DARWINISM ATTACKED. 95 



other process, namely, to a sudden change in the character 

 of the germ. The creating has already taken place before 

 the question of the survival of the new form comes up. 

 After the new form has appeared the question of its per- 

 sistence will depend on whether it can get a foothold. The 

 result is now the same as when species crowd each other 

 out. This distinction appears to me to be not a matter of 

 secondary interest, but one of fundamental importance, for 

 it involves the whole question of the 'origin of species.' So ' 

 far as a phrase may sum up the difference, it appears that 

 new species are born; they are not made by Darwinian 

 methods, and the theory of natural selection has nothing to 

 do with the origin of species, but with the survival of already 

 formed species. Not selection of the fittest individuals, but f 

 the survival of the sufficiently fit species. 



'There is a fundamental difference between the idea that 

 fluctuating variations become specific characters through 

 accumulation by selection, and the idea that new species 

 arise as definite variations, which, with their appearance, 

 characterise the new form as a new species. According' 

 to the Darwinian theory, natural selection performs a double 

 duty, first, to build up new species, and second, to maintain 

 them in competition with other species. According to the 

 other view, species are not formed by any kind of selection, 

 and the question of survival only concerns the maintenance 

 of species already formed. The primary problem is the 

 problem of the 'origin of species/ The central idea is not 



nitely varying in the direction of selection is refuted by what has 

 been actually found to be the case when the process of selection of 

 fluctuating variations is carried out. Most of the individuals of a 

 species may be brought in this way to show the particular character 

 selected in its highest degree as a fluctuating variation, but it appears 

 not possible to transgress this limit ; and rigorous selection in every 

 generation is necessary to hold the individuals to the highest point 

 reached. Only by the appearance of new definite variations can a 

 given character be permanently fixed, or a new species created that 

 will show fluctuating variations around the new standard. 



