MR. BARLOW’S ANSWER TO MR. MAYHEW. 
389 
the object that induced him “ to put pen to paper.” But, “ guess- 
ing” at his motives and meanings , there is still one essential thing, 
“ especially valuable where controversy is invited,” which he seems 
to have forgotten, — and that is, a consideration of the question 
under discussion. 
Mr. Mayhew adopts an easy way of saving himself the trouble 
of replying to my “ statements,” by pretending that the unintelli- 
gible manner in which they are expressed “ precludes the possi- 
bility” of his doing so. The remarks I made, although, like some 
of Mr. Mayhew’s, containing “ obvious errors,” both verbal and of 
the press, were nevertheless intelligible to others, perhaps less 
learned than he. A “ little learning is a dangerous thing,” how- 
ever; and I doubt not, when the “essentials of language” become 
as familiar to Mr. Mayhew as the sciences of anatomy and phy- 
siology, that he will be able successfully to “ guess ” at the mean- 
ing of my statements, or take refuge behind a more plausible sub- 
terfuge for avoiding to answer them than his present one affords 
him. He is, in fact, almost deprived of his amusing pretext by 
his own “ letter,” which throughout virtually admits that its writer 
understands the “ majority of the sentences” I employed in my 
paper : this is as much as can be expected. 
Availing myself of certain passages in Mr. Mayhew’s “ letter,” 
I might pursue the same course regarding him as he adopts towards 
me, and consider myself disqualified from “ replying fully to his 
statements.” Take such sentences as the following : — 
“ That he had seen what I discovered without his assistance, I 
never meant to assert or deny .” 
“ That he knew that which I learnt myself I did intend to imply 
or to contradict /” 
and “the writer must excuse me when I say I cannot compre- 
hend” their meaning. It would not, however, on this account, be 
consistent with the “ kindly feeling” which I would ever wish to 
preserve towards discoverers in science, were I to consider a “ let- 
ter” emanating from one of them as entirely unworthy of notice ; 
yet I must confess that it is as much with an eye towards clearing 
up the subject as any thing else, that I am induced to notice it at 
all. I hope to do this as intelligibly as I can, and trust to succeed 
in making even Mr. Mayhew understand me ; although my expe- 
rience in teaching continues to afford evidence that there are some 
upon whom it is a hopeless task to bestow time and labour. I 
should, from the nature of this task, in the present instance, have 
felt particularly discouraged, had not I found in a certain “ letter” 
much that is useful in assisting me to convey my ideas. Although 
the peculiarly correct and graphic expressions found therein have 
been put to the press once with very little purpose, I am unwilling 
