148 THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY 



principles as a physical investigation, if what he calls the 

 * moral philosopher ' would attain results of as firm and definite 

 a character as those which reward the ' natural philosopher 

 (pp. 62-3). 



Similarly in Chap. III. " On the Origin of the Im- 

 pressions " : — 



"... As a further set-off to Hume's credit, it must be 

 noticed that he grasped the fundamental truth, that the key to 

 the comprehension of mental operations lies in the study of the 

 molecular changes of the nervous apparatus by which they are 

 originated " (p. 94). 



And again in Chap. V. on " The Mental Phenomena 

 of Animals " : — ■ 



" It is a remarkable example of Hume's sagacity that he 

 perceived the importance of a branch of science which, even 

 now, can hardly be said to exist ; and that, in a remarkable 

 passage, he sketches in bold outlines the chief features of com- 

 parative psychology " (p. 126). 



Huxley's own views on the distinction between genius 

 and talent, given at the end of the same chapter, are also 

 interesting : — 



" The child who is impelled to draw as soon as it can hold a 

 pencil ; the Mozart who breaks out into music as early ; the 

 boy Bidder who worked out the most complicated sums with- 

 out learning arithmetic ; the boy Pascal who evolved Euclid 

 out of his own consciousness : all these may be said to have 

 been impelled by instinct, as much as are the beaver and the 

 bee. And the man of genius is distinct in kind from the man 

 of cleverness, by reason of the working within him of strong 

 innate tendencies — which cultivation may improve, but which 

 it can no more create, than horticulture can make thistles bear 

 figs. The analogy between a musical instrument and the mind 

 holds good here also. Art and industry may get much music, 

 of a sort, out of a penny whistle ; but, when all is done, it has 

 no chance against an organ. The innate musical potentialities 

 of the two are infinitely different " (pp. 132-3). 



