THE DARWINIAN 
for there is a difference 
tant to understand :— 
Third Edition. 
“A difficulty has been advanced, 
dawn of life, 
imagine, presented the simplest struc- 
ture, how could the first steps in ad- 
or the differentiation and 
produced ; 
variations in a single species inhabit- 
ing an isolated station might be be- 
neficial, and through their preserva- 
tion either the whole mass of indivi- 
profound ignorance of the mutual re- 
lations of the inhabitants of the world 
during the many past epochs of its 
history " (p. 137). 
THEORY. 209 
in the text thus examined which it is impor- 
Fourth Edition. 
* A difficulty has been advanced, 
namely, that looking to the dawn of 
life, when all organic beings, as we 
may imagine, presented the simplest 
structure, how could the first steps 
in advancement or in the differentia- 
arisen ? 
probably answer that as soon as the 
most simple unicellular organism 
came by h or division to be 
compounded of several cells, or be- 
come attached to any supporting sur- 
any Order become differen I 
portion as their relation to incident 
forces become different ;' but as we 
is, however, an error to suppose, 
etc." 
Here the remainder of the para- 
graph is the same in the two editions. 
Tn the third edition, then, we see that Mr. Darwin, having stated the 
difficulty, fairly tells he can make 
perhaps might be considered too 
no sufficient answer; but as this 
large a surrender, the acknowledg- 
ment is cancelled in the fourth edition, and Mr. Herbert Spencer's law 
is introduced as a sort of forlorn hope in its place. Mr. Darwin has 
evidently no great confidence in that mysterious formulary, for he does 
not urge that it will meet the case, 
or that it is any real answer to 
the difficulty ; but such as it is, it may amuse those who are apt to be 
VOL. vi, [JULY 1, 1868.] 
P 
