[211]</a></span> time the race has + outgrown the current answers, ceasing to take comfort from + them. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "In a well-worn metaphor a parallel is drawn between the + life of man and the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a + butterfly; but the comparison may be more just as well as + more novel, if for its former term we take the mental + progress of the race. History shews that the human mind, + fed by constant accessions of knowledge, periodically + grows too large for its theoretical coverings, and bursts + them asunder to appear in new habiliments, as the feeding + and growing grub, at intervals, casts its too narrow skin + and assumes another, itself but temporary. Truly, the + imago state of man seems to be terribly distant, but + every moult is a step gained, and of such there have been + many." + </p> + </div> + <p> + As another instance, the following from his address on a + "Liberal Education" may be taken. He had been discussing + the intellectual advantage to be derived from classical + studies, and had been comparing, to the disadvantage of the + latter, the intellectual discipline which might be got from + a study of fossils with the discipline claimed by the + ordinary experts upon education to be the results of + classical training. He wished to anticipate the obvious + objection to his argument: that the subject-matter of + palæontology had no direct bearing on human interests + and emotions, while the classical authors were rich in the + finest humanity. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "But it will be said that I forget the beauty and the + human interest, which appertain to classical studies. To + this I reply that it is only a very strong man who can + appreciate the charms of landscape as he is toiling up a + steep hill, along a bad road. What with short-windedness, + stones, nits, and a pervading sense of the wisdom of rest + and be thankful, most of us have little enough sense of + the beautiful under these circumstances. The ordinary + schoolboy is precisely in this case. He <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p212" id="p212">[212]</a></span> + finds Parnassus uncommonly steep, and there is no chance + of his having much time or inclination to look about him + till he gets to the top. And nine times out of ten he + does not get to the top." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The last example we shall take comes from a speech made + after dinner at a much later period of his life. The + occasion was a complimentary dinner to the editor of the + English scientific periodical <i>Nature</i>, which had been + for long the leading semi-popular journal of English + science. Huxley, in proposing the health of the editor, + declared that he did not quite know how to say what he + wanted to say, but that he would explain by a story. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "A poor woman," he said, "was brought into one of our + hospitals in a shockingly battered condition. When her + wounds had been cleaned and sewn, and when the care of + the surgeons had restored her to comparative comfort, + someone said to her, 'I am afraid your husband has been + knocking you about.' 'What!' she said, 'my Jim bash me? + no it worn't by him; he's always been more like a friend + to me than a husband.' That," went on Huxley, "is what I + wish to say about our guest of to-night. In all our + intercourse with him he has been more like a friend to us + than an editor." + </p> + </div> + <p> + It is impossible to make a real distinction between the + essays and the addresses of Huxley. Many of the most + important of his addresses, as for instance his Romanes + lecture on "Evolution and Ethics," were written and printed + before he delivered them; most of them were carefully + prepared, and revised and printed after delivery. It is + therefore not remarkable to find a close resemblance in + matter and manner between what was originally spoken and + what was published without a <i>vivâ voce</i> + delivery. Everything that may be said of the one set + applies with an equal <span class="pagenum"><a name="p213" + id="p213">[213]</a></span> fitness to the other set. There + are many who assert with confidence that Huxley is one of + the great masters of English, and although an examination + of this opinion involves discussion of the elusive quality + termed "style," it is necessary to attempt it. + </p> + <p> + In that totality which consists of an essay or of a printed + address, and of which we are, most of us, ready to discuss + the style, there are at least three separable elements, + each contributing after its kind to the effect on our + minds. When the general effect is to throw us into a state + of pleasure, it is our habit to qualify the style with an + adjective of praise, selecting the adjective according to + the degree of restraint or of enthusiasm with which we are + accustomed to express our emotions; when the general effect + is to throw us into a condition of boredom or of distaste, + we make a corresponding choice of appropriate adjectives. + When we wish to be specially critical we pass a little way + beyond an empirical judgment by pleasure or annoyance and + take into account the degree of harmony between matter and + manner. In such a frame of mind we discount the pleasure + obtained from verbal quips, if these occur in a grave + exposition, or that received from solemn and stately + harmonies of language if these be employed on insignificant + trifles. In a condition of unusual critical exaltation we + may even admit an excellence of language and phrasing + though these have as their contents ideas which we dislike, + or press towards conclusions from which we dissent. But if + we desire to make an exact appreciation of literary style, + it is requisite to examine separately the three elements + which contribute to the effect produced on us by any + written work. These three elements are the words or raw + materials employed, the building of words into <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p214" id="p214">[214]</a></span> + sentences and of sentences into paragraphs, which may be + designated as the architectural work, and, finally, the + ideas conveyed, that is to say, the actual object of the + writing. + </p> + <p> + Huxley was a wide and omnivorous reader, and so had an + unusually large fund of words at his disposal. His writings + abound with quotations and allusions taken from the best + English authors, and he had a profound and practical belief + in the advantage to be gained from the reading of English. + "If a man," he wrote, "cannot get literary culture out of + his Bible, and Chaucer, and Shakespeare, and Milton, and + Hobbes, and Bishop Berkeley, to mention only a few of our + illustrious writers—I say, if he cannot get it out of + these writers, he cannot get it out of anything." He had at + least a fair knowledge of Greek in the original, and a very + wide acquaintance with Greek phrasing and Greek ideas + derived from a study of Greek authors in English versions. + He had an unusual knowledge of Latin, both of the classical + writers and of the early Church fathers and mediæval + writers on science and metaphysics. French and German, the + two foreign languages which are a necessary part of the + mental equipment of an English-speaking man of science, + were familiar to him. Finally, he had of necessity the wide + and varied vocabulary of the natural and technical sciences + at his disposal. From these varied sources, Huxley had a + fund of words, a store of the raw material for expressing + ideas, very much greater and more varied than that in the + possession of most writers. You will find in his writings + abundant and omnipresent evidence of the enormous wealth of + verbal material ready for the ideas he wished to set forth: + a Greek phrase, a German phrase, a Latin or French <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p215" id="p215">[215]</a></span> + phrase, or a group of words borrowed from one of our own + great writers always seemed to await his wish. General + Booth's scheme for elevating the masses by cymbals and + dogma was "corybantic Christianity"; to explain what he + thought was the Catholic attitude to the doctrine of + evolution, he said it would have been called + <i>damnabilis</i> by Father Suarez, and that he would have + meant "not that it was to be damned, but that it was an + active principle capable of damning." Huxley was like a + builder who did not limit himself while he was constructing + a house to the ordinary materials from the most convenient + local quarry, but who collected endlessly from all the + quarries and brickfields of the world, and brought to his + heaps curiously wrought stones taken from a thousand old + buildings. The swift choice from such a varied material + gave an ease and appearance of natural growth to his work; + it produced many surprising and delightful combinations, + and it never sacrificed convenience of expression to + exigencies of the materials for expression. On the other + hand, Huxley lacked the sedulous concern for words + themselves as things valuable and delightful; the delight + of the craftsman in his tools; the dainty and respectful + tribute paid to the words themselves; in fine, he took + little pleasure in words themselves and used them as + counters rather than as coins. Careful reflection and + examination will make it plain that the pleasure to be got + from Huxley's style is not due in any large measure to his + choice and handling of words. There is no evidence that he + deliberately and fastidiously preferred one word to + another, that he took delight in the savour of individual + words, in the placing of plain words in a context to make + them sparkle, in the avoidance of some, in the deliberate + preference of <span class="pagenum"><a name="p216" + id="p216">[216]</a></span> other words,—in fact, in + all the conscious tricks and graces that distinguish the + lover of words from their mere user. + </p> + <p> + A close examination discovers a similar absence from + Huxley's work of the second contributory to the total + effect produced by written words. Anything that may be said + about absence of artistry in the use of words, may be said + as to absence of artistry in building of the words into + sentences, of the sentences into paragraphs and pages. In + the first place, actual infelicities of sentence-building + are frequent. Clause is piled on clause, qualifying phrases + are interpolated, the easy devices of dashes and + repetitions are employed wherever convenience suggests + them. It is striking to find how infrequent is the + occurrence of passages marked in any way by sonorous rhythm + or by the charm of a measured proportion. The purple + passages themselves, those which linger in the memory and + to which the reader turns back, linger by their sense and + not by their sound. For indeed the truth of the matter is + that Huxley's style was a style of ideas and not of words + and sentences. The more closely you analyse his pages the + more certainly you find that the secret of the effect + produced on you lies in the gradual development of the + precise and logical ideas he wished to convey, in the + brilliant accumulation of argument upon argument, in the + logical subordination of details to the whole, in fact, in + the arts of the convinced, positive, and logical thinker, + who knew exactly what he meant you to know and who set + about telling you it with the least possible concern for + the words he used or for the sentences into which he formed + his words. The ideas and their ordering are the root and + the branches, the beginning and the end of his style. <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p217" id="p217">[217]</a></span> + To put it in another way: it would be extremely easy to + translate any of Huxley's writings into French or German, + and they would lose extremely little of the personal + flavour of their author. The present writer has just been + reading French translations of Huxley's <i>Physiography</i> + and <i>Crayfish</i>, made at different times by different + translators. At first reading it seems almost miraculous + how identically the effect produced by the original is + reproduced by the French rendering, but the secret is + really no secret at all. Huxley produced his effects by the + ordering of his ideas and not by the ordering of his words. + From the technical point of view of literary craftsmanship, + he cannot be assigned a high place; he is one of our great + English writers, but he is not a great writer of English. + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 231px;"> + <img src="images/ill-217.png" alt="" title="" + height="118" width="231" /> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p218" id="p218">[218]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-218.png" alt="" title="" height="85" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</a> + </h2> + <h3> + THE OPPONENT OF MATERIALISM + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Science and Metaphysics—Berkeley, Hume, and + Hobbes—Existence of Matter and + Mind—Descartes's Contribution—Materialism and + Idealism—Criticism of Materialism—Berkeley's + Idealism—Criticism of Idealism—Empirical + Idealism—Materialism as opposed to + Supernaturalism—Mind and Brain—Origin of + Life—Teleology, Chance, and the Argument from + Design. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The prosecution of independent thinking in any branch of + knowledge leads to the ultimate problems of philosophy. The + mathematician cannot ponder over the meaning of his + figures, the chemist that of his reactions, the biologist + that of his tissues and cells, the psychologist that of + sensations and conceptions, without being tempted from the + comparatively secure ground of observations and the + arrangement of observations into the perilous regions of + metaphysics. Most scientific men return quickly, repelled + and perhaps a little scared by the baffling confusion of + that windy region of thought where no rules of logic seem + incontrovertible, no conclusions tenable, and no + discussions profitable. Huxley, however, not only entered + into metaphysical questions with enthusiasm, but gave a + great deal of time to the study of some of the great + metaphysical writers. His views are to be <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p219" id="p219">[219]</a></span> + found scattered through very many of his ordinary + scientific writings, but are specially set forth in a + volume on <i>Hume</i>, which he wrote for Mr. John Morley's + series, <i>English Men of Letters</i>, and in essays on + Berkeley and on Descartes, all of which are republished in + the <i>Collected Essays</i>. He contrived to preserve, in + the most abstrusely philosophical of these writings, a + simplicity and clarity which, although they have not + commended him to professional metaphysicians, make his + attitude to the problems of metaphysics extremely + intelligible. The greatest barrier and cause of confusion + to the novice in metaphysics is that the writings of most + of the great authorities are overburdened by their great + knowledge of the history of philosophy. Huxley, in a + characteristic piece of "parting advice" in the preface to + his work on Hume attacked this confusion between the + history of a subject and the subject itself. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "If it is your desire," he wrote, "to discourse fluently + and learnedly about philosophical questions, begin with + the Ionians and work steadily through to the latest new + speculative treatise. If you have a good memory and a + fair knowledge of Greek, Latin, French, and German, three + or four years spent in this way should enable you to + attain your object. If, on the contrary, you are animated + by the much rarer desire for real knowledge; if you want + to get a clear conception of the deepest problems set + before the intellect of man, there is no need, so far as + I can see, for you to go beyond the limits of the English + tongue. Indeed, if you are pressed for time, three + English authors will suffice, namely, Berkeley, Hume, and + Hobbes." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The first and perhaps the greatest problem in metaphysics + can be put very shortly. What is the reality behind the + apparent universe of matter and mind we see around us? Or, + rather, what do we know of that reality? To the uninitiated + in philosophical thinking <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p220" id="p220">[220]</a></span> it seems + sufficiently plain that there are two entities, body and + soul in man, matter and mind in the whole universe; and + various types of intelligent dogmatists, ranging from the + sturdy if somewhat stupid shrewdness of Dr. Johnson to the + agile casuistry of Catholic metaphysicians, have supported + this simple verdict of "common sense." Trouble begins, + however, with any attempt to analyse the relations between + what we call "matter" and what we call "mind." It appears, + for instance, that what we call matter we only know in + terms of mind. In an essay on Descartes's <i>Discourse on + Method</i>, Huxley explains this by simple examples. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I take up a marble and I find it to be a red, round, + hard, single body. We call the redness, the roundness, + the hardness and the singleness, 'qualities' of the + marble; and it sounds, at first, the height of absurdity + to say that all these qualities are modes of our own + consciousness, which cannot even be conceived to exist in + the marble. But consider the redness, to begin with. How + does the sensation of redness arise? The waves of a + certain very attenuated matter, the particles of which + are vibrating with vast rapidity, but with very different + velocities, strike upon the marble, and those which + vibrate with one particular velocity are thrown off from + its surface in all directions. The optical apparatus of + the eye gathers some of these together, and gives them + such a course that they impinge upon the surface of the + retina, which is a singularly delicate apparatus + connected with the terminations of the fibres of the + optic nerve. The impulses of the attenuated matter, or + ether, affect this apparatus and the fibres of the optic + nerve in a certain way; and the change in the fibres of + the optic nerve produces yet other changes in the brain; + and these, in some fashion unknown to us, give rise to + the feeling, or consciousness, of redness. If the marble + could remain unchanged, and either the vibrations of the + ether, or the nature of the retina, could be altered, the + marble would seem not red, but some other colour. There + are many people who are what are called colour-blind, + being unable to distinguish one colour from another. Such + an <span class="pagenum"><a name="p221" + id="p221">[221]</a></span> one might declare our marble + to be green; and he would be quite as right in saying + that it is green as we are in declaring it to be red. But + then, as the marble itself cannot be both green and red, + at the same time, this shews that the quality redness + must be in our consciousness and not in the marble." + </p> + </div> + <p> + In similar fashion he shewed that the hardness, roundness, + and even the singleness of the marble were, so far as we + know, states of our consciousness and not in the marble. + The argument is capable of application to all that we call + matter, and it thus appears, on analysis, that what we know + of matter is simply a series of states of our + consciousness, or mind. In similar fashion, it turns out + that what we call mind is, so far as practical experience + goes, always associated with and dependent on what we call + matter. We have no direct knowledge of thinking without a + brain, or of consciousness without a body. Alterations and + changes in matter, as for instance in the tissues and + nutrition of the body, are, so far as our experience goes, + inseparably associated with mental operations. In the + animal kingdom we see the development of the mind creeping + slowly after the development of the material nervous + system, until, in man, the most complex mind and most + complex consciousness of which we have knowledge accompany + the most complex body and brain. + </p> + <p> + Two great rival solutions to this fundamental problem are + Materialism and Idealism. Materialism supposes that what we + call matter is the real substance of the universe, and that + mind is merely one of the forms of its activity. The + advance of physical science has done much to make the + materialistic hypothesis more plausible. When matter was + believed to be inert, the mere vehicle or theatre of + forces, materialism remained a singularly crude and + unsatisfying position. But now <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p222" id="p222">[222]</a></span> that science has + shewn all that we call matter—the most solid metals + and the most attenuated vapours, the most stable and + resisting inorganic bodies, and the unstable tissues of + living bodies—to be alike in restless, orderly + motion, to be, in fact, motion itself and not the thing + moved, to be changeable but indestructible, passing through + phases but eternal, there seems less difficulty in assuming + it to be the ultimate reality, and mind and consciousness + to be its most highly specialised qualities. Huxley, while + stating this view plainly enough, refused to accept it as a + legitimate conclusion from the facts. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "For anything that may be proved to the contrary, there + may be a real something which is the cause of all our + impressions; that sensations, though not likenesses, are + symbols of that something; and that the part of that + something, which we call the nervous system, is an + apparatus for supplying us with a sort of algebra of + fact, based on these symbols. A brain may be the + machinery by which the material universe becomes + conscious of itself. But it is important to notice that, + even if this conception of the uuiverse and of the + relation of consciousness to its other components should + be true, we should, nevertheless, be still bound by the + limits of thought, still unable to refute the arguments + of pure idealism. The more completely the materialistic + position is admitted, the easier it is to show that the + idealistic position is unassailable, if the idealist + confines himself within the limits of positive + knowledge." + </p> + </div> + <p> + However we attempt to form what philosophers call "ejects," + to imagine that what is really in our consciousness is + really the world outside ourselves, these ejects remain + mere phenomena of our minds. Matter itself and its changes + may, in the long run, be but modes of motion, but "our + knowledge of motion is nothing but that of a change in the + place and order <span class="pagenum"><a name="p223" + id="p223">[223]</a></span> of our sensations; just as our + knowledge of matter is restricted to those feelings of + which we assume it to be the cause." Huxley's exact + position in regard to materialism is most plain in his + expositions of the writings of Berkeley, with whom began in + England the greatest movement towards an idealistic + philosophy. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Berkeley faced the problem boldly. He said to the + materialists: 'You tell me that all the phenomena of + nature are resolvable into matter and its affections. I + assent to your statement, and now I put to you the + further question, What is matter? In answering this + question you shall be bound by your own conditions; and I + demand, in the terms of the Cartesian axiom, that you in + turn give your assent only to such conclusions as are + perfectly clear and obvious.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + Huxley then goes on to state the general lines of the + arguments by which Berkeley arrived at the apparently + paradoxical conclusion "that all the choir of heaven and + furniture of the earth—in a word, all those bodies + which compose the mighty frame of the world," have an + existence only so far as they are in a perceiving mind. And + he proceeds at length to explain the immense importance of + the truths underlying Berkeley's position. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The key to all philosophy lies in the clear apprehension + of Berkeley's problem—which is neither more nor + less than one of the shapes of the greatest of all + questions, 'What are the limits of our faculties?' And it + is worth any amount of trouble to comprehend the exact + nature of the argument by which Berkeley arrived at his + results, and to know by one's own knowledge the great + truth which he discovered—that the honest and + rigorous following up of the argument which leads us to + materialism inevitably carries us beyond it." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Huxley, however, while he opposed a materialistic + explanation of the universe with the strength of exposition + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p224" + id="p224">[224]</a></span> and acute reasoning at his + disposal, did not pass directly into the other camp and + become a pure idealist. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Granting the premisses," he wrote, "I do not see any + escape from Berkeley's conclusion, that the substance of + matter is a metaphysical unknown quantity, of the + existence of which there is no proof. What Berkeley does + not seem to have so clearly perceived is that the + non-existence of a substance of mind is equally arguable; + and that the result of the impartial application of his + reasonings is the reduction of the all to co-existences + and sequences of phenomena, beneath and beyond which + there is nothing cognoscible." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Hume had written: "What we call a mind is nothing but a + heap or collection of different perceptions, united + together by certain relations, and supposed, though + falsely, to be endowed with a perfect simplicity and + identity." Here was mind rejected for the same negative + reasons as matter, and Huxley was as ready to point out + that while we can know nothing of the + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "substance of the thinking thing, we go beyond legitimate + reasoning if we therefore deny its existence." ... "Hume + may be right or wrong, but the most he or anyone else can + prove in favour of his conclusions is, that we know + nothing more of the mind than that it is a series of + perceptions. Whether there is something in the mind that + lies beyond the reach of observation, or whether + perceptions themselves are the products of something + which can be observed and which is not mind, are + questions which can in no wise be settled by direct + observation." + </p> + </div> + <p> + In another passage he writes: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "To sum up. If the materialist affirms that the universe + and all its phenomena are resolvable into matter and + motion, Berkeley replies, True; but what you call matter + and motion are known to us only as forms of + consciousness; their being is to be conceived or known; + and the existence of a state of <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p225" id="p225">[225]</a></span> consciousness, + apart from a thinking mind, is a contradiction in terms. + I conceive that this reasoning is irrefragable. And + therefore, if I were obliged to choose between absolute + materialism and absolute idealism, I should feel + compelled to accept the latter alternative. Indeed, upon + this point Locke does, practically, go as far in the + direction of idealism as Berkeley, when he admits that + the 'simple ideas which we receive from sensation and + reflection are the boundaries of our thoughts, beyond + which the mind, whatever efforts it would make, is not + able to advance one jot.