210 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY cHAP. IX 



" moving creatures " (shehretz) used of the first 

 appearance of animal life. 



It is interesting to see how, in his reply, Huxley 

 took care to keep the main points at issue separate 

 from the subordinate and unimportant ones. His 

 answer is broken up into four letters. The first 

 {Times, January 26) rehearses the original issue 

 between himself and Mr. Gladstone ; wherein both 

 sides agreed that the creation of the sixth day in- 

 cluded reptiles, so that, formally at least, his position 

 was secure, though there was also a broader ground 

 of difference to be considered. Before proceeding 

 further, he asks his critic whether he admits the 

 existence of the contradiction involved, and if not, to 

 state his reasons therefor. These reasons were again 

 given on February 1 as the new interpretation of the 

 two Hebrew words already referred to, an interpreta- 

 tion, by the way, which makes the same word stand 

 both for " the vast and various population of the 

 waters " and " for such land animals as mice, weasels, 

 and lizards, great and small." 



On February 3 appeared the second letter, in 

 which, setting aside the particular form which his 

 argument against Mr. Gladstone had taken, he 

 described the broad difFei'ences between the teachings 

 of Genesis and the teachings of evolution. He left 

 the minor details as to the interpretation of the words 

 in dispute, which did not really affect the main 

 argument, to be dealt with in the next letter of 

 February 4. It was a question with which he had 



