322 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY chap, xxii 



the system of M. Comte, he launched his well-known defini- 

 tion of Comtism as Catholicism minus Christianity, which 

 involved him in a short controversy with Mr. Congreve (see 

 " The Scientific Aspects of Positivism," Lay Sermons, p. 

 162), and with another leading Positivist, who sent him a 

 letter through Mr. Darwin. Huxley replied : — 



Jermyn Street, March 11, 1869. 



My dear Darwin — I know quite enough of Mr. to have 



paid every attention to what he has to say, even if you had not 

 been his ambassador. 



I glanced over his letter when I returned home last night 

 very tired with my two nights' chairmanship at the Ethnological 

 and the Geological Societies. 



Most of it is fair enough, though I must say not helping me 

 to any novel considerations. 



Two paragraphs, however, contained opinions which Mr. 



is at perfect liberty to entertain, but not, I think, to 



express to me. 



The one is, that I shaped what I had to say at Edinburgh 

 with a view of stirring up the prejudices of the Scotch Presby- 

 terians (imagine how many Presbyterians I had in my audi- 

 ences!) against Comte. 



The other is the concluding paragraph, in which Mr. 



recommends me to " read Comte," clearly implying that I have 

 criticised Comte without reading him. 



You will know how far I am likely to have committed either 

 of the immoralities thus laid to my charge. 



At any rate, I do not think I care to enter into more direct 

 relations with anyone who so heedlessly and unjustifiably as- 

 sumes me to be guilty of them. Therefore I shall content 



myself with acknowledging the receipt of Mr. 's letter 



through you. — Ever yours faithfully, T. H. Huxley. 



Jermyn Street, March 17, 1869. 



My dear Darwin — After I had sent my letter to you the 

 other day I thought how stupid I had been not to put in a slip 

 of paper to say it was meant for 's edification. 



I made sure you would understand that I wished it to be 

 sent on, and wrote it (standing on the points of my toes and 

 with my tail up very stifif) with that end in view. 



[Sketch of two dogs bristling up.] 



I am getting so weary of people writing to propose con- 



