398 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY 



CHAP. 



reconcile it with popular theological ideas, just as 

 was done by the Christian Fathers. In the Middle 

 Ages it was entirely lost under the theological 

 theories of the time; but reappeared with Spinoza, 

 who, however, muddled it up with a lot of meta- 

 physics which made him almost unintelligible. 



"Plato was the founder of all the vague and 

 unsound thinking that has burdened philosophy, 

 deserting facts for possibilities, and then, after long 

 and beautiful stories of what might be, telling you he 

 doesn't quite believe them himself. 



" A certain time since it was heresy to breathe a 

 word against Plato ; but I have a nice story of Sir 

 Henry Holland. He used to have all the rising 

 young men to breakfast, and turn out their latest 

 ideas. One morning I went to breakfast with him, 

 and we got into very intimate conversation, when he 

 wound up by saying, ' In my opinion, Plato was an 

 ass ! But don't tell any one I said so.' ' 



We talked on geographical teaching ; he began by 

 insisting on the need of a map of the earth (on the 

 true scale) showing the insignificance of all elevations 

 and depressions on the surface. Secondly, one should 

 take any place as centre, and draw about it circles of 60 

 or 100 miles radius, and see what lies within them ; 

 and note the extent of the influence exerted by the 

 central point. At the same time, one should always 

 compare the British Isles to scale. For instance, 

 the JEgean is about as big as Britain; while the 

 smallness of Judsea is remarkable. After the Exile, 



