1887 SCIENCE AND POLITICS 37 



Finally, it seemed that perhaps, after all, a 

 " masterly inactivity " was the best line of action. 

 Without risk of an authoritative decision of the 

 Society "the wrong way," out of personal regard for 

 the President, the question would be solved for him 

 by actual experience of work in the House of 

 Commons, where he would doubtless discover that 

 he must "renounce either science, or politics, or 

 existence." 



This campaign, however, against a principle, Avas 

 carried on without any personal feeling. The perfect 

 simplicity of the President's attitude would have dis- 

 armed the hottest opponent, and indeed Huxley 

 took occasion to write him the folloAving letter, in 

 reference to which he wi-ites to Dr. Foster : — " I 

 hate doing things in the dark and could not stand it 



any longer." 



Dec. 1, 1887. 



My dear Stokes — When we met in the hall of the 

 Athenaeum on Monday evening I was on the point of 

 speaking to you on a somewhat delicate topic ; namely, 

 my responsibility for the leading article on the Presidency 

 of R.S. and politics vrhich appeared a fortnight ago in 

 Nature. But I was restrained by the reflection that I 

 had no right to say anything about the matter without 

 the consent of the Editor of Nature. I have obtained 

 that consent, and I take the earliest opportunity of 

 availing myself of my freedom. 



I should have greatly preferred to sign the article, 

 and its anonymity is due to nothing but my strong 

 desire to avoid the introduction of any personal irrele- 

 vancies into the discussion of a very grave question of 

 prmciple 



