INTRODUCTION xvii 



him always single-minded in purpose, beautiful and spotless 

 in intogrity, whole-souled and hearty, full of energy and 

 enthusiasm, unselfish to a fault, and unfailingly sympathetic. 

 It was this last characteristic that affected John Fiske, 

 the historian, who declared Huxley " a powerful individ- 

 uality, a poetic soul one could not help loving." Rounding 

 out and illuminating these splendid qualities was a sense 

 of humor, keen and irrepressible. It flashed out in his 

 lectures, in his conversation, and in his letters. 



Of course, any man with such a charming personality 

 would attract many friends, and Huxley was no exception. 

 Darwin, Tyndall, Herbert Spencer, Sir John Lubbock 

 Hooker — all great men in science; Jowett, the scholar; 

 Matthew Arnold and Tennyson, the poets; Lecky, John 

 Fiske, and J. R. Green, the historians; Alma Tadema, the 

 artist; Leslie Stephen, Mark Pattison, Frederic Harrison, 

 the writers, were among the intimates who used to gather 

 informally on Sunday evenings in the Huxley home in 

 London. Here old and young, for the friends of the 

 Huxley children came too, indulged in most delightful 

 talk. There was no limit to the range of subjects discussed, 

 though if the talk turned upon science, the modest host, 

 always the very center and life of the company, was not 

 the man to bring it in. Politics, religion, art, literature, 

 music, poetry, all furnished themes for the rare talk heard 

 in the little library. Ever ready for his share in the conversa- 

 tion, be it serious or light, Huxley ahvays left John Fiske, 

 a man of great intelligence and wide knowledge, wondering 

 at the ''fullness and accuracy of his information and the 

 keenness of his judgments." 



This seems an extraordinary statement, but it must 

 be remembered that Huxley was not a mere scientist, but 

 a scholar. He was self-taught. As a boy, he learned 



