I04 Thomas Henry Huxley 



Huxle}'' was convinced of evolution becanse Darwin, 

 by his theory of natural selection, brought forward an 

 actual cause that could be seen in operation, and that 

 was competent to produce new species. As soon as the 

 " flash of light " came, it revealed to Huxley the vast 

 store of evidence that he had unconsciously accumu- 

 lated, and it set him at once to work collecting more 

 evidence. If we bear in mind the distinction between 

 evolution and natural selection, the well-known subse- 

 quent history of the relations between Huxley and 

 what was known popularl}^ as Darwinism becomes clear 

 and intelligible. From first to last he accepted evolu- 

 tion ; from first to last he accepted natural selection as 

 by far the most reasonable hypothesis that had been 

 brought forward, and as infinitel}- more in accordance 

 with the observed facts of nature than any theory of 

 the immediate action of supernatural creative power. 

 As time went on, and the influence of Darwin's theory 

 made evolution acceptable to a wider and wider range 

 of people, until it passed into the common knowledge 

 of the world, that confusion of which we have spoken 

 arose between evol ution and Darwin's particular theory. 

 And as knowledge grew, and the number of biologists 

 increased in the striking fashion of this last half-cent- 

 ur}^ while the evidence for evolution continued to in- 

 crease with an unexpected rapidit}-, ever}' detail of the 

 purely Darwinian theory became more and more sub- 

 jected to rigid scrutiny. Most educated people, unless 

 their education has been largely in an experimental 

 science, find difiiculty in understanding the relation in 

 the minds of naturalists between "authority" and 

 " knowledge." We do not kno7(\ for instance, that the 

 structure of the Medusae consists essentially of two 

 foundation-membranes, because Huxley, one of the 



