434 JAMES CLERK MAXWELL. [CHAP. XIV. 



CHAPTEE XIV. 



LAST ESSAYS AT CAMBRIDGE. 



AFTER Maxwell's return to Cambridge in 1871, several 

 of those who had been "Apostles" together in 1853-7, 

 revived the habit of meeting together for the discus- 

 sion of speculative questions. This club of elder men 

 (avSp&v 7rp(TJ3vTpa)v ercupia), which included such men 

 as Dr. Lightfoot, now Bishop of Durham, and Pro- 

 fessors Hort and Westcott, was christened Ernus (see 

 p. 366), and three of Maxwell's contributions, dated by 

 himself, have been preserved. It seems advisable to 

 print these entire, although not even chips from his 

 workshop, but rather sparks from the whetstone of 

 his mind, since what he thought worthy of detaining 

 the attention of such listeners in those ripe years 

 cannot fail to be of interest to many readers. 



I. 



Does the progress of Physical Science tend to give any advan- 

 tage to the opinion of Necessity (or Determinism) over 

 that of the Contingency of Events and the Freedom of the 

 Will? 

 JRt. 41. llth February 1873. 



The general character and tendency of human thought is 

 a topic the interest of which is not confined to professional 

 philosophers. Though every one of us must, each for him- 



