78 SELECTIONS FROM HUXLEY 



1 20 bene qui latuit, bene vixit (Ovid) : he, who has kept himself well 

 hidden, has lived well. 



2 27 mellifluous eloquence : perhaps written with the aged Greek hero 

 Nestor in mind, from whose lips, according to the " Iliad," flowed speech 

 sweeter than honey. 



4 2 Prince George of Cambridge : grandson of George III. 



4 9 Mr. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) : one of the leading English 

 philosophers and scientists of the nineteenth century, the author of 

 the " Synthetic Philosophy." 



5 1 Sydney : this man, who was " sent out," or deported, to Sydney 

 for some crime, furnishes an illustration of the penal system of those days. 



5 13 in partibus infidelium : in the regions of the unbelievers. 



6 17 Lehrjahre : years -of study. 



7 10 early spring of 1846 : Huxley was then a candidate for the degree 

 of M.D., and not twenty-one years of age ! 



7 19 strong : " fresh." 



84 Nelson: Horatio Nelson (born 1758), England's greatest naval 

 hero, died in the hour of triumph on board the Victory at the battle of 

 Trafalgar, October 21, 1805. 



9 8 Directors- General : note the method of forming the plural. 



10 3 Suites a Buffon : sequels to Buffon (George Louis Leclerc Buffon, 

 1707-1788, a celebrated French naturalist). 



10 6 Linnean Society : an English scientific society. 



10 10 Royal Society : explained at considerable length in the address 

 " On Improving Natural Knowledge " (see pp. 15 ff.)- 



10 27 3. nous deux : this means that we two, London and I, are to fight 

 it out. Pere Goriot is a famous novel by Honore de Balzac (1799-1850). 



10 30 Tyndall, John (1820-1893) ; a celebrated English scientist, 

 noted for his researches in radiant heat, light, sound, magnetism, and 

 electricity. 



11 20 malgre moi : in spite of myself. 



ON IMPROVING NATURAL KNOWLEDGE 



This Lay Sermon was delivered in St. Martin's Hall, near Trafalgar 

 Square, London, January 7, 1866 ; it was published in Huxley's " Lay 

 Sermons, Essays and Reviews," 1871. 



13 13 Defoe : Daniel Defoe (1659-1731); English journalist and 

 novelist, best known as the author of " Robinson Crusoe." 



14 28 Rochesters and Sedleys : the second Earl of Rochester and Sir 

 Charles Sedley, noted wits, poets, and profligates in the reign of Charles II. 



1432 Laud: William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (born 1573), 



