A GREAT LESSON. 249 



on ? It is that Darwin's theory is a dream. It is not only unsound, 

 but it is in many respects directly the reverse of truth. With all 

 his conscientiousness, with all his caution, with all his powers of ob- 

 servations, Darwin in this matter fell into errors as profound as the 

 abysses of the Pacific. All the acclamations with which it was re- 

 ceived were as the shouts of an ignorant mob. It is well to know 

 that the plebiscites of science may be as dangerous and as hollow as 

 those of politics. The overthrow of Darwin's speculation is only be- 

 ginning to be known. It has been whispered for some time. The 

 cherished dogma has been dropping very slowly out of sight. Can 

 it be possible that Darwin was wrong ? Must we indeed give up all 

 that we have been accepting and teaching for more than a genera- 

 tion ? Reluctantly, almost sulkily, and with a grudging silence as 

 far as public discussion is concerned, the ugly possibility has been 

 contemplated as too disagreeable to be much talked about. The evi- 

 dence, old and new, has been weighed and weighed again, and the 

 obviously inclining balance has been looked at askance many times. 

 But, despite all averted looks, I apprehend that it has settled to its 

 place forever, and Darwin's theory of the coral islands must be rele- 

 gated to the category of those many hypotheses which have indeed 

 helped science for a time by promoting and provoking further inves- 

 tigation, but which in themselves have now finally "kicked the beam." 

 But this great lesson will be poorly learned unless we read and 

 study it in detail. "What was the flaw in Darwin's reasoning, appar- 

 ently so close and cogent? Was it in the facts, or was it in the 

 inferences ? His facts in the main were right ; only it has been 

 found that they fitted into another explanation better than into his. 

 It was true that the corals could only grow in a shallow sea, not 

 deeper than from twenty to thirty fathoms. It was true that they 

 needed some foundation provided for them at the required depth. 

 It was true that this foundation must be in the pure and open sea, 

 with its limpid water, its free currents, and its dashing waves. It 

 was true that they could not flourish or live in lagoons or in channels, 

 however wide, if they were secluded and protected from oceanic 

 waves. One error, apparently a small one, crept into Darwin's array 

 of facts. The basis or foundation on which corals can grow, if it 

 satisfied other conditions, need not be solid rock. It might be deep- 

 sea deposits if these were raised or elevated near enough the surface. 

 Darwin did not know this, for it is one of his assumptions that coral 

 " can not adhere to a loose bottom." * The Challenger observations 

 show that thousands of deei^-sea corals and of other lime-secreting 

 animals flourish on deep-sea deposits at depths much greater than 

 those at which true reef-building species are found. The dead re- 

 mains of these deeper-living animals, as well as the dead shells of 

 pelagic species that fall from the surface waters, build up submarine 

 * "Journal," edition 1852, p. 477. 



