32 THE EVOLUTION OF NATURAL SPECIES. 
(2) External nature furnishes the means and occasions, but not the 
cause. 
But to return to our question, can anything be surer than that 
through the activities of the organism changes in its relation to the 
environment are often produced; and that through these changes the 
character of its success is changed, and so the character of its selection.* 
As we have already observed, it is by virtue of its power to strive for 
the continuation of its life that an organism is an organism; and selec- 
tion is the direct result of varying degrees of survival in the exercise of 
this power. We see, therefore, that the doctrine, common among a 
certain class of evolutionists, that the environment makes the organ- 
ism, rests on a false assumption, the introduction and perpetuation of 
which has been favored by the ambiguities covered by the phrases in 
use. External nature can never furnish more than the means, occasions , 
or opportunities for vital phenomena. ‘The power to use these means 
in maintaining life lies wholly with the organism, and the degrees of 
success which it achieves are produced by this power, and not by the 
environment. So far as the environment consists of organisms, each 
species of this organic environment is working for its own survival, 
and not for the survival of any other species to which it stands in the 
relation of environment. The bees take honey from the flowers for the 
preservation of themselves and their kindred; and the flowers make 
the bees distribute their pollen, thus securing more vigorous seed 
than could be gained by self-fertilization; each species working for 
its own preservation and perpetuation. 
Another cause of confusion has been the habit of speaking of the 
transforming power of selection as if it were a special power, or form 
of power quite distinct from the power of variation; whereas, it is 
only one of the laws expressing the relations that exist between the 
different results of organic activity. Selection is the superior propa- 
gation of adapted forms, through the dependence of the degrees of 
propagation on the degrees of adaptation produced by variation. 
Every variation of the organism may be regarded as more or less 
adapted, and the survival of each, according to its degree of adapta- 
tion to the natural environment surrounding the group, is natural 
selection; but this diversity of survival is the direct result of the 
varying adaptation of the organism. The transforming power of 
natural selection is, therefore, not a different power from variation, 
but it is rather a direct result of variation. 

* See the description of active or endonomic selection given in Appendix II, 
and of other forms of autonomic selection in Chapters V—VIII. 
