xviii INTRODUCTION 



German and Latin, and later he mastered French and 

 Italian, not for the sake of the languages, but to be able 

 to know at first hand the scientific works contained therein. 

 In middle life he mastered Greek to read Aristotle, and then 

 read Homer. History, philosophy, and literature he 

 made his own with great ease, for he had that rare power 

 of intense concentration which enabled him to read a book 

 " through at a gallop." The words he did not retain, but 

 the substance of all that interested him was fixed in memory. 

 He read everything, his son relates, '' from fairy tales to 

 the last volume on metaphysics." Music and art appealed 

 to him, and he had cultivated a natural talent for drawing. 

 But reading was his chief recreation, a change of mental 

 occupation affording him sufficient rest. 



To appreciate fully the qualities of Huxley as man, 

 friend, scientist, and scholar, one needs to read his de- 

 lightful letters. They are indeed excellent; they are 

 bright, pithy, and always happily worded. How they 

 turn out to be so uniformly excellent is the wonder, for they 

 were dashed off in spare moments between important 

 duties. So fascinating are these letters that the tempta- 

 tion to quote is almost irresistible. But should one start, 

 and one might begin on any page, the question where to 

 end would become a serious difficulty, since something 

 characteristic and attractive might be taken from every 

 letter. This pleasure of selection must be put aside here, 

 but the reader is urged to enjoy for himself the letters in 

 Leonard Huxley's biography of his father. 



In personal appearance Huxley was distinguished. 

 Slender but not tall, he had a commanding air. He wore 

 his abundant hair rather long and brushed straight back. 

 His face was alive and his dark eyes flashing; his mouth, 

 large and firm in repose, was capable of breaking into a 



