BIOGRAPHICAL (1854-1870) 23 



Huxley himself had by Uiat time long given up 

 the acceptation of orthodox teaching on the subject — 

 teaching which, he says, has cost him many a struggle 

 to get rid of. His own attitude towards the story 

 of Creation is very well defined in a paragraph written 

 in a chapter contributed to the Ufe of Darwin, and 

 we quote it here because it shows the very essence 

 of Huxley's attitude to this cognate question. Not 

 only does it show his attitude at the time, but it 

 reflects very truly that of the whole school of thought 

 of which he was the most distinguished exponent. 

 - " It seemed to me then (as it does now) that ' crea- 

 tion,' in the ordinary sense of the word, is perfectly 

 conceivable. I find no difficulty in conceiving that, 

 at some former period, this universe was not in ex- 

 istence ; and that it made its appearance in six days 

 (or instantaneously, if that is preferred) in conse- 

 quence of the volition of some pre-existing Being. 

 . . . Far be it from me to say that it is untrue 

 because it is impossible. I confine myself to what 

 must be regarded as a modest and reasonable request 

 for some particle of evidence that the existing species 

 of animals and plants did originate in that May, 

 as a condition of my belief in a statement which 

 appears to me to be highly improbable." That 

 moderate statement, as we should regard it nowadays, 

 is Huxleyism in a nutshell. But it was not regarded 

 as moderate at that time, and for holding it with 

 all the strength of his brilhant mind Huxley was 

 called many hard names. 



The effect upon most of the contemporary bio- 

 logists of the publication of Tlie Origin of Species 

 was like " a flash of light which, to a man who has 

 lost himself on a dark night, suddenly reveals a road 



