THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY. 779 



Huxley's delight to hold out his hand to every young man who 

 he thought could profit by his help, and before many years were 

 over his spirit was moving in the minds of many others. Thus 

 it came about that during the latter half of this century, owing 

 largely to Huxley's own labors and to the influence which he 

 exerted not only in England but abroad, there has been added to 

 science a large body of morphological truths, truths which have 

 been demonstrated and must remain, not mere views and theories 

 which may be washed away. 



The excitement of the Darwinian controversy, with its far- 

 reaching issues, has been apt to make us forget how great has been 

 the progress of animal morphology during the past half century. 

 Undoubtedly the solution of special problems touching animal 

 forms, and the great theory of natural selection through the 

 struggle for existence, have been closely bound together : the spe- 

 cial learning has furnished support for the general theory, and 

 the general theory, besides strongly stimulating inquiry, has illu- 

 mined the special problems. But the two stand apart, each on its 

 own basis ; and were it possible to wipe out, as with a sponge, 

 everything which Darwin wrote, and which his views have 

 caused to be written, there would still remain a body of science 

 touching animal forms, both recent and extinct, acquired since 

 1850, of which we may well be proud. In gaining that knowl- 

 edge Huxley, as well by his own labors as by his influence 

 over others, stands foremost, Gegenbaur being almost his only 

 peer; and had Huxley done nothing more, his name would live 

 as that of one of the most remarkable biologists of the present 

 century. 



As we all know, he did much more ; his influence on England 

 and on the world went far beyond that of his purely scientific 

 writings. But when we reflect that a hundred years hence the 

 image of the man as he went to and fro among men, so bright 

 and vivid to-day, will have become dim and colorless, a shadow 

 as it were, and that then the man will be judged mainly by the 

 writings which remain, we must count these writings as the chief 

 basis of his fame. And, though we may think it possible that the 

 world of that day, much that is unwritten having been forgotten, 

 may find it in part difficult to understand how great a power 

 Huxley was in his time, the lapse of years will, we may be sure, 

 in no way lessen, it may be will heighten, the estimate of his con- 

 tributions to exact science. 



As we all know, he did much more. To the public outside 

 science he first became known as the bold, outspoken exponent 

 and advocate of Darwin's views, and indeed to some this is still 

 his chief fame. There is no need here to dwell on this part of his 

 work, and I speak of it now chiefly to remark that the zeal with 



