The foundation of morality is to have done, once and for all, with lying. Thomas Huxley More Quotes by Thomas Huxley More Quotes From Thomas Huxley There is no sadder sight in the world than to see a beautiful theory killed by a brutal fact. Thomas Huxley sightbeautifulworld Mix salt and sand, and it shall puzzle the wisest of men, with his mere natural appliances, to separate all the grains of sand from all the grains of salt; but a shower of rain will effect the same object in ten minutes. Thomas Huxley naturerainscience I would rather be the offspring of two apes than be a man and afraid to face the truth. Thomas Huxley mentworeligion Not only do I disbelieve in the need for compensation, but I believe that the seeking for rewards and punishments out of this lifeleads men to a ruinous ignorance of the fact that their inevitable rewards and punishments are here. Thomas Huxley ignorancemenbelieve There is nothing of permanent value (putting aside a few human affections) nothing that satisfies quiet reflection--except the sense of having worked according to one's capacity and light to make things clear and get rid of cant and shams of all sorts. Thomas Huxley lighttruthreflection The very existence of society depends on the fact that every member of it tacitly admits he is not the exclusive possessor of himself, and that he admits the claim of the polity of which he forms a part, to act, to some extent, as his master. Thomas Huxley societygovernmentfacts I really see no harm which can come of giving our children a little knowledge of physiology. ... The instruction must be real, based upon observation, eked out by good explanatory diagrams and models, and conveyed by a teacher whose own knowledge has been acquired by a study of the facts; and not the mere catechismal parrot-work which too often usurps the place of elementary teaching. Thomas Huxley educationteacherchildren You may read any quantity of books, and you may almost as ignorant as you were at starting, if you don't have, at the back of yourminds, the change for words in definite images which can only be acquired through the operation of your observing faculties on the phenomena of nature. Thomas Huxley ignorantmaybook It is an error to imagine that evolution signifies a constant tendency to increased perfection. That process undoubtedly involves a constant remodeling of the organism in adaptation to new conditions; but it depends on the nature of those conditions whether the direction of the modifications effected shall be upward or downward. Thomas Huxley errorsperfectionscience Unity of plan everywhere lies hidden under the mask: of diversity of structure-the complex is everywhere evolved out of the simple. Thomas Huxley simplesciencelying Life is like walking along a crowded street--there always seem to be fewer obstacles to getting along on the opposite pavement--and yet, if one crosses over, matters are rarely mended. Thomas Huxley matteroppositeslife It is given to few to add 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. Thomas Huxley springlyingknowledge Of all the senseless babble I have ever had occasion to read, the demonstrations of these philosophers who undertake to tell us all about the nature of God would be the worst, if they were not surpassed by the still greater absurdities of the philosophers who try to prove that there is no God. Thomas Huxley philosophicalgodtrying There is no greater mistake than the hasty conclusion that opinions are worthless because they are badly argued. Thomas Huxley conclusionopinionmistake The population question is the real riddle of the sphinx, to which no political Oedipus has as yet found the answer. In view of the ravages of the terrible monster over-multiplication, all other riddle sink into insignificance. Thomas Huxley oedipusrealviews I do not say think as I think, but think in my way. Fear no shadows, least of all in that great spectre of personal unhappiness which binds half the world to orthodoxy. Thomas Huxley shadowhalfthinking People never will recollect that mere learning and mere cleverness are of next to no value in life, while energy and intellectual grip, the things that are inborn and cannot be taught, are everything. Thomas Huxley energyintellectualpeople Science ... warns me to be careful how I adopt a view which jumps with my preconceptions, and to require stronger evidence for such belief than for one to which I was previously hostile. My business is to teach my aspirations to conform themselves to fact, not to try and make facts harmonize with my aspirations. Thomas Huxley atheismviewsscience To a clear eye the smallest fact is a window through which the infinite may be seen. Thomas Huxley eyemayfacts The only question which any wise man can ask himself, and which any honest man will ask himself, is whether a doctrine is true or false. Thomas Huxley true-or-falsewisemen