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + Locke went further, and Huxley agreed with him. He declared + that the mind cannot "make any discoveries when it would + pry into the nature and hidden cause of these ideas." We + must, in fact, definitely reject what we know as matter as + the absolute reality of the universe, for it becomes very + plain that what we call matter we know merely as affections + of our own consciousness. In a sense, then, so far as it is + opposed to materialism, idealism, according to Huxley, must + be the philosophical position of a scientific man. But the + idealism is not the absolute idealism of Berkeley, as we + have no logical right to deny or to affirm the existence of + absolute matter or of absolute mind. The real truth of the + philosophy of science lies in a separation between + metaphysical theory and actual pursuits. In ultimate + philosophical theory it is impossible to rest content with + a plain natural conception of the universe. When any + conception of matter, or of its affections, is pushed as + far as analysis can take us, what we know resolves itself + into affections of mind, into what without metaphysical + finesse may be called ideas. But this empirical idealism + must be taken positively as being merely the limits of our + knowledge, and it must carry with it neither an undue + exaltation of mind nor an undue depreciation of matter. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p226" + id="p226">[226]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The Platonic philosophy is probably the grandest example + of the unscientific use of the imagination extant; and it + would be hard to estimate the amount of detriment to + clear thinking effected, directly and indirectly, by the + theory of ideas, on the one hand, and by the unfortunate + doctrine of the baseness of matter, on the other." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Materialism was dismissed by Huxley as being an inadequate + philosophical explanation of the universe, and as being + based on a logical delusion. There remains, however, a + practical application of the word in which the conceptions + it involves are almost an inevitable part of science, and + which was strenuously urged by Huxley. In the earlier days + of the world and of science almost all the phenomena of + nature were regarded as random or wilful displays of living + intelligence. The earth itself and the sun, the moon, and + the stars were endowed with life; legions of unseen + intelligences ruled the operations of nature, and although + these might be bribed or threatened, pleased or made angry, + their actions were regarded as beyond prediction or + control. The procession of the seasons, the routine of day + and night, the placid appeasement of the rains, the + devastating roar of storms, the shining of the rainbow, the + bubbling of springs, the terrors of famine and pestilence; + all these—the varying environment which makes or mars + human life—were regarded as inevitable and + capricious. The whole progress of physical science has been + attended with a gradual elimination of these supernatural + agencies and with a continual replacement of them by + conceptions of physical sequence. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "In singular contrast with natural knowledge, the + acquaintance of mankind with the supernatural appears the + more exact, and the influence of supernatural doctrine on + conduct the <span class="pagenum"><a name="p227" + id="p227">[227]</a></span> greater, the further we go + back in time and the lower the stage of civilisation + submitted to investigation. Historically, indeed, there + would seem to be an inverse relation between supernatural + and natural knowledge. As the latter has widened, gained + in precision and trustworthiness, so has the former + shrunk, grown vague and questionable; as the one has more + and more filled the sphere of action, so has the other + retreated into the region of meditation, or vanished + behind the screen of mere verbal recognition. Whether + this difference of the fortunes of Naturalism and + Supernaturalism is an indication of the progress, or of + the regress of humanity, of a fall from or an advance + towards the higher life, is a matter of opinion. The + point to which I wish to direct attention is that the + difference exists and is making itself felt. Men are + growing seriously alive to the fact that the historical + evolution of humanity, which is generally, and I venture + to think, not unreasonably, regarded as progress, has + been and is being accompanied by a co-ordinate + elimination of the supernatural from its originally large + occupation of men's thought." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Every stage in this long process, every new attempt to + place physical phenomena in a chain of direct causation has + been denounced as dangerous and degrading materialism, and + in this sense Huxley was not only an adherent but one of + the foremost champions of materialism. As everyone knows, + some of the greatest advances in this process of + co-ordinating physical phenomena were made during Huxley's + life; and his vigorous onslaughts on those who tried to + thwart all attempts at material explanations in favour of + unknown agencies made him specially open to abusive + criticism. The battle was almost invariably between those + who had not special knowledge and those in possession of + it, and it occurred in practically the whole field of + science, but particularly in the biological sciences. A + single example will serve to shew what is meant by + materialism in this sense and the attitude of Huxley to + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p228" + id="p228">[228]</a></span> it. The study of the human mind + naturally has attracted the attention of thinkers almost + since the beginning of philosophy, but until this century, + with a few crude exceptions, it has been conducted entirely + apart from anatomy and physiology. Advances in these + physical sciences, however, have changed that, and the + modern psychologist has to begin by being a physiologist + and anatomist. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Surely no one who is cognisant of the facts of the case, + nowadays, doubts that the roots of psychology lie in the + physiology of the nervous system. What we call the + operations of the mind are the functions of the brain, + and the materials of consciousness are products of + cerebral activity. Cabanis may have made use of crude and + misleading phraseology when he said that the brain + secretes thought as the liver secretes bile; but the + conception which that much-abused phrase embodies is, + nevertheless, far more consistent with fact than the + popular notion that the mind is a metaphysical entity + seated in the head, but as independent of the brain as a + telegraph operator is of his instrument. It is hardly + necessary to point out that the doctrine just laid down + is what is commonly called materialism. I am not sure + that the adjective 'crass,' which appears to have a + special charm for rhetorical sciolists, would not be + applied to it. But it is, nevertheless, true that the + doctrine contains nothing inconsistent with the purest + idealism." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The whole doctrine of evolution is similarly a + materialistic account of natural phenomena, in the popular + and not the philosophical meaning of the term. But even + within this popular meaning, it is extremely necessary to + have an exact conception of the limits within which Huxley + was materialistic. Take for instance the question of the + origin of life. It would be one of the greatest + achievements of physical science could it shew that life + was not inco-ordinate with non-living physical phenomena, + but was a special case of them. Huxley knew that this + advance had not yet been made. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p229" + id="p229">[229]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "It may be that, by-and-by, philosophers will discover + some higher laws of which the facts of life are + particular cases—very possibly they will find out + some bond between physico-chemical phenomena on the one + hand, and vital phenomena on the other. At present, + however, we assuredly know of none; and I think we shall + exercise a wise humility in confessing that, for us at + least, this successive assumption of different states + (external conditions remaining the same)—this + spontaneity of action—if I may use a term which + implies more than I would be answerable for—which + constitutes so vast and plain a practical distinction + between living bodies and those which do not live, is an + ultimate fact; indicating as such, the existence of a + broad line of demarcation between the subject matter of + biological and of all other science." + </p> + </div> + <p> + In another passage he wrote: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Looking back through the prodigious vista of the past I + find no record of the commencement of life, and therefore + I am devoid of any means of forming a definite conclusion + as to the conditions of its appearance. Belief, in the + scientific sense of the word, is a serious matter, and + needs strong foundations. To say, therefore, in the + admitted absence of evidence, that I have any belief as + to the mode in which the existing forms of life have + originated, would be using words in a wrong sense. But + expectation is permissible where belief is not; and if it + were given me to look beyond the abyss of geologically + recorded time to the still more remote period when the + earth was passing through physical and chemical + conditions which it can no more see again than a man can + recall his infancy, I should expect to be a witness of + the evolution of living protoplasm from non-living + matter. I should expect to see it appear under forms of + great simplicity, endowed, like existing fungi, with the + power of determining the formation of new protoplasm from + such matters as ammonium carbonates, oxalates, and + tartrates, alkaline and earthy phosphates, and water, + without the aid of light. That is the expectation to + which analogical reasoning leads me, but I beg you once + more to recollect that I have no right to call my opinion + anything but an act of philosophical faith." + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p230" + id="p230">[230]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Since these words were written the reasons for Huxley's + "philosophic faith" have been strengthened by later + discoveries, and perhaps a majority of biologists would + take the view that except for practical purposes there is + no sound reason for placing living and inorganic + aggregations of matter in totally different categories. But + even if the main outline of the theory of evolution were + proved beyond the possibility of doubt, if we could trace + existing plants and animals backwards with the accuracy of + a genealogist and find that they had been developed, under + purely physical "laws" from a few simple forms, and if we + could understand exactly how these few simple forms of + living matter took origin from non-living matter, we would + not, if we followed Huxley, be able to rest in a purely + materialistic position. As he, in different words, + repeatedly said: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "It is very desirable to remember that evolution is not + an explanation of the cosmos, but merely a generalised + statement of the method and results of that process. And, + further, that, if there is any proof that the cosmic + process was set going by any agent, then that agent will + be the creator of it and of all its products, although + supernatural intervention may remain strictly excluded + from its further course." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The doctrine of evolution was, for him, no attempt to + reinstate the "old pagan goddess, Chance." Darwin had again + and again explained, and Huxley again and again had called + attention to the explanation, that when words like "chance" + and "spontaneous" were used, no more was intended to be + implied than an ignorance of the causes. In the true sense + of the word "chance" did not exist for Huxley and Darwin. + So far as all scientific and common experience goes, every + event is connected with foregoing events in an orderly and + inevitable chain of sequences,—a chain that could + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p231" + id="p231">[231]</a></span> have been predicted or + predetermined by any sufficient intelligence. Moreover, + Huxley did not believe that Darwin's views, rightly + interpreted, "abolished teleology and eviscerated the + argument from design." They only abolished that crude + expression of teleology which supposed all structures among + animals and plants to have been created in their present + forms for their present purposes. Under the stimulus given + to biology by the doctrine of evolution that science has + progressed far beyond conceptions so rudely mechanical. We + know that behind each existing structure there is a long + history of change; of change not only in form and + appearance, but also in function. In the development of + living organisms to-day, as they grow up into tree or + animal from seed or egg, we can trace the record of these + changes of form; in some cases we can follow the actual + change of function. But in a wider sense there is no + incongruity between evolution and teleology. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "There is a wider teleology," Huxley wrote, "which is not + touched by the doctrine of evolution, but is actually + based on the fundamental proposition of evolution. This + proposition is that the whole world, living and not + living, is the result of the mutual interaction, + according to definite laws, of the forces possessed by + the molecules of which the primitive nebulosity of the + universe was composed. That acute champion of teleology, + Paley, saw no difficulty in admitting that the + 'production of things' may be the result of mechanical + dispositions fixed beforehand by intelligent appointment + and kept in action by a power at the centre." + </p> + </div> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 234px;"> + <img src="images/ill-231.png" alt="" title="" height="40" + width="234" /> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p232" id="p232">[232]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-232.png" alt="" title="" height="83" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</a> + </h2> + <h3> + FREEDOM OF THOUGHT + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Authority and Knowledge in Science—The Duty of + Doubt—Authority and Individual Judgment in + Religion—The Protestant Position—Sir Charles + Lyell and the Deluge—Infallibility—The Church + and Science—Morality and Dogma—Civil and + Religious Liberty—Agnosticism and + Clericalism—Meaning of Agnosticism—Knowledge + and Evidence—The Method of Agnosticism. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In the practice of modern law-courts, a witness rarely is + allowed to offer as evidence any statement for which he + himself is not the direct authority. What he himself saw or + heard or did with regard to the matter at + issue—these, and not what others told him they had + seen or heard or done, are the limits within which he is + allowed to be a competent witness. As a matter of fact, in + the business of life we have to act differently. A large + proportion of our opinions, beliefs, and reasons for + conduct must come to us on the authority of others. We have + no direct experience of the past; of the present we can see + little and only the little immediately surrounding us. In a + multitude of affairs we have to act on authority, to accept + from books or from persons what we have not ourselves the + opportunity of knowing. It would seem, then, to be a + primary duty to <span class="pagenum"><a name="p233" + id="p233">[233]</a></span> learn to distinguish in our + minds those matters which we know directly from those + matters which we have accepted on trust; and, secondly, to + learn and to apply the best modes of choosing the good and + of rejecting the bad authorities. The work of the + scientific man is a lifelong exercise of these primary + duties. From the first moment he begins to observe living + things or to dissect their dead frameworks, to mix chemical + substances, to make experiments with magnets and wires, he + begins to build, and as long as he continues to work he + continues to build for himself a body of first-hand + knowledge. But, however he work arduously or through long + years, he can visit only the smallest portion of the field + of nature in which he is working. It is necessary for him + to employ the work of others, submitting, from time to time + such accepted work to the tests suggested by his own + observations. He learns to regard in a different light all + knowledge taken on the authority of others; to distrust it + a little until he has learned to weigh its general + credibility by his own standards, and its particular + credibility by subjecting portions of it to his own tests; + to distrust it still more when even small portions fail to + answer his tests, and to reject it altogether when the + percentage of detected error is large. He learns, in fact, + what Huxley called the duty of doubt. + </p> + <p> + This duty has not been universally accepted. In the history + of Christian civilisation (and a parallel series of events + might be portrayed from the history of other + civilisations), many great institutions and very many great + and good men have condemned and feared the habit and + attitude of doubt in all its forms. Certain doctrines + believed to be of supreme importance to mankind were held + to rest on authority independent of, <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p234" id="p234">[234]</a></span> + and perhaps not susceptible to, the kind of testing + employed in science. Around these doctrines there grew, in + time, a body of traditions, customs, new dogmas, and + fantasies; and the duty of belief in the first was extended + to cover the whole system, the central jewel as well as the + accretions and encrustations of time. The domain of + religious authority was extended to the whole field of + human thought and of human action, and the more + unreasonable the dominion became, the more strenuously was + the duty of belief urged. The Protestant Reformation was + one of the great stages in the conflict for freedom against + the universal tyranny that had arisen, but the reformers + very naturally retained a considerable portion of the bias + against which they had fought. In Protestant countries, in + the first half of this century, the duty of belief in the + Protestant doctrines, traditions, philosophy, history, and + attitude to science reigned supreme, and all weapons, from + legitimate argument to abusive invective and social + ostracism, were employed against those who acted in + accordance with the duty of doubt. Allegations of + "unsoundness" or of "free thinking" became barriers to + success in life, and those against whom they were made + became lowered in the esteem of their fellows. + </p> + <p> + At the present time, when the advance of science and of + civilisation has almost won the battle for freedom of + thought, it is difficult to realise the strength of the + forces against which Huxley and many others had to fight. + Huxley himself said with perfect justice: "I hardly know of + a great physical truth whose universal reception has not + been preceded by an epoch in which most estimable persons + have maintained that the phenomena investigated were + directly dependent on the <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p235" id="p235">[235]</a></span> Divine Will, and + that the attempt to investigate them was not only futile + but blasphemous." As a particular instance of this he cited + some episodes in the history of geological science. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "At the present time, it is difficult to persuade serious + scientific enquirers to occupy themselves, in any way, + with the Noachian Deluge. They look at you with a smile + and a shrug, and say they have more important matters to + attend to than mere antiquarianism. But it was not so in + my youth. At that time geologists and biologists could + hardly follow to the end any path of enquiry without + finding the way blocked by Noah and his ark, or by the + first chapter of Genesis; and it was a serious matter, in + this country at any rate, for a man to be suspected of + doubting the literal truth of the Diluvial or any other + Pentateuchal history. The fiftieth anniversary of the + foundation of the Geological Club (in 1824) was, if I + remember rightly, the last occasion on which the late Sir + Charles Lyell spoke to even so small a public as the + members of that body. Our veteran leader lighted up once + more; and, referring to the difficulties which beset his + early efforts to create a rational science of geology, + spoke, with his wonted clearness and vigour, of the + social ostracism which pursued him after the publication + of the <i>Principles of Geology</i>, in 1830, on account + of the obvious tendency of that noble work to discredit + the Pentateuchal accounts of the Creation and the Deluge. + If my younger contemporaries find this hard to believe, I + may refer them to a grave book <i>On the Doctrine of the + Deluge</i>, published eight years later, and dedicated by + the author to his father, the then Archbishop of York. + The first chapter refers to the treatment of the 'Mosaic + Deluge,' by Dr. Buckland and Mr. Lyell, in the following + terms: 'Their respect for revealed religion has prevented + them from arraying themselves openly against the + Scriptural account of it—much less do they deny its + truth—but they are in a great hurry to escape from + the consideration of it, and evidently concur in the + opinion of Linnæus, that no proofs whatever of the + Deluge are to be discovered in the structure of the + earth.' And after an attempt to reply to some of Lyell's + arguments, which it would be cruel to <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p236" id="p236">[236]</a></span> + reproduce, the writer continues:—'When, therefore, + upon such slender grounds, it is determined, in answer to + those who insist on its universality, that the Mosaic + Deluge must be considered a preternatural event, far + beyond the reach of philosophical enquiry; not only as to + the causes employed to produce it, but as to the effects + most likely to result from it; that determination wears + an aspect of scepticism, which, however much soever it + may be unintentional in the mind of the writer, yet + cannot but produce an evil impression on those who are + already predisposed to carp and cavil at the evidence of + Revelation.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + The great evil of authority was its tendency to erect + itself into some form of infallibility of universal + application. When, for a time, the geological victory was + won, and the supporters of authority had comforted + themselves with reconciliations, there arose the much + greater and more serious opposition between authority and + the conceptions involved in evolution. Huxley, as we have + seen in an earlier chapter, found that all the old weapons + of authority were resumed with a renewed assurance, and his + advocacy of the duty of doubt became not merely the defence + of a great principle but a means of self-defence. The + conception of infallible authority had been transferred by + Protestants from the Church to the Bible, and against this + Huxley strove with all his might. It is convenient to + reserve a full treatment of Huxley's attitude to the Bible + for a separate chapter, but at this point a quotation will + shew his general view. + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 157px;"> + <img src="images/ill-lyell.jpg" alt="SIR CHARLES LYELL" + title="" height="293" width="157" /> <span + class="caption">SIR CHARLES LYELL</span> + </div> + </div> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The truth is that the pretension to infallibility, by + whomsoever made, has done endless mischief; with + impartial malignity it has proved a curse, alike to those + who have made it and those who have accepted it; and its + most baneful shape is book infallibility. For sacerdotal + corporations and schools <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p237" id="p237">[237]</a></span> of philosophy are + able, under due compulsion of opinion, to retreat from + positions that have become untenable; while the dead hand + of a book sets and stiffens, amidst texts and + formulæ, until it becomes a mere petrifaction, fit + only for that function of stumbling-block, which it so + admirably performs. Wherever bibliolatry has prevailed, + bigotry and cruelty have accompanied it. It lies at the + root of the deep-seated, sometimes disguised, but never + absent, antagonism of all varieties of ecclesiasticism to + the freedom of thought and to the spirit of scientific + investigation." