Thomas Henry Huxley’s “On a Piece of Chalk.”

This little gem is the second offering by Huxley in my coveted “Gateway to the Great Books” set, Vol. 8. I know it’s a gem because I began it last night. While not exactly easy reading in the sense of Little Women (which I also read in these last days), it has already contained the following sequence A. Men sought to avoid running ships aground, B. Which led to need to anchor ships, C. Tar was invented to help anchor hold to sea floor, D. Sea floor that stuck to the tar and was brought to surface caused curiosity, E. Another device to gather sea floor samples was invented, F. Telegram cable was desired from USA to Europe, G. The entire length of sea floor between the two was surveyed for utility to this purpose.

Isn’t that fascinating? (Both the A-G part and that yours truly reads such a wide breadth of books.)