MODERN BIOLOGY 485 



came forward in defence of Darwinism many distinguished scientists, who 

 made weighty contributions to the discussion and assisted in the rapid ad- 

 vance along the new lines laid down by Darwin. Even of these it is possible 

 only to name a few; in the present chapter reference will be made to the 

 English contributions in favour of Darwin, while one or two separate chap- 

 ters will be devoted to the development of Darwinism in Germany, where 

 it acquired an essentially novel character. 



Darwin's supporters 

 Among the first to associate themselves with Darwin was the aged Lyell. 

 In a work entitled Geological Evidence ofi the Antiquity of Man, published in 

 1863, he takes up the question of the origin of species by means of varia- 

 tion. He refers briefly to Darwin's theory and in support thereof cites a num- 

 ber of facts, especially geological and palieontological; of these he bases 

 his argument mainly on the extinct proboscideans of the Tertiary period, 

 while he further adduces a number of fossil insects, as well as the saurian 

 bird Archasopteryx. In regard to man, whose primitive history had been 

 the real subject of the book, sympathetic reference is made to the statements 

 of, inter alia, Huxley, as to man's anatomical agreement with the higher 

 apes; similarly, mention is made of Darwin's theory of the origin of the 

 intelligence by means of natural selection, and the work concludes with a 

 refutation of the accusation that Darwinism would lead to materialism. 

 Darwin himself highly appreciated the support thus given him by Lyell, 

 and the influence of the aged geologist certainly contributed much towards 

 bringing the new doctrine to victory. 



Among those who, besides Darwin, should be named as supporters of 

 the theory of selection, the first place is due to Alfred Russell Wallace. 

 Born in 1813, he was originally an engineer and afterwards a schoolmaster, 

 and he was besides interested in collecting plants and insects. In 1848, in 

 company with his friend Henry Walter Bates (i82.5-9z), he made a voy- 

 age to Brazil for the purpose of exploration and the collection of scientific 

 material. After a year the two friends parted; Bates remained in Brazil, 

 while Wallace returned home and shortly afterwards made a journey to the 

 East Indian archipelago, where he remained for a number of years, continu- 

 ing his comparative biological studies on the various islands. Upon his re- 

 turn home he found himself already a famous man and continued his bio- 

 logical research-work, partly on voyages and partly in his own country. 

 He never received any permanent appointment, but had to earn a living as 

 a writer and lecturer. In his old age he was assured a means of subsistence 

 through a government pension. He died in 191 3, over ninety years old. 



Wallace' s discoveries in animal geography 

 The result of Wallace's Indian journey proved to be of the greatest impor- 

 tance; he thereby became one of the pioneers of modern animal-geography. 



