The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-03-26
IN.

with the author Of the synthetic philosophy.
pMr. James Collier is able TO throw many
sidelights on Spencer's character. tenn
permanent and habits Of work. The remi-
niscences begin With portrait. The fact
Is recalled that Herbert Spencer WAS
above the average hGght-about feet
or 10 inches-and had not Gladstone's
upright. unbending, yet elastic carriage,
but rather an easy, good-natured swing,
not to say stoop. which answered well to
bis character. though that was unyielding
in matters Of principle. The head was
large and the forehead was broad, but
not as high a. one would expect TO see In q
great thinker. His hair was black, but
his eyes were light blue. The nose was
aqiline the upper lip inherited from his
mother was long. and gave his face an
expression Of honesty, but also Of GER
tain commonplaceness that oveTlay his
originality The passionless, thin lips be
spoke a total absence Of sensuAllty, and the
light eyes betrayed q lack OF emotional
depth. Neither the chin nor the lower jaw
revealed exceptional strength Of win: and,
as a matter Of fact. although he showed
no want Of frmness In life. and never gave
way In any struggle. Spencer possessed
none Of the dubious qualities often asso-
ciated with an abnormal development
OF the jaw and the muscles Of the neck.
The tinge Of color on the cheekbones bore
witness to an incorruptness OF physical
nature and Mr. Collier notes in passing
hat Spencer paled whom he was angry. as
formidable men are said TO do.
The opinion Is expressed that he inner
tied, so far as he can be said to have owed
anything to inheritance. his originality
! from his father. who himseR was the author
Of an esteemed work on Intentional
Geometry and also OF q new system Of
shorthand. The son inherited his fathers
tnventiveness and abounded in mechanical
devices but he never sacrificed principles
to details Mr.. Collier thinks that from
the same paternAl source the author Of
Social States derived the stun which
! formed the basis Of his character. the stun
that goes to make a rebel In the good sense
Of that word. A description Of the father
in Mozley's "Reminiscences led a reader
TO recognize in him typical 'Nonconform-
| ist,' and there Is no doubt that Herbert
! Spencer was a nonconformist In the widest
sense to the end Of his days He was
| against government Of all sorts. because he
was himself fully self-goVerned. and habit
udAAg ENNh IN hlaNNoAu VI
dress be longN acted on the principles Of
Independence expounded in his Manners
and Fashions He at first went out to
dinner in a frook coat. and although ult-
mately he discarded II in favor Of . sWal-
low tail he always refused to wear a white
neclStis. Those who had invited him, be
said, must take him as he chose to come.
Mr.. Collier recalls that when the Gar
L Z -, 4
a wish to meet the most distinguished
English savants. Spencer, Huxley and
Tyndall were invited among Others to dine
with the Minister Of Foreign Affairs. Each
dealt with the invitation in a characteristic
manner. Huxley considered that as a
representative OF scientific societies he
might properly appear in the regulation
court costume, Tyndal went in ordinary
evening dress, and was said 10 have looked
extremely uncomfortable. while Spencer
at first declined to 60 on the pretext that
he had no court dress, and when Lady
Derby hoped that he would come dressed ss
he liked he decided not to 60 at all
From some facts recorded by Mr.. Collier
il Is evident that by nature Herbert
Spencer was a many sided man, and that
his adoption Of the profession Of a civil !
engineer was largely determined by the !
objective and mathematical education !
which he received almost exclusively from |
his father. He had We road, "a pro-
nounced contempt for one sided capacity. |
and he thought that an able man should |
he capable Of doing anything. He would |
himself have been distinguished In almost |
any pursuit He had an ine1hgustible |
faculty Of developing, a pTior and po {. |
eriori, inductive and deductive arguments |
in support Of any imaginable proposition. |
and as a Hia prius advocate he would |
have been unapproschable, He might |
have been a professional inventor, and |
anticipated Edison. His water colors |
showed a promising artistic eift and hav-
ing bass voice Of good tinb5e, he sang in |
rart-musio From the last named accom-
plshment Il may be inferred that his strik- |
ing essay on The Origin and Function Of |
Music was no accident, nor was il las Emer-
son ungenerously and untruly said Of all |
his wTitings) the work Of a stock writer
who could write equally well on all sub
jects.'
There Is no doubt that, although his oon-
structive faculties were Of the first order,
Spencer's vocation was authorship rather
than civil engineering. Those who are
WIN Tue hlNlNtuS Oh MS Tue VIII
remember that be was still an engineer
when be published several papers in the
Girl Engineers journal, including a series
on The Proper Sphere Of Government,
which attracted the notice Of James Wilson,
the proprietor and editor Of the Economist
Il was Spencer'S appointment as sub-editor
Of that paper In ls4s that decided him 10
renounce the purpose which he was then
on the point Of carrying out, Of abandoning
the profession Of civil engineering, then
overcrowded in Great Tri,ain, and emf
grating to New Zealand where il Ia sug-
gested that, like Alfred Domett, Brown
ings 'Waring, who emigrated about tina.
time he might have risen to reputation as
a Philo-Maori Premier. The sub-editorship
kept him in England, and not only settled
his personal future but was materially 70
affect the future Of English philosophy. for.
even II he did not succeed in solving all
the problems that he mooted, he left them
distinctly formulated for bis SUCCESSORS 10
solve. II was while be was helping 20 edit
the KeonomiSt that he composed Social
statos,' which, In turn, led 10 his being