Aphorisms and Reflections from the Works of T. H. Huxley — John Shaqi
Aphorisms and Reflections from the Works of T. H. HuxleyHuxley, Thomas Henry
Philosophy
Aphorisms and Reflections from the Works of T. H. Huxley
Huxley, Thomas Henry
Science
Medicine was the foster-mother of Chemistry, because it has to do
with the preparation of drugs and the detection of poisons; of Botany,
because it enabled the physician to recognise medicinal herbs; of
Comparative Anatomy and Physiology, because the man who studied Human
Anatomy and Physiology for purely medical purposes was led to extend his
studies to the rest of the animal world.
CIV
A thorough study of Human Physiology is, in itself, an education broader
and more comprehensive than much that passes under that name. There is
no side of the intellect which it does not call into play, no region
of human knowledge into which either its roots, or its branches, do not
extend; like the Atlantic between the Old and the New Worlds, its waves
wash the shores of the two worlds of matter and of mind; its tributary
streams flow from both; through its waters, as yet unfurrowed by the
keel of any Columbus, lies the road, if such there be, from the one to
the other; far away from that North-west Passage of mere speculation, in
which so many brave souls have been hopelessly frozen up.
CV
You know that among the Bees, it depends on the kind of cell in which
the egg is deposited, and the quantity and quality of food which is
supplied to the grub, whether it shall turn out a busy little worker
or a big idle queen. And, in the human hive, the cells of the endowed
larvae are always tending to enlarge, and their food to improve, until
we get queens, beautiful to behold, but which gather no honey and build
no comb.
CVI
Examination, like fire, is a good servant, but a bad master; and there
seems to me to be some danger of its becoming our master. I by no means
stand alone in this opinion. Experienced friends of mine do not hesitate
to say that students whose career they watch appear to them to become
deteriorated by the constant effort to pass this or that examination,
just as we hear of mens brains becoming affected by the daily necessity
of catching a train. They work to pass, not to know; and outraged
Science takes Her revenge. They do pass, and they don't know.
CVII
A man's worst difficulties begin when he is able to do as he likes.
CVIII
There is but one right, and the possibilities of wrong are infinite.
CIX
It is given to few to add to the store of knowledge, to strike new
springs of thought, or to shape new forms of beauty. But so sure as
it is that men live not by bread, but by ideas, so sure is it that the
future of the world lies in the hands of those who are able to carry the
interpretation of nature a step further than their predecessors.
CX
Size is not grandeur, and territory does not make a nation.
CXI
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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