ii Foreword 



the legitimacy of an author as the parent 

 of his idea. Was he honest and sincere? 

 Was his objecl worthy of the efforl \ These 



two questions arc basic in any argument 



concerning the value of literary achieve- 

 ment. 



We are exceedingly fortunate in having 



preserved for us so many of the details of 

 HuxleVs life. Too often a man of science 

 is known only by what he does, or rather 

 by what he is able to make people think 

 he does, and not at all by what he is. I do 

 not believe there is or ever will be any 

 question as to Huxley's fitness, earnestness 

 and superlative adaptability for the hard 

 tasks which he voluntarily set for himself. 

 His was a mind untrammeled by bigotry, 

 conceit or love of self-aggrandizement'. 

 There was nothing of the hysteric or 

 bizarre in his nature, lie lived a perfectly 

 natural, thought-free, conscientious daily 

 round. As for his objective point, it was 

 circumscribed by two all-embracing prin- 

 ciples-— betterment of mankind and the 

 advancement of knowledge. In proof of 

 this it is only necessary to remember that 



