TEE CAREER OF HERBERT SPENCER 7 



late as 1895 by the London editor of McClure's Magazine to contribute 



to that journal, he replied : 



I have, in virtue mainly of my indebtedness to my old friend for all he 

 did on my behalf in the United States, felt bound to make the Popular Science 

 Monthly my sole medium for publication of articles in the United States, and 

 the obligation, which was preemptory during his life, remains strong after his 

 death, since his brother occupies his place and he has continued his good offices 

 on my behalf.^ 



The choice of a spokesman is less happy, but when we remember 

 that the brothers Youmans, John Fiske, and most of the otlier disciples 

 of Spencer in America have passed away, the difficulty in finding a 

 proper person for such a task will be appreciated. Probably it should 

 have fallen to an unqualified disciple who would simply pronounce an 

 eloge in some extended form. The one to whom it has been assigned, 

 while he yields to none in his high estimate of Spencer's talents and 

 achievements, and has made this known on many occasions, has re- 

 mained eclectic as to his peculiar doctrines, accepting such as appeal to 

 him as sound, rejecting those which seem to be obviously unsound, and 

 suspending judgment as to many that appear doubtful or await suffi- 

 cient evidence. 



In these several respects it is possible to classify Spencer's views 

 under two heads and to explain the reasons which assign them to the 

 one or the other class. The first class includes his cosmic philosophy 

 in general, beginning with inorganic nature and extending through 

 biology. It also includes much of his psychology, anthropology and 

 sociology, considered in their philosophic aspects. The second class 

 embraces his ethics as a whole, both individual and political. To it 

 also belong most of the applications that he makes of psychology and 

 sociology to current events, his dealings with the state, government, 

 war, industry, business and economic problems. While no one will 

 go so far as to say that his views on the first of these classes are always 

 sound, or that those on the second are always unsound or questionable, 

 it is still true that all that is great and profound in his philosophy 

 belongs to the first of these classes, while his errors, his narrow views, 

 and his unworthy utterances are confined to the second class. 



And now as to the explanation of this. Primarily it rests on the 

 fact that in treating the first class of subjects there was no room for 

 the play of the emotions, while the subjects of the second class often 

 appeal to the feelings, and Spencer, with all his logic and philosophic 

 poise, never had his feelings under complete subjection to his reason. 

 But secondarily, in the case of topics appealing to the feelings he un- 

 fortunately imbibed a whole series of prejudices during his early youth 

 from which he was never able to free himself. Indeed, they were so 



- " Life and Letters," Vol. II., p. 89. 



