62 Teachings of Thomas Huxley 



of "the common people" who hold no claim to 

 greatness or goodness other than the right to 

 use the labor of their hands in securing a liveli- 

 hood. The mutual dependence of man upon 

 man cannot be ignored, it has held good 

 throughout the everlasting ages, in the hut of 

 the savage as well as in the palace of the mil- 

 lionaire. 



Some have thought that the great advances 

 of civilization toward a higher plane of living 

 is ominous of the near advent of the millenium. 

 It has been sufficient reason for leaving the 

 plow standing mid furrow, and for taking up 

 the pen to write learned disquisitions on life 

 after death, or the probable nature of our fu- 

 ture state. I see no reason for supposing that 

 the end of the world is near at hand or that 

 we have gone as far as we can go in the process 

 of perfection. I do not know that it is to have 

 an end, and I am equally ignorant as to what 

 is meant by perfection, and as to whether that 

 state is a factor in the matter at all. AVe know 

 of stages of transition, for the evidence that 

 changes have taken place lies everywhere about 

 us. We do not, however, know anything about 

 catastrophism, and it is certainly a very fortu- 

 nate thing for our peace of mind that we don't. 

 Even the theory of evolution encourages no 

 millenial anticipations, says Huxley. Of 

 course, "If for millions of years our globe has 

 taken the upward road, yet, some time, the 