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Moreover, Presbyter is but Priest writ large, and the + Protestant clergy were the leaders in denunciation of every + person and every branch of investigation or of thought in + any way connected with evolution. Huxley was no respecter + of persons, and, following the example of Darwin, he was + ready to study carefully any arguments for or against any + scientific doctrines by whomsoever or howsoever brought + forward. The right of criticism and duty of doubt, which he + insisted on for himself, he was extremely willing to extend + to others, and, as a matter of fact he was on terms of + intimate friendship with some of his most distinguished + clerical opponents. But to an extent which it is almost + impossible now to realise, the clergy generally abused + their legitimate position and authority, and demanded or + assumed a right to give authoritative opinions on questions + which did not come within their domain. It was the old + attempt of the Church to make its authority felt in all + departments of thought and of action, and the attempt was + made in the traditional fashion. Questions of fact were + associated with questions of morality, and those who held + one view as to the meaning and implication of certain facts + were denounced as wicked. Huxley at once carried the war + into the enemy's own country: + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p238" + id="p238">[238]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "And, seeing how large a share of this clamour is raised + by the clergy of one denomination or another, may I say, + in conclusion, that it really would be well if + ecclesiastical persons would reflect that ordination, + whatever deep-seated graces it may confer, has never been + observed to be followed by any visible increase in the + learning or the logic of its subject. Making a man a + Bishop, or entrusting him with the office of ministering + to even the largest of Presbyterian congregations, or + setting him up to lecture to a church congress, really + does not in the smallest degree augment such title to + respect as his opinions may intrinsically possess. And + when such a man presumes on an authority, which was + conferred on him for other purposes, to sit in judgment + on matters his incompetence to deal with which is patent, + it is permissible to ignore his sacerdotal pretensions, + and to tell him, as one would tell a mere, common, + unconsecrated layman: that it is not necessary for any + man to occupy himself with problems of this kind unless + he so choose; life is filled full enough with the + performance of its ordinary and obvious duties. But that, + if a man elect to become a judge of these grave + questions; still more if he assume the responsibility of + attaching praise or blame to his fellow-men for the + conclusions at which they arrive touching them, he will + commit a sin more grievous than most breaches of the + decalogue, unless he avoid a lazy reliance upon the + information that is gathered by prejudice and filtered + through passion, unless he go back to the prime sources + of knowledge—the facts of Nature, and the thoughts + of those wise men who for generations past have been her + best interpreters." + </p> + </div> + <p> + In the campaign for absolute freedom of thought, for the + duty of not believing anything except on sufficient + evidence, Huxley was frequently met by an argument of + superficial strength, and which no doubt was in the minds + of many of his clerical opponents. In the minds of a + majority of people, it was said, and particularly of + slightly educated people, the reasons for right conduct and + the distinctions between right and <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p239" id="p239">[239]</a></span> wrong are firmly + associated with the Bible and with religion. If you allow + doubts as to the absolute veracity of the Bible, or as to + the supernatural origin of religion to reach such persons, + you run a grave risk that they will reflect the uncertainty + on the canons of morality. In taking from them what you + believe to be false, inevitably you will unsettle their + ideas on moral questions although you might be in full + agreement as to these moral questions. Huxley refused to + accept the asserted association between morality and + particular metaphysical or religious doctrines. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Many ingenious persons now appear to consider that the + incompatibility of pantheism, of materialism, and of any + doubt about the immortality of the soul, with religion + and morality is to be held as an axiomatic truth. I + confess that I have a certain difficulty in accepting + this dogma. For the Stoics were notoriously materialists + and pantheists of the most extreme character; and while + no strict Stoic believed in the eternal duration of the + individual soul, some even denied its persistence after + death. Yet it is equally certain, that, of all gentile + philosophies, Stoicism exhibits the highest ethical + development, is animated by the most religious spirit, + and has exerted the profoundest influence upon the moral + and religious development not merely of the best men + among the Romans, but among the moderns down to our own + day." + </p> + </div> + <p> + He held the view now generally taken by students of the + history of man, that standards of conduct and religious + beliefs arose in separate ways and developed independently, + and that it was only comparatively recently that "religion + took morality under its protection." But he met the + argument in a still more direct fashion by rejecting + entirely the possibility or advisability of founding any + system of ethics upon a false basis. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "It is very clear to me," he wrote, "that, as Beelzebub + is <span class="pagenum"><a name="p240" + id="p240">[240]</a></span> not to be cast out by + Beelzebub, so morality is not to be established by + immorality. It is, we are told, the special peculiarity + of the devil that he was a liar from the beginning. If we + set out in life with pretending to know that which we do + not know; with professing to accept for proof evidence + which we are well aware is inadequate; with wilfully + shutting our eyes and our ears to facts which militate + against this or that comfortable hypothesis; we are + assuredly doing our best to deserve the same character." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Freedom of thought meant for Huxley all that is best in + liberalism applied to life. In an essay on Joseph + Priestley, he described the condition of affairs in England + last century, when scientific investigation and all forms + of independent thinking laboured under the most heavy + restrictions that could be imposed by dominant + ecclesiastical and civil prejudice. He pointed out the + astounding changes between these times and the times of + to-day. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "If we ask," he wrote, "what is the deeper meaning of all + these vast changes, there can be but one reply. They mean + that reason has asserted and exercised her primacy over + all the provinces of human activity; that ecclesiastical + authority has been relegated to its proper place; that + the good of the governed has been finally recognised as + the end of government, and the complete responsibility of + governors to the people as its means; and that the + dependence of natural phenomena in general on the laws of + action of what we call matter has become an axiom." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The common ground of those who advocate the duty of belief + and those who insist on the duty of doubt is clear. Both + are agreed as to the necessity of accepting whatever has + sufficient evidence to support it; both agree that there is + room for doubt though not necessarily for rejection in + cases where the evidence is contaminated or insufficient. + It is in the application that <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p241" id="p241">[241]</a></span> the difference lies. + The scientific theologian admits the agnostic principle, + however widely his results may differ from those reached by + the majority of agnostics. "But, as between agnosticism and + ecclesiasticism, or, as our neighbours across the Channel + call it, clericalism, there can be neither peace nor truce. + The cleric asserts that it is morally wrong not to believe + certain propositions, whatever the results of a strict + scientific investigation of the evidence of these + propositions. He tells us that "religious error is, in + itself, of an immoral nature" (Newman). It necessarily + follows that, for him, the attainment of faith, not the + ascertainment of truth, is the highest aim of mental life." + </p> + <p> + Huxley helped largely in the modern movement which has made + it impossible to blame people for doubt, and this was what + he strove for most strenuously. Freedom of thought, like + freedom of the Press, by no means implies that what is free + must necessarily be good. In both cases there may be a rank + growth of weeds, nurtured in vicious imagination, and + finding a ready market with the credulous mob. For the + detection and rejection of these, the critical method of + science serves as well as it does against the loftier + errors supported by authority. + </p> + <p> + It was on Descartes and on Hume that Huxley founded the + precise form in which he urged the duty of doubt, and his + exact words are worth quoting. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "It was in 1619, while meditating in solitary winter + quarters, that Descartes (being about the same age as + Hume when he wrote the <i>Treatise on Human Nature</i>) + made that famous resolution, to "take nothing for truth + without clear knowledge that it is such," the great + practical effect of which is the sanctification of doubt; + the recognition that the profession of belief in + propositions, of the truth of which there is no + sufficient evidence, is immoral; the discrowning of + authority as <span class="pagenum"><a name="p242" + id="p242">[242]</a></span> such; the repudiation of the + confusion, beloved of sophists of all sorts, between free + assent and merely piously gagged dissent, and the + admission of the obligation to reconsider even one's own + axioms on due demand." + </p> + </div> + <p> + This was the healthy and active scepticism which took no + direct pleasure in doubting, but used doubt only as a means + of making knowledge doubly secure, and which prevented + false ideas being bolstered up by privilege or by tyranny. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The development of exact natural knowledge in all its + vast range, from physics to history and criticism, is the + consequence of the working out, in this province, of the + resolution to take nothing for truth without clear + knowledge that it is such; to consider all beliefs open + to criticism; to regard the value of authority as neither + greater nor less than as much as it can prove itself to + be worth. The modern spirit is not the spirit 'which + always denies,' delighting only in destruction; still + less is it that which builds castles in the air rather + than not construct; it is the spirit which works and will + work 'without haste and without rest,' gathering harvest + after harvest of truth into its barns and devouring error + with unquenchable fire." + </p> + </div> + <p> + It is a special weakness of the modern human race to love + inventing descriptive names by which particular modes of + thought may be classified and labelled. In order to meet + this demand, Huxley invented the word <i>agnosticism</i>, + to serve as a label for his own attitude. The word rapidly + became popular, and attempts were made to read into it far + more than its inventor implied. For him it was no definite + body of doctrine, no creed in any positive sense. It merely + expressed the attitude he assumed towards all problems on + which he regarded the evidence as insufficient. It was a + habit of mind rather than a series of opinions or beliefs; + an intellectual weapon and not materials on which to + exercise the intellect. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p243" + id="p243">[243]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Hume had written that "the justest and most plausible + objection against a considerable part of metaphysics was + that they are not properly a science, but arise either from + the fruitless efforts of human vanity, which would + penetrate into subjects utterly inaccessible to the human + understanding, or from the craft of popular superstitions, + which, being unable to defend themselves on fair ground, + raise these entangling brambles to cover and protect them." + In these considerations he found reason not for leaving + superstition in possession of its ground, but for making a + bold and arduous attack upon it in its haunts. The great + difficulty in the way of carrying the war into the enemy's + own camp was that in those days so-called science was + itself cumbered with many illogical and metaphysical ideas, + and for the first time in the present century the great + advances of physical science, and, in particular, the + renewed life poured by Darwin into the doctrine of + evolution, made it possible to bring a new series of exact + arguments against hazy metaphysical dogmas. The militant + side of agnosticism was directed against the camp of + superstition and armed with the new weapons of exact + science. Its stern refusal of belief without adequate + evidence was a challenge to all the supporters of the + sanguine philosophy which replaces proof by assured and + emphatic statement and restatement. It is possible, + although rare, for those who hold a positive belief upon + evidence, howsoever insufficient, to leave their doubting + neighbours in peace, and these neighbours, assured in their + own beliefs, equally positive and perhaps equally + unfounded, may return the lazy tolerance. But the agnostic + position is at once a reproof and a challenge to all who do + not hold it. Perhaps no one has ever put the agnostic + attitude more clearly than Kant when <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p244" id="p244">[244]</a></span> + he wrote that "the greatest and perhaps sole use of all + philosophy of pure reason, is, after all, merely negative, + since it serves, not as an organ on (for the enlargement of + knowledge), but as a discipline for its delimitation: and + instead of discovering truth has only the modest merit of + preventing error." It is precisely because it is addressed + against error that agnosticism brings not peace but a + sword; precisely because, instead of adding to the beliefs + of the world, it seeks to examine them and perhaps by the + examination to diminish them, that it aroused passionate + resentment. In this respect it stands entirely separate and + apart from any other similar term, as all these implied a + definite acceptance or rejection of some definite + propositions. Agnosticism means none of these things. + Huxley said of it: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Agnosticism, in fact, is not a creed but a method, the + essence of which lies in a rigorous application of a + single principle. That principle is of great antiquity; + it is as old as Socrates; as old as the writer who said, + 'Try all things, hold fast by that which is good'; it is + the foundation of the Reformation, which simply + illustrated the axiom that every man should be able to + give reason for the faith that is in him; it is the great + principle of Descartes; it is the fundamental axiom of + modern science. Positively the principle may be + expressed: In matters of the intellect, follow your + reason as far as it will take you, without regard to any + other consideration. And negatively: In matters of the + intellect, do not pretend that conclusions are certain + which are not demonstrated or demonstrable. That I take + to be the agnostic faith, which, if a man keep whole and + undefiled, he shall not be ashamed to look the universe + in the face, whatever the future may have in store for + him." + </p> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p245" id="p245">[245]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-245.png" alt="" title="" height="82" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</a> + </h2> + <h3> + THE BIBLE AND MIRACLES + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Why Huxley Came to Write about the Bible—A <i>Magna + Charta</i> of the Poor—The Theological Use of the + Bible—The Doctrine of Biblical + Infallibility—The Bible and Science—The Three + Hypotheses of the Earth's History—Changes in the + Past Proved—The Creation Hypothesis—Gladstone + on Genesis—Genesis not a Record of Fact—The + Hypothesis of Evolution—The New + Testament—Theory of Inspiration—Reliance on + the Miraculous—The Continuity of Nature no <i>a + priori</i> Argument against Miracles—Possibilities + and Impossibilities—Miracles a Question of + Evidence—Praise of the Bible. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Huxley was by training and habit of mind a naturalist, busy + with dissections and drawings, pursuing his branch of + science for itself and with no concern as to its possible + relation to philosophical speculation or religious dogma. + It is possible that, had his life been passed under + different conditions, his intellectual activities might + have been spent entirely on his scientific work. As it was, + he became almost more widely known as a hostile critic of + accepted religious doctrine than as a man of science. Many + causes contributed to this effect, but the chief reason was + the contemporary attitude of the churches to Darwinism. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p246" + id="p246">[246]</a></span> He tells us as a matter of fact + that in 1850, nine years before the appearance of <i>The + Origin of Species</i>, he had "long done with the + Pentateuchal cosmogony which had been impressed on his + childish understanding as divine truth." In the chapter he + contributed to the <i>Life of Darwin</i> he wrote that in + his opinion "the doctrine of evolution does not even come + into contact with theism, considered as a philosophical + doctrine." The reason of his general attitude to the Bible + was simply that his application to it of the agnostic + method led him to the view that there was not sufficient + evidence for the pretensions assigned to it; the reason of + his coming forward as a public and active champion of his + views in this matter was partly to make a counter attack on + the enemies of science, and partly his innate respect for + the propagation of truth. He had the inevitable respect of + an Englishman for the English Bible as one of the greatest + books in our language, and we have seen how he had + advocated its adoption in schools. He had the veneration + for its ethical contents common to the best thinkers of all + ages since it came into existence, and few writers have + ever employed loftier or more direct language to express + their respect and admiration. As a venerator of freedom and + of liberty he regarded the Bible as the greatest text-book + of freedom. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Throughout the history of the Western world," he wrote, + "the Scriptures, Jewish and Christian, have been the + great instigators of revolt against the worse forms of + clerical and political despotism. The Bible has been the + <i>Magna Charta</i> of the poor and of the oppressed; + down to modern times no State has had a constitution in + which the interests of the people are so largely taken + into account, in which the duties, so much more than the + privileges, of rulers are insisted upon, as that drawn up + for Israel in Deuteronomy and in Leviticus; nowhere is + the fundamental truth that the welfare of the State, in + the long <span class="pagenum"><a name="p247" + id="p247">[247]</a></span> run, depends on the + uprightness of the citizen so strongly laid down. + Assuredly the Bible talks no trash about the rights of + man; but it insists on the equality of duties, on the + liberty to bring about that righteousness which is + somewhat different from struggling for 'rights'; on the + fraternity of taking thought for one's neighbour as for + oneself." + </p> + </div> + <p> + It was not against the Bible but against the applications + made of it and implications read into it that he strove. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "In this nineteenth century, as at the dawn of modern + physical science, the cosmogony of the semi-barbarous + Hebrew is the incubus of the philosopher and the + opprobrium of the orthodox. Who shall number the patient + and earnest seekers after truth, from the days of Galileo + until now, whose lives have been embittered and their + good name blasted by the mistaken zeal of Bibliolaters? + Who shall count the host of weaker men whose sense of + truth has been destroyed in the effort to harmonise + impossibilities—whose life has been wasted in the + attempt to force the generous new wine of science into + the old bottles of Judaism, compelled by the outcry of + the same strong party? It is true that if philosophers + have suffered, their cause has been amply avenged. + Extinguished theologians lie about the cradle of every + science as the strangled snakes beside that of Hercules; + and history records that whenever science and orthodoxy + have been fairly opposed, the latter has been forced to + retire from the lists, bleeding and crushed, if not + annihilated; scotched, if not slain. But orthodoxy is the + Bourbon of the world of thought. It learns not, neither + can it forget; and though, at present, bewildered and + afraid to move, it is as willing as ever to insist that + the first chapter of Genesis contains the beginning and + the end of sound science; and to visit, with such petty + thunderbolts as its half-paralysed hands can hurl, those + who refuse to degrade Nature to the level of primitive + Judaism." + </p> + </div> + <p> + These words were written in 1860 and events have moved + rapidly since Huxley wrote them. There is now practically + no religious body containing a proportion of educated + persons which does not allow within it <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p248" id="p248">[248]</a></span> a + very wide range of opinion as to the inspiration of the + Scriptures, the Biblical account of the Creation, the + miraculous events of the Old Testament and the recorded + miracles of the New. Within the last few months, Dr. St. + George Mivart, a distinguished Catholic zoölogist and + long an opponent of Huxley, has declared that within the + Catholic Church itself a number of educated persons are + prepared to accept most of Huxley's positions, as well as + views more extremely iconoclastic than any advanced by + Huxley. Although Dr. Mivart's outspoken words have called + down on him the official thunders of Rome, it is an open + secret that many good Catholics think this attempted + exclusion of modern knowledge to be fraught with grave + danger to the Church. In these matters the Protestant + churches have advanced much farther. + </p> + <p> + It was very different when Huxley wrote. The first and + gravest difficulty placed in the way of science was the + asserted infallibility of the Scriptures. In Catholic + theology, at least until late in this century, the general + tendency has been to regard the Bible rather as a quarry + for doctrine than as a direct means of grace. The theory of + religion rested on two pillars: the inspired Scriptures + containing the necessary information and the inspired + Church to interpret the Scriptures. Protestant theology had + rejected the infallible inspiration of the Church, and, in + consequence, had thrown a greater burden on the Scriptures. + The Scriptures became the Word of God, verbally and + literally true; in its extreme form this doctrine reverted + almost to the ancient Rabbinical maxim that even the vowel + points and accents were of divine origin. In practice, if + not in theory, the halo was extended to cover even the + marginal chronology, then a familiar feature in the + editions of the <span class="pagenum"><a name="p249" + id="p249">[249]</a></span> English Bible. The present + writer, even so lately as in 1888 was reproved with + violence by a clergyman of considerable education and + position for expressing a doubt as to the accuracy of these + dates. Obviously there was no common measure between a + church holding such views and advancing science. War was + inevitable, until one side or the other should give way. + </p> + <p> + Huxley conducted the attack in a series of controversies + extending over many years, and in which his opponents were + well-known laymen such as Mr. Gladstone, Dr. St. George + Mivart, the Duke of Argyll, and many clerical dignitaries + of different denominations. The most important of his + contributions to these controversies, as well as several + isolated essays and addresses, have been collected in two + volumes, <i>Science and the Hebrew Tradition</i>, and + <i>Science and the Christian Tradition</i>. + </p> + <p> + The first stage in the controversy, and the stage most + immediately pressing, was to shew that the Bible was + misleading and inaccurate as a record of scientific fact, + and that therefore it could not be brought forward as + evidence against scientific doctrines supported by + scientific evidence. The vital matter in this was the + account given in Genesis of the origin of the world. If + that disappeared then the whole ground was gained; science + would be left free in its own sphere. + </p> + <p> + In a lecture on Evolution, delivered in 1876, Huxley began + by discussing the possibilities as to the past history of + nature. He believed that there were only three hypotheses + which had been entertained or which well could be + entertained respecting this history. The first was to + assume that phenomena of nature similar to those exhibited + by the world at present had always existed; in fact that + the universe had existed from <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p250" id="p250">[250]</a></span> all eternity in what + might be termed, broadly, its present condition. The second + hypothesis was that the present condition of things had had + only a limited duration, and that, at some period of the + past, what we now know came into existence without any + relation of natural causation to an antecedent state. The + third hypothesis also assumed that the present condition of + things had had a limited duration, but it supposed that + that condition had been derived by natural processes from + an antecedent condition, the hypothesis attempting to set + no limits to the series of changes. + </p> + <p> + In a certain sense, the first hypothesis recalls the + doctrine of uniformitarianism, which Hutton and Lyell had + shaped from a rational interpretation of the present + conditions of nature. But, although it is no longer + necessary to imagine the past history of the earth as a + series of gigantic catastrophes, yet the whole record of + science is against the supposition that anything like the + existing state of nature has had an eternal duration. The + record of fossils shews that the living population of the + earth has been entirely different at different epochs. + Geological history shews that, whether these changes have + come about by swift catastrophes, or by slow, enduring + movements, the surface of the globe, its distribution into + land and water, the character of these areas and the + conditions of climate to which they have been subjected + have passed through changes on a colossal scale. Moreover, + if we look from this earth to the universe of stars and + suns and planets, we see everywhere evidence of unceasing + change. If we use scientific observation and reason, if we + employ on the problem the only means we possess for + attempting its solution, we cannot accept the <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p251" id="p251">[251]</a></span> + hypothesis that the present condition of nature has been + eternal. