Teachings of Thomas Huxley 85 



a great range of possibilities and the tempta- 

 tion to explore new fields of thought was more 

 than he could withstand. So far as one can 

 see he carried through what he has recorded 

 for us with enthusiasm and completeness. If 

 he was not always wise in his methods he cer- 

 tainly was careful in their execution, and for 

 this we owe him our thanks. Undoubtedly he 

 would support with vigor our contention that 

 the wisest among men is not always wise, and 

 that the most foolish among men is sometimes 

 wise; therefore one can afford to be lenient in 

 criticising the results which he obtained. His 

 work was that of an advanced scientific thinker 

 who found it impossible to sum up anything 

 finally and for all the future, yet it has a very 

 important bearing on what shall come after and 

 in this respect is of the pioneer order. Huxley 

 was not so profound and untiring an investi- 

 gator as Darwin, yet he was quicker perhaps 

 in seeing how far-reaching Darwin's results 

 were, and fully as capable of supporting them 

 by illustrations and arguments. For his inter- 

 est in the advancement of popular scientific 

 thought all the world owes him a debt of grati- 

 tude, and hence he deserves an enduring place 

 among the sons of light 



