RECENT LITERATURE. 
Darwin and After Darwin. An Exposition of the Darwinian 
Theory and a Discussion of Post-Darwinian Questions. By GEORGE 
Joun Romaness, M.A.,L.L.D.,F.R.S. I. The Darwinian Theory.* 
Ever since the publication of the Origin of Species by Means ot 
Natural Selection, scientists have been at work adding testimony of 
the fact of evolution and discussing theories explanatory of the fact, 
until, at the present time, the literature of the subject has become 
highly complex and involved. It would be interesting, indeed, if. 
the voice of Darwin could be heard to-day concerning the many 
questions which have arisen since his death, or upon which new 
light has been thrown by recent criticism and investigation. This 
being impossible, there is no man so pre-eminently qualified to speak 
for him as George J. Romanes. From personal contact and sym- 
pathy with his master, and from years of study in similar lines of 
investigation, he is probably more thoroughly imbued with Darwin’s 
spirit than any other man living, and his attitude of viewing the 
biological problems of the day doubtless comes as near to the 
standpoint which Darwin himself would be expected to assume as 
is possible to imagine. His present work will consequently possess 
a double interest and value to those concerned with the literature of 
Darwinism. 
The first volume of the series of three, the only one as yet before 
the public, is, as the author says in his preface, “ likely to prove of 
more service to general readers than to professed naturalists,” being 
‘“a systematic exposition of what may be termed the Darwinism of 
Darwin”; and yet many questions are raised, even in this first vol- 
ume, in which scientists are greatly concerned. The book is very 
properly divided into two parts, the first being a demonstration of 
evolution as a fact, and the second a discussion of natural and sex- 
ual selection as more or less complete explanations of the fact. 
With the first part of the work naturalists are not so much con- 
cerned as the general public, for if there be any actual workers im 
‘Scientific fields at the present day who are not convinced of the va- 
lidity of evolution as a fact—as a description of the historical growth 
of organisms—there is no hope for them, and they are not worth 
wasting time with. With the general public, however, the case is 
* Open Court Publishing Co., Chicago. 
