第 4 节
作者:匆匆      更新:2024-04-07 11:54      字数:9322
  art。  Huxley believed strongly in the arts as a refining and
  helpful influence in education。  He keenly enjoyed good music。
  Professor Hewes writes of him that one breaking in upon him in the
  afternoon at South Kensington would not infrequently be met 〃with a
  snatch of some melody of Bach's fugue。〃  He also liked good
  pictures; and always had among his friends well…known artists; as
  Alma…Tadema; Sir Frederick Leighton; and Burne…Jones。  He read
  poetry widely; and strongly advocated the teaching of poetry in
  English schools。  As to poetry; his own preferences are
  interesting。  Wordsworth he considered too discursive; Shelley was
  too diffuse; Keats; he liked for pure beauty; Browning for
  strength; and Tennyson for his understanding of modern science; but
  most frequently of all he read Milton and Shakespeare。
  As to Huxley's appearance; and as to the impression which his
  personality made upon others; the description of a friend; Mr。 G。
  W。 Smalley; presents him with striking force。  〃The square
  forehead; the square jaw; the tense lines of the mouth; the deep
  flashing dark eyes; the impression of something more than strength
  he gave you; an impression of sincerity; of solid force; of
  immovability; yet with the gentleness arising from the serene
  consciousness of his strengthall this belonged to Huxley and to
  him alone。  The first glance magnetized his audience。  The eyes
  were those of one accustomed to command; of one having authority;
  and not fearing on occasion to use it。  The hair swept carelessly
  away from the broad forehead and grew rather long behind; yet the
  length did not suggest; as it often does; effeminacy。  He was
  masculine in everythinglook; gesture; speech。  Sparing of
  gesture; sparing of emphasis; careless of mere rhetorical or
  oratorical art; he had nevertheless the secret of the highest art
  of all; whether in oratory or whatever elsehe had simplicity。〃
  Simplicity; directness; sincerity;all these qualities describe
  Huxley; but the one attribute which distinguishes him above all
  others is love of truth。  A love of truth; as the phrase
  characterizes Huxley; would necessarily produce a scholarly habit
  of mind。  It was the zealous search for truth which determined his
  method of work。  In science; Huxley would 〃take at second hand
  nothing for which he vouched in teaching。〃  Some one reproached him
  for wasting time verifying what another had already done。  〃If that
  is his practice;〃 he commented; 〃his work will never live。〃  The
  same motive made him a master of languages。  To be able to read at
  first hand the writings of other nations; he learned German;
  French; Italian; and Greek。  One of the chief reasons for learning
  to read Greek was to see for himself if Aristotle really did say
  that the heart had only three chambersan error; he discovered;
  not of Aristotle; but of the translator。  It was; moreover; the
  scholar in Huxley which made him impatient of narrow; half…formed;
  foggy conclusions。  His own work has all the breadth and freedom
  and universality of the scholar; but it has; also; a quality
  equally distinctive of the scholar; namely; an infinite precision
  in the matter of detail。
  If love of truth made Huxley a scholar; it made him; also; a
  courageous fighter。  Man's first duty; as he saw it; was to seek
  the truth; his second was to teach it to others; and; if necessary;
  to contend valiantly for it。  To fail to teach what you honestly
  know to be true; because it may harm your reputation; or even
  because it may give pain to others; is cowardice。  〃I am not
  greatly concerned about any reputation;〃 Huxley writes to his wife;
  〃except that of being entirely honest and straightforward。〃
  Regardless of warnings that the publication of Man's Place in
  Nature would ruin his career; Huxley passed on to others what
  nature had revealed to him。  He was regardless; also; of the
  confusion and pain which his view would necessarily bring to those
  who had been nourished in old traditions。  To stand with a man or
  two and to do battle with the world on the score of its old
  beliefs; has never been an easy task since the world began。
  Certainly it required fearlessness and determination to wrestle
  with the prejudices against science in the middle of the nineteenth
  centuryhow much may be gathered from the reading of Darwin's Life
  and Letters。  The attitude of the times toward science has already
  been indicated。  One may he allowed to give one more example from
