A Literary Moment with Thomas Henry Huxley

By Bluestalking @Bluestalking

From Yeast by Thomas H. Huxley

"The quantity of this dirty-looking stuff, that we call the scum and the
lees, goes on increasing until it reaches a certain amount, and then
it stops; and by the time it stops, you find the liquid in which this
matter has been formed has become altered in its quality. To begin with
it was a mere sweetish substance, having the flavor of whatever might
be the plant from which it was expressed, or having merely the taste and
the absence of smell of a solution of sugar; but by the time that this
change that I have been briefly describing to you is accomplished the
liquid has become completely altered, it has acquired a peculiar smell,
and, what is still more remarkable, it has gained the property of
intoxicating the person who drinks it."

Miraculously, the full text of this work can be found at Project Gutenberg.

Thomas Henry Huxley: Biologist. Zoologist. Essayist. Nicknamed "Darwin's Bulldog" for his support of the man's theory.

He coined the word "agnostic," to describe his personal philosophy on the topic of religion.

Expert on invertebrates. Then vertebrates.


Artist: Drawing, Australian Woman

Thomas Henry Huxley

"Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing."

And turns out I can't make fun of him for his titilating work on bubbly sugars, after all. He actually wrote some damned good stuff. Check out his quotes.

But use your own judgment on the yeast.