Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 33.djvu/172

Rh made in 1851 the acquaintance of Miss Evans [see ], who had come to London to help in editing the ‘Westminster Review.’ The views of marriage held by Lewes and his immediate circle were not more strict than those of Godwin and Shelley. When, however, the conduct of the persons concerned exemplified the theories which he had inculcated, complications arose which became practically trying. In July 1854 Lewes left his family, with whom he had lived until that date, and went with Miss Evans to Germany. The circumstances were such as to preclude the possibility of a divorce. It would apparently be unjust to say that the wrong was exclusively upon either side; but it does not appear that moral laxity was combined with cruelty. Lewes had for a time to work hard to support his wife and children (Life of George Eliot, i. 312), and sent his boys to school in Switzerland.

For the rest of his life Lewes passed as the husband of Miss Evans, and was most affectionate and generous, devoting himself to shield her from all the troubles of authorship, and promoting her success by judicious criticism and by every means in his power. After spending some time at Weimar and Berlin, Lewes returned to England in March 1855. His ‘Life of Goethe,’ finished at Weimar, appeared in the following November with marked success, and has become the standard English work upon the subject. It was used in France as the base of two works, one of which was described by Lewes as a barefaced reproduction of his own. It has been widely accepted, in spite of some national jealousy in Germany. It shows his characteristic merits of clear good sense, independent criticism, and unflagging vivacity. Goethe's idolaters were of course dissatisfied, and Lewes's general prepossession against German style and dislike of the mystic and the allegorical may disqualify him for adequate appreciation of some aspects of Goethe's genius. The book, however, has merits which have seldom been equalled in similar work, and it retains its position in our literature.

The great success of ‘George Eliot's’ writings began in 1857 with the publication of the ‘Scenes of Clerical Life.’ Lewes was no longer under the necessity of writing for immediate profit. He now turned his attention to physiology, and published a good many articles, which showed his powers as a popular expounder of science. He visited Ilfracombe in the summer of 1856 to study marine zoology, and the ‘Seaside Studies,’ which were the result of his work, appeared early in 1858. It was welcomed by many ‘scientific bigwigs’ (Life of George Eliot, ii. 12), as well as by the public. It was followed by the ‘Physiology of Common Life’ (1859), and ‘Studies in Animal Life’ (1862), chiefly reprints from the ‘Cornhill Magazine.’ They contain suggestions due to serious scientific research, as well as popular exposition. Among various suggestions is that of the fundamental homogeneity of all nervous structures, which he appears to have first put forward, and which has been adopted by Wundt and other German physiologists. Lewes contemplated a history of science, of which his book upon Aristotle, published in 1864, was a first instalment. He endeavours to show that Aristotle's anticipations of modern science have been exaggerated.

In 1865 Lewes became the editor of the ‘Fortnightly Review,’ but without any pecuniary interest in the adventure. The first number appeared 15 May 1865, and was the first English periodical to adopt as a rule the plan of signed articles. He received contributions from many distinguished writers, but resigned his post at the end of 1866, and was succeeded by Mr. John Morley. He contributed to the ‘Pall Mall Gazette’ in its early years, and in 1875 republished from it some of his criticisms upon the drama.

Lewes had been always interested in philosophical and physiological problems. His researches into the nervous system had in 1860 given him ‘a clue through the labyrinth of mental phenomena,’ and about 1862 he began more systematically to try to put together the fundamental principles of a scientific psychology. The result was his ‘Problems of Life and Mind,’ the first volume of which appeared at the end of 1873 (dated 1874), the second in 1875, the third in 1877, and the fourth (posthumously) in 1879. The book was compiled from many papers written at different times, and is a series of discussions rather than a systematic exposition. Lewes had always been more or less a follower of Comte. He said in an article upon Comte in the ‘Fortnightly Review’ for 1867: ‘I have been criticising him for more than twenty years, and lost his friendship by my freedom.’ In the ‘Problems’ he probably diverged to some extent from his early master by admitting the relevance of some metaphysical inquiries, although by excluding the ‘metempirical’ or ontological problems which lie beyond possible experience he held that he was still adhering to Comte's doctrine. He differed from Comte also by admitting the possibility of a separate science of mind, although he connected it closely on one side with physiology, and on the other attributed new importance to the ‘sociological’ factor. He gives special prominence to the doctrine