SPENCER AND EVOLUTION. 37 



work, which would leave him leisure enough for the execution of his 

 scheme. Mr. Mill replied sympathetically, but nothing turned out to 

 be available. In despair of any other possibility, Mr. Spencer after- 

 ward extended his application to the Government; being reenforced 

 by the influence of various leading scientific men, who expressed 

 themselves strongly respecting the importance of giving him the op- 

 portunity he wished. A peculiar difficulty, however, here arose. Mr. 

 Spencer is a very impracticable man that is, he undertakes to con- 

 form his conduct to right principles, and his decided views as to the 

 proper functions of government put an interdict upon the far greater 

 number of posts that might otherwise be fit. Among the few that he 

 could accept, the greater part were not available because they did 

 not offer the requisite leisure. One position became vacant which he 

 might have accepted, that of Inspector of Prisons, I think ; but, though 

 effort in his behalf was made by Lord Stanley (now Lord Derby, who 

 was familiar with Mr. Spencer's works and entertained the matter 

 with interest), the claims of party were too strong, and no arrange- 

 ment was made. 



Other plans failing, Mr. Spencer decided to adopt the plan of sub- 

 scription, and issue his " System of Philosophy " in a serial form. A 

 prospectus of that system was issued in March, 1860, which outlined 

 the contents of the successive parts. The first installment of the work 

 was issued in October, 1860, and the commencing volume, " First Prin- 

 ciples," was published in June, 1862. 



In this work the general doctrine of Evolution is presented- in a 

 greatly developed form ; and the author's former views are not only 

 combined but extended. The law of Von Baer, which formulates or- 

 ganic development as a transformation of the homogeneous into the 

 heterogeneous, Mr. Spencer had previously shown to hold of all ag- 

 gregates whatever of the universe as a whole and of all its compo- 

 nent parts. But, in " First Principles," it was shown that this uni- 

 versal transformation is a change from indefinite homogeneity to 

 definite heterogeneity ; and it is pointed out that only when the in- 

 creasing multiformity is joined with increasing definiteness, does it 

 constitute Evolution as distinguished from other changes that are 

 like it in respect of increasing heterogeneity. This is, however, a 

 much more important development of the principle. This change 

 from the indefinite to the definite is shown to be the accompaniment 

 of a more essential change from the incoherent to the coherent. 

 Throughout all aggregates of all orders it is proved that there goes 

 on a process of integration. This process is shown to hold alike in 

 the growth and consolidation of each aggregate as well as in the 

 growth and consolidation of its differentiated parts. The law of the 

 instability of the homogeneous is also more elaborately traced out. 

 Under the head of the principle of segregation it is, moreover, shown 

 that the universal process by which, in aggregates of mixed units, the 



