x SELECTIONS FROM HUXLEY 



tempted by some fancied charm of speculation to swerve a 

 hair's breadth from the straight line of fact, the temptation 

 was promptly slaughtered and made no sign. For intel- 

 lectual integrity, he was a spotless Sir Galahad." 



Concerning Huxley's influence, Professor (later Sir) E. Ray 

 Lankester wrote that " apart from the influence exerted by 

 his popular writings, the progress of biology during the 

 present century was largely due to labors of his of which the 

 general public knew nothing, and that he was in some respects 

 the most original and fertile in discovery of all his fellow- 

 workers in the same branch of science." Prominent among 

 these labors were his discovery of the structure of the Medusa, 

 which formed a basis for modern biology ; his theory of the 

 origin of the skull, which was a sound starting point for 

 vertebrate morphology and ethnology ; his exposition of the 

 pedigree of man, in support of the Darwinian theory of evo- 

 lution ; his wise counsels upon matters of educational interest ; 

 and his introduction of the laboratory method of teaching 

 zoology. 



But these great labors of the scientist are not, perhaps, 

 the things we remember best about him. He was essentially 

 the Explainer, the Expounder of the New Reformation, the 

 " Bull-Dog" Fighter in the great controversy, the Popu- 

 larizer of modern science to the masses. In spite of the warn- 

 ings of friends that such action was unbecoming a man of 

 science, Huxley took great pleasure in addressing popular 

 audiences ; and some of his most important work, including 

 the three addresses of this volume, lay in that field of activity. 

 He argued that it was a good thing for himself, because he 

 was obliged to put his thoughts in these addresses in the 

 plainest language ; and that it was a good thing for science, 

 because he might by his exposition win converts to the 

 Truth. He said, "I want the working class to understand 

 that Science and her ways are great facts for them that 



