9 o THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



press writing leaders, perhaps, for strong party papers than from 

 tendering a vote at the polls every four or five years? Besides, the 

 suggestion falls utterly short of the requirements of the case. The 

 number of women who are capable, or who desire, to find a sphere in 

 the press are never likely to be more than a handful : the number who 

 desire a liberal education, in the best and broadest sense of that word, 

 and who are or may become quite fitted to form sound opinions on 

 political questions, are already to be numbered by thousands, perhaps 

 I might say by tens of thousands : what their numbers will become in 

 another generation, I will not pretend to conjecture. Mr. Smith's 

 suggestion, therefore, though graciously meant, is hardly to the pur- 

 pose. Plainly, nothing short of lopping oif from the education of 

 women some of the most important branches of human knowledge 

 will meet the difficulty. 



JOSEPH PEIESTLET. 1 



By T. H. HUXLEY, LL.D., F. E. S. 



IF the man to perpetuate whose memory we have this day raised a 

 statue had been asked on what part of his busy life's work he set 

 the highest value, he would undoubtedly have pointed to his volumi- 

 nous contributions to theology. In season and out of season, he was 

 the steadfast champion of that hypothesis respecting the Divine na- 

 ture which is termed Unitarianism by its friends and Socinianism by 

 its foes. Regardless of odds, he was ready to do battle with all 

 comers in that cause ; and, if no adversaries entered the lists, he would 

 sally forth to seek them. 



To this, his highest ideal of duty, Joseph Priestley sacrificed the 

 vulgar prizes of life, which, assuredly, were within easy reach of a 

 man of his singular energy and varied abilities. For this object he 

 put aside, as of secondary importance, those scientific investigations 

 which he loved so well, and in which he showed himself so competent 

 to enlarge the boundaries of natural knowledge and to win fame. In 

 this course, he not only cheerfully suffered obloquy from the bigoted 

 and the unthinking, and came within sight of martyrdom, but bore 

 with that which is much harder to be borne than all these the un- 

 feigned astonishment and hardly disguised contempt of a brilliant 

 society, composed of men whose sympathy and esteem must have been 

 most dear to him, and to whom it was simply incomprehensible that 

 a philosopher should seriously occupy himself with any form of Chris- 

 tianity. 



It appears to me that the man, who, setting before himself such an 



1 An Address delivered on the occasion of the presentation of a statue of Priestley to 

 the town of Birmingham, August 1, 1874. With some additions. 



