eapon that ignorant prejudice could find, whether that
prejudice was inspired by a lofty zeal for what it conceived to be the
highest interests of humanity, or by a crafty policy which saw in the
new doctrine a blow to the coming renewed supremacy of the Church. To
us, now, it may seem that Huxley had "sharpened his beak and claws"
with the spirit of a gladiator rather than with that of the mere
defender of a scientific doctrine; but a very short study of
contemporary literature will convince anyone that for a time the
defenders of evolution had to defend not only what they knew to be
scientific truth, but their personal and private reputation. The new
doctrine, like perhaps all the great doctrines that have come into the
world, brought not peace but a sword, and had to be defended by the
sword. Darwin had not the kind of disposition nor the particular
faculties necessary for a deadly contest of this kind; he was
interested indeed above all things in convincing a few leading
naturalists of the truth of his opinions; but, that done, he would
have been contented to continue his own work quietly, in absolute
carelessness as to what the world in general thought of him. Huxley,
on the other hand, was incapable of restraining himself from
propagating what he knew to be the truth; his reforming missionary
spirit was not content simply with self-defence; it drove him to be a
bishop _in partibus infidelium_.

By a curious and interesting accident, Huxley had the opportunity of
beginning his propagandism by writing the first great review of _The
Origin of Species_ in the _Times_, at that period without question the
leading journal in the world. Huxley's own account of this happy
chance is given in _Darwin's Life and Letters_, vol. ii.

"The _Origin_ was sent to Mr. Lucas, one of the staff of the
_Times_ writers at that day, in what I suppose was the ordinary
course of business. Mr. Lucas, though an excellent journalist,
and at a later period editor of _Once a Week_, was as innocent of
any knowledge of science as a babe, and bewailed himself to an
acquaintance on having to deal with such a book, whereupon he was
recommended to ask me to get him out of his difficulty, and he
applied to me accordingly, explaining, however, that it would be
necessary for him formally to adopt anything I might be disposed
to write, by prefacing it with two or three paragraphs of his
own.