16 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY CHAP. I 



universal derivation of life from precedent life, and 

 professed his belief, as an act of philosophic faith, that 

 at some remote period, life had arisen out of in- 

 animate matter, though there was no evidence that 

 anything of the sort had occurred recently, the germ 

 theory explaining many supposed cases of spontaneous 

 generation. The history of the subject, indeed, 

 showed "the great tragedy of Science the slaying, 

 of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact which is 

 so constantly being enacted under the eyes of 

 philosophers," and recalled the warning "that it is 

 one thing to refute a proposition, and another to 

 prove the truth of a doctrine which, implicitly or 

 explicitly, contradicts that proposition." 



Two letters to Dr. Dohrn refer to this address and 

 to the meeting of the Association. 



JERMYN STREET, April 30, 1870. 



MY DEAR WHIRLWIND I have received your two 

 letters ; and I was just revolving in my mind how best 

 to meet your wishes in regard to the very important 

 project mentioned in the first, when the second arrived 

 and put me at rest. 



I hope I need not say how heartily I enter into all 

 your views, and how glad I shall be to see your plan for 

 " Stations " x carried into effect. Nothing could have a 

 greater influence upon the progress of zoology. 



A plan was set afoot here some time ago to establish 

 a great marine Aquarium at Brighton by means of a 

 company. They asked me to be their President, but I 

 declined, on the ground that I did not desire to become 



1 Dr. Dohni succeeded in establishing such a zoological "station" 

 at Naples. 



