Lay Sermons Addresses and Reviews

Thomas Henry Huxley (182595) became known as ''Darwin''s bulldog'' because of his forceful and energetic support for Darwin''s theory especially at the notorious British Association meeting in Oxford in 1860. In fact Huxley had some reservations about aspects of the theory especially the element of gradual continuous progress but in public he was unwavering in his allegiance saying in a letter to Darwin ''As for your doctrines I am prepared to go to the Stake if requisite''. In his 1870 essay collection Lay Sermons Addresses and Reviews of which the title alone was designed to provoke controversy he offers a variety of his writings many of which were originally talks given to a range of audiences from learned societies to a working men''s college and including his own review of On the Origin of Species and a typically passionate response to two other reviews less favourable to Darwin.