58 Teachings of Thomas Huxley 



v. 



Teachings Concerning the Gospel of Work, 



PURPOSES IN HUXLEY'S LIFE. 



In a life so full of arduous effort it is in- 

 teresting to know the source which prompted 

 it to constant and continued action. Was it 

 ambition ? Desire for fame ? Selfish vanity ? 

 Unappeasable energy ? Philanthropy ? These 

 questions and many more may be asked 

 with perfect reason when a great man has 

 passed away; and in Huxley's case it would 

 be difficult to find a suitable answer were it 

 not that he has explained it all so simply in his 

 brief autobiography: "If I may speak of the 

 objects I have had most definitely in view since 

 I began the ascent of my hillock they are briefly 

 these: To promote the increase of natural 

 knowledge and to forward the application of 

 scientific methods of investigation to all the 

 problems of life to the best of my ability; in 

 the conviction which has grown with my growth 

 and strengthened with my strength, that there 

 is no alleviation for the sufferings of mankind 



