"With them the seed of wisdom did I sow,
And with mine own hand wrought to make it grow;
And this was all the Harvest that I reaped—
'I came like Water, and like Wind I go.'
"Into this Universe, and Why not knowing
Nor Whence, like water willy-nilly flowing;
And out of it, like Wind along the Waste
I know not Whither, willy-nilly blowing."
But, the more profoundly does the conception of evolution lay hold of human thought, the more inevitable it becomes to recognise that man and all that is best in man—his aspirations, ideas, virtues, and practical and abstract justice and goodness—are just as much the product of the cosmic process and part of the Cosmos as the most sinister results of the struggle for existence.
[CHAPTER XVII]
CLOSING DAYS AND SUMMARY
Huxley's Life in London—Decennial Periods—ill-health—Retirement to Eastbourne—Death—Personal Appearance—Methods of Work—Personal Characteristics—An Inspirer of Others—His Influence in Science—A Naturalist by Vocation—His Aspirations.