HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF EVOLUTION THEORY 21 



"Lamarck, as a naturalist, exhibited exceptional powers of defini- 

 tion and description, while in his philosophical writings upon Evolu- 

 tion, his speculation far outran his observations, and his theory 

 suffered from the absurd illustrations which he brought forward in 



support of it His critics spread the impression that he believed 



animals acquired new organs simply by wishing for them. His really 

 sound speculation in Zoology was also injured by his earlier thoroughly 

 worthless speculation in Chemistry and other branches of science. 

 Another marked defect was, that Lamarck was completely carried 

 away with the belief that his theory of the transmission of acquired 

 characters was adequate to explain all the phenomena. He did not, 

 like his contemporaries, Erasmus Darwin and Goethe, perceive and 

 point out, that certain problems in the origin of adaptations were still 



left wholly untouched and unsolved His arguments are, in 



most cases, not inductive, but deductive, and are frequently found not 

 to support his law but to postulate it. 



"It is now a question whether Lamarck's factor is a factor in 

 Evolution at all! If it prove to be no factor, Lamarck will sink 

 gradually into obscurity as one great figure in the history of opinion. 

 If it prove to be a real factor, he will rise into a more eminent position 

 than he now holds, — into a rank not far below Darwin." 



CUVIER AND GEOFFROY ST. HILAERE 



Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) deserves especial mention as one of the 

 strongest negative factors in the development of the evolution idea. 

 He was, first of all, an opponent of Lamarck, and, second, of evolution 

 in general. He ranged himself with Linnaeus as a special creationist 

 and advocated the idea of fixity of species. "All the beings, " said he, 

 "belonging to one of these forms (perpetual since the beginning of all 

 things, that is, the Creation) constitute what we call species." So 

 able was Cuvier and so much in favor at the French court that he 

 succeeded in throwing Lamarck's views into disrepute and thus 

 greatly retarded the progress of evolution. He was brilliant as a 

 comparative anatomist and palaeontologist and will long be known for 

 his discoveries in these fields. 



E. Geojjroy St. Eilaire (1 772-1844) did his best to defeat the 

 retarding influence of Cuvier. The two engaged in a long and bitter 

 controversy over the evolution idea. While not a supporter of 

 Lamarckism proper, he was a thoroughgoing evolutionist, favoring 



