22 HUXLEY 



a higher and better sense than was in my mind when 

 I wrote four years ago what stands above— I feel 

 that my fancy has been fulfilled." 



In 1859 Tyndall was appointed to the lectureship 

 of Physics at the School of Mines, and this brought 

 him into close contact with Huxley for the next 

 nine years. This was the year that was to see the 

 publication of the work which was to revolutionise 

 the scientific thought of the world for all time, and 

 incidentally to throw Huxley into the foremost 

 ranks of those who were fighting on its behalf. In 

 November of this year (1859) Charles Darwin pub- 

 lished the Origin of Species — a book which had been 

 eagerly anticipated since Darwin and Wallace had 

 made a joint communication to the Linnean Society 

 the previous year. Huxley was one of the few 

 people to whom Dar^an had submitted the book 

 in manuscript, and although he had himself, before 

 this time, assumed a more than doubtful attitude with 

 regard to appearances of species, the occurrence of 

 Darwin's work, nevertheless, clearly surprised him. 



Darwin himself, with the true humility of the great 

 thinker, was extremely anxious to secure the support 

 for his views of Lyell, Hooker, and Huxley. Indeed, 

 Darwin himself said, " If I can convert Huxley, I 

 shall be content." There could hardly be a higher 

 -^ 1 tribute to the position Huxley had already attained 

 in the scientific world than that paid to him by 

 DarAvin in these words. Huxley accepted the book 

 as a working hypothesis, and, although he did not 

 see his way to agree on all points propoimded, he, 

 nevertheless, reahsed at once that it was an immense 

 step forward in the explanation of problems other- 

 wise inexphcable. 



