438 THE PEOCEEDINGS OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 



from these oracles as the basis of their knowledge, and arrange 

 their ideas of fact in accordance therewith ? 



With such philosophers the Doctrine of Descent is converted 

 into a sort of religion. It is destined, as Hierarch Hseckel says, 

 " to bring man to arrange his life with his fellow-creatures — that 

 is, the family and the State — not according to the laws of dis- 

 tant centuries, but according to the rational principles deduced 

 from knowledge of nature. Politics, morals, and the principles 

 of justice, which are still drawn from all possible sources, will 

 have to be formed in accordance with natural laws only. An ex- 

 istence worthy of man, which has been talked of for thousands of 

 years, will at length become a reality." To this end Religion as 

 now understood must be eliminated. " The time has arrived to 

 replace the antique dualistic and theological conception of life 

 and spirit by the monistic or mechanical conception of the 

 universe. We have arrived at the boundaries of the old and new 

 faith." And, more distinctly still, " Modern morphology is irre- 

 concilable, not only, I say, with the dogma of creation, but with 

 that of a Providence, or {even ?) of a vague idealistic Pantheism." 

 Here are Fruits of Philosophy indeed ! But what argument can 

 be addressed to a philosopher who, with all his experience 

 and vast attainments, is nevertheless capable of prophesying thus 

 of the Theory of Descent, and who is eager to revolutionize the 

 School in order to reconstitute the State under such a formula. 



And it is worth our while to consider for a moment, what 

 these "laws of nature," ^'.e., the Doctrine of Descent, signify in 

 the H^ckelian system. We may call a hypothetical statement a 

 law, if we please, but it must be definite. Every precise state- 

 ment in science which gives the formula for all consequents upon 

 given antecedents, antecedents on consequents, or concomitants 

 upon concomitants, is a law. The law binds nothing, lays no 

 obligation on matter, has (perhaps) no objective existence. But 

 it must be co-extensive with our knowledge, and include all the 

 known phenomena of its matter. And it should enable us not 

 only to explain these, but also to foretel them, and that with accu- 

 racy and detail proportionate to its own sufficiency of truth. 

 Such a proposition as this, " The sum of the squares of the sum 



