112 Thomas Henry Huxley 



particular was begiuuiug to recov'er from a long period of 

 almost incredible supineness, and there was arising a 

 large body of clergy full of faith and zeal and good 

 works, but quite unacquainted with science, who 

 frankly regarded Darwin as Antichrist, and Huxle}' 

 and Tyndall as emissaries of the devil. Against evo- 

 lutionists there was left unused no weapon that ignor- 

 ant prejudice could find, whether that prejudice was 

 inspired by a loft}^ zeal for what it conceived to be the 

 highest interests of humanit}-, or by a crafty policy 

 which saw in the new doctrine a blow to the coming 

 renewed supremacy of the Church. To us, now, it 

 may seem that Huxlej- had " sharpened his beak and 

 claws " with the spirit of a gladiator rather than with 

 that of the mere defender of a scientific doctrine ; but 

 a very short stud}- of contemporary literature will con- 

 vince anyone that for a time the defenders of evolution 

 had to defend not only what they knew to be scientific 

 truth, but their personal and private reputation. The 

 new doctrine, like perhaps all the great doctrines that 

 have come into the world, brought not peace but a 

 sword, and had to be defended b}- the sword. Darwin 

 had not the kind of disposition nor the particular facul- 

 ties necessar\^ for a deadly contest of this kind ; he was 

 interested indeed above all things in convincing a few 

 leading naturalists of the truth of his opinions ; but, 

 that done, he would have been contented to continue 

 his own work quieth% in absolute carelessness as to 

 what the world in general thought of him. Huxley, 

 on the other hand, was incapable of restraining himself 

 from propagating what he knew to be the truth ; his 

 reforming missionar}' spirit was not content simply 

 with self-defence; it drove him to be a bishop in parti- 

 bus infideliiun. 



