Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley — Volume 3Huxley, Thomas Henry
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Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley — Volume 3
Huxley, Thomas Henry
Huxley, Thomas Henry, 1825-1895; Naturalists -- England -- Biography
I shall never forget the first time I saw him enter his lecture-room.
He came in rapidly, yet without bustle, and as the clock struck, a
brief glance at his audience and then at once to work. He had the
excellent habit of beginning each lecture (save, of course, the first)
with a recapitulation of the main points of the preceding one. The
course was amply illustrated by excellent coloured diagrams, which, I
believe, he had made; but still more valuable were the chalk sketches
he would draw on the blackboard with admirable facility, while he was
talking, his rapid, dexterous strokes quickly building up an organism
in our minds, simultaneously through ear and eye. The lecture over, he
was ever ready to answer questions, and I often admired his patience in
explaining points which there was no excuse for any one not having
understood.
Still more was I struck with the great pleasure which he showed when he
saw that some special points of his teaching had not only been
comprehended, but had borne fruit, by their suggestiveness in an
appreciative mind.
To one point I desire specially to bear witness. There were persons who
dreaded sending young men to him, fearing lest their young friends'
religious beliefs should be upset by what they might hear said. For
years I attended his lectures, but never once did I hear him make use
of his position as a teacher to inculcate, or even hint at, his own
theological views, or to depreciate or assail what might be supposed to
be the religion of his hearers. No one could have behaved more loyally
in that respect, and a proof that I thought so is that I subsequently
sent my own son to be his pupil at South Kensington, where his
experience confirmed what had previously been my own.
As to science, I learnt more from him in two years than I had acquired
in any previous decade of biological study.
The picture is completed by Professor Howes in the "Students' Magazine"
of the Royal College of Science:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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