Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley Volume II Part 32

I had about three thousand people to hear me on Sat.u.r.day at Manchester, and it would have done you good to hear how they cheered at my allusion to personal rule. I had to stop and let them ease their souls.

Behold my P.S. is longer than my letter. It's the strong feminine element in my character oozing out. "Desinit in piscem" though, and a mighty queer fish too.

4 Marlborough Place, January 12, 1879.

Dear Lecky,

I am very much obliged for your suggestion about the note at page 9. I am ashamed to say that though the eleven day correction was familiar enough to me, I had never thought about the s.h.i.+fting of the beginning of the year till you mentioned it. It is a law of nature, I believe, that when a man says what he need not say he is sure to blunder. The note shall go out.

All I know about Sprat is as the author of a dull history of the Royal Society, so I was surprised to meet with Hume's estimate of him.

No doubt about the general hatred of the Scotch, but you will observe that I make Millar responsible for the peace-making a.s.surance.

What you said to me in conversation some time ago led me to look at Hume's position as a moralist with some care, and I quoted the pa.s.sage at page 206 that no doubt might be left on the matter.

The little book threatened to grow to an undue length, and therefore the question of morals is treated more briefly than was perhaps desirable.

Ever yours very faithfully,

T.H. Huxley.

[Early in November I find the first reference to a proposed, but never completed, "English Men of Science" series in the letter to Mr. Morley above. The following letters, especially those to Sir H. Roscoe, with whom he was concerting the series, give some idea of its scope:--]

4 Marlborough Place, N.W., December 10, 1878.

My dear Roscoe,

You will think that I have broken out into letter-writing in a very unwonted fas.h.i.+on, but I forgot half of what I had to say this morning.

After a good deal of consultation with Macmillans, who were anxious that the "English Men of Science" series should not be too extensive, I have arranged the books as follows:--

1. Roger Bacon.

2. Harvey and the Physiologists of the 17th century.

3. Robert Boyle and the Royal Society.

4. Isaac Newton.

5. Charles Darwin.

6. English Physicists, Gilbert, Young, Faraday, Joule.

7. English Chemists, Black, Priestley, Cavendish, Davy, Dalton.

8. English Physiologists and Zoologists of the 18th century, Hunter, etc.

9. English Botanists, Ray, Crew, Hales, Brown.

10. English Geologists, Hutton, Smith, Lyell.

We may throw in the astronomers if the thing goes.

Green of Leeds will undertake 10; Dyer, with Hooker's aid, 9; M.

Foster eight and I look to you for 7.

Tyndall has half promised to do Boyle, and I hope he will.

Clerk-Maxwell can't undertake Newton, and hints X. But I won't have X.--he is too much of a bolter to go into the tandem. I am thinking of asking Moulton, who is strongly recommended by Spottiswoode, and is a very able fellow, likely to put his strength into it.

Do you know anything about Chrystal of St. Andrews? [Now Professor of Mathematics at Edinburgh.] I forget whether I asked you before. From all I hear of him I expect he would do Number 6 very well. I have written to Adamson by this post.

I shall get off with Harvey and Darwin to my share.

Ever yours very faithfully,

T.H. Huxley.

4 Marlborough Place, N.W., December 26, 1878.

My dear Roscoe,

I was very loth to lump the chemists together, but Max was very strong about not having too many books in the series; and on the other hand, I had my doubts how far the chemists were capable of "dissociation"

without making the book too technical.

But I do not regard the present arrangement as unalterable, and if you think the early chemists and the later chemists would do better in two separate groups, the matter is quite open to consideration.

Maxwell says he is overdone with work already, and altogether declines to take anything new. I shall have to look about me for a man to do the Physikers.

Of course Adamson will have to take in a view of the science of the Middle Ages. That will be one of the most interesting parts of the book, and I hope he will do it well. I suppose he knows his Dante.

The final cause of boys is to catch something or other. I trust that yours is demeasling himself properly.

Ever yours very faithfully,

T.H. Huxley.

4 Marlborough Place, December 1878.

My dear Tyndall,

I consider your saying the other evening that you would see "any one else d--d first," before you would a.s.sent to the little proposal I made to you, as the most distinct and binding acceptance you are capable of. You have nothing else to swear by, and so you swear at everybody but me when you want to pledge yourself.

It will release me of an immense difficulty if you will undertake R.

Boyle and the Royal Society (which of course includes Hooke); and the subject is a capital one.

The book should not exceed about 200 pages, and you need not be ready before this time next year. There could not be a more refres.h.i.+ng piece of work just to enliven the dolce far niente of the Bel Alp. (That is quite a la Knowles, and I begin to think I have some faculty as an editor.)

Settle your own terms with Macmillan. They will be as joyful as I shall be to know you are going to take part in the enterprise.