1860 LETTERS TO SPENCER 307 



of women will stop in the doll stage of evolution to be 

 the stronghold of parsondom, the drag on civilisation, the 

 degradation of every important pursuit with which they 

 mix themselves " intrigues " in politics, and " friponnes " 

 in science. 



If my claws and beak are good for anything, they shall 

 be kept from hindering the progress of any science I have 

 to do with. Ever yours faithfully, 



T. H. HUXLEY. 



Three letters to Mr. Spencer show that he had 

 been reading and criticising biological points in the 

 proofs of First Principles. With regard to the second 

 letter, which gives reasons for rejecting Mr. Spencer's 

 remarks about the power of inflation in birds during 

 flight, it is curious to note Mr. Spencer's reply : 



How oddly the antagonism comes out even when you 

 are not conscious of it ! My authority was Owen ! I 

 heard him assign this cause for the falling of wounded 

 birds in one of his lectures at the College of Surgeons. 



14 WAVERLEY PLACE, Sept. 3, 1860. 



MY DEAR SPENCER I return your proofs by this post. 

 To my mind nothing can be better than their contents, 

 whether in matter or in manner, and as my wife arrived, 

 independently, at the same opinion, I think my judgment 

 is not one-sided. 



There is something calm and dignified about the tone 

 of the whole which eminently befits a philosophical 

 work which means to live and nothing can be more 

 clear and forcible than the argument. 



I rejoice that you have made a beginning, and such a 

 beginning for the more I think aboiit it the more 

 important it seems to me that somebody should think out 

 into a connected system the loose notions that are floating 

 about more or less distinctly in all the best minds. 



