xviii INTRODUCTION 



eration of his message was to make it perfectly clear and 

 attractive to them. Huxley's message to the people was 

 that happiness, usefulness, and even material prosperity 

 depend upon an understanding of the laws of nature. He 

 also taught that a knowledge of the facts of science is the 

 soundest basis for moral law ; that a clear sense of the pen- 

 alties which ^Nature inflicts for disobedience of her laws 

 must eventually be the greatest force for the purification 

 of life. If he was to be remembered, therefore, he desired 

 that he should be remembered primarily as one who had 

 helped the people " to think truly and to live rightly." 

 Huxley's writing is, then, something more than a scholarly 

 exposition of abstruse matter ; for it has been further de- 

 voted to the increasing of man's capacity for usefulness, 

 and to the betterment of his life here on earth. 



II 



SUBJECT-MATTER, STRUCTURE, AND STYLE 



From the point of view of subject-matter, structure, 

 and style, Huxley's essays are admirably adapted to the uses 

 of the student in English. The themes of the essays are 

 two, education and science. In these two subjects 

 and Huxley earnestly sought to arouse interest and 



science. ^ j m p ar ^ knowledge, because he believed that 

 intelligence in these matters is essential for the advance- 

 ment of the race in strength and morality. Both subjects, 

 therefore, should be valuable to the student. In education, 

 certainly, he should be interested, since it is his main occu- 

 pation) if not his chief concern. Essays like A Liberal Ed- 

 ucation and The Principal Subjects of Education may 

 suggest to him the meaning of all his work, and may sug- 

 gest, also, the things which it would be well for him to 

 know ; and, even more, a consideration of these subjects 

 may arouse him to a greater interest and responsibility than 

 he usually assumes toward his own mental equipment. Of 

 greater interest probably will be the subjects which deal 

 with nature ; for the ways of nature are more nearly within 



