Various Affairs. 337 



I was amused by the applause of the Comtists. It is 

 droll to see them taking the proof that religions have all 

 arisen from ancestor worship as justification of the " re- 

 ligion of humanity." Hereafter I shall have to point out 

 how odd it is that Comte should have proposed a rehabili- 

 tation of ancestor worship at the very time when our eman- 

 cipation from it is becoming tolerably complete ! 



I was not sorry either to see them defending Noyes & 

 Co. against me. It will serve usefully to bring out the 

 contrast. Ever yours, 



Herbert Spencer. 



38 Queen's Gardens, London, October 12, 1877. 



Dear Brother : The weather has been fine since my 

 arrival, unusually dry and bracing for London, and I have 

 both enjoyed it and improved by it. I have been out a 

 good deal, walked much, and driven some in the omnibus, 

 and altogether I feel a great deal better for the experience. 

 The stir and action was what I needed, and it comes now 

 in the best shape, as I make all my excursions with some 

 object. 



Mr. Spencer, I think, looks extremely well, but he can- 

 not keep steadily at his work. It is probable that slight 

 circumstances derange him now more than formerly. He 

 talks of the possibility of his not being able to get through 

 with his enterprise, and proposes to outline some important 

 feature of his Principles of Morality at odd times, so that 

 this most important portion of his work shall not be left 

 blank in case of a breakdown. He is going very thor- 

 oughly through the Study of Sociology, revising it with a 

 view to style, proposing to make it his most perfect work 

 in this respect. It is funny that a volume which I bullied 

 him into preparing should be chosen for this honour. It is 

 interesting to look over the volume and see what thorough 

 work he is making with it; every page is blackened with 

 erasures and slashings. 



