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