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "So far as that limited revelation of the nature of + things, which we call scientific knowledge, has yet gone, + it tends, with constantly increasing emphasis, to the + belief that, not merely the world of plants, but that of + animals; not merely living things but the whole fabric of + the earth; not merely our planet but the whole solar + system, not merely our star and its satellites, but the + millions of similar bodies which bear witness to the + order which pervades boundless space and has endured + through boundless time, are all working out their + predestined courses of evolution." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The second hypothesis is familiar to us in the sacred + records of many religious and in the Hebrew Scriptures. + Most of these have a fundamental similarity, inasmuch as + they offer pictures in which the mode and order of creation + are given in the minutest detail and with the simplest kind + of anthropomorphism; in which the Creator is represented + with familiar human characteristics. But these general + considerations, so obvious now that we have learned to read + the Bible narrative without passion or prejudice, were not + plain to the early opponents of evolution, and it was + necessary, step by step, to shew not only that the + narrative in Genesis could not be reconciled with known + facts if it were accepted in its literal meaning, but that + the most strained interpretation of the language failed to + bring it into accordance with scientific truth. Mr. + Gladstone was the latest and most vigorous of those who + attempted to reconcile Genesis with modern knowledge, and + in his controversy with Huxley he brought to bear all the + resources of an acute intellect trained by long practice in + the devices of argument and inspired by a lofty if mistaken + enthusiasm. In the course of his argument he wrote: + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p252" + id="p252">[252]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "But the question is not here of a lofty poem, or a + skilfully constructed narrative; it is whether natural + science, in the patient exercise of its high calling to + examine facts, finds that the works of God cry out + against what we have fondly believed to be His word and + tell another tale; or whether, in this nineteenth century + of Christian progress, it substantially echoes back the + majestic sound, which, before it existed as a pursuit, + went forth into all lands. + </p> + <p> + First, looking largely at the latter portion of the + narrative, which describes the creation of living + organisms, and waiving details, on some of which (as in + v. 24) the Septuagint seems to vary from the Hebrew, + there is a grand fourfold division, set forth in an + orderly succession of times as follows: on the fifth day + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + 1. The water-population.<br /> + 2. The air-population, + </p> + </div> + <p> + and, on the sixth day, + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + 3. The land-population of animals.<br /> + 4. The land-population consummated in man. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Now this same fourfold order is understood to have been + so affirmed in our time by natural science, that it may + be taken as a demonstrated conclusion and established + fact." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The defence itself shewed that already a large part of the + original position had been abandoned. The literal meaning + and belief in detailed accuracy were given up and Mr. + Gladstone sought to establish only a general correspondence + between the Biblical narrative and the results of science. + But even in that form Huxley shewed the defence to be + untenable. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I can meet the statement in the last paragraph of the + above citation," he replied, "with nothing but a direct + negative. If I know anything at all about the results + attained by the natural science of our time, it is a + 'demonstrated conclusion and established fact' that the + fourfold order given by Mr. Gladstone is not that in + which the evidence at our disposal tends to shew that the + water, air, and land populations of our globe made their + appearance." + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p253" + id="p253">[253]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + With the most voluminous detail, he proceeds to shew that + there is no possible relation between the order implied by + the narrative and the order as revealed by science. Let us + sum up, by two quotations, the result of the whole + controversy. First, the literal meaning is untenable. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The question whether the earth and the immediate + progenitors of its present living population were made in + six natural days or not is no longer one on which two + opinions can be held. The fact that it did not come so + into being stands upon as sound a basis as any fact of + history whatever. It is not true that existing plants and + animals came into being within three days of the creation + of the earth out of nothing, for it is certain that + innumerable generations of other plants and animals lived + upon the earth before its present population. And when, + Sunday after Sunday, men who profess to be our + instructors in righteousness read out the statement, 'In + six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all + that in them is,' in innumerable churches, they are + either propagating what they may easily know, and, + therefore, are bound to know, to be falsities; or, if + they use the words in some non-natural sense, they fall + below the moral standard of the much abused Jesuit." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The attenuated meaning equally must be given up. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Even if they (the reconcilers) now allow that the words + 'the evening and the morning' have not the least + reference to a natural day, but mean a period of any + number of millions of years that may be necessary; even + if they are driven to admit that the word 'creation,' + which so many millions of pious Jews and Christians have + held, and still hold, to mean a sudden act of the Deity, + signifies a process of gradual evolution of one species + from another, extending through immeasurable time; even + if they are willing to grant that the asserted + coincidence of the order of nature with the 'fourfold + order' ascribed to Genesis is an obvious error instead of + an established truth, they are surely prepared to make a + last stand upon the conception which underlies the whole, + and which constitutes <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p254" id="p254">[254]</a></span> the essence of Mr. + Gladstone's 'fourfold division, set forth in an orderly + succession of times.' It is that the animal species which + compose the water-population, the air-population, and the + land-population, respectively, originated during three + distinct and successive periods of time, and only during + these periods of time.... But even this sublimated + essence of the Pentateuchal doctrine remains as + discordant with natural science as ever." + </p> + </div> + <p> + There remains the third, or evolutionary hypothesis + regarding the origin of the existing order of nature. As + Huxley held it, it was rigidly limited within the + possibilities afforded by the agnostic attitude. With + regard to the real nature, the origin and destiny of the + whole universe, there was not sufficient evidence before + the human mind, if indeed the human mind were capable of + receiving such evidence, to come to any conclusion. For the + rest, for the actual condition of the earth itself, science + was gradually accumulating overwhelming evidence in favour + of a continuous evolution, under natural agencies, from the + beginning of life to the existing forms of animals and + plants, and the actual origin of life from inorganic matter + under similarly natural agencies was becoming more and more + a legitimate inference. + </p> + <p> + Huxley's relation to the New Testament may be summed up in + few words. It was simply that there was not sufficient + evidence for ascribing to it the supernatural sanction + demanded for it by dogmatic theology. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "From the dawn of scientific Biblical criticism until the + present day, the evidence against the long-cherished + notion that the three synoptic gospels are the work of + three independent authors, each prompted by Divine + inspiration, has steadily accumulated, until, at the + present time, there is no visible escape from the + conclusion that each of the three is a compilation + consisting of a groundwork common to all three—the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p255" + id="p255">[255]</a></span> three-fold tradition; and of a + superstructure consisting, firstly, of matter common to + it with one of the others, and, secondly, of matter + common to each." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Again:—"There is no proof, nothing more than a fair + presumption, that any one of the gospels existed, in the + state in which we find it in the authorised version of the + Bible, before the second century, or, in other words, sixty + or seventy years after the events recorded." These + considerations with slight differences in details are now + practically admitted among the abler apologists, with the + result that, as Huxley claimed, the New Testament, like the + Old, must be treated as literature rather than as Dogma. As + Literature everyone has the right to examine the contents + critically, and, considering the importance attributed to + the contents, the right becomes a duty. No doubt, had + Huxley not lived there would have been others equally ready + and equally able to gain the battle for freedom of thought + in its special application to the claim of the Bible to + stand in the way of the advance of scientific knowledge; + but as it is, it cannot be denied that the existing + prevalence of liberal views, inside and outside the + churches, on the nature and interpretation of the + Scriptures is largely due to him. + </p> + <p> + After the question of inspiration, the most striking + feature of the Bible is its appeal to miracles and the + miraculous element. It is now necessary to examine the + position assumed by Huxley towards these. Two great <i>a + priori</i> difficulties have been brought against accepting + any record of miracles as true. The first of these is very + simple, depending on the history of all times and peoples. + It is that the human race has shewn itself universally + credulous in this matter. It <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p256" id="p256">[256]</a></span> has cried "Wolf!" so + readily, so honestly, and on so many occasions that the cry + has ceased to carry conviction with it. Every religion has + its series of miraculous events; every savage tribe and + every uneducated race has its miracle-workers implicitly + accepted. In mediæval and modern Europe up to our own + times, miracles have been so constantly recorded on + testimony of such undoubted integrity that we must either + believe that miracles can be performed by numberless + persons with no other claim to special regard, or that it + is singularly easy to get false but honest evidence + regarding them. Huxley supported the latter alternative + strongly, and held the view that to believe in any + particular miracles would require evidence very much more + direct and very much stronger than would be necessary in + the case of inherently probable events. + </p> + <p> + The second <i>a priori</i> objection to the credibility of + miracles has been urged more strongly, but was not accepted + by Huxley. It is that miracles are inherently incredible + inasmuch as they are "violations of the order of nature." + Hume, attacking miracles, had made this objection the chief + ground of his argument. Huxley paid a logical respect, at + least as great, to the continuity of nature. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "When the experience of generation after generation is + recorded, and a single book tells us more than Methuselah + could have learned, had he spent every waking hour of his + thousand years in learning; when apparent disorders are + found to be only the recurrent pulses of a slow-working + order, and the wonder of a year becomes the commonplace + of a century; when repeated and minute examination never + reveals a break in the chain of causes and effects; and + the whole edifice of practical life is built upon our + faith in its continuity; the belief that that chain has + never been broken and will never be broken, becomes one + of the strongest and most justifiable <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p257" id="p257">[257]</a></span> + of human convictions. And it must be admitted to be a + reasonable request, if we ask those who would have us put + faith in the actual occurrence of interruptions of that + order, to produce evidence in favour of their view, not + only equal, but superior, in weight, to that which leads + us to adopt ours." + </p> + </div> + <p> + But out of the mouth of Hume himself he declared against + making the recorded experience of man, however lengthy and + impressive, a necessary ground for rejecting the + possibility of the miraculous. Hume had said, "Whatever is + intelligible and can be distinctly conceived implies no + contradiction, and can never be proved false by any + demonstration, argument, or reasoning, <i>a priori</i>." + This or the like applies to most of the recorded miracles. + Huxley was extremely careful not to assert that they were + incredible merely because they might involve conditions + outside our existing experience. It is a vulgar mistake, + for which science certainly gives no warrant, to assert + that things are impossible because they contradict our + experience. In such a sense many of the most common modern + conveniences of life would have seemed impossible a century + ago. To travel with safety sixty miles an hour, to talk + through the telephone with a friend an hundred miles away, + to receive intelligible messages across the Atlantic by a + cable, and, still more, to communicate by wireless + telegraphy would have seemed impossible until recently. At + the present time, the conversion of a baser metal into gold + would be called impossible by everyone with a little + knowledge of elementary chemistry. This last example leads + admirably to a right understanding of the scientific view + of impossibility. The older alchemists, partly from + ignorance and partly from credulity, believed absolutely in + the possibility of transmuting the <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p258" id="p258">[258]</a></span> metals. The advance + of chemical science led to definite conceptions of the + differences between compounds and elementary bodies, and of + the independence of these elements. The methods and + reasoning of the alchemists became absurd, and no one would + attempt seriously to transmute the metals on their lines. + These advances, however, do not give us the right to assume + that the elements are absolutely independent, and that + transmutation is therefore impossible. Some of the most + recent progress in chemistry has opened up the suggestion + that the elements themselves are different combinations of + a common substance. Huxley applied this particular argument + to the miracle at the marriage of Cana. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "You are quite mistaken in supposing that anybody who is + acquainted with the possibilities of physical science + will undertake categorically to deny that water may be + turned into wine. Many very competent judges are inclined + to think that the bodies which we have hitherto regarded + as elementary are really composite arrangements of the + particles of a uniform primitive matter. Supposing that + view to be correct, there would be no more theoretical + difficulty about turning water into alcohol, ethereal and + colouring matters, than there is, at this present moment, + any practical difficulty in working other such miracles; + as when we turn sugar into alcohol, carbonic acid, + glycerine, and succinic acid; or transmute gas-refuse + into perfumes rarer than musk and dyes richer than Tyrian + purple." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Unless we make the unscientific and preposterous assumption + that our present knowledge of nature and of natural forces + is absolute and complete, it is unscientific and illogical + to declare at once that any supposed events could not have + happened merely because they seem to have contradicted + so-called natural laws. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p259" + id="p259">[259]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Strictly speaking," Huxley wrote, "I am unaware of + anything that has a right to the title of an + 'impossibility' except a contradiction in terms. There + are impossibilities logical, but none natural. A 'round + square,' a 'present past,' 'two parallel lines that + intersect,' are impossibilities, because the ideas + denoted by the predicates, round, present, intersect, are + contradictory of the ideas denoted by the subjects, + square, past, parallel. But walking on water, or turning + water into wine, or procreation without male + intervention, or raising the dead, are plainly not + impossibilities in this sense." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The whole matter turns on the question of sufficient + evidence. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Hume's arguments resolve themselves into a simple + statement of the dictates of common sense which may be + expressed in this canon: the more a statement of fact + conflicts with previous experience, the more complete + must be the evidence which is to justify us in believing + it." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Again, expressing the same idea in different words, he + wrote: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Nobody can presume to say what the order of nature must + be; all that the widest experience (even if it extended + over all past time and through all space) that events had + happened in a certain way could justify, would be a + proportionately strong expectation that events will go on + so happening, and the demand for a proportional strength + of evidence in favour of any assertion that they had + happened otherwise. It is this weighty consideration, the + truth of which everyone who is capable of logical thought + must surely admit, which knocks the bottom out of all + <i>a priori</i> objections either to ordinary 'miracles' + or to the efficacy of prayer, in so far as the latter + implies the miraculous intervention of a higher power. No + one is entitled to say, <i>a priori</i>, that prayer for + some change in the ordinary course of nature cannot + possibly avail." + </p> + </div> + <p> + It was a question of evidence, and not only did the + evidence not convince Huxley, but the thaumaturgic <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p260" id="p260">[260]</a></span> + nature of the Biblical miracles provided him with + additional reason for refusing to attach any extrinsic + value to the contents of the book. + </p> + <p> + On the other hand, although he declined to accept the Bible + as a miraculous and authentic revelation, again and again + he expressed himself in the strongest terms as to its value + to mankind, and as to the impossibility of any scientific + advance diminishing in any way whatsoever that value. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The antagonism between religion and science, about which + we hear so much, appears to me to be purely + factitious—fabricated, on the one hand, by + shortsighted religious people who confound a certain + branch of science, theology, with religion; and, on the + other, by equally shortsighted scientific people who + forget that science takes for its province only that + which is susceptible of clear intellectual comprehension; + and that, outside the boundaries of that province, they + must be content with imagination, with hope, and with + ignorance." + </p> + </div> + <p> + And again; + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "In the eighth century B.C., in the heart of a world of + idolatrous polytheists, the Hebrew prophets put forth a + conception of religion which appears to me to be as + wonderful an inspiration of genius as the art of Pheidias + or the science of Aristotle. 'And what doth the Lord + require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and + to walk humbly with thy God?' If any so-called religion + takes away from this great saying of Micah, I think it + wantonly mutilates, while if it adds thereto, I think it + obscures, the perfect ideal of religion." + </p> + </div> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 280px;"> + <img src="images/ill-260.png" alt="" title="" height="74" + width="280" /> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p261" id="p261">[261]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-261.png" alt="" title="" height="85" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI</a> + </h2> + <h3> + ETHICS OF THE COSMOS + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Conduct and Metaphysics—Conventional and Critical + Minds—Good and Evil—Huxley's Last Appearance + at Oxford—The Ethical Process and the Cosmic + Process—Man's Intervention—The Cosmic Process + Evil—Ancient Reconciliations—Modern + Acceptance of the Difficulties—Criticism of + Huxley's Pessimism—Man and his Ethical Aspirations + Part of the Cosmos. + </p> + </div> + <p> + We have seen that Huxley refused to acquiesce in the + current orthodox doctrine that our systems of morality + rested on a special revelation, miraculous in its origin, + and vouched for by the recorded miracles of its Founder, or + by those entrusted by the Founder with miraculous power. He + supported the view that, historically and actually, there + is no necessary connection between religion and morality. + The one is an attempt, in his opinion always unsuccessful, + to lift the veil from the unseen, to know the unknowable; + the other is simply the code that social man, through the + ages, has elaborated for his own guidance, and proved by + his own experience. So far as the conduct of life goes, the + morality of one who accepts the agnostic position with + regard to revelation and the unseen universe differs in no + respect from the code taken under the protection of <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p262" id="p262">[262]</a></span> + the modern forms of religion. As John Morley, in his + <i>Essay on Voltaire</i> wrote of such a person: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "There are new solutions for him, if the old have fallen + dumb. If he no longer believe death to be a stroke from + the sword of God's justice, but the leaden footfall of an + inflexible law of matter, the humility of his awe is + deepened, and the tenderness of his pity made holier, + that creatures who can love so much should have their + days so shut round with a wall of darkness. The purifying + anguish of remorse will be stronger, not weaker, when he + has trained himself to look upon every wrong in thought, + every duty omitted from act, each infringement of the + inner spiritual law which humanity is constantly + perfecting for its own guidance and advantage, less as a + breach of the decrees of an unseen tribunal than as an + ungrateful infection weakening and corrupting the future + of his brothers." + </p> + </div> + <p> + But there are wider questions than the immediate problems + of conduct. A certain type of mind finds it almost + impossible not to attempt ethical judgments on the whole + universe, not to speculate whether the Cosmos, as we can + imagine it from the part of it within the cognisance of + man, offers a spectacle of moral or immoral or of non-moral + significance. In the old times of Greece and in the modern + world many have been devoid of the taste for argument on + such subjects. Those who are uninterested in these abstract + discussions are rarely in opposition to the mode of faith + surrounding them, as to reject the doctrines held by the + majority of one's friends and associates implies either a + disagreeable disposition or an unusual interest in ultimate + problems; they are usually orthodox according to their + environment—Stoics, Epicureans, Jews, Episcopalians, + Catholics, Quakers, Methodists, Mormons, Mohammedans, + Buddhists, or whatever may be the prevailing dogma around + them. The attitude of indifference to moral <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p263" id="p263">[263]</a></span> + philosophy has practically no relation to what may be + considered good or bad moral conduct; those characterised + by it live above or below or round about their own moral + standards in a fashion as variable as that of moral + philosophers. Many of the saints, ancient and modern, have + been notorious instances; question them as to their faith + or as to the logical foundation of their renunciations and + they will tell you in simple honesty or make it plain by + their answers that they have no head for logic, that they + cannot argue, but only know and feel their position to be + true. In addition to the saints, many of the best and most + of the pleasant people in the world are of this type. + </p> + <p> + The type strongly in contrast with the foregoing is found + in persons of a more strenuous, perhaps more admirable but + less agreeable character. The savour of acerbity may be a + natural attribute of the critical character, and it is + certainly not lessened where moral philosophy is the + subject-matter of the criticism. The continual search after + solutions of problems that may be insoluble at least makes + the seekers excellent judges of wrong solutions. Like + Luther and Loyola and Kant, they may be able to satisfy + themselves, or, like Huxley, they may remain in doubt, but + in either case they are excellent critics of the solutions + of others. They are the firebrands of faith or of negation; + they are possessed by an intellectual fury that will not + let them cease from propagandising. They must go through + the world as missionaries; and the missionary spirit is + dual, one side zealous to proclaim the new, the other + equally zealous to denounce the old. But theirs is the + great work, "to burn old falsehood bare," to tear away the + incrustations of time which people have come to accept as + the thing itself, and in their track new and <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p264" id="p264">[264]</a></span> + lively truth springs up, as fresh green follows the + devastations of fire. + </p> + <p> + To most of us it seems of sufficient importance and of + sufficient difficulty to make our decisions in the little + eddies of good and evil that form as the world-stream + breaks round our individual lives. Huxley strove to + interpret the world-stream itself, to translate its + movements into the ethical language of man. As knowledge of + the forces and movements of the Cosmos has increased so has + our general conception been intensified, our conception of + it as a wondrous display of power and grandeur and + superhuman fixity of order. But are the forces of the + Cosmos good or evil? Are we, and the Cosmos of which