

AS PHILOSOPHICAL BIOLOGIST 323 



We have seen him to excel in them all. The cumulative result 

 is that he is universally held to have been, during several decades, 

 the most distinguished botanist of his time. He was before all 

 things a philosopher. In him we see the foremost student of the 

 broader aspects of Plant-Life at the time when evolutionary 

 belief was nascent. His influence at that stirring period, though 

 quiet, was far-reaching and deep. His work was both critical 

 and constructive. His wide knowledge, his keen insight, his 

 fearless judgment were invaluable in advancing that intellectual 

 revolution which found its pivot in the mutability of species. 

 The share he took in promoting it was second only to that of 

 his life-long friend Charles Darwin. 



