MORPHOLOGY AND EVOLUTION 247 



materialism of the day, and found expression particularly in 

 the cell-theory and in materialistic physiology. 



The separation between morphology as the science of 

 form and physiology as the science of the physics and 

 chemistry of the living body had by Darwin's day become 

 well-nigh absolute. 



The morphology of the 'fifties lent itself readily to 

 evolutionary interpretation. Darwin found it easy to give 

 a formal solution of all the main problems which pre- 

 evolutionary morphology had set he was able to interpret 

 the natural system of classification as being in reality 

 genealogical, systematic relationship as being really blood- 

 relationship ; he was able to interpret homology and analogy 

 in terms of heredity and adaptation ; he was able to explain 

 the unity of plan by descent from a common ancestor, and 

 for the concept of " archetype " to substitute that of 

 " ancestral form." 



The current morphology, Darwin found, could be taken 

 over, lock,'stock and barrel, to the evolutionary camp. 



In what follows we shall see that the coming of evolution 

 made surprisingly little difference to morphology, that the 

 same methods were consciously or unconsciously followed, 

 the same mental attitudes taken up, after as before the 

 publication of the Origin of Species. 



Darwin himself was not a professional morphologist ; the 

 conversion of morphology to evolutionary ideas was carried 

 out principally by his followers, Ernst Haeckel and Carl 

 Gegenbaur in Germany, Huxley, Lankester, and F. M. 

 Balfour in England. 



It was in 1866 that Haeckel's chief work appeared, a 

 General MorpJwlogy of Organisms} which was intended by its 

 author to bring all morphology under the sway and 

 domination of evolution. 



It was a curious production, this first book of Haeckel's, 

 and representative not so much of Darwinian as of pre- 



1 Gene re lie Morphologie der Organisuien. Allgevieine Grundstige der 

 organischen Formenivissenschaft, nicchanisch begriindet durch die von 

 C/t. Darwin reformierte Descendenzthcorie. Berlin, 1866. Reprinted in 

 part as Prinzipien der generellen Morphologie der Organismen. Berlin, 

 1906. 



R 



