The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-07-16
THOMAS H. HUXLEY.
His Services to Science Make
His Name Immortal.
HE EXPELLED SUPERSTITION.
Substituted tho Darwfnian Theory For
the Miltonic-He Sought
Only Truth.
New York E,yaning Post.

posscersty. Brt the nature OF these serv-
ices can be properly appreciated only by
men OF science. and the world
az large must content ITSELF with
excepting their verdict Far bet
ter known is Huxiey's work In ulr-
fusing knowledge of tire facts as wei es
the theories Of science among the pubic.
He was one OF rhe FIRST 20 ILLUSTRATE whaS
was possible by means OF university ex-
tension as 81 ~ now Gained. ana, with
the exception of Herbert Spencer, no man
OF this ceutury-perhaps amy eseHssury-dsd
90 ngsrch 20 ''popularize Sc.erSce ana 10
set people thinking upon the great priff-
ciples thai he at the root of al genuine
ectersgafic tnve<sstgasAoGA BY his work IN
this dn-ec,son ne built himse6 a monument
more ersil,I,aI,g than bronze.
Spensifd as these achievements are, We
iuogsne no think THAT Huxlegs greatest
work was IN the promotion OF intellectual
honesty. II Is Impossible for any one not
of middle age 20 uuderstad the feeSrg
toward scientific inquiry whsch prevailed
when Huxley began his public caaeer. II
IS enough % say that hardly any one.
either In England or America. dared to
express freely the corrohEsaons which he
reached after honest and Conscientious
study. CONCERNING the age Cd tire wor-d or
the history OF agssrnaf Efe. Not only tia
clergy. but thu great mass OF the Aasty.
were suspicious of Sriersttf1c men as a
GLASS. Regarding them az prone 10 infidel-
ity and gnnite,thlisun: and ian order to secure
a favorable heaadrg It was necessarily for
the man of sciernce no begin by anrounc-
ing that his conclusions would be found
% be qixste in harmony with the truths OF
revealed religion -AgasSdz was nearly
cannon ed for declaring that men were
the Children OF God and not the children
of apes. and we could mention instances
where professors only kept their chairs by
following the example of Calico.
Now what this meant as Huxley point
ed out, was. according to all recognized
starGards of truth. nothing short OF
blasphemy. The common notion, one
might almost say the universal notion.
about creation, was that of Milton. At
the command OF the Almighty to bring
forth living creatures
The earth obeyei. and, straight
OreGsng her fertile womb. teened at q
birth
Inna,merous living creatures perfect
Llmbed ana fuil-gruwn.
The grassy clods now calved: now half
The tawny lion, paving to get free
His h9rder PARTS. then springs as broke
And rampant shakes his brirdled name;
the ounce.
The liboard and the tiger. as the mole
Rising. tho crurnbled earth above them
In hsEocks.
These conceptionsseem grotesque enough
row, but when Huxley began his fight
ing career. they were not grotasque but
sacred. Ii was sinful TO laugh at them.
it was tnfdelity and mateIsalisrn to ques-
tton them, and III was fiat rlheiSm ito re-
1ect them. Against the preaching OF this
doctrine, in the name OF religion and mo-
rality. Huxley nung himself with his
whole strength. He boldly declared that
Isrgr ais never were created and never
could have been created in any such man.
ner as Milton described. He !ntsmaTed
his doubt as TO whether a profound ac-
quaintance with the views of the fathers
might not disclose the fact that the Mil
fcric theory was not the orthodox onei
but he cared little whether IL was ortho-
dox or not, because It was false. His po-
sition was stated with admirable clear
ness by himself:
THE question whether the earth and
the immediate pnogenitors of It's present
living population were made In six natu-
raj days or not, is no longer one upon
which two opinions can be hesd. The fact
that tt did not so come into being stands
upon as sound a basis as any fact OF hrs
tory whatever. 1t IS not true that exist
ing plants and animals came into being
Within three days of the creation of the
earth out OF nothing, for 81 IS certain
that innumeTable generations OF other
plzntS ard animals lived upon the earth
be fore Its present population. And wfnen,
Sua cay after Sunday, men who profess TO
be our instructors In Righteousness read
out the statement. In six days the Lord
made heaven and earth, the sea, and all
that in them Is In irmugneglable churches,
they are either propagatlng what they
may easily know, and, therefore. are
bound 10 know. 10 be falsities. or, II they
use the words I'm some non-ratalral senss,
they fall below the moral standard or the
ng ch-abused Jesuit"
Needless 10 say, such plain speaking as
this caused much fiuttering in theological
dove-cotes. Every variety OF attempt was
made to confuse and obscure the issue, TO
meet 1t by general denial or confession
and avoidance. and TO overwhelm the au-
thor of tho disturbance with that copious-
ness of imprecatory eloquence for which
theological controversy has been distin-
guished. II cannot be denied that Huxley
reveled in all this. He was not so earn
estly devoted to truth in the abstrac, as
not to heartily enjoy rolling a dishonest
adversary in the dirt. But he was npde-
niabY sincere and the issue seemed to
him 10 be OF fundamental Importance
He declared that the choice between rea-
son and authority, offered 10 every one as
ne came to manhood. was like the great
question Of Elijah. "wiu you serve God
or Raal?" To choose the service OF the
Baal OF authority was 10 disqualify ones
self for the service OF scinece. And II any
one had the courage "to stand alone. face
TO face with the abyss of the Eternal ami
I-nknowable let him be content
TO follow reason and fact In singieness
and honesty OF purpose, wherever they
may lead. in the sure faith that A hell OF
honest men will. 10 him. be more endur-
able than a paradise fun OF angelic
shams."
Again and again Huxley brought back
the controversy between religion and
science to this simple issue of truth and
honesty He was not an atheist nor
mate~ialist He held that a rational the
ology might exist But, he insisted.
The present antagonism between
theology and science does not at all
arise from any assumption by the men
OF science that all theology must neces-
sarilv be excluded from science. but
simply because they are unable TO allow
that reason and morality have two
weights and two measures. and that the
belief in a proposition. because authority
tells YOU e is>tr3e, or because you wish
10 believe Il. which IS a high crime and
russ9erneanOr when the subject matter
OF rea sonlns- IS Of one kind. becomes IN
der the alias of faith the greatest OF all
Writ rex when the subject matter or rea-
souirg Is Of another kind"
such a warfare as this. OF course. en-
Es-exd ussay followers. and the noise OF
the chariots and the horseFaszn has not
vet died away. Il can hardly be said that
Huxley succeeded IN bringing the clergy
20 admit that the Miltonic account OF
creation was false, or that they were
srafl~v OF immoral conduct in not pub