we are + a part, the sport of changeable and capricious deities, the + pawns in a game of the gods, as some of the Greeks held; or + of a power drunkenly malicious, as Heine once cynically + suggested; or a battle-ground for a force of good and a + force of evil as in so many Eastern religions? Are we + dominated by pure evil, as some dark creeds have held, or + by pure good, as the religion of the Western world teaches? + And if we are dominated by pure evil, whence come good and + the idea of good, or, if by pure good, whence evil and the + idea of evil? + </p> + <p> + Huxley's interest in these great problems appears and + reappears throughout his published writings, but his views + are most clearly and systematically exposed in his + "Romanes" lecture on "Evolution and Ethics" delivered and + published at Oxford in 1894, and afterwards republished + with a prefatory essay in the last volume of his + <i>Collected Essays</i>. Not long before his death, + Professor Romanes, who had come to live in Oxford, founded + a University lectureship, the purpose of which was that + once a year a distinguished man <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p265" id="p265">[265]</a></span> should address the + University on a subject neither religious nor political. + Mr. Gladstone was the first lecturer, and, at the + suggestion of the founder, Huxley was chosen as the second. + For years he had been taking a special interest in both + religion and politics, and he was not a little embarrassed + by the restrictions imposed by the terms of the foundation, + for he determined to make ethical science the subject of + his address, and + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "ethical science is, on all sides, so entangled with + religion and politics, that the lecturer who essays to + touch the former without coming in contact with either of + the latter, needs all the dexterity of an egg-dancer, and + may even discover that his sense of clearness and his + sense of propriety come into conflict, by no means to the + advantage of the former." + </p> + </div> + <p> + As Huxley, on that great occasion, ascended the rostrum in + the Sheldonian theatre, very white and frail in his scarlet + doctor's robes, there must have been present in his mind + memories of the occasion, four-and-thirty years before, + when he first addressed an audience in the University of + Oxford. Then he was a young man, almost unknown, rising to + lead what seemed a forlorn hope for an idea utterly + repugnant to most of his hearers. Now, and largely by his + own efforts, the idea had become an inseparable part of + human thought, and Huxley himself was the guest to whom the + whole University was doing honour. Graduates from all parts + of England had come to hear what, it was feared, might be + his last public speech, and practically every member of the + University who could gain admission was present. The press + of the world attended to report his words as if they were + those of a great political leader, about to decide the fate + of nations. Although his voice had lost much of its old + sonorous reach, and although the old clear rhythms were + occasionally broken by <span class="pagenum"><a name="p266" + id="p266">[266]</a></span> hesitancies, the magic of his + personality oriented to him every face. + </p> + <p> + It is a curious and striking circumstance, a circumstance + fully recognised by Huxley himself, that in this exposition + of his ethical conception of the Cosmos he reconstructed, + on the lines of his evolutionary philosophy one of the + oldest and most widespread theories, a theory again and + again reached by men of different civilisations and epochs. + Manes, the Persian, from whose name the word "Manicheism" + has been coined to denote his doctrine, taught in perhaps + the most explicit fashion that the Cosmos was the + battle-ground of two contending powers,—Ahriman, the + principle of evil, and Ormuzd, the principle of good. This + doctrine in some form or other is implicit in most of the + greater religions, some of which have assumed an ultimate + triumph for the principle of good, while others have left + the issue doubtful. The Ahriman of Huxley, the principle of + evil, is what he termed the cosmic process, that great play + of forces, by which, in a ruthless struggle for existence, + the fittest (by which is meant the most suited to the + surrounding conditions and not necessarily the ethically + best) have survived at the expense of the less fit. The + Ormuzd, the principle of good, is what Huxley called the + Ethical process, the process by which sentient, + intelligent, and moral man has striven to replace the "old + ape and tiger methods" of the cosmic process, by methods in + which justice and mercy, sacrifice and consideration for + others have a part. + </p> + <p> + To explain clearly the distinction he made between the + ethical and cosmic processes. Huxley, in the prefatory + essay ("Prolegomena") published in the volume with his + Romanes lecture, developed the analogy of a cultivated + garden reclaimed from surrounding wild nature. <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p267" id="p267">[267]</a></span> + He described how the countryside, visible from his windows + at Eastbourne, had certainly been in a "state of nature" + about two thousand years ago when Cæsar had set foot + in Britain and had made the Roman camps, the remains of + which still mark the chalk downs of England. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Except, it may be, by raising a few sepulchral mounds, + such as those which still, here and there, break the + flowing contours of the Downs, man's hands had made no + mark upon it; and the thin veil of vegetation which + overspread the broad-backed heights and the shelving + sides of the coombs was unaffected by his industry. The + native grasses and weeds, the scattered patches of gorse, + contended with one another for possession of the scanty + surface soil; they fought against the droughts of summer, + the frosts of winter, and the furious gales, which swept + with unbroken force, now from the Atlantic, and now from + the North Sea, at all times of the year; they filled up, + as they best might, the gaps made in their ranks by all + sorts of overground and underground ravagers. One year + with another, an average population, the floating balance + of the unceasing struggle for existence among the + indigenous plants, maintained itself. It is as little to + be doubted that an essentially similar state of nature + prevailed in this region for many thousand years before + the coming of Cæsar; and there is no assignable + reason for denying that it might continue to exist + through an equally prolonged futurity except for the + intervention of man." + </p> + </div> + <p> + This present state of nature, he explained, is only a + fleeting phase of a process that has gone on for millions + of years. Under the thin layer of soil are the chalk + cliffs, hundreds of feet thick and witnesses of the + entirely different phases of the struggle that went on + while the cliffs were being formed at the bottom of the + chalk sea, when the vegetation of the nearest land was as + different from the existing vegetation as that is different + from the trees and flowers of an African forest. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p268" + id="p268">[268]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Before the deposition of the chalk, a vastly longer + period elapsed, throughout which it is easy to follow the + traces of the same process of ceaseless modification and + of the same internecine struggle for existence of living + things; and when we can go no further back, it is not + because there is any reason to think we have reached the + beginning, but because the trail of the most ancient life + remains hidden or has become obliterated." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The state of nature, then, is a fleeting and impermanent + process. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "That which endures is not one or other association of + living forms, but the process of which the Cosmos is the + product and of which these are among the transitory + expressions. And in the living world, one of the most + characteristic features of this cosmic process is the + struggle for existence, the competition of each with all, + the result of which is the selection, that is to say, the + survival of those forms which, on the whole, are best + adapted to the conditions which at any period obtain; and + which are, therefore, in that respect, and only in that + respect, the fittest. The acme reached by the cosmic + process in the vegetation of the Downs is seen in the + turf with its weeds and gorse. Under the conditions, they + have come out of the struggle victorious; and, by + surviving, have proved that they are the fittest to + survive." + </p> + </div> + <p> + For three or four years, the state of nature in a small + portion of the Downs surrounding Huxley's house had been + put an end to by the intervention of man. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "The patch was cut off from the rest by a wall; within + the area thus protected the native vegetation was, as far + as possible, extirpated, while a colony of strange plants + was imported and set down in its place. In short, it was + made into a garden. This artificially treated area + presents an aspect extraordinarily different from that of + so much of the land as still remains in the state of + nature outside the wall. Trees, shrubs and herbs, many of + them appertaining to the state of nature in remote parts + of the globe, abound and flourish. Moreover, considerable + quantities of vegetables, fruit, and flowers are + produced, of kinds which neither now exist nor have ever + existed except under conditions such as obtain in the + garden and which <span class="pagenum"><a name="p269" + id="p269">[269]</a></span> therefore are as much works of + the art of man as the frames and glass-houses in which + some of them are raised. That the 'state of art' thus + created in the state of nature by man, is sustained by + and dependent on him, would at once become apparent if + the watchful supervision of the gardener were withdrawn, + and the antagonistic influences of the general cosmic + process were no longer sedulously warded off, or + counteracted." + </p> + </div> + <p> + He proceeds to describe how, under such circumstances, the + artificial barriers would decay, and the delicate + inhabitants of the garden would perish under the assaults + of animal and vegetable foes. External forces would + reassert themselves and wild nature would resume its sway. + While, in a sense, he had strenuously advocated the unity + of all nature, he found in it two rivals: the artificial + products of sentient man and the forces and products of + wild nature. These two he believed to be in inevitable + opposition and to represent the good and the evil forces of + the world. + </p> + <p> + In the dim ages of the past, the forces that have gone to + the making of man have been part of the cosmic process. In + the endless and wonderful series of kaleidoscopic changes + by which, under the operation of natural laws, the body, + habits, and the character of man have been elaborated + slowly from the natal dust, there is the widest field for + the operation of the most acute intelligence to study and + trace the stages in the process. But if intellectual + delight in studying the process be left out of account, a + serious question at once appears. In the higher stages of + evolution the cosmic forces, ceasing to act merely on + insentient matter, have operated on sentient beings, and in + so doing have given rise to the mystery of pain and + suffering. When the less fit of chemical combinations or + even of the lower forms of life perished in the struggle, + we may regard the process <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p270" id="p270">[270]</a></span> with the unemotional + eye of pure intelligence. But "pain, the baleful product of + evolution, increases in quantity and in intensity with + advancing stages of animal organisation, until it attains + its highest level in man." And so it comes about that the + cosmic process produces evil, sorrow, and suffering. + Consideration of the cosmic process leads up against the + mystery of evil. + </p> + <p> + Huxley argued that the various philosophies and + civilisations of the past had led by different paths to a + similar conclusion. The primitive ethical codes of man were + not unlike the compacts of a wolf-pack, the understanding + to refrain from mutual attack during the chase of a common + prey. Conceptions of this kind became arranged in codes and + invested with supernatural sanction. But in Hindustan and + Ionia alike, material prosperity, no doubt partly the + result of the accepted codes, produced culture of the + intellect and culture of the pleasures. With these came the + "beneficent demon, doubt, whose name is legion and who + dwells amongst the tombs of old faiths." The doubting + intellect, acting on the codes, produced the conception of + justice-in-itself, of merit as divorced from the effect of + action on others, the abstract idea of goodness. + </p> + <p> + The old philosopher, turning from this new conception to + the Cosmos, found that incompatible with goodness. + Suffering and sorrow, sunshine and rain, were distributed + independently of merit. With Greek and Semite and Indian + the conscience of man revolted against the moral + indifference of nature. Instead of bringing in a verdict of + guilty, they attempted reconciliation in various ways. + Indian speculation invented or elaborated the theory of + transmigration, in which the Karma or soul-character passed + from individual to <span class="pagenum"><a name="p271" + id="p271">[271]</a></span> individual, the algebraic sums + of happiness in the whole chain being proportional to + merit. The Stoics were metaphysicians and imagined an + immanent, omnipotent, and infinitely beneficent First + Cause. Evil was incompatible with this, and so they held, + against experience, that either it did not exist, or that + it was inflicted for our benefit or due to our fault. In + one fashion or another, all the great systems of thought + had recognised the antagonism and had attempted some + explanation of it. Huxley's view was that the modern world + with its new philosophy was only retreading the toil-worn + paths of the old. Scientific optimism was being replaced by + a frank pessimism. Cosmic evolution might be accountable + for both good and evil, but knowledge of it provided no + better reason for choice of the good than did earlier + speculation. The cosmic process was not only non-moral but + immoral; goodness did not lead to success in it, and laws + and moral precepts could only be addressed to the curbing + of it. + </p> + <p> + In a sense these conclusions of Huxley seemed to lead to + absolute pessimism, but he offered some mitigating + considerations. Society remains subject to the cosmic + process, but the less as civilisation advances and ethical + man is the more ready to combat it. The history of + civilisation shows that we have some hope of this, for + "when physiology, psychology, ethics, and political + science, now befogged by crude anticipations and futile + analogies, have emerged from their childhood, they may work + as much change on human affairs as the earlier-ripened + physical sciences wrought on material progress." And so, + remembering that the evil cosmic nature in us has the + foothold of millions of years, and never hoping to abandon + sorrow and pain, we may yet, in the manhood of our race, + accept our <span class="pagenum"><a name="p272" + id="p272">[272]</a></span> destiny, and, with clear and + steady eyes, address ourselves to the task of living, that + we and others may live better. + </p> + <p> + These gloomy views come from Huxley with such weight and + authority that even in a sketch of his life and opinions it + may be noticed that they do not seem necessary deductions + from the evolutionary conception of the world. The first + count adduced against the cosmic process is its connection + with suffering. It may be doubted, so far as the animal + world is concerned, if Huxley has not exaggerated the + gravity of this. The two greatest contributors to the + modern conception of evolution are not in agreement with + him. Alfred Russel Wallace wrote: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "On the whole, then, we conclude that the popular idea of + the struggle for existence entailing misery and pain on + the animal world is the very reverse of the truth. What + it really brings about is the maximum of life and of the + enjoyment of life with the minimum of suffering and pain. + Given the necessity of death and reproduction—and + without those there could have been no progressive + development of the animal world—and it is difficult + even to imagine a system by which a greater balance of + happiness could have been secured." + </p> + </div> + <p> + This view was evidently that also of Darwin himself, who + thus concluded his chapter on the struggle for existence: + "When we reflect on this struggle, we may console ourselves + with the full belief that the war of nature is not + incessant, that no fear is felt, that death is generally + prompt, and that the vigorous, the healthy, and the happy + survive and multiply." As for man himself, though it be + true that in him the consummation of pain is reached, still + this is no isolated fact of far-reaching ethical + importance. It is in direct dependence on the increased + physical and mental <span class="pagenum"><a name="p273" + id="p273">[273]</a></span> development of man, and these + are equally necessary for and equally susceptible to + increased pleasure and increased happiness. It is not + necessary to regard the cosmic process as evil. Even when + man, in various ages, had elaborated the conception of + abstract goodness, and had endeavoured to make his justice + a doling out of reward and punishment according to merit, + it was not inevitable to bring in a verdict of guilty + against the Cosmos. It is quite true that, in all the ages, + man has seen the sun shine on the unjust as on the just. + But it is an easy reflection that the world could not turn + round on individual merit, and if few are so guilty as to + deserve the agonies of grief that may come to all, still + fewer deserve some of the simpler and more common joys of + life. The conception that was implicit in the disciplines + of the older philosophies is still open to the philosophy + of evolution. Behind it, as behind the "self-hypnotised + catalepsy of the devotee of Brahma," the Buddhist + aspirations to Nirvana, the <i>apatheia</i> of the Stoics, + there may lie a recognition of the worthlessness of the + individual: an equable acceptation of one's self as part of + a process: a triumph of intelligence over selfishness. + Finally, behind the sharp division made between man and the + Cosmos, there still lurks one of the oldest and most + enduring fallacies of the world, a fallacy that Huxley + himself spent a great part of his intellectual life in + discovering and routing. The fallacy is the conception of + the Cosmos as something separate and apart from man, as + something through which he, however briefly, passes. Thus + Omar sang: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Myself, when young, did eagerly + frequent<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">Doctor and saint, and heard + great argument<br /> + </span> <span class="i1">About it and about: but + evermore<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">Came out by the same door where + in I went.<br /> + </span> + </div> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p274" + id="p274">[274]</a></span> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"With them the seed of wisdom did I + sow,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">And with mine own hand wrought + to make it grow;<br /> + </span> <span class="i1">And this was all the Harvest + that I reaped—<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">'I came like Water, and like + Wind I go.'<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Into this Universe, and <i>Why</i> not + knowing<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">Nor <i>Whence</i>, like water + willy-nilly flowing;<br /> + </span> <span class="i1">And out of it, like Wind along + the Waste<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">I know not <i>Whither</i>, + willy-nilly blowing."<br /> + </span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + But, the more profoundly does the conception of evolution + lay hold of human thought, the more inevitable it becomes + to recognise that man and all that is best in man—his + aspirations, ideas, virtues, and practical and abstract + justice and goodness—are just as much the product of + the cosmic process and part of the Cosmos as the most + sinister results of the struggle for existence. + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 304px;"> + <img src="images/ill-274.png" alt="" title="" + height="153" width="304" /> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p275" id="p275">[275]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-275.png" alt="" title="" height="87" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII</a> + </h2> + <h3> + CLOSING DAYS AND SUMMARY + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Huxley's Life in London—Decennial + Periods—ill-health—Retirement to + Eastbourne—Death—Personal + Appearance—Methods of Work—Personal + Characteristics—An Inspirer of Others—His + Influence in Science—A Naturalist by + Vocation—His Aspirations. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Huxley's life followed the quiet and even tenor of that of + a professional man of science and letters. The great + adventure in it was his youthful voyage on the + <i>Rattlesnake</i>. That over, and his choice made in + favour of science as against medicine, he settled down in + London. He married happily and shared in the common joys + and sorrows of domestic life. Advancement came to him + steadily, and, although he was never rich, after the first + few years of life in London, his income was always adequate + to his moderate needs. For the greater part of his working + life, he lived actually in London, in the ordinary style + and with the ordinary social enjoyments of a professional + man. His duties in connection with the Royal College of + Science and with the Geological Survey were not arduous but + constant; his time was fully occupied with these, with his + scientific and literary work, with the business of + scientific <span class="pagenum"><a name="p276" + id="p276">[276]</a></span> societies, with the occasional + obligations of royal commissions, public boards, and + lecturing engagements. The quiet routine of his life was + diversified by many visits to provincial towns to deliver + lectures or addresses, by meetings of the British + Association, by holidays in Switzerland, during which, with + Tyndall, he made special studies of the phenomena of + glaciation, and in the usual Continental resorts, and by + several trips to America. + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 396px;"> + <img src="images/ill-caricature.png" + alt="CARICATURE OF HUXLEY DRAWN BY HIMSELF" title="" + height="400" width="396" /> <span + class="caption">CARICATURE OF HUXLEY DRAWN BY + HIMSELF<br /> + Reproduced by permission from Natural Science, vol. + vii., No. 46</span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + In a rough-and-ready fashion, Huxley's active life may be + broken into a set of decennial periods, each with tolerably + distinctive characters. The first period, roughly from 1850 + to 1860, was almost purely scientific. It was occupied by + his voyage, by his transition to science as a career, his + researches into the invertebrate forms of life, the + beginning of his palæontological investigations, and + a comparatively small amount of lecturing and literary + work. The second decennium still found him employed chiefly + in research, vertebrate and extinct forms absorbing most of + his attention. He was occupied actively with teaching, but + the dominant feature of the decennium was his assumption of + the Darwinian doctrines. In connection with these latter, + his literary and lecturing work increased greatly, and the + side issues of what was, in itself, purely a scientific + controversy began to lead him into metaphysical and + religious studies. The third period, from 1870 to 1880, was + considerably different in character. He had become the most + prominent man in biological science in England, at a time + when biological science was attracting a quite unusual + amount of scientific and public attention. Public honours + and public duties, some of them scientific, others general, + began to crowd upon him, and the time at his disposal for + the quiet labours of <span class="pagenum"><a name="p277" + id="p277">[277]</a></span> investigation became rapidly + more limited within this period. He was secretary of the + Royal Society, a member of the London School Board, + president of the British Association, Lord Rector at + several universities, member of many royal commissions, + government inspector of fisheries, president of the + Geological Society. In this multitude of duties it was + natural that the bulk of strictly scientific output was + limited, but, on the other hand, his literary output was + much larger. Between 1880 and 1890 he had reached the full + maturity of a splendid reputation, and honours and duties + pressed thick upon him. For part of the time he was + president of the Royal Society, the most distinguished + position to which a scientific man in England can attain, + and he was held by the general public at least in as high + esteem as by his scientific contemporaries. A small amount + of original scientific work still appeared from his pen, + but he was occupied chiefly with more general contributions + to thought. + </p> + <p> + Throughout his life, Huxley had never been robust. From his + youth upwards he had been troubled by dyspepsia with its + usual accompaniment of occasional fits of severe mental and + physical depression. In 1872 he was compelled to take a + long holiday in Egypt, and, although he returned to resume + full labour, it is doubtful if from that time onwards he + recovered even the strength normal to him. In 1885, his + ill-health became grave; in the following years he had two + attacks of pleurisy, and symptoms of cardiac mischief + became pressing. He gradually withdrew from his official + posts, and, in 1890, retired to Eastbourne, where he had + built himself a house on the Downs. The more healthy + conditions and the comparative leisure he permitted himself + had a good effect, and he was able to <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p278" id="p278">[278]</a></span> + write some of his most brilliant essays and to make a few + public appearances: at Oxford in 1893, when he delivered + the Romanes lecture; at the meeting of the British + Association in 1894, when he spoke on the vote of thanks to + the President, the Marquis of