ve of every soul near her."

XLIII

ANECDOTES OF HUXLEY

Huxley was more than one of the greatest scientists of the last
century; he was a man of literary ability. By his popular lectures and
clear expositions he probably did more than any other man of the
century to popularize the many and important discoveries of the
scientific world. At first there was much opposition to him, owing to
a lack of information on the part of the public as to the import of
the doctrine of evolution. Ex-President Gilman of Johns Hopkins
University tells what a storm of protest was raised in America when
Huxley was invited to deliver the opening address at the founding of
the new university. Huxley is not even now regarded as an orthodox
man, but much of the former prejudice has given way.

John Fiske, who in so many ways can be regarded as the American
Huxley, has published a magazine article giving his impressions of
Huxley. In this article he gives two versions of a famous Huxley
anecdote. Here is one:

"It was at the meeting of the British Association at Oxford in 1860,
soon after the publication of Darwin's epoch-making book, and while
people in general were wagging their heads at it, that the subject
came up before a hostile and fashionable audience. Samuel Wilberforce,
the plausible and self-complacent Bishop of Oxford, commonly known as
'Soapy Sam,' launched out in a rash speech, conspicuous for its
ignorant mis-statements, and highly seasoned with appeals to the
prejudices of the audience, upon whose lack of intelligence the
speaker relied. Near him sat Huxley, already known as a man of
science, and known to look favorably upon Darwinism, but more or less
youthful withal, only five-and-thirty, so that the bishop anticipated
sport in badgering him. At the close of his speech he suddenly turned
upon Huxley and begged to be informed if the learned gentleman was
really willing to be regarded as the descendant of a monkey. Eager
self-confidence had blinded the bishop to the tactical blunder in thus
inviting a retort. Huxley was instantly upon his feet with a speech
demolishing the bishop's card house of mistakes; and at the close he
observed that since a question of personal preferences had been very
improperly brought into a discussion of a scientific theory, he felt
free to confess that if the alternatives were descent, on the one hand
from a respectable monkey, or on the other from a bishop of the
English church who wo