EDITOR'S TABLE. 



267 



ble," declared that "the doctrine of 

 evolution lent itse^ as readily to prom- 

 ises of God as less complete explana- 

 tions of the universe." 



To explain the world-wide fame of 

 Mr. Darwin and the expressions of high 

 appreciation that have been elicited by 

 his death, several circumstances must 

 be taken into account. In the first 

 place, his pre-eminence as a naturalist 

 is not for a moment to be questioned. 

 He had a genius for investigation in 

 this field, as is shown by the immense 

 amount of valuable and original work 

 that he has accomplished. As an ac- 

 curate and indefatigable observer, of 

 keen insight, and equally fertile and 

 skillful in his experimental devices to 

 bring out the secrets of Nature, he was 

 probably without a rival. Descended 

 from a race of naturalists, he seemed 

 to have a constitutional intuition for 

 penetrating the mysteries of living be- 

 ings, and detecting subtilties that had 

 eluded previous observers. Patient, in- 

 dustrious, and concentrated upon his 

 work, he has enriched natural history 

 with a multitude of new facts, which 

 will make his name an authoritv for all 

 future time. 



But Mr. Darwin was more than a 

 mere observer and accumulator of facts ; 

 he was a man of ideas capable of meth- 

 odising his observations and making 

 them tributary to the progress of theo- 

 retical views. He found the problem 

 of the origin of the diversities of living 

 beings unsettled, he subordinated all 

 his researches to its solution, and he 

 put forth a theory upon the subject 

 that has made him famous. This was 

 the principle of natural selection, called 

 also the survival' of the fittest, and it 

 was elaborated with a wealth of il- 

 lustration that rapidly commended it 

 to the acceptance of the scientific 

 world. In a nutshell it is this : There 

 is a law of heredity, or descent of traits, 

 from generation to generation, in the 

 kingdom of organic life a law under 

 which " like produceSyLike." But there 



is also a law of variation by which 

 like always produces the slightly un- 

 like a modification from generation 

 to generation, and adaptation to ever- 

 changing conditions. At the same 

 time the rate of multiplication gives rise 

 to a destructive struggle for existence, 

 in which multitudes perish and but com- 

 paratively few survive, while the sur- 

 vivors are those best fitted to the new 

 conditions. In this way new charac- 

 ters are strengthened and developed, 

 and old traits are weakened and disap- 

 pear, so that the progress of life is at 

 the same time a slow transformation, in 

 which at first new varieties and then 

 new species gradually arise by minute 

 increments of change. Thus the diver- 

 sities among living creatures are ac- 

 counted for by the operation of natural 

 agencies. 



But, besides the intrinsic character 

 of his work, the traits of the man were 

 eminently calculated to produce the 

 most favorable impression. He was not 

 a controversialist, and, instead of going 

 roughly athwart men's prejudices, he 

 was kindly, considerate, and concilia- 

 tory in all his writings. He was also 

 modest and eminently candid and fair- 

 minded, always seeking to do justice to 

 the views of his opponents. Men felt 

 that his supreme object was simply to 

 get at the truth. For this he labored in- 

 cessantly and untiringly, and thus won 

 the respect of all who can appreciate 

 sincerity of aim and elevation of pur- 

 pose. Added to this he was a very ge- 

 nial and pleasant man in his personal 

 relations, and most highly regarded by 

 those who were honored with his ac- 

 quaintance and friendship. 



But still other elements must be 

 taken into account in explaining the 

 extent of his popularity. He was a 

 remarkably fortunate man. We refer 

 not so much to his easy circumstances, 

 which gave him command of resources 

 and allowed full consecration to a life 

 of study ; but we mean that he came 

 at a great crisis of thought, when a lead- 