Salisbury; at the Royal + Society in the same year when he received the recently + established "Darwin Medal." Early in the spring of 1895, he + had a prostrating attack of influenza, and from that time + until his death on June 29, 1895, he was an invalid. He was + buried in the Marylebone cemetery at Finchley, to the north + of London. + </p> + <p> + Huxley was of middle stature and rather slender build. His + face, as Professor Ray Lankester described it, was "grave, + black-browed, and fiercely earnest." His hair, plentiful + and worn rather long, was black until in old age it became + silvery white. He wore short side whiskers, but shaved the + rest of his face, leaving fully exposed an obstinate chin, + and mobile lips, grim and resolute in repose, but capable + of relaxation into a smile of almost feminine charm. + </p> + <p> + He was a very hard worker and took little exercise. + Professor Howes describes a typical day as occupied by + lecture and laboratory work at the College of Science until + his hurried luncheon; then a cab-drive to the Home Office + for his work as Inspector of Fisheries; then a cab home for + an hour's work before dinner, and the evening after dinner + spent in literary work or scientific reading. While at + work, his whole attention was engrossed, and he disliked + being disturbed. This abstraction of his attention is + illustrated humorously by a story told by one of his + demonstrators. Huxley was engaged in the investigations + required for his book on the Crayfish, and his demonstrator + came in to ask a question about a <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p279" id="p279">[279]</a></span> codfish. "Codfish?" + said Huxley; "that's a vertebrate, isn't it? Ask me in a + fortnight and I'll consider it." While at work he smoked + almost continuously, and from time to time he took a little + relaxation, for the strains of a fiddle were occasionally + heard from his room. Indeed he was devoted to music, + regarding it as one of the highest of the æsthetic + pleasures. He tells us himself: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "When I was a boy, I was very fond of music, and I am so + now; and it so happened that I had the opportunity of + hearing much good music. Among other things, I had + abundant opportunities of hearing that great old master, + Sebastian Bach. I remember perfectly well—although + I knew nothing about music then, and, I may add, know + nothing whatever about it now—the intense + satisfaction and delight which I had in listening, by the + hour together, to Bach's fugues. It is a pleasure which + remains with me, I am glad to think; but, of late years, + I have tried to find out the why and wherefore, and it + has often occurred to me that the pleasure derived from + musical compositions of this kind is essentially of the + same nature as that which is derived from pursuits which + are commonly regarded as purely intellectual. I mean, + that the source of pleasure is exactly the same as in + most of my problems in morphology—that you have the + theme in one of the old masters' works followed out in + all its endless variations, always appearing and always + reminding you of unity in variety." + </p> + </div> + <p> + He had a hot temper, and did not readily brook opposition, + especially when that seemed to him to be the result of + stupidity or of prejudice rather than of reason, and his + own reason was of a very clear, decided, and exact order. + He had little sympathy with vacillation of any kind, + whether it arose from mere infirmity of purpose or from the + temperament which delights in balancing opposing + considerations. He said on one occasion: + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p280" + id="p280">[280]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "A great lawyer-statesman and philosopher of a former + age—I mean Francis Bacon—said that truth came + out of error much more rapidly than out of confusion. + There is a wonderful truth in that saying. Next to being + right in this world, the best of all things is to be + clearly and definitely wrong, because you will come out + somewhere. If you go buzzing about between right and + wrong, vibrating and fluctuating, you come out nowhere; + but if you are absolutely and thoroughly and persistently + wrong, you must, some of these days, have the extreme + good fortune of knocking your head against a fact, and + that sets you all straight again. So I will not trouble + myself as to whether I may be right or wrong in what I am + about to say, but at any rate I hope to be clear and + definite; and then you will be able to judge for + yourselves whether, in following out the train of thought + I have to introduce, you knock your heads against facts + or not." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The particular suggestions to which these remarks were the + characteristic introduction related to definite problems of + education, that is to say, to questions upon which some + action was urgent. It was in all cases of life, in science + or affairs, that Huxley was resolute for clear ideas and + definite courses of conduct. As a matter of fact, no one + ever took greater care to satisfy himself as best he could + as to what was right and what was wrong; but where action + rather than reflection was needed, then his principle was + to act, and to know definitely and clearly why you acted + and for what you acted. In matters of opinion, on the other + hand, he was all for not coming to a definite opinion when + the facts obtainable did not justify such an opinion. In + thought, agnosticism, the refusal to accept any ideas or + principles except on sufficient evidence; in action, + positivism, to act promptly in definite and known + directions for definite and known objects: these were his + principles. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p281" + id="p281">[281]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Another aspect of the same trait of character, he shewed in + an address to medical students at a distribution of prizes. + After congratulating the victors he confessed to "an + undercurrent of sympathy for those who have not been + successful, for those valiant knights who have been + overthrown in their tourney, and have not made their + appearance in public." After recounting an early failure of + his own, he proceeded: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "I said to myself, 'Never mind; what's the next thing to + be done?' And I found that policy of 'never minding' and + going on to the next thing to be done, to be the most + important of all policies in the conduct of practical + life. It does not matter how many tumbles you have in + this life, so long as you do not get dirty when you + tumble; it is only the people who have to stop to be + washed and made clean, who must necessarily lose the + race. You learn that which is of inestimable + importance—that there are a great many people in + the world who are just as clever as you are. You learn to + put your trust, by and by, in an economy and frugality of + the exercise of your powers both moral and intellectual; + and you very soon find out, if you have not found it out + before, that patience and tenacity of purpose are worth + more than twice their weight of cleverness." + </p> + </div> + <p> + All Huxley's work was marked by a quality which may be + called conscientiousness or thoroughness. Looking through + his memoirs, written many years ago, the subjects of which + have since been handled and rehandled by other writers with + new knowledge and with new methods at their disposal, one + is struck that all the observations he made have stood + their ground. With new facts new generalisations have often + been reached, and some of the positions occupied by Huxley + have been turned. But what he saw and described had not to + be redescribed; the citations he made from the older + authorities were always so chosen as to <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p282" id="p282">[282]</a></span> + contain the exact gist of the writers. These qualities, + admirable in scientific work, became at once admirable and + terrible in his controversial writings. His own exactness + made him ruthless in exposing any inexactness in his + adversaries, and there were few disputants who left an + argument with Huxley in an undamaged condition. The + consciousness which he had of his own careful methods, + added to a natural pugnacity, gave him an intellectual + courage of a very high order. As he knew himself to have + made sure of his premisses, he did not care whither his + conclusions might lead him, against whatsoever established + doctrine or accepted axiom. + </p> + <p> + There was, however, a strong spice of natural combativeness + in his nature, the direct result of his native and highly + trained critical faculty. He tells us that in the + pre-Darwinian days he was accustomed to defend the fixity + of species in the company of evolutionists and in the + presence of the orthodox to attack the same doctrine. Later + in life, when evolution had become fashionable, and the + principles of Darwinism were being elevated into a new + dogmatism, he was as ready to criticise the loose adherents + of his own views as he had been to expose the weakness of + the conventional dogmatists. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps the most striking feature of Huxley's work as a + whole was its infectious nature. His vigorous and decided + personality was reflected on all the subjects to which he + gave attention, and in the same fashion as his presence + infected persons with a personal enthusiasm so his writings + stimulated readers to efforts along the same lines. His + great influence is clear in the number and distinction of + the biologists who came under his personal care, and in the + great army of writers and thinkers who have been inspired + by his <span class="pagenum"><a name="p283" + id="p283">[283]</a></span> views and methods on general + questions. His position as an actual contributor to science + has to a certain extent been lost sight of for two reasons. + In the first place, his effect on the world as an expositor + of the scientific method in its general application to life + has overshadowed his exact work; in the second place, his + exact work itself has been partly lost sight of in the new + discoveries and advances to which it gave rise. It is + therefore necessary to reiterate that, apart from all his + other successes, he had made for himself an extremely + distinguished position in the annals of exact science. Sir + Michael Foster and Prof. Ray Lankester, in their preface to + the collected edition of his scientific memoirs, make a + just claim for him. These memoirs, they wrote, show that, + "apart from the influence exerted by his popular writings, + the progress of biology during the present century was + largely due to labours of his of which the general public + knew nothing, and that he was in some respects the most + original and most fertile in discovery of all his fellow + workers in the same branch of science." + </p> + <p> + There can be little question that it was no accident that + determined the direction of Huxley's career. He was a + naturalist by inborn vocation. The contrast between a + natural bent and an acquired habit of life was well seen in + the case of Huxley and Macgillivray, his companion on the + <i>Rattlesnake</i>. The former was appointed as a surgeon, + and it was no part of his duties to busy himself with the + creatures of the sea; and yet his observations on them made + a series of real contributions to biological science and + laid the sure foundation of a world-wide and enduring + reputation. The latter was the son of a naturalist, a + naturalist by profession, and appointed to the expedition + as its official naturalist; <span class="pagenum"><a + name="p284" id="p284">[284]</a></span> and yet he made only + a few observations and a limited collection of curiosities, + and even his exiguous place in the annals of zoölogy + is the accidental result of his companionship with Huxley. + The special natural endowments which Huxley brought to the + study of zoölogy were, in the first place, a faculty + for the patient and assiduous observation of facts; in the + second, a swift power of discriminating between the + essential and the accessory among facts; in the third, the + constructive ability to arrange these essentials in wide + generalisations which we call laws or principles and which, + within the limits necessarily set by inductive principles, + are the starting-point for new deductions. These were the + faculties which he brought to his science, but there were + added to them two personal characteristics without which + they would not have taken him far. They were impelled by a + driving force which distinguishes the successful man from + the muddler and without which the finest mental powers are + as useless as a complicated machine disconnected from its + driving-wheel. They were directed by a lofty and + disinterested enthusiasm, without which the most talented + man is a mere self-seeker, useless or dangerous to society. + The faculties and qualities which made Huxley great as a + zoölogist were practically those which he applied to + the general questions of biological theory, to the problems + of education and of society, and to philosophy and + metaphysics. A comparison between his sane and forcible + handling of questions that lay outside the special province + to which the greater part of his life was devoted, with the + dubious and involved treatment given such questions by the + professional politicians to whom the English races tend to + entrust their destinies, is a useful comment on that value + of <span class="pagenum"><a name="p285" + id="p285">[285]</a></span> science as discipline to which + Huxley so strenuously called attention. + </p> + <p> + There can be no better way of ending this sketch of + Huxley's life and work than by quoting his own account of + the objects to which he had devoted himself consciously. + These were: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "To promote the increase of natural knowledge and to + forward the application of scientific methods of + investigation to all the problems of life to the best of + my ability, in the conviction which has grown with my + growth and strengthened with my strength, that there is + no alleviation for the sufferings of mankind except + veracity of thought and of action, and the resolute + facing of the world as it is when the garment of + make-believe by which pious hands have hidden its uglier + features is stripped off. + </p> + <p> + "It is with this intent that I have subordinated any + reasonable or unreasonable ambition for scientific fame + which I may have permitted myself to entertain to other + ends; to the popularisation of science; to the + development and organisation of scientific education; to + the endless series of battles and skirmishes over + evolution; and to untiring opposition to that + ecclesiastical spirit, that clericalism, which in + England, as everywhere else, and to whatever denomination + it may belong, is the deadly enemy of science. + </p> + <p> + "In striving for the attainment of these objects, I have + been but one among many, and I shall be well content to + be remembered, or even not remembered, as such. + Circumstances, among which I am proud to reckon the + devoted kindness of many friends, have led to my + occupation of various prominent positions, among which + the presidency of the Royal Society is the highest. It + would be mock modesty on my part, with these and other + scientific honours which have been bestowed upon me, to + pretend that I have not succeeded in the career which I + have followed, rather because I was driven into it than + of my own free will; but I am afraid I should not count + even these things as marks of success if I could not hope + that I had not somewhat helped that movement of opinion + which has been called the New Reformation." + </p> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="back"><a + href="#CONTENTS">[Contents]</a></span> <span + class="pagenum"><a name="p287" id="p287">[287]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-287.png" alt="" title="" height="83" + width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + <a name="INDEX" id="INDEX">INDEX</a> + </h2> + <h4> + <a href="#InA">A</a> <a href="#InB">B</a> <a + href="#InC">C</a> <a href="#InD">D</a> <a + href="#InE">E</a> <a href="#InF">F</a> <a + href="#InG">G</a> <a href="#InH">H</a> <a + href="#InI">I</a> <a href="#InJ">J</a> <a + href="#InK">K</a> <a href="#InL">L</a> <a + href="#InM">M</a> <a href="#InN">N</a> <a + href="#InO">O</a> <a href="#InP">P</a> <a + href="#InQ">Q</a> <a href="#InR">R</a> <a + href="#InS">S</a> <a href="#InT">T</a> <a + href="#InU">U</a> <a href="#InV">V</a> <a + href="#InW">W</a> <a href="#InY">Y</a> <a + href="#InZ">Z</a> + </h4> + <div style="margin-left: 25%; margin-right: 25%"> + <h4> + <a name="InA" id="InA" href="#INDEX">A</a> + </h4> + <p> + Adams, <a href="#p209">209</a> + </p> + <p> + Admiralty, <a href="#p14">14</a>, <a href="#p48">48</a>, + <a href="#p49">49</a> + </p> + Agassiz, <a href="#p68">68</a>, <a href="#p91">91</a>, <a + href="#p99">99</a> + <p> + Age of the earth, <a href="#p84">84</a>, <a + href="#p85">85</a> + </p> + <p> + Agnosticism, <a href="#p239">239</a>, <a + href="#p241">241</a>-<a href="#p243">243</a>, <a + href="#p279">279</a> + </p> + <p> + Ahriman, <a href="#p265">265</a> + </p> + <p> + Alchemists, <a href="#p256">256</a>, <a + href="#p257">257</a> + </p> + <p> + Alternation of generations, <a href="#p53">53</a>, <a + href="#p54">54</a> + </p> + <p> + Ameghino, <a href="#p141">141</a> + </p> + <p> + America, <a href="#p70">70</a> + </p> + <p> + American addresses, <a href="#p71">71</a> + </p> + <p> + American fossils, <a href="#p75">75</a> + </p> + <p> + American monkeys, <a href="#p163">163</a> + </p> + <p> + Amphibia, <a href="#p143">143</a> + </p> + <p> + Amphioxus, <a href="#p22">22</a>, <a href="#p134">134</a> + </p> + <p> + Anatomy of man and ape, <a href="#p161">161</a> + </p> + <p> + Anchitherium, <a href="#p70">70</a>, <a + href="#p74">74</a>, <a href="#p76">76</a> + </p> + <p> + Animal kingdom, old views of, <a href="#p35">35</a> + </p> + <p> + Animals and plants, <a href="#p97">97</a> + </p> + <p> + Anthracosaurus, <a href="#p69">69</a> + </p> + <p> + Anthropomorphism, <a href="#p250">250</a> + </p> + <p> + Anthropoid apes, <a href="#p149">149</a>-<a + href="#p153">153</a> + </p> + <p> + "Ape and Tiger" methods, <a href="#p265">265</a> + </p> + <p> + Appendicularia, <a href="#p56">56</a>, <a + href="#p57">57</a> + </p> + <p> + Apprenticeship in medicine, <a href="#p183">183</a> + </p> + <p> + Archæopteryx, <a href="#p136">136</a> + </p> + <p> + Archetype of molluscs, <a href="#p58">58</a>, <a + href="#p59">59</a>, <a href="#p61">61</a> + </p> + <p> + Archetype of Vertebrata, Articulata, and Radiata, <a + href="#p62">62</a> + </p> + <p> + Arctogœa, <a href="#p140">140</a> + </p> + <p> + Argyll, Duke of, <a href="#p248">248</a> + </p> + <p> + Aristotle, <a href="#p100">100</a>, <a + href="#p259">259</a> + </p> + <p> + Arnold, Matthew, <a href="#p185">185</a> + </p> + <p> + Articulata of Cuvier, <a href="#p38">38</a> + </p> + <p> + Ascaris, egg of, <a href="#p176">176</a> + </p> + <p> + Ascidians, <a href="#p55">55</a>-<a href="#p57">57</a>, + <a href="#p96">96</a> + </p> + <p> + Australia and South America, land connection, <a + href="#p141">141</a> + </p> + <p> + Authority, <a href="#p175">175</a>, <a + href="#p231">231</a>, <a href="#p232">232</a>, <a + href="#p241">241</a> + </p> + <p> + Authority and investigation, <a href="#p179">179</a> + </p> + <p> + Authority and knowledge, <a href="#p104">104</a>, + </p> + <p> + Axioms, <a href="#p240">240</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InB" id="InB" href="#INDEX">B</a> + </h4> + <p> + Bach, Sebastian, <a href="#p278">278</a> + </p> + <p> + Balfour, F.M., <a href="#p135">135</a> + </p> + <p> + Barrier Reef of Australia, <a href="#p20">20</a> + </p> + <p> + Basi-cranium of vertebrates, <a href="#p132">132</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Beagle</i>, voyage of, <a href="#p28">28</a> + </p> + <p> + Beelzebub, <a href="#p238">238</a> + </p> + <p> + Belief, duty of, <a href="#p238">238</a>, <a + href="#p239">239</a> + </p> + <p> + Belief, nature of scientific, <a href="#p228">228</a> + </p> + <p> + Beneden, van, <a href="#p59">59</a>, <a + href="#p176">176</a> + </p> + <p> + Berkeley, Bishop, <a href="#p218">218</a>, <a + href="#p221">221</a>, <a href="#p224">224</a> + </p> + <p> + Berkeley, quotation from, <a href="#p221">221</a> + </p> + <p> + Bible, <a href="#p189">189</a>, <a href="#p192">192</a>, + <a href="#p194">194</a>, <a href="#p213">213</a>, <a + href="#p235">235</a>, <a href="#p237">237</a>, <a + href="#p244">244</a>, <a href="#p245">245</a>, <a + href="#p247">247</a>, <a href="#p248">248</a>, <a + href="#p250">250</a>, <a href="#p253">253</a>, <a + href="#p254">254</a>, <a href="#p259">259</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p288" + id="p288">[288]</a></span> Bible and geology, <a + href="#p80">80</a> + </p> + <p> + Bibliolatry, <a href="#p235">235</a>, <a + href="#p246">246</a> + </p> + <p> + Bimana, <a href="#p164">164</a> + </p> + <p> + Biology and medical education, <a href="#p184">184</a> + </p> + <p> + Birds, ancestry of, <a href="#p69">69</a> + </p> + <p> + Birds, classification of, <a href="#p135">135</a> + </p> + <p> + Birmingham, <a href="#p185">185</a> + </p> + <p> + Bishop, <a href="#p175">175</a> + </p> + <p> + Bishop Berkeley, <a href="#p218">218</a>, <a + href="#p221">221</a>, <a href="#p224">224</a> + </p> + <p> + Bishop of Norwich, <a href="#p33">33</a> + </p> + <p> + Bishop of Oxford, <i>see</i> Wilberforce + </p> + <p> + Boards for elementary education, <a href="#p188">188</a> + </p> + <p> + Bojanus, <a href="#p173">173</a> + </p> + <p> + Bones of horse, <a href="#p71">71</a>, <a + href="#p72">72</a> + </p> + <p> + Bones, cartilage, and membrane, <a href="#p134">134</a> + </p> + <p> + Books, value of, <a href="#p175">175</a> + </p> + <p> + Booth, "General," <a href="#p213">213</a> + </p> + <p> + Bourbon, <a href="#p246">246</a> + </p> + <p> + Brahma, <a href="#p272">272</a> + </p> + <p> + Brain of man and apes, <a href="#p120">120</a>, <a + href="#p145">145</a>, <a href="#p146">146</a>, <a + href="#p162">162</a>, <a href="#p163">163</a> + </p> + <p> + Brain and mind, <a href="#p220">220</a>, <a + href="#p221">221</a> + </p> + <p> + Brain-weights, <a href="#p164">164</a> + </p> + <p> + Breathing, <a href="#p168">168</a> + </p> + <p> + Breeding, selective, <a href="#p127">127</a> + </p> + <p> + Brehm, <a href="#p153">153</a> + </p> + <p> + British Association, <a href="#p68">68</a>, <a + href="#p120">120</a>, <a href="#p125">125</a>, <a + href="#p274">274</a> + </p> + <p> + Brooks, Professor W.K., <a href="#p94">94</a> + </p> + <p> + Buckland, Professor, <a href="#p80">80</a>, <a + href="#p234">234</a> + </p> + <p> + Buddhists, <a href="#p1">1</a>, <a href="#p272">272</a> + </p> + <p> + Buffon, <a href="#p15">15</a>, <a href="#p90">90</a> + </p> + <p> + Burnett, Sir William, <a href="#p11">11</a>, <a + href="#p46">46</a> + </p> + <p> + Busk, George, <a href="#p49">49</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InC" id="InC" href="#INDEX">C</a> + </h4> + <p> + Cabanis, <a href="#p228">228</a> + </p> + <p> + Cæsar, <a href="#p265">265</a> + </p> + <p> + Cana, miracle at, <a href="#p257">257</a> + </p> + <p> + Cape York, <a href="#p25">25</a> + </p> + <p> + Carinates, <a href="#p137">137</a> + </p> + <p> + Carlyle, Thomas, <a href="#p111">111</a> + </p> + <p> + Cartesian axiom, <a href="#p222">222</a> + </p> + <p> + Cartilage bones, <a href="#p134">134</a> + </p> + <p> + Cartilaginous skulls, <a href="#p134">134</a> + </p> + <p> + Catastrophism in geology, <a href="#p80">80</a>, <a + href="#p249">249</a> + </p> + <p> + Catholicism, <a href="#p123">123</a>, <a + href="#p214">214</a>, <a href="#p247">247</a> + </p> + <p> + Cells, <a href="#p52">52</a>, <a href="#p53">53</a> + </p> + <p> + Cephalous molluscs, <a href="#p58">58</a>, <a + href="#p59">59</a> + </p> + <p> + Chalk, <a href="#p266">266</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Challenger</i> expedition, <a href="#p15">15</a> + </p> + <p> + Chalmers, Dr. Thomas, <a href="#p80">80</a> + </p> + <p> + Chambers, R., <a href="#p62">62</a> + </p> + <p> + Chamisso, <a href="#p53">53</a>, <a href="#p56">56</a> + </p> + <p> + Chance, <a href="#p229">229</a> + </p> + <p> + Change in universe, <a href="#p249">249</a> + </p> + <p> + Charing Cross Hospital, <a href="#p8">8</a>, <a + href="#p9">9</a> + </p> + <p> + Chaucer, <a href="#p213">213</a> + </p> + <p> + Chemistry and alchemy, <a href="#p257">257</a> + </p> + <p> + Chess, life compared with, <a href="#p169">169</a> + </p> + <p> + Children, education of, <a href="#p189">189</a> + </p> + <p> + Chimpanzees, <a href="#p149">149</a>, <a + href="#p163">163</a> + </p> + <p> + Chondrocranium, <a href="#p134">134</a> + </p> + <p> + Christianity and evolution, <a href="#p122">122</a> + </p> + <p> + Christian civilisation and authority, <a + href="#p232">232</a> + </p> + <p> + Chronology of the Bible, <a href="#p247">247</a> + </p> + <p> + Church of England, <a href="#p111">111</a>, <a + href="#p112">112</a> + </p> + <p> + Church, the, and science, <a href="#p236">236</a> + </p> + <p> + Classical education, <a href="#p185">185</a>, <a + href="#p210">210</a> + </p> + <p> + Classification of birds, <a href="#p135">135</a> + </p> + <p> + Classification by Cuvier, <a href="#p38">38</a> + </p> + <p> + Classification by Linnæus, <a href="#p38">38</a> + </p> + <p> + Classification of mammals, <a href="#p142">142</a> + </p> + <p> + Classification of man, <a href="#p146">146</a> + </p> + <p> + Classification by old authors, <a href="#p37">37</a> + </p> + <p> + Classification of vertebrates, <a href="#p143">143</a> + </p> + <p> + Clergy as critics of science, <a href="#p236">236</a> + </p> + <p> + Clericalism, <a href="#p239">239</a>, <a + href="#p284">284</a> + </p> + <p> + Clodd, E., <a href="#p90">90</a>, <a href="#p127">127</a> + </p> + <p> + Cœlenterata, <a href="#p42">42</a>, <a + href="#p96">96</a> + </p> + <p> + Cœlomata, <a href="#p43">43</a>, <a + href="#p44">44</a> + </p> + <p> + Commissions, royal, <a href="#p195">195</a>, <a + href="#p204">204</a> + </p> + <p> + Common sense and metaphysics, <a href="#p218">218</a> + </p> + <p> + Common sense and science, <a href="#p209">209</a> + </p> + <p> + Conduct and religion, <a href="#p261">261</a> + </p> + <p> + Congo, <a href="#p149">149</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p289" + id="p289">[289]</a></span> Conscience, <a + href="#p269">269</a> + </p> + <p> + Conscientiousness, <a href="#p280">280</a> + </p> + <p> + Consciousness, <a href="#p220">220</a>, <a + href="#p224">224</a> + </p> + <p> + Contemporaneity, geological, <a href="#p79">79</a> + </p> + <p> + Continuity of nature, <a href="#p255">255</a> + </p> + <p> + Cookery in schools, <a href="#p190">190</a> + </p> + <p> + Cope, Professor, <a href="#p69">69</a>, <a + href="#p94">94</a> + </p> + <p> + Corals of Barrier Reef, <a href="#p20">20</a> + </p> + <p> + "Corybantic Christianity," <a