  the reported address of a clergyman。  〃O ye men of science; ye men
  of science; leave us our ancestors in paradise; and you may have
  yours in Zoological gardens。〃  The war was; for the most part;
  between the clergy and the men of science; but it is necessary to
  remember that Huxley fought not against Christianity; but against
  dogma; that he fought not against the past;he had great reverence
  for the accomplishment of the past;but against unwillingness to
  accept the new truth of the present。
  A scholar of the highest type and a fearless defender of true and
  honest thinking; Huxley certainly was: but the quality which gives
  meaning to his work; which makes it live; is a certain human
  quality due to the fact that Huxley was always keenly alive to the
  relation of science to the problems of life。  For this reason; he
  was not content with the mere acquirement of knowledge; and for
  this reason; also; he could not quietly wait until the world should
  come to his way of thinking。  Much of the time; therefore; which he
  would otherwise naturally have spent in research; he spent in
  contending for and in endeavoring to popularize the facts of
  science。  It was this desire to make his ideas prevail that led
  Huxley to work for a mastery of the technique of speaking and
  writing。  He hated both; but taught himself to do both well。  The
  end of all his infinite pains about his writing was not because
  style for its own sake is worth while; but because he saw that the
  only way to win men to a consideration of his message was to make
  it perfectly clear and attractive to them。  Huxley's message to the
  people was that happiness; usefulness; and even material prosperity
  depend upon an understanding of the laws of nature。  He also taught
  that a knowledge of the facts of science is the soundest basis for
  moral law; that a clear sense of the penalties which Nature
  inflicts for disobedience of her laws must eventually be the
  greatest force for the purification of life。  If he was to be
  remembered; therefore; he desired that he should be remembered
  primarily as one who had helped the people 〃to think truly and to
  live rightly。〃  Huxley's writing is; then; something more than a
  scholarly exposition of abstruse matter; for it has been further
  devoted to the increasing of man's capacity for usefulness; and to
  the betterment of his life here on earth。
  II
  SUBJECT…MATTER; STRUCTURE; AND STYLE
  From the point of view of subject…matter; structure; and style;
  Huxley's essays are admirably adapted to the uses of the student in
  English。  The themes of the essays are two; education and science。
  In these two subjects Huxley earnestly sought to arouse interest
  and to impart knowledge; because he believed that intelligence in
  these matters is essential for the advancement of the race in
  strength and morality。  Both subjects; therefore; should be
  valuable to the student。  In education; certainly; he should be
  interested; since it is his main occupation; if not his chief
  concern。  Essays like A Liberal Education and The Principal
  Subjects of Education may suggest to him the meaning of all his
  work; and may suggest; also; the things which it would be well for
  him to know; and; even more; a consideration of these subjects may
  arouse him to a greater interest and responsibility than he usually
  assumes toward his own mental equipment。  Of greater interest
  probably will be the subjects which deal with nature; for the ways
  of nature are more nearly within the range of his real concerns
  than are the wherefores of study。  The story of the formation of a
  piece of chalk; the substance which lies at the basis of all life;
  the habits of sea animals; are all subjects the nature of which is
  akin to his own eager interest in the world。
  Undoubtedly the subjects about which Huxley writes will 〃appeal〃 to
  the student; but it is in analysis that the real discipline lies。
  For analysis Huxley's essays are excellent。  They illustrate 〃the
  clear power of exposition;〃 and such power is; as Huxley wrote to
  Tyndall; the one quality the people want;exposition 〃so clear
  that they may think they understand even if they don't。〃  Huxley
  obtains that perfect clearness in his own work by simple
  definition; by keeping steadily before his audience his intention;
  and by making plain throughout his lecture a well…defined organic
  structure。  No X…ray machine is needful to make the skeleton
  visible; it stands forth with the parts all nic