| |
Introduction
It
has to be one of the great stories of the history of science. The event we
remember happened in Oxford on 30 June 1860 when the British Association for the
Advancement of Science was in town. Seeking to score a point against Darwin's
disciples, the Bishop of Oxford unwisely baited Thomas Henry Huxley by enquiring
whether he would prefer to think of himself descended from an ape on his
grandfather's or grandmother's side. According to legend he quickly had his
comeuppance. Huxley whispered to a neighbour: "The Lord hath delivered him
into mine hands". And replying to the provocation he said that he would
rather have an ape for an ancestor than a bishop - or words to that effect. It
was rumoured that Huxley said he would rather be an ape than a bishop; but
Huxley denied ever saying such a thing. What he had said was bruising enough. He
was not ashamed of a simian ancestry but "he would be ashamed to be
connected with a man who used great gifts to obscure the truth." Writing in
Macmillan's Magazine many years later, Isabel Sidgwick recalled that
"no one doubted [Huxley's] meaning, and the effect was tremendous. One lady
fainted and had to be carried out; I, for one, jumped out of my seat."
It was, it seems, a tremendous occasion. According to another report, "the
room was crowded to suffocation long before the protagonists appeared on the
scene, 700 persons or more managing to find places." And the report
continues: "the very windows by which the room was lighted down the length
of its west side were packed with ladies, whose white handkerchiefs, waving and
fluttering in the air at the end of the Bishop's speech, were an unforgettable
factor in the acclamation of the crowd." In yet another report Soapy Sam
got what he deserved; for he had spoken for no less than half an hour with
"inimitable spirit, emptiness and unfairness." Huxley's riposte was a
victory for scientific professionalism over clerical interference. Or was it?
|
|