Characteristics 



The book, into which he had put his deepest thoughts and 

 feelings upon the condition of society, was hailed as a 

 virile and notable production from a truly great man. 

 After this was issued, he saw another, " The Kevolt of 

 Democracy," through the press. But this did not exhaust 

 his activities. He entered almost immediately into a con- 

 tract to write a-tig volume upon the social order, and as 

 a side issue to help, as is mentioned in the Introduction, 

 in the production of an even larger book upon the writings 

 and position of Darwin and Wallace and the theory of 

 Natural Selection as an adequate explanation of organic 

 evolution. Age did not seem to weaken his amazing fertility 

 of creative thought, nor to render him less susceptible to 

 the claims of humanity, which he faced with a noble courage. 

 In nobility of character and in magnitude, variety and rich- 

 ness of mind he was amongst the foremost scientific men of 

 the Victorian Age, and with his death that great period, 

 which was marked by wide and illuminating generalisations 

 and the grand style in science, came to an end. 



Apart altogether, however, from his scientific position 

 and attainments, which set him on high, he wa« a noble 

 example of brave, resolute, and hopeful endeavour, main- 

 tained without faltering to the end of a long life. And 

 this is not the least valuable part of his legacy to the race. 



When Henslow died, Huxley wrote to Hooker : '' He had 

 intellect to comprehend his highest duty distinctly, and force 

 of character to do it ; which of us dare ask for a higher sum- 

 mary of his life than that ? For such a man there can be 

 no fear in facing the great unknown ; his life has been one 

 long experience of the substantial justice of the laws by 

 which this world is governed, and he will calmly trust to 

 them still as he lays his head down for his long sleep." Let 

 that also stand as the estimate of Wallace by his contempo- 

 raries, an estimate which we believe posterity will confirm. 



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