HUXLEY 37 



is six feet high, and at Balliol ; even the smallest of the mites 

 you knew is taller than her mother. All within reach unite 

 with me in kindest regards and remembrances." 



In 1 89 1 I had read two books by Mr. Arthur J. Bell, a 

 Devonshire gentleman who had devoted himself to the study 

 of the modern physical sciences in their relation to the 

 deepest problems of our nature and destiny. The first was 

 entitled, " Whence comes Man, from ' Nature ' or from 

 1 God ' ? ' The second, published two years after the first, as a 

 sequel to it, was called, " Why does Man exist?" I was greatly 

 struck with the power of reasoning, the clearness of style, and 

 the broad grasp of the whole subject displayed by the author, 

 and having written to him to say how much I had enjoyed his 

 books, he called upon me at Parkstone, and in the course of 

 conversation he expressed a great desire that Huxley should 

 be induced to read them — at all events the second, which, 

 though a sequel to the first, is quite independent of it. 1 I 

 therefore wrote to Huxley, telling him the author would be 

 pleased to send him the books if he would like to have them, 

 and in that case would be glad if he would give his opinion 

 of the work. His reply, dated November 23, 1891, is a char- 



1 As I am sure that there are many persons who have never heard 

 of these books who would greatly enjoy them, I will here quote the 

 subject-matter of the second as stated in the last page of the first 

 work, as follows : — 



" Before replying to the question with which we started — the ques- 

 tion, ' Whence Comes Man, from " Nature " or from " God " ? ' — we 

 must, I think, state what man is. 



" As it seems to me, man is the highest development of the ' Power ' 

 called ' Life ' — a Power added, at a comparatively late period of 

 geological time, to Powers already existing. 



" To the question, then, ' Whence comes man ; does he come from 

 Nature or from God ? ' we must, I think, reply that not only man, 

 but Nature also, owe their existence to the Infinite Eternal Being — 

 God, who 'created' all things." Then follows the striking passage 

 which he reprints as the 'Argument' of the second work, 'Why Does 

 Man Exist ? ' 



Argument. 



" Supposing these answers to be accepted, other questions suggest 

 themselves. We want to know why man exists. We want to know 

 why God 'created' him. Did God desire that man should be good? 



