(1851-)
[Illustration: HENRY DRUMMOND]
One of the most widely read of modern essayists, Henry Drummond, was
born at Stirling, Scotland, in 1851. Educated for the ministry, he
passed through the Universities of Edinburgh and Tuebingen, and the
Free Church Divinity Hall, and after ordination was appointed to a
mission chapel at Malta. The beauty and the historic interest of the
famous island roused in him a desire for travel, and in the intervals
of his professional work he has made semi-scientific pilgrimages to
the Rocky Mountains and to South Africa, as well as lecturing tours to
Canada, Australia, and the United States, where his addresses on
scientific, religious, and sociological subjects have attracted large
audiences.
A man of indefatigable industry, he has published many books, the most
widely read of these being 'Natural Law in the Spiritual World' a
study of psychological conditions from the point of view of the
Evolutionist. This work has passed through a large number of editions,
and been translated into French, German, Dutch, and Norwegian.
Scarcely less popular were 'The Greatest Thing in the World' (love),
and 'Pax Vobiscum.' In 1894 he published a volume called 'The Ascent
of Man,' in which he insists that certain altruistic factors modify
the process of Natural Selection. This doctrine elicited much critical
commentary from the stricter sects of the scientists, but the new view
commended itself at once to the general reader.
The citations here given are selected from Mr. Drummond's book of
travels, 'Tropical Africa,' a book whose simplicity and vividness
enable the reader to see the Dark Continent exactly as it is.