VIEWS OF ERASMUS DARWIN 225 
principle of protective mimicry, so much discussed 
in these days by Darwin, Wallace, and others, and 
which was not even mentioned by Lamarck. From 
the internal evidence of Lamarck’s writings we there- 
fore infer that he was in no way indebted to Erasmus 
Darwin for any hints or ideas.* 
* Mr. Samuel Butler, in his Zvolution, Old and New, taking it for 
granted that Lamarck was ‘‘a partisan of immutability till 1801,” in- 
timates that ‘‘the secret of this sudden conversion must be found in 
a French translation by M. Deleuze of Dr. Darwin’s poem, 7/e 
Loves of the Plants, which appeared in 1800. Lamarck—the most 
eminent botanist of his time—was sure to have heard of and seen this, 
and would probably know the translator, who would be able to give 
him a fair idea of the Zoonomia” (p. 258). 
But this notion seems disproved by the fact that Lamarck delivered 
his famous lecture, published in 1801, during the last of April or in 
the first half of May, 1800. The views then presented must have 
been formed in his mind at least for some time—perhaps a year or 
more—previous, and were the result of no sudden inspiration, least of 
all from any information given him by Deleuze, whom he probably 
never met. If Lamarck had actually seen and read the Zoonomia he 
would have been manly enough to have given him credit for any novel 
ideas. Besides that, as we have already seen, the internal evidence 
shows that Lamarck’s views were in some important points entirely 
different from those of Erasmus Darwin, and were conceptions 
original with the French zodlogist. 
Krause in his excellent essay on the scientific works of Erasmus 
Darwin (1879) refers to Lamarck as ‘‘ evidently a disciple of Dar- 
win,” stating that Lamarck worked out ‘‘ in all directions’? Erasmus 
Darwin’s principles of ‘‘ will and active efforts” (p. 212). 
15 
