w THE GENEALOGY OF ANIMALS 109 
‘4 
"spontaneous generation, while admitting that there 
is no experimental evidence in its favour, Professor 
Haeckel denies the possibility of disproving it, and 
points out that the assumption that it has occurred 
isanecessary part of the doctrine of Evolution. 
The fourteenth lecture, on “ Schépfungs-Perioden 
- und Schépfungs-Urkunden,” answers pretty much 
tothe famous disquisition on the “ Imperfection 
of the Geological Record” in the “Origin of 
Species.” 
The following five lectures contain the most 
- original matter of any, being devoted to “ Phylo- 
geny, or the working out of the details of the 
process of Evolution in the animal and vegetable 
kingdoms, so as to prove the line of descent of 
each group of living beings, and to furnish it 
with its proper genealogical tree, or “ phylum.” 
The last lecture considers objections and sums 
up the evidence in favour of biological Evolution. 
I shall best testify to my sense of the value of 
the work thus briefly analysed if I now proceed to 
note down some of the more important criticisms 
which have been suggested to me by its perusal. 
I. In more than one place, Professor Haeckel 
enlarges upon the service which the “Origin of 
_ Species” has done, in favouring what he terms 
the “causal or mechanical” view of living nature 
as opposed to the “teleological or vitalistic” view. 
And no doubt it is quite true that the doctrine of 
Evolution is the most formidable opponent of all 
