The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-12-07
HeRsERT SPENCER.

Z ROM LONDON comes word that
4 Herbert Spencer is dying at his
home in Brighton. The news win cause
worldwide regret, for this veteran stu
dent, writer and economist is as wei
known and as wei loved as any man Of
his generation. Looking back over the
sixty-odd years since Herbert Spencer
first began making a name for himself,
we may say his greatness covers, not
one, but several generations. A Won
derful man is Spencer, wonderful in
more respects than one.
AS a writer of force and logic and
calm thought his time has not seen mis-
equal. Yet, though the son Of a school
master and the grandson Of a school
master, Spencer's early training and
education were not along literary lines,
or philosophic lines. Born ir April, 1920
he was rather indiherently educated,
first by his father and later by his
uncle. the Rev. Thomas Spencer. a cur
ate. It does not seem possible that Spen-
Ger could have acquired a very thor
ough education, because at the age OF
Il he entered the profession of railway
engineering and followed it for eight
or nine years.
At odd intervals he had written a
series Of articles on the proper sphere
Of government for a periodical called
the Non Conformist. Tt was natural
therefore, that he should continue this
line Of work when he left the railroad
business. In 1S4S he became sub-editOr
OF the London Economist. Two years
later he began contributing TO the
Leader. a weekly publication. At that
time. though ne had the appearance Of
strong man. his health was not good
and he feared that he could not live
TO any great age. Nevertheless, he did
not allow his forebodings 10 interfere
with his work.
In 1850 his first book, Social States, %
appeared. Tt contained more than a
hint of the political philosophy of his
subsequent writings. Many critics con-
slider the series of essays begun by
Spencer in 1852 as his best work. His
third essay won for him the attention
and the admiration of thousands Of
readers for its power and originality.
The essay was an argument for the 6e-
velopment hypothesis. Considered even
more remarkable was q subsequent es-
say in the same series on Progress;
Its Law and Cause" which was first
published in 1857 in the Westminster
Review. In this essay Spencer origin
ated the theory that evolution is a uni
versaI process.
Although his fame viii be based on
other things as wen, Spencers Syn
thetic Philosophy win always be con-
sidered his monument. And a noble
monument it is. Into the volumes Of
synthetic Philosophy" Spencer put the
best years Of his life. He began it in
1850 and did not finish. Interrupted as
ne was with frequent reIapses from fair
health to poor health. until 1896. Thir-
ty-six years, more than half of the av-
erage lifetime. did Spencer give to his
Synthetic Philosophy" In his old age
he has been resting. as he could well
afford to rest. on the Iaurels so freely
accorded him.
OF the personal side Of Spencer,
George Hes. an old friend. wiring In
Worlds Work February. 1909 says:
Spencer has never been much of a
reader; he was wont to say that If he
were to read as much as other people
he would know as little as they. He
has never bought many books, nor Dor
rowed from circulating HDraTi5S o. 49, -
er sources, and yet he has managed to
accumulate enormous stores of bnowI-
edge. He read but little in the fore
noon, and ne dared not read Aat all in
the evening through dread of Insomnia,
but for all that he seemed to miss moth
ing in print that bore on his work A
little time went a long way with him
five minutes over an article. half an
hour over a book, awaited him as much
as half an hour or half day to an
other man