The Theory of Natural Selection. 257 



idea that has ever been conceived by the mind of man. 

 Yet the wonder is that it should not have been 

 hit upon long before. Or rather, I should say, the 

 wonder is that its immense and immeasurable impor- 

 tance should not have been previously recognised. 

 For, since the publication of this idea by Darwin and 

 Wallace, it has been found that its main features had 

 already occurred to at least two other minds — namely, 

 Dr. Wells in 1813, and Mr. Patrick Matthew in 1831. 

 But neither of these writers perceived that in the few 

 scattered sentences which they had written upon the 

 subject they had struck the key-note of organic nature, 

 and resolved one of the principal chords of the universe. 

 Still more remarkable is the fact that Mr. Herbert 

 Spencer — notwithstanding his great powers of abstract 

 thought and his great devotion of those powers to the 

 theory of evolution, when as yet this theory was scorned 

 by science — still more remarkable, I say, is the fact that 

 Mr. Herbert Spencer should have missed what now 

 appears so obvious an idea. But most remarkable of 

 all is the fact that Dr. Whewell, with all his stores of 

 information on the history of the inductive sciences, 

 and with all his acumen on the matter of scientific 

 method, should not only have conceived the idea of 

 natural selection, but expressly stated it as a logically 

 possible explanation of the origin of species, and yet 

 have so stated it merely for the purpose of dismissing 

 it with contempt ^ This, I think, is most remarkable, 

 because it serves to prove how very far men's minds at 

 that time must have been from entertaining, as in any 

 way antecedently probable, the doctrine of trans- 

 mutation. In order to show this I will here quote one 

 ^ For quotations, see Note A. 

 * S 



