14 BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



tion of animals and plants and his earlier works gave little 

 indication of philosophical tendencies, but his Philosophic 

 Zoologique,* which appeared in 1809, showed that he had 

 reasoned deeply about the objects he had so long studied, and 

 in this work is contained the whole of his celebrated system of 

 the transmutation of species. 



LAMARCKISM. 



Although most of the members of this Society are doubtless 

 familiar with the general character of the Lamarckian philos 

 ophy, and many have probably read this work, the nature of 

 my subject seems to demand that some of the more general 

 principles of Lamarckism be set forth. A few paragraphs 

 from the work in question will accomplish this better than any 

 attempt at exposition. The following quotations will serve to 

 show the sweeping character of Lamarck's generalizations, 

 and when we remember the time at which they were written 

 it will not appear strange that his views attracted so few ad 

 herents and had to wait half a century for a respectful 

 hearing. 



" In order to judge" says Lamarck " whether the idea that 

 has been formed of a species has any real foundation, let us 

 return to the considerations which I have already set forth ; 

 they show : 



i st. That all the organized bodies of our globe are true 

 products of Nature, which she has successfully brought forth 

 (executes) in the course of long periods of time ; 



2d. That in her march Nature has commenced, and is still 

 daily commencing to form the most simple organized bodies, 



* Philosophic Zoologique, etc. Par Jean-Baptiste-Pierre-Antoine de 

 Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck. Nouvelle Edition, revue et precedee 

 d'une introduction biographique par Charles Martins. Paris, 1873, 

 2 vols. 8. 