href="#p215">215</a> + </p> + <p> + Cosmic process, <a href="#p268">268</a>, <a + href="#p270">270</a>, <a href="#p271">271</a> + </p> + <p> + Cosmogony of the Hebrews, <a href="#p244">244</a>, <a + href="#p246">246</a> + </p> + <p> + Cosmos, <a href="#p229">229</a>, <a href="#p263">263</a>, + <a href="#p265">265</a>, <a href="#p267">267</a>, + </p> + <p> + Cowper-Temple Clause, <a href="#p188">188</a> + </p> + <p> + Crayfish, <a href="#p158">158</a>, <a + href="#p173">173</a>, <a href="#p277">277</a> + </p> + <p> + Creation, <a href="#p139">139</a>, <a + href="#p246">246</a>, <a href="#p252">252</a> + </p> + <p> + Creator, the, <a href="#p250">250</a> + </p> + <p> + Credibility of authority, <a href="#p232">232</a> + </p> + <p> + Criticism, Biblical, <a href="#p194">194</a> + </p> + <p> + Criticism of life, <a href="#p185">185</a> + </p> + <p> + Croonian lectures, <a href="#p65">65</a>, <a + href="#p129">129</a> + </p> + <p> + Ctenophora, <a href="#p42">42</a> + </p> + <p> + Culture and science, <a href="#p185">185</a>, <a + href="#p186">186</a> + </p> + <p> + Curriculum of medical education, <a href="#p184">184</a> + </p> + <p> + Cuttle-fish, <a href="#p58">58</a> + </p> + <p> + Cuvier, <a href="#p6">6</a>, <a href="#p38">38</a>, <a + href="#p115">115</a>, <a href="#p132">132</a>, <a + href="#p133">133</a>, <a href="#p136">136</a>, <a + href="#p209">209</a>, <a href="#p211">211</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InD" id="InD" href="#INDEX">D</a> + </h4> + <p> + Darwin, Charles, <a href="#p27">27</a>-<a + href="#p29">29</a>, <a href="#p60">60</a>, <a + href="#p61">61</a>, <a href="#p68">68</a>, chapters <a + href="#CHAPTER_VIII">viii</a>. and <a + href="#CHAPTER_IX">ix</a>., <a href="#p138">138</a>, <a + href="#p147">147</a>, <a href="#p166">166</a>, <a + href="#p229">229</a>, <a href="#p242">242</a> + </p> + <p> + Darwin medal, <a href="#p108">108</a> + </p> + <p> + Darwin, voyage of, <a href="#p27">27</a>, <a + href="#p28">28</a> + </p> + <p> + Darwin, Erasmus, <a href="#p90">90</a> + </p> + <p> + Darwinism, <a href="#p103">103</a>, <a + href="#p104">104</a>, <a href="#p106">106</a>, <a + href="#p123">123</a> + </p> + <p> + Darwinism, Huxley's late and early opinions on, <a + href="#p106">106</a>-<a href="#p109">109</a> + </p> + <p> + Darwinism and Lamarckism, <a href="#p94">94</a> + </p> + <p> + "Days" of creation, <a href="#p251">251</a>, <a + href="#p252">252</a> + </p> + <p> + De la Beche, Sir Henry, <a href="#p63">63</a>, <a + href="#p64">64</a> + </p> + <p> + Deluge, the, <a href="#p235">235</a> + </p> + <p> + Descartes, <a href="#p219">219</a>, <a + href="#p240">240</a>, <a href="#p243">243</a> + </p> + <p> + Design, argument from, <a href="#p230">230</a> + </p> + <p> + Despotism and the Bible, <a href="#p245">245</a> + </p> + <p> + Devonian fishes, <a href="#p68">68</a> + </p> + <p> + Deuteronomy, <a href="#p245">245</a> + </p> + <p> + Dinosaurs and the ancestry of birds, <a + href="#p69">69</a> + </p> + <p> + Diprotodonts, <a href="#p142">142</a> + </p> + <p> + Dissection in laboratories, <a href="#p181">181</a> + </p> + <p> + Divine will and science, <a href="#p233">233</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Doctrine of the Deluge</i>, <a href="#p235">235</a> + </p> + <p> + Dogma and literature in the Bible, <a + href="#p254">254</a> + </p> + <p> + Doliolum, <a href="#p56">56</a> + </p> + <p> + Domestic economy, <a href="#p190">190</a> + </p> + <p> + Doubt, duty of, <a href="#p232">232</a>, <a + href="#p239">239</a>, <a href="#p269">269</a> + </p> + <p> + Drawing for children, <a href="#p193">193</a> + </p> + <p> + Dredging, <a href="#p22">22</a> + </p> + <p> + Drill for children, <a href="#p189">189</a> + </p> + <p> + Durckheim, Strauss, <a href="#p173">173</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InE" id="InE" href="#INDEX">E</a> + </h4> + <p> + Earth, age of, <a href="#p84">84</a>, <a + href="#p85">85</a> + </p> + <p> + Eastbourne, <a href="#p277">277</a> + </p> + <p> + Ecclesiasticism, <a href="#p235">235</a>, <a + href="#p239">239</a> + </p> + <p> + Echidna, <a href="#p156">156</a> + </p> + <p> + Economy, domestic, <a href="#p190">190</a> + </p> + <p> + Edinburgh, <a href="#p174">174</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Edinburgh Review</i>, <a href="#p115">115</a>, <a + href="#p116">116</a> + </p> + <p> + Education, classical, <a href="#p185">185</a>, <a + href="#p210">210</a> + </p> + <p> + Education of children, <a href="#p170">170</a> + </p> + <p> + Education, elementary, <a href="#p187">187</a>, <a + href="#p188">188</a> + </p> + <p> + Education, general, <a href="#p184">184</a> + </p> + <p> + Education, liberal, <a href="#p169">169</a>, <a + href="#p186">186</a>, <a href="#p210">210</a> + </p> + <p> + Education, medical, <a href="#p181">181</a> + </p> + <p> + Education and religion, <a href="#p188">188</a> + </p> + <p> + Education, scientific, <a href="#p168">168</a> + </p> + <p> + Education of teachers, <a href="#p195">195</a> + </p> + <p> + Education, university, <a href="#p195">195</a> + </p> + <p> + Eggs of Mammalia, <a href="#p156">156</a> + </p> + <p> + Egypt, <a href="#p276">276</a> + </p> + <p> + Ejects, <a href="#p221">221</a> + </p> + <p> + Elementary education, <a href="#p188">188</a> + </p> + <p> + Elementary lessons in physiology, <a href="#p172">172</a> + </p> + <p> + Embryology and zoölogy, <a href="#p177">177</a> + </p> + <p> + Embryology of brain and skull, <a href="#p130">130</a>-<a + href="#p133">133</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p290" + id="p290">[290]</a></span> Embryology of Mammals, <a + href="#p156">156</a>, <a href="#p157">157</a> + </p> + <p> + Embryology of man, <a href="#p159">159</a> + </p> + <p> + Embryos, marine, <a href="#p176">176</a> + </p> + <p> + Embryos of vertebrates, <a href="#p157">157</a> + </p> + <p> + Endostyle of Ascidians, <a href="#p56">56</a> + </p> + <p> + England in eighteenth century, <a href="#p239">239</a> + </p> + <p> + English Bible, <a href="#p245">245</a> + </p> + <p> + English men of letters, <a href="#p218">218</a> + </p> + <p> + English philosophers, <a href="#p218">218</a> + </p> + <p> + Eohippus, <a href="#p78">78</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Erdkunde</i>, <a href="#p170">170</a>, <a + href="#p171">171</a> + </p> + <p> + Error, <a href="#p243">243</a> + </p> + <p> + Established church and Education, <a href="#p189">189</a> + </p> + <p> + Ether, <a href="#p219">219</a> + </p> + <p> + Ethics and evolution, <a href="#p263">263</a> + </p> + <p> + Ethical process, <a href="#p265">265</a> + </p> + <p> + Eutheria, <a href="#p142">142</a> + </p> + <p> + Evidence, limitations of, <a href="#p231">231</a> + </p> + <p> + Evidence for miraculous, <a href="#p258">258</a> + </p> + <p> + Evil, <a href="#p268">268</a>, <a href="#p269">269</a>, + <a href="#p271">271</a> + </p> + <p> + Evolution, <a href="#p60">60</a>, <a href="#p62">62</a>, + <a href="#p63">63</a>, <a href="#p108">108</a>, <a + href="#p110">110</a>, <a href="#p122">122</a>, <a + href="#p168">168</a>, <a href="#p248">248</a> + </p> + <p> + Evolution and Christianity, <a href="#p122">122</a> + </p> + <p> + Evolution of Cosmos, <a href="#p250">250</a>-<a + href="#p253">253</a> + </p> + <p> + Evolution not an explanation of Cosmos, <a + href="#p229">229</a> + </p> + <p> + Evolution and Darwinism, <a href="#p94">94</a> + </p> + <p> + Evolution before Darwin, <a href="#p91">91</a>, <a + href="#p93">93</a>, <a href="#p100">100</a> + </p> + <p> + Evolution, Darwin's contribution to, <a + href="#p93">93</a>, <a href="#p104">104</a> + </p> + <p> + Evolution and ethics, <a href="#p263">263</a> + </p> + <p> + Evolution of horse, <a href="#p73">73</a> + </p> + <p> + Evolution and natural selection, <a + href="#p124">124</a>-<a href="#p127">127</a> + </p> + <p> + Evolution and pain, <a href="#p268">268</a> + </p> + <p> + Evolution, philosophy of, <a href="#p272">272</a> + </p> + <p> + Evolution and palæontology, <a href="#p86">86</a>, + <a href="#p87">87</a> + </p> + <p> + Evolution and Theism, <a href="#p244">244</a> + </p> + <p> + Evolutionist, <a href="#p281">281</a> + </p> + <p> + Exposition, Huxley's method of, <a href="#p208">208</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InF" id="InF" href="#INDEX">F</a> + </h4> + <p> + Faith, agnostic, <a href="#p243">243</a> + </p> + <p> + Falkenstein, <a href="#p153">153</a> + </p> + <p> + Fayrer, Sir Joseph, <a href="#p10">10</a>, <a + href="#p11">11</a> + </p> + <p> + Feet of anthropoids, <a href="#p164">164</a> + </p> + <p> + Fertility of artificial breeds, <a href="#p127">127</a> + </p> + <p> + Fiddle, <a href="#p278">278</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Fisgard</i>, H.M.S., <a href="#p46">46</a> + </p> + <p> + Fish, fossil, <a href="#p68">68</a> + </p> + <p> + Fisheries, Inspector of, <a href="#p277">277</a> + </p> + <p> + Flower, Sir William, <a href="#p146">146</a> + </p> + <p> + Forbes, Edward, <a href="#p47">47</a>, <a + href="#p63">63</a> + </p> + <p> + Foreign languages, <a href="#p196">196</a>, <a + href="#p213">213</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Forms of Animal Life</i>, <a href="#p178">178</a> + </p> + <p> + Fossils, <a href="#p67">67</a>, <a href="#p68">68</a> + </p> + <p> + Fossils, chronological arrangement of, <a + href="#p87">87</a> + </p> + <p> + Fossils and evolution, <a href="#p87">87</a> + </p> + <p> + Foundation membranes of Medusæ, <a + href="#p40">40</a>-<a href="#p43">43</a> + </p> + <p> + Foster, Sir Michael, <a href="#p47">47</a>, <a + href="#p64">64</a>, <a href="#p180">180</a>, <a + href="#p283">283</a> + </p> + <p> + Freedom of the Press, <a href="#p240">240</a> + </p> + <p> + Freedom of thought, <a href="#p231">231</a>, <a + href="#p233">233</a> + </p> + <p> + French, <a href="#p213">213</a> + </p> + <p> + French Revolution, <a href="#p111">111</a> + </p> + <p> + French translations, <a href="#p216">216</a> + </p> + <p> + Fullerian Professor, <a href="#p64">64</a> + </p> + <p> + Function, changes in, <a href="#p230">230</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InG" id="InG" href="#INDEX">G</a> + </h4> + <p> + Galileo, <a href="#p247">247</a> + </p> + <p> + Gallinaceous birds, <a href="#p139">139</a> + </p> + <p> + Gambit, <a href="#p169">169</a> + </p> + <p> + Game of life, <a href="#p170">170</a> + </p> + <p> + Garden, as an instance of interference with cosmic + process, <a href="#p267">267</a> + </p> + <p> + Garnier, <a href="#p151">151</a> + </p> + <p> + Gasteropoda, <a href="#p58">58</a> + </p> + <p> + Gegenbauer, <a href="#p59">59</a> + </p> + <p> + Genesis, <a href="#p234">234</a>, <a + href="#p248">248</a>, <a href="#p250">250</a>, <a + href="#p251">251</a>, <a href="#p252">252</a> + </p> + <p> + Geographical distribution, <a href="#p137">137</a>-<a + href="#p141">141</a> + </p> + <p> + Geological addresses, <a href="#p79">79</a>, <a + href="#p80">80</a> + </p> + <p> + Geological club, <a href="#p234">234</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p291" + id="p291">[291]</a></span> Geological contemporaneity, <a + href="#p79">79</a> + </p> + <p> + Geological history, <a href="#p249">249</a> + </p> + <p> + Geological Society of London, <a href="#p70">70</a>, <a + href="#p78">78</a>, <a href="#p80">80</a>, <a + href="#p86">86</a> + </p> + <p> + Geological time, <a href="#p84">84</a>, <a + href="#p85">85</a> + </p> + <p> + Geology and the Bible, <a href="#p80">80</a> + </p> + <p> + Geology and catastrophism, <a href="#p80">80</a>, <a + href="#p81">81</a> + </p> + <p> + Geology compared with biology, <a href="#p82">82</a> + </p> + <p> + Geology, history of, <a href="#p234">234</a> + </p> + <p> + German, <a href="#p213">213</a> + </p> + <p> + Gibbons, <a href="#p149">149</a> + </p> + <p> + Girls, education of, <a href="#p190">190</a> + </p> + <p> + Glacial acetic acid, <a href="#p176">176</a> + </p> + <p> + Gladstone, W.E., <a href="#p248">248</a>, <a + href="#p250">250</a>, <a href="#p251">251</a>, <a + href="#p263">263</a> + </p> + <p> + Goethe, <a href="#p99">99</a>, <a href="#p130">130</a>, + <a href="#p132">132</a> + </p> + <p> + Goethe, quotations from, <a href="#p130">130</a> + </p> + <p> + Gold, transmutation of, <a href="#p256">256</a> + </p> + <p> + Goodness, <a href="#p269">269</a>, <a + href="#p273">273</a> + </p> + <p> + Gorilla, <a href="#p87">87</a>, <a href="#p149">149</a>, + <a href="#p161">161</a> + </p> + <p> + Gospels, <a href="#p254">254</a> + </p> + <p> + Gosse, P.H., <a href="#p118">118</a> + </p> + <p> + Government, <a href="#p239">239</a> + </p> + <p> + Greek, <a href="#p213">213</a>;<br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">in education, <a + href="#p186">186</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Greek ethics, <a href="#p269">269</a> + </p> + <p> + Groos, Prof., <a href="#p154">154</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InH" id="InH" href="#INDEX">H</a> + </h4> + <p> + Haeckel, Prof. E., <a href="#p91">91</a>, <a + href="#p136">136</a> + </p> + <p> + Hands of Anthropoids, <a href="#p164">164</a> + </p> + <p> + Haslar Hospital, <a href="#p11">11</a>, <a + href="#p12">12</a> + </p> + <p> + Heathorn, Miss H.A., <a href="#p19">19</a> + </p> + <p> + Hebrew Cosmogony, <a href="#p246">246</a> + </p> + <p> + Hebrew Morality, <a href="#p259">259</a> + </p> + <p> + Hebrew Scriptures, <a href="#p250">250</a> + </p> + <p> + Heine, <a href="#p261">261</a> + </p> + <p> + Henle and Meissner, reports of, <a href="#p182">182</a> + </p> + <p> + Hercules, <a href="#p246">246</a> + </p> + <p> + Hertwig, <a href="#p134">134</a> + </p> + <p> + Hindustan, <a href="#p269">269</a> + </p> + <p> + Hipparion, <a href="#p74">74</a>-<a href="#p76">76</a> + </p> + <p> + Hippocampus minor, <a href="#p162">162</a>, <a + href="#p163">163</a> + </p> + <p> + Histological methods, <a href="#p177">177</a> + </p> + <p> + Hobbes, <a href="#p218">218</a> + </p> + <p> + Home office, <a href="#p277">277</a> + </p> + <p> + Homo, classification of, <a href="#p160">160</a> + </p> + <p> + Homology in organs of Medusæ, <a + href="#p123">123</a> + </p> + <p> + Homotaxis in geology, <a href="#p80">80</a> + </p> + <p> + Hooker, Sir Joseph Dalton, <a href="#p47">47</a>, <a + href="#p98">98</a>, <a href="#p101">101</a> + </p> + <p> + Horse, <a href="#p68">68</a>-<a href="#p78">78</a>, <a + href="#p174">174</a> + </p> + <p> + Hospitals in London, <a href="#p181">181</a> + </p> + <p> + Howes, Professor G.B., <a href="#p173">173</a>, <a + href="#p174">174</a>, <a href="#p207">207</a>, <a + href="#p277">277</a> + </p> + <p> + Humboldt, <a href="#p92">92</a> + </p> + <p> + Hume, David, <a href="#p217">217</a>, <a + href="#p218">218</a>, <a href="#p223">223</a>, <a + href="#p240">240</a>, <a href="#p255">255</a>, <a + href="#p256">256</a> + </p> + <p> + Hume, David, quotations from, <a href="#p223">223</a>, <a + href="#p241">241</a>, <a href="#p256">256</a> + </p> + <p> + Humour, <a href="#p209">209</a> + </p> + <p> + Hunterian Professor, <a href="#p129">129</a> + </p> + <p> + Hutton, James, <a href="#p81">81</a>, <a + href="#p249">249</a> + </p> + <p> + Huxley, birth, <a href="#p2">2</a>;<br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">parents, <a + href="#p2">2</a>, <a href="#p3">3</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">school, <a + href="#p4">4</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">apprenticed to medicine, + <a href="#p5">5</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">enters Charing Cross + Hospital, <a href="#p8">8</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">first original paper, <a + href="#p9">9</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">graduates at London + University, <a href="#p10">10</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">becomes M.R.C.S., <a + href="#p11">11</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed to Haslar + Hospital, <a href="#p11">11</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed to + <i>Rattlesnake</i>, <a href="#p12">12</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">meets his future wife at + Sydney, <a href="#p19">19</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">first paper to Royal + Society, <a href="#p33">33</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Royal medals, <a + href="#p34">34</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">becomes F.R.S., <a + href="#p47">47</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">leaves naval service, <a + href="#p48">48</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed to Geological + Survey and School of Mines, <a + href="#p63">63</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">becomes Fullerian + Professor, <a href="#p64">64</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">marriage, <a + href="#p64">64</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">examiner, <a + href="#p65">65</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Croonian lecturer, <a + href="#p66">66</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">visits America, <a + href="#p70">70</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">becomes Secretary and + President of Geological Society, <a + href="#p78">78</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">accepts Darwinism, <a + href="#p101">101</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">receives Darwin medal, + <a href="#p108">108</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">becomes Hunterian + Professor, <a href="#p129">129</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">starts laboratory + courses at South Kensington, <a + href="#p180">180</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">becomes candidate for + London School Board, <a + href="#p189">189</a>;</span><br /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p292" + id="p292">[292]</a></span> <span + style="margin-left: 1em;">serves on Royal Commissions, <a + href="#p196">196</a>, <a + href="#p204">204</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">becomes member of Her + Majesty's Privy Council, <a + href="#p205">205</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">marriage, <a + href="#p274">274</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">ill-health and + retirement, <a href="#p276">276</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">death, <a + href="#p277">277</a>;</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">personal appearance, <a + href="#p277">277</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Huxley's layer in root-sheath of hairs, <a + href="#p10">10</a> + </p> + <p> + Hydra, <a href="#p50">50</a> + </p> + <p> + Hypothesis as to History of Nature, <a + href="#p248">248</a>, <a href="#p249">249</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InI" id="InI" href="#INDEX">I</a> + </h4> + <p> + Ichthyopsida, <a href="#p143">143</a> + </p> + <p> + Idealism, <a href="#p220">220</a>, <a + href="#p224">224</a> + </p> + <p> + Ideals and culture, <a href="#p186">186</a> + </p> + <p> + Indian speculation, <a href="#p269">269</a> + </p> + <p> + Individuality of animals, <a href="#p49">49</a>, <a + href="#p50">50</a>, <a href="#p51">51</a>, <a + href="#p52">52</a>, <a href="#p55">55</a> + </p> + <p> + Infallibility, <a href="#p123">123</a>, <a + href="#p236">236</a> + </p> + <p> + Inspiration, <a href="#p246">246</a>, <a + href="#p247">247</a>, <a href="#p253">253</a>, <a + href="#p254">254</a> + </p> + <p> + Instincts, <a href="#p154">154</a> + </p> + <p> + Intellect, <a href="#p243">243</a> + </p> + <p> + Intermediate and linear types, <a href="#p87">87</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>International Scientific Series</i>, <a + href="#p173">173</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Invertebrata, Manual of</i>, <a href="#p175">175</a> + </p> + <p> + Ionia, <a href="#p169">169</a> + </p> + <p> + Israel, <a href="#p245">245</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InJ" id="InJ" href="#INDEX">J</a> + </h4> + <p> + Jermyn Street lectures to working men, <a + href="#p207">207</a> + </p> + <p> + Johnson, Samuel, <a href="#p219">219</a> + </p> + <p> + Judaism and science, <a href="#p246">246</a> + </p> + <p> + Justice, <a href="#p265">265</a>, <a + href="#p269">269</a>, <a href="#p271">271</a>, <a + href="#p273">273</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InK" id="InK" href="#INDEX">K</a> + </h4> + <p> + Kant, <a href="#p84">84</a>, <a href="#p242">242</a>, <a + href="#p262">262</a> + </p> + <p> + Karma, <a href="#p269">269</a> + </p> + <p> + Kelvin, Lord, <a href="#p84">84</a> + </p> + <p> + Knowledge and authority, <a href="#p104">104</a>, <a + href="#p105">105</a> + </p> + <p> + Kölliker, <a href="#p49">49</a>, <a + href="#p59">59</a> + </p> + <p> + Kowalevsky, <a href="#p57">57</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InL" id="InL" href="#INDEX">L</a> + </h4> + <p> + Laboratory work, <a href="#p177">177</a>, <a + href="#p179">179</a>, <a href="#p180">180</a> + </p> + <p> + Labyrinthodonts, <a href="#p69">69</a> + </p> + <p> + Lamarck, <a href="#p90">90</a>, <a href="#p91">91</a>, <a + href="#p97">97</a> + </p> + <p> + Lamarckism and Darwinism, <a href="#p94">94</a>, <a + href="#p97">97</a> + </p> + <p> + Languages, modern, <a href="#p6">6</a>, <a + href="#p7">7</a> + </p> + <p> + Lankester, Professor E. Ray, <a href="#p57">57</a>, <a + href="#p60">60</a>, <a href="#p94">94</a>, <a + href="#p180">180</a>, <a href="#p277">277</a>, <a + href="#p282">282</a> + </p> + <p> + Larvæ, <a href="#p158">158</a> + </p> + <p> + Latin, <a href="#p186">186</a>, <a href="#p213">213</a> + </p> + <p> + Law-courts and evidence, <a href="#p231">231</a> + </p> + <p> + Lawrence, Sir W., <a href="#p144">144</a> + </p> + <p> + Lectures at the School of Mines, <a href="#p180">180</a> + </p> + <p> + Lemurs, <a href="#p163">163</a> + </p> + <p> + Leutemann, <a href="#p153">153</a> + </p> + <p> + Leverrier, <a href="#p209">209</a> + </p> + <p> + Leviticus, <a href="#p245">245</a> + </p> + <p> + Liberal education, <a href="#p228">228</a> + </p> + <p> + Life, origin of, <a href="#p227">227</a>, <a + href="#p228">228</a> + </p> + <p> + Limbs of Man and Gorilla, <a href="#p162">162</a> + </p> + <p> + Linear and intermediate types, <a href="#p87">87</a> + </p> + <p> + Linnæan Society of London, <a href="#p33">33</a>, + <a href="#p49">49</a>, <a href="#p115">115</a>, <a + href="#p138">138</a>, <a href="#p145">145</a> + </p> + <p> + Linnæus, <a href="#p38">38</a>, <a + href="#p234">234</a> + </p> + <p> + Literary culture, <a href="#p186">186</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Literary Gazette</i>, <a href="#p48">48</a> + </p> + <p> + Literary style, <a href="#p211">211</a>, <a + href="#p212">212</a>, <a href="#p213">213</a>, <a + href="#p214">214</a>, <a href="#p215">215</a> + </p> + <p> + Literature, the Bible as, <a href="#p254">254</a> + </p> + <p> + Liverpool, <a href="#p169">169</a> + </p> + <p> + Living bodies, nature of, <a href="#p228">228</a> + </p> + <p> + Locke, <a href="#p224">224</a> + </p> + <p> + Lockyer, Sir Norman, <a href="#p211">211</a> + </p> + <p> + London, medical education in, <a href="#p181">181</a> + </p> + <p> + London, school board of, <a href="#p189">189</a> + </p> + <p> + Loyola, <a href="#p262">262</a> + </p> + <p> + Loxomma, <a href="#p69">69</a> + </p> + <p> + Lucas, Mr., <a href="#p113">113</a> + </p> + <p> + Luther, <a href="#p262">262</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p293" + id="p293">[293]</a></span> Lyell, Sir Charles, <a + href="#p81">81</a>, <a href="#p91">91</a>, <a + href="#p98">98</a>, <a href="#p144">144</a>, <a + href="#p234">234</a>, <a href="#p249">249</a> + </p> + <p> + Lyonet, <a href="#p173">173</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InM" id="InM" href="#INDEX">M</a> + </h4> + <p> + MacGillivray, John, <a href="#p16">16</a>, <a + href="#p17">17</a>, <a href="#p282">282</a> + </p> + <p> + MacGillivray, William, <a href="#p16">16</a>, <a + href="#p100">100</a> + </p> + <p> + Macmillan and Co., <a href="#p171">171</a> + </p> + <p> + Magna Charta, the Bible as, <a href="#p245">245</a> + </p> + <p> + Mammalia, classification of, <a href="#p142">142</a> + </p> + <p> + Man and the Apes, <a href="#p155">155</a> + </p> + <p> + Man, classification of, <a href="#p146">146</a> + </p> + <p> + Man and Gorilla, <a href="#p161">161</a> + </p> + <p> + Man, origin of, <a href="#p144">144</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Man and the Apes</i>, <a href="#p165">165</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Man's Place in Nature</i>, <a href="#p147">147</a>, <a + href="#p148">148</a> + </p> + <p> + Manes and Manicheism, <a href="#p265">265</a> + </p> + <p> + Mantle of molluscs, <a href="#p58">58</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Manual of the Anatomy of Invertebrated Animals</i>, <a + href="#p175">175</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Manual of the Anatomy of Vertebrated Animals</i>, <a + href="#p175">175</a> + </p> + <p> + Marine embryos, <a href="#p176">176</a> + </p> + <p> + Marmosets, <a href="#p163">163</a> + </p> + <p> + Marriage, <a href="#p19">19</a>, <a href="#p274">274</a> + </p> + <p> + Marsh, Professor, <a href="#p70">70</a>-<a + href="#p78">78</a> + </p> + <p> + Marsupials, <a href="#p141">141</a> + </p> + <p> + Mason, Sir Josiah, <a href="#p185">185</a> + </p> + <p> + Materialism, <a href="#p217">217</a>, <a + href="#p220">220</a>, <a href="#p222">222</a>, <a + href="#p225">225</a>, <a href="#p227">227</a> + </p> + <p> + Matter and ideas, <a href="#p224">224</a> + </p> + <p> + Matter, nature of, <a href="#p219">219</a>-<a + href="#p221">221</a> + </p> + <p> + Matthew, Patrick, <a href="#p100">100</a> + </p> + <p> + Mauritius, <a href="#p18">18</a> + </p> + <p> + Medical education, <a href="#p167">167</a>, <a + href="#p181">181</a>, <a href="#p184">184</a> + </p> + <p> + Medical students, <a href="#p181">181</a>, <a + href="#p279">279</a> + </p> + <p> + Medusæ, <a href="#p33">33</a>, <a + href="#p39">39</a>, <a href="#p40">40</a>, <a + href="#p41">41</a>, <a href="#p42">42</a>, <a + href="#p96">96</a>, <a href="#p123">123</a> + </p> + <p> + Membrane bones, <a href="#p134">134</a> + </p> + <p> + Mental capacity of apes, <a href="#p152">152</a> + </p> + <p> + Mercy, <a href="#p265">265</a> + </p> + <p> + Mertens, <a href="#p56">56</a> + </p> + <p> + Mesohippus, <a href="#p77">77</a> + </p> + <p> + Metals, transmutation of, <a href="#p257">257</a> + </p> + <p> + Metaphysics, <a href="#p241">241</a> + </p> + <p> + Metaphysics and science, <a href="#p217">217</a> + </p> + <p> + Metatheria, <a href="#p142">142</a> + </p> + <p> + Methods in histology, <a href="#p177">177</a> + </p> + <p> + Microscope, <a href="#p32">32</a>, <a + href="#p176">176</a> + </p> + <p> + Microtomes, <a href="#p177">177</a> + </p> + <p> + Milton, <a href="#p213">213</a> + </p> + <p> + Mind and body, <a href="#p220">220</a> + </p> + <p> + Mind, growth of, <a href="#p210">210</a> + </p> + <p> + Miohippus, <a href="#p76">76</a> + </p> + <p> + Miracles, <a href="#p246">246</a>, <a + href="#p254">254</a>-<a href="#p259">259</a> + </p> + <p> + Missionary spirit, <a href="#p262">262</a> + </p> + <p> + Mitral valve, <a href="#p175">175</a> + </p> + <p> + Mivart, Dr. St. George, <a href="#p246">246</a>-<a + href="#p248">248</a> + </p> + <p> + Modern spirit, <a href="#p241">241</a> + </p> + <p> + Modification of species, <a href="#p92">92</a> + </p> + <p> + Mollusca, <a href="#p56">56</a>, <a href="#p58">58</a>, + <a href="#p59">59</a>, <a href="#p60">60</a>, <a + href="#p61">61</a>, <a href="#p96">96</a> + </p> + <p> + Morality and religion, <a href="#p237">237</a>, <a + href="#p238">238</a> + </p> + <p> + Morality of Stoics, <a href="#p238">238</a> + </p> + <p> + Morley, John, <a href="#p217">217</a>, <a + href="#p260">260</a> + </p> + <p> + Mosaic Deluge, <a href="#p235">235</a> + </p> + <p> + Moseley, Professor H.N., <a href="#p15">15</a> + </p> + <p> + Mucous layer of germ, <a href="#p43">43</a> + </p> + <p> + Müller, Johannes, <a href="#p6">6</a>, <a + href="#p37">37</a>, <a href="#p56">56</a> + </p> + <p> + Music, <a href="#p278">278</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InN" id="InN" href="#INDEX">N</a> + </h4> + <p> + Naples, International Zoölogical Station at, <a + href="#p176">176</a> + </p> + <p> + Naturalism, <a href="#p226">226</a> + </p> + <p> + Natural selection, <a href="#p94">94</a>, <a + href="#p99">99</a>, <a href="#p100">100</a>, <a + href="#p103">103</a>, <a href="#p105">105</a>, <a + href="#p124">124</a>-<a href="#p127">127</a> + </p> + <p> + Nature, continuity of, <a href="#p255">255</a> + </p> + <p> + Nature, history of, <a href="#p248">248</a> + </p> + <p> + Nature, state of, <a href="#p266">266</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Nature</i>, <a href="#p211">211</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Naval Architecture and Timber</i>, <a + href="#p100">100</a> + </p> + <p> + Nebular hypothesis, <a href="#p230">230</a> + </p> + <p> + Newman, Cardinal, <a href="#p240">240</a> + </p> + <p> + New Testament, <a href="#p253">253</a>, <a + href="#p254">254</a> + </p> + <p> + Nirvana, <a href="#p272">272</a> + </p> + <p> + Noah's Deluge, <a href="#p235">235</a> + </p> + <p> + Notochord, <a href="#p134">134</a> + </p> + <p> + Notogœa, <a href="#p140">140</a> + </p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p294" + id="p294">[294]</a></span> + <h4> + <a name="InO" id="InO" href="#INDEX">O</a> + </h4> + <p> + Oken, <a href="#p130">130</a>, <a href="#p132">132</a>, + <a href="#p133">133</a> + </p> + <p> + Old Testament, <a href="#p90">90</a> + </p> + <p> + Omar, <a href="#p272">272</a> + </p> + <p> + Optimism, <a href="#p270">270</a> + </p> + <p> + Orangs, <a href="#p149">149</a> + </p> + <p> + Order of nature, <a href="#p255">255</a>, <a + href="#p258">258</a> + </p> + <p> + Organic <i>versus</i> Inorganic, <a href="#p229">229</a> + </p> + <p> + Organon, <a href="#p242">242</a> + </p> + <p> + Origin of species, <a href="#p89">89</a>, <a + href="#p95">95</a>, <a href="#p101">101</a>, <a + href="#p102">102</a>, <a href="#p110">110</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Origin of Species</i>, reviews of, <a + href="#p113">113</a>, <a href="#p114">114</a>, <a + href="#p115">115</a>, <a href="#p146">146</a> + </p> + <p> + Ormuzd, <a href="#p265">265</a> + </p> + <p> + Ornithology, <a href="#p136">136</a> + </p> + <p> + Ornithorhynchus, <a href="#p156">156</a> + </p> + <p> + Ornithoscelida, <a href="#p69">69</a> + </p> + <p> + Orohippus, <a href="#p77">77</a> + </p> + <p> + Orthodoxy, <a href="#p246">246</a> + </p> + <p> + Owen, Sir Richard, <a href="#p65">65</a>, <a + href="#p66">66</a>, <a href="#p115">115</a>, <a + href="#p118">118</a>-<a href="#p121">121</a>, <a + href="#p131">131</a>, <a href="#p133">133</a>, <a + href="#p136">136</a>, <a href="#p145">145</a>, <a + href="#p146">146</a>, <a href="#p162">162</a> + </p> + <p> + Oxford, <a href="#p120">120</a>, <a href="#p125">125</a>, + <a href="#p263">263</a>, <a href="#p264">264</a> + </p> + <p> + Oxford, Bishop of, <i>see</i> Wilberforce + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InP" id="InP" href="#INDEX">P</a> + </h4> + <p> + Pain, <a href="#p268">268</a>, <a href="#p270">270</a>, + <a href="#p271">271</a> + </p> + <p> + Palæontology and evolution, <a href="#p68">68</a>, + <a href="#p86">86</a> + </p> + <p> + Palæotherium, <a href="#p74">74</a> + </p> + <p> + Paley, <a href="#p230">230</a> + </p> + <p> + Pascal, <a href="#p122">122</a> + </p> + <p> + Payment of teachers by results, <a href="#p195">195</a> + </p> + <p> + Pelagic life, <a href="#p30">30</a>, <a + href="#p31">31</a> + </p> + <p> + Pelvis of man and gorilla, <a href="#p161">161</a> + </p> + <p> + Pentateuch, <a href="#p234">234</a>, <a + href="#p244">244</a> + </p> + <p> + Pessimism, <a href="#p270">270</a> + </p> + <p> + Phillips, Professor, <a href="#p69">69</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Philosophic Zoölogique</i>, <a + href="#p97">97</a>, <a href="#p98">98</a> + </p> + <p> + Philosophy, Huxley's advice on, <a href="#p218">218</a> + </p> + <p> + Phosphorescence, <a href="#p55">55</a> + </p> + <p> + Physical education, <a href="#p189">189</a> + </p> + <p> + Physical geography, <a href="#p170">170</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Physics</i> of Aristotle, <a href="#p100">100</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Physiography</i>, <a href="#p171">171</a> + </p> + <p> + Physiology, <a href="#p172">172</a> + </p> + <p> + Pigafetta, <a href="#p149">149</a> + </p> + <p> + Pigmies, <a href="#p149">149</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Pioneers of Evolution</i>, <a href="#p127">127</a> + </p> + <p> + Plankton, <a href="#p30">30</a>, <a href="#p31">31</a> + </p> + <p> + Plato's Archetypes, <a href="#p59">59</a> + </p> + <p> + Plato's philosophy, <a href="#p224">224</a> + </p> + <p> + Pliohippus, <a href="#p76">76</a> + </p> + <p> + "Portuguese man-of-war," <a href="#p41">41</a>, <a + href="#p50">50</a> + </p> + <p> + Possibilities in logic, <a href="#p258">258</a> + </p> + <p> + Poulton, Professor E.B., <a href="#p109">109</a>, <a + href="#p127">127</a> + </p> + <p> + Prayer, efficacy of, <a href="#p258">258</a> + </p> + <p> + Priestley, Joseph, <a href="#p239">239</a> + </p> + <p> + Primers of science, <a href="#p171">171</a> + </p> + <p> + Primitive groove, <a href="#p135">135</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Principles of Geology</i>, <a href="#p234">234</a> + </p> + <p> + Professional education, <a href="#p183">183</a> + </p> + <p> + Protestantism, <a href="#p123">123</a>, <a + href="#p233">233</a>, <a href="#p235">235</a>, <a + href="#p236">236</a> + </p> + <p> + Protestant churches and knowledge, <a + href="#p247">247</a> + </p> + <p> + Protestants and the Bible, <a href="#p247">247</a> + </p> + <p> + Protohippus, <a href="#p74">74</a> + </p> + <p> + Protoplasm, <a href="#p52">52</a>, <a + href="#p228">228</a> + </p> + <p> + Prototheria, <a href="#p142">142</a> + </p> + <p> + Psychology, <a href="#p227">227</a> + </p> + <p> + Pterodactyls, <a href="#p69">69</a> + </p> + <p> + Pteropods, <a href="#p56">56</a> + </p> + <p> + Pyrosoma, <a href="#p55">55</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InQ" id="InQ" href="#INDEX">Q</a> + </h4> + <p> + <i>Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science</i>, <a + href="#p49">49</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Quarterly Review</i>, <a href="#p115">115</a>, <a + href="#p116">116</a>, <a href="#p117">117</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InR" id="InR" href="#INDEX">R</a> + </h4> + <p> + Rabbinical maxim of inspiration, <a href="#p247">247</a> + </p> + <p> + Radiata of Cuvier, <a href="#p38">38</a> + </p> + <p> + Rathke, <a href="#p65">65</a> + </p> + <p> + Ratites, <a href="#p137">137</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Rattlesnake</i>, H.M.S., <a href="#p13">13</a>, <a + href="#p20">20</a>, <a href="#p21">21</a>, <a + href="#p46">46</a>, <a href="#p282">282</a> + </p> + <p> + Reade lecture, <a href="#p146">146</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p295" + id="p295">[295]</a></span> Reason, age of, <a + href="#p239">239</a> + </p> + <p> + Reformation, New, <a href="#p284">284</a> + </p> + <p> + Reformation, Protestant, <a href="#p122">122</a>, <a + href="#p233">233</a> + </p> + <p> + Religion in education, <a href="#p188">188</a>, <a + href="#p191">191</a> + </p> + <p> + Religion and morality, <a href="#p237">237</a>, <a + href="#p238">238</a> + </p> + <p> + Religion and science, <a href="#p120">120</a>, <a + href="#p259">259</a> + </p> + <p> + Religion, teaching, <a href="#p191">191</a> + </p> + <p> + Results, payment by, <a href="#p195">195</a> + </p> + <p> + Retina and light, <a href="#p219">219</a> + </p> + <p> + Revelation, <a href="#p260">260</a> + </p> + <p> + Revolution, French, <a href="#p111">111</a> + </p> + <p> + Richardson, Sir John, <a href="#p12">12</a> + </p> + <p> + Rights of man, <a href="#p245">245</a> + </p> + <p> + Robertson, Charles, <a href="#p179">179</a> + </p> + <p> + Rolleston, Professor, <a href="#p152">152</a>, <a + href="#p153">153</a>, <a href="#p266">266</a> + </p> + <p> + Romanes, Professor, <a href="#p152">152</a>, <a + href="#p153">153</a>, <a href="#p263">263</a> + </p> + <p> + Romanes lecture, <a href="#p263">263</a> + </p> + <p> + Rome, <a href="#p247">247</a> + </p> + <p> + Roscoe, Professor, <a href="#p171">171</a> + </p> + <p> + Rosse, Earl of, <a href="#p34">34</a> + </p> + <p> + Royal College of Science, <a href="#p176">176</a>, <a + href="#p180">180</a>, <a href="#p204">204</a>, <a + href="#p274">274</a>, <a href="#p277">277</a> + </p> + <p> + Royal College of Surgeons, <a href="#p11">11</a>, <a + href="#p129">129</a>, <a href="#p132">132</a> + </p> + <p> + Royal Commissions, <a href="#p204">204</a>, <a + href="#p274">274</a> + </p> + <p> + Royal Institution, <a href="#p49">49</a>, <a + href="#p52">52</a>, <a href="#p62">62</a>, <a + href="#p64">64</a> + </p> + <p> + Royal Society, <a href="#p33">33</a>, <a + href="#p34">34</a>, <a href="#p47">47</a>, <a + href="#p49">49</a>, <a href="#p53">53</a>, <a + href="#p58">58</a>, <a href="#p108">108</a>, <a + href="#p129">129</a>, <a href="#p276">276</a> + </p> + <p> + Rutherford, Professor, <a href="#p180">180</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InS" id="InS" href="#INDEX">S</a> + </h4> + <p> + Salisbury, Marquis of, <a href="#p125">125</a> + </p> + <p> + "Sally," the chimpanzee, <a href="#p153">153</a> + </p> + <p> + Salps, <a href="#p50">50</a>, <a href="#p53">53</a>, <a + href="#p54">54</a>, <a href="#p55">55</a>, <a + href="#p96">96</a> + </p> + <p> + Salt, Dr., <a href="#p5">5</a> + </p> + <p> + Sauropsida, <a href="#p143">143</a> + </p> + <p> + Saururæ, <a href="#p136">136</a> + </p> + <p> + Savages, <a href="#p23">23</a>, <a href="#p24">24</a>, <a + href="#p165">165</a> + </p> + <p> + Sawyer, Bob, <a href="#p184">184</a> + </p> + <p> + Scepticism, <a href="#p240">240</a> + </p> + <p> + Schematic mollusc, <a href="#p60">60</a> + </p> + <p> + School boards, <a href="#p188">188</a>, <a + href="#p189">189</a> + </p> + <p> + School of Mines, <a href="#p180">180</a> + </p> + <p> + Schwann, <a href="#p52">52</a> + </p> + <p> + Science and Art Department, <a href="#p195">195</a> + </p> + <p> + Science and culture, <a href="#p185">185</a> + </p> + <p> + Science and Judaism, <a href="#p246">246</a> + </p> + <p> + Science and medical education, <a href="#p184">184</a> + </p> + <p> + Science and metaphysics, <a href="#p217">217</a> + </p> + <p> + Science and religion, <a href="#p259">259</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Science and the Christian Tradition</i>, <a + href="#p248">248</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Science and the Hebrew Tradition</i>, <a + href="#p248">248</a> + </p> + <p> + Science primers, <a href="#p171">171</a> + </p> + <p> + Scientific education, <a href="#p168">168</a> + </p> + <p> + Sclater, P.L., <a href="#p138">138</a>, <a + href="#p139">139</a>, <a href="#p142">142</a> + </p> + <p> + Scottish universities, <a href="#p167">167</a> + </p> + <p> + Scriptures, <a href="#p246">246</a> + </p> + <p> + Section-cutting, <a href="#p177">177</a> + </p> + <p> + Secular education, <a href="#p191">191</a>, <a + href="#p194">194</a> + </p> + <p> + Sedgwick, Professor Adam, <a href="#p80">80</a>, <a + href="#p115">115</a> + </p> + <p> + Segmentation of eggs, <a href="#p157">157</a> + </p> + <p> + Segmentation of skull, <a href="#p133">133</a> + </p> + <p> + Selection and education, <a href="#p190">190</a> + </p> + <p> + Selective breeding, <a href="#p103">103</a> + </p> + <p> + Semite, ethics of, <a href="#p269">269</a> + </p> + <p> + Septuagint, <a href="#p251">251</a> + </p> + <p> + Serous layer of germ, <a href="#p43">43</a> + </p> + <p> + Sheldonian theatre, <a href="#p264">264</a> + </p> + <p> + Singing for children, <a href="#p193">193</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Skepsis, thätige</i>, of Goethe, <a + href="#p99">99</a> + </p> + <p> + Skull of vertebrates, <a href="#p65">65</a>, <a + href="#p129">129</a>, <a href="#p130">130</a>, <a + href="#p131">131</a>, <a href="#p132">132</a> + </p> + <p> + Socrates, <a href="#p243">243</a> + </p> + <p> + Southern hemisphere, former land in, <a + href="#p141">141</a> + </p> + <p> + Speaking, public, <a href="#p208">208</a> + </p> + <p> + Species, <a href="#p92">92</a>, <a href="#p98">98</a>, <a + href="#p106">106</a>, <a href="#p107">107</a>, <a + href="#p108">108</a>, <a href="#p125">125</a>, <a + href="#p126">126</a>, <a href="#p127">127</a> + </p> + <p> + Specialists as teachers, <a href="#p182">182</a> + </p> + <p> + Spencer, Herbert, <a href="#p91">91</a>, <a + href="#p94">94</a>, <a href="#p123">123</a> + </p> + <p> + Sponges, <a href="#p42">42</a> + </p> + <p> + Spontaneity of living matter, <a href="#p228">228</a> + </p> + <p> + Stanley, Captain Owen, <a href="#p12">12</a>, <a + href="#p13">13</a> + </p> + <p> + State of nature, <a href="#p266">266</a> + </p> + <p> + Stevenson, R.L., quotation from, <a href="#p174">174</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p296" + id="p296">[296]</a></span> Stewart, Professor Balfour, <a + href="#p171">171</a> + </p> + <p> + Stoic morality, <a href="#p192">192</a>, <a + href="#p238">238</a> + </p> + <p> + Stoics, <a href="#p238">238</a>, <a href="#p269">269</a>, + <a href="#p272">272</a> + </p> + <p> + Struggle for existence, <a href="#p93">93</a>, <a + href="#p94">94</a>, <a href="#p95">95</a>, <a + href="#p104">104</a>, <a href="#p266">266</a>, <a + href="#p267">267</a>, <a href="#p271">271</a> + </p> + <p> + Style, analysis of, <a href="#p211">211</a>, <a + href="#p212">212</a> + </p> + <p> + Suarez, Father, <a href="#p214">214</a> + </p> + <p> + Substance of mind and matter, <a href="#p223">223</a> + </p> + <p> + Supernaturalism, <a href="#p226">226</a> + </p> + <p> + Superstition, <a href="#p242">242</a> + </p> + <p> + Survival of the fittest, <a href="#p93">93</a>, <a + href="#p94">94</a>, <a href="#p104">104</a> + </p> + <p> + Suspensoria of jaws, <a href="#p133">133</a> + </p> + <p> + Switzerland, <a href="#p275">275</a> + </p> + <p> + Sydney, <a href="#p19">19</a>, <a href="#p32">32</a> + </p> + <p> + Synoptic Gospels, <a href="#p254">254</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InT" id="InT" href="#INDEX">T</a> + </h4> + <p> + Tapirs, <a href="#p78">78</a> + </p> + <p> + Teachers, education of, <a href="#p195">195</a> + </p> + <p> + Teeth of anthropoids, <a href="#p149">149</a> + </p> + <p> + Teeth of the horse, <a href="#p73">73</a> + </p> + <p> + Teleology, <a href="#p230">230</a> + </p> + <p> + Temper, <a href="#p278">278</a> + </p> + <p> + Theism and evolution, <a href="#p244">244</a> + </p> + <p> + Theology, <a href="#p259">259</a> + </p> + <p> + Theology in education, <a href="#p191">191</a> + </p> + <p> + Theoretical work in medical education, <a + href="#p184">184</a> + </p> + <p> + Thomas, Oldfield, <a href="#p142">142</a> + </p> + <p> + Thomson, Sir W., now Lord Kelvin, <i>q.v.</i> + </p> + <p> + Thread-cells of Medusæ, <a href="#p41">41</a> + </p> + <p> + Time required for evolution, <a href="#p84">84</a>, <a + href="#p85">85</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Times</i>, the London, <a href="#p66">66</a>, <a + href="#p108">108</a>, <a href="#p113">113</a> + </p> + <p> + Todd and Bowman's <i>Cyclopædia of Anatomy</i>, <a + href="#p49">49</a> + </p> + <p> + Toronto, University of, <a href="#p48">48</a> + </p> + <p> + Tow-net material, <a href="#p31">31</a> + </p> + <p> + Transmigration, <a href="#p269">269</a> + </p> + <p> + Transmutation of species, <a href="#p99">99</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Treatise on Human Nature</i>, <a href="#p240">240</a> + </p> + <p> + Tree of evolution, <a href="#p35">35</a> + </p> + <p> + Tyndall, Professor John, <a href="#p47">47</a>, <a + href="#p48">48</a>, <a href="#p275">275</a> + </p> + <p> + Types, <a href="#p36">36</a>, <a href="#p96">96</a>, <a + href="#p166">166</a> + </p> + <p> + Types for laboratory dissection, <a href="#p178">178</a>, + <a href="#p180">180</a>, <a href="#p181">181</a> + </p> + <p> + Types, intermediate and linear, <a href="#p165">165</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InU" id="InU" href="#INDEX">U</a> + </h4> + <p> + Uniformitarianism in geology, <a href="#p81">81</a>, <a + href="#p240">240</a> + </p> + <p> + University education, <a href="#p195">195</a> + </p> + <p> + University of London, <a href="#p65">65</a> + </p> + <p> + University of Toronto, <a href="#p48">48</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InV" id="InV" href="#INDEX">V</a> + </h4> + <p> + Variation in anatomy, <a href="#p166">166</a> + </p> + <p> + Verification, method of, <a href="#p179">179</a> + </p> + <p> + Vertebræ, structure of, <a href="#p131">131</a> + </p> + <p> + Vertebral theory of the skull, <a href="#p129">129</a>-<a + href="#p132">132</a> + </p> + <p> + Vertebrata, <a href="#p128">128</a> + </p> + <p> + Vertebrata, ancestors of, <a href="#p57">57</a> + </p> + <p> + Vertebrata, classification of, <a href="#p43">43</a> + </p> + <p> + Vertebrata, embryos of, <a href="#p157">157</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Vestiges of Creation</i>, <a href="#p63">63</a>, <a + href="#p97">97</a> + </p> + <p> + Vivisection, <a href="#p205">205</a> + </p> + <p> + Voltaire, <a href="#p260">260</a> + </p> + <p> + Von Baer, <a href="#p37">37</a>, <a href="#p43">43</a>, + <a href="#p62">62</a>, <a href="#p96">96</a> + </p> + <p> + Voyage of <i>Beagle</i>, <a href="#p28">28</a> + </p> + <p> + Voyage of <i>Challenger</i>, <a href="#p15">15</a> + </p> + <p> + Voyage of <i>Rattlesnake</i>, <a href="#p20">20</a>, <a + href="#p21">21</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InW" id="InW" href="#INDEX">W</a> + </h4> + <p> + Wallace, Alfred Russel, <a href="#p95">95</a>, <a + href="#p101">101</a>, <a href="#p271">271</a> + </p> + <p> + Weight of brains, <a href="#p164">164</a> + </p> + <p> + Weismann, Professor A., <a href="#p94">94</a> + </p> + <p> + Wells, W.C., <a href="#p100">100</a> + </p> + <p> + <i>Westminster Review</i>, <a href="#p107">107</a>, <a + href="#p114">114</a> + </p> + <p> + Wharton Jones, Dr., <a href="#p9">9</a>, <a + href="#p37">37</a> + </p> + <p> + Whewell, <a href="#p115">115</a> + </p> + <p> + Wilberforce, Samuel, Bishop of Oxford, <a + href="#p115">115</a>, <a href="#p116">116</a>, <a + href="#p117">117</a>, <a href="#p118">118</a>, <a + href="#p120">120</a>, <a href="#p121">121</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="p297" + id="p297">[297]</a></span> Willey, Arthur, <a + href="#p57">57</a> + </p> + <p> + Wine miracle at Cana, <a href="#p257">257</a> + </p> + <p> + Wollaston, <a href="#p98">98</a> + </p> + <p> + Words, use of, <a href="#p213">213</a>, <a + href="#p214">214</a> + </p> + <p> + Workmen, lectures to, <a href="#p207">207</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InY" id="InY" href="#INDEX">Y</a> + </h4> + <p> + York, Archbishop of, <a href="#p234">234</a> + </p> + <h4> + <a name="InZ" id="InZ" href="#INDEX">Z</a> + </h4> + <p> + Zoölogical Society, <a href="#p138">138</a> + </p> + <p> + Zoölogical science and laboratories, <a + href="#p177">177</a> + </p> + <p> + Zoölogist, Huxley as a, <a href="#p283">283</a> + </p> + <p> + Zoölogy, <a href="#p173">173</a> + </p> + <p> + Zoöphytes, <a href="#p40">40</a> + </p> + </div> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 286px;"> + <img src="images/ill-297.png" alt="" title="" + height="167" width="286" /> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-story.png" alt="" title="" + height="82" width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + The Story of the Nations. + </h2> + <p> + Messrs. G.P. Putnam's Sons take pleasure in announcing that + they have in course of publication, in co-operation with + Mr. T. Fisher Unwin, of London, a series of historical + studies, intended to present in a graphic manner the + stories of the different nations that have attained + prominence in history. + </p> + <p> + In the story form the current of each national life is + distinctly indicated, and its picturesque and noteworthy + periods and episodes are presented for the reader in their + philosophical relation to each other as well as to + universal history. + </p> + <p> + It is the plan of the writers of the different volumes to + enter into the real life of the peoples, and to bring them + before the reader as they actually lived, labored, and + struggled—as they studied and wrote, and as they + amused themselves. In carrying out this plan, the myths, + with which the history of all lands begins, will not be + overlooked, though these will be carefully distinguished + from the actual history, so far as the labors of the + accepted historical authorities have resulted in definite + conclusions. + </p> + <p> + The subjects of the different volumes have been planned to + cover connecting and, as far as possible, consecutive + epochs or periods, so that the set when completed will + present in a comprehensive narrative the chief events in + the great <span class="smcap">Story of the Nations</span>; + but it is, of course, not always practicable to issue the + several volumes in their chronological order. + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE NATIONS. + </h2> + <p> + The "Stories" are printed in good readable type, and in + handsome 12mo form. They are adequately illustrated and + furnished with maps and indexes. Price per vol., cloth, + $1.50; half morocco, gilt top, $1.75. + </p> + <p> + The following are now ready: + </p> + <p> + GREECE. Prof. Jas. A. Harrison.<br /> + ROME. Arthur Gilman.<br /> + THE JEWS. Prof. James K. Hosmer.<br /> + CHALDEA. Z.A. Ragozin.<br /> + GERMANY. S. Baring-Gould.<br /> + NORWAY. Hjalmar H. Boyesen.<br /> + SPAIN. Rev. E.E. and Susan Hale.<br /> + HUNGARY. Prof. A. Vámbéry.<br /> + CARTHAGE. Prof. Alfred J. Church.<br /> + THE SARACENS. Arthur Gilman.<br /> + THE MOORS IN SPAIN. Stanley Lane-Poole.<br /> + THE NORMANS. Sarah Orne Jewett.<br /> + PERSIA. S.G.W. Benjamin.<br /> + ANCIENT EGYPT. Prof. Geo. Rawlinson.<br /> + ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE. Prof. J.P. Mahaffy.<br /> + ASSYRIA. Z.A. Ragozin.<br /> + THE GOTHS. Henry Bradley.<br /> + IRELAND. Hon. Emily Lawless.<br /> + TURKEY. Stanley Lane-Poole.<br /> + MEDIA, BABYLON, AND PERSIA. Z.A. Ragozin.<br /> + MEDIÆVAL FRANCE. Prof. Gustave Masson.<br /> + HOLLAND. Prof. J. Thorold Rogers.<br /> + MEXICO. Susan Hale.<br /> + PHŒNICIA. Geo. Rawlinson.<br /> + THE HANSA TOWNS. Helen Zimmern.<br /> + EARLY BRITAIN. Prof. Alfred J. Church.<br /> + THE BARBARY CORSAIRS. Stanley Lane-Pool.<br /> + RUSSIA. W.R. Morfill.<br /> + THE JEWS UNDER ROME. W.D. Morrison.<br /> + SCOTLAND. John Mackintosh.<br /> + SWITZERLAND. R. Stead and Mrs. A. Hug.<br /> + PORTUGAL. H. Morse-Stephens.<br /> + THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE. C.W.C. Oman.<br /> + SICILY. E.A. Freeman.<br /> + THE TUSCAN REPUBLICS. Bella Duffy.<br /> + POLAND. W.R. Morfill.<br /> + PARTHIA. Geo. Rawlinson.<br /> + JAPAN. David Murray.<br /> + THE CHRISTIAN RECOVERY OF SPAIN. H.E. Watts.<br /> + AUSTRALASIA. Greville Tregarthen.<br /> + SOUTHERN AFRICA. Geo. M. Theal.<br /> + VENICE. Alethea Wiel.<br /> + THE CRUSADES. T.S. Archer and C.L. Kingsford.<br /> + VEDIC INDIA. Z.A. Ragozin.<br /> + BOHEMIA. C.E. Maurice.<br /> + CANADA. J.G. Bourinot.<br /> + THE BALKAN STATES. William Miller.<br /> + BRITISH RULE IN INDIA. R.W. Frazer.<br /> + MODERN FRANCE. André Le Bon.<br /> + THE BUILDING OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. Alfred T. Story. Two + vols.<br /> + THE FRANKS. Lewis Sergeant.<br /> + THE WEST INDIES. Amos K. Fiske.<br /> + THE PEOPLE OF ENGLAND IN THE 19TH CENTURY. Justin + McCarthy, M.P. Two vols.<br /> + AUSTRIA, THE HOME OF THE HAPSBURG DYNASTY, FROM 1282 TO + THE PRESENT DAY. Sidney Whitman.<br /> + CHINA. Robt. K. Douglass.<br /> + MODERN SPAIN. Major Martin A.S. Hume.<br /> + MODERN ITALY. Pietro Orsi.<br /> + THE THIRTEEN COLONIES. Helen A. Smith. Two vols.<br /> + </p> + <p> + Other volumes in preparation are: + </p> + <p> + THE UNITED STATES, 1775-1897. Prof. A.C. McLaughlin. Two + vols.<br /> + BUDDHIST INDIA. Prof. T.W. Rhys-Davids.<br /> + MOHAMMEDAN INDIA. Stanley Lane-Poole.<br /> + WALES AND CORNWALL. Owen M. Edwards<br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <div class="center"> + <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> + <img src="images/ill-heroes.png" alt="" title="" + height="84" width="400" /> + </div> + </div> + <h2> + Heroes of the Nations. + </h2> + <h5> + EDITED BY + </h5> + <h3> + EVELYN ABBOTT, M.A., + </h3> + <h5 class="smcap"> + Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. + </h5> + <p> + A series of biographical studies of the lives and work of a + number of representative historical characters about whom + have gathered the great traditions of the Nations to which + they belonged, and who have been accepted, in many + instances, as types of the several National ideals. With + the life of each typical character will be presented a + picture of the National conditions surrounding him during + his career. + </p> + <p> + The narratives are the work of writers who are recognized + authorities on their several subjects, and, while + thoroughly trustworthy as history, will present picturesque + and dramatic "stories" of the Men and of the events + connected with them. + </p> + <p> + To the Life of each "Hero" will be given one duodecimo + volume, handsomely printed in large type, provided with + maps and adequately illustrated according to the special + requirements of the several subjects. 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By Charles Firth.<br /> + RICHELIEU. By James B. Perkins.<br /> + DANIEL O'CONNELL. By Robert Dunlop.<br /> + SAINT LOUIS (Louis IX., of France). By Frederick + Perry.<br /> + LORD CHATHAM. By Walford Davis Green.<br /> + </p> + <p> + Other volumes in preparation are: + </p> + <p> + MOLTKE. By Spencer Wilkinson.<br /> + JUDAS MACCABÆUS. By Israel Abrahams.<br /> + HENRY V. By Charles L. Kingsford.<br /> + SOBIESKI. By F.A. Pollard.<br /> + ALFRED THE TRUTHTELLER. By Frederick Perry.<br /> + FREDERICK II. By A.L. Smith.<br /> + MARLBOROUGH. By C.W.C. Oman.<br /> + RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED. By T.A. Archer.<br /> + WILLIAM THE SILENT. By Ruth Putnam.<br /> + JUSTINIAN. By Edward Jenks.<br /> + </p> + <hr style="width: 15%;" /> + <p style="text-align: center;"> + G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS, <span class="smcap">Publishers, New + York and London.</span> + </p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Thomas Henry Huxley; A Sketch Of His +Life And Work, by P. 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