MODERN VIEWS ON EVOLUTION 175 



characters, a discussion in which the distinction between 

 acquired and inherent or congenital characters is clearly 

 drawn, and many of the most difficult cases are fully 

 argued out, the conclusions reached being those inde- 

 pendently arrived at by Professor Weismann over half 

 a century later. 



It is very remarkable that all this should have passed, 

 as I believe, unnoticed. The neglect can only be ex- 

 plained by supposing that this particular edition was 

 never consulted, but that Darwin and others always went 

 to later editions of the same work. I shall be able to 

 show that Prichard was not very confident in the strength 

 of his own conclusions and, so far as I have consulted 

 his later editions and works, I find reason for the belief 

 that his convictions weakened still further. Indeed, strong- 

 indications of uncertainty are to be found in the second 

 edition itself, although they are confined to the later 

 sections, and do not appear in close proximity to the 

 important conclusions which they nevertheless affect. 



It is certain that if Darwin had read this second edition 

 he would have given Prichard a high place in the account 

 of the history of evolution which appears in the intro- 

 duction to all later editions of the Origin} So too would 

 my friend Professor Osborn have given high honour 

 to Prichard in his interesting work, From the Greeks to 

 Darwin. It is an anomaly that such works as the Vestiges 

 should attract attention, while Prichard's keen insight, 

 sound judgement, and balanced reasoning on many aspects 

 of organic evolution, and especially on the scope of 

 heredity, should remain unknown. 



I am very far from maintaining that these most 

 interesting anticipations in any way diminish the credit 

 of those recent writers who have treated the same sub- 

 jects in greater detail and of course independently. The 

 interest evoked by Dr. Davis's discovery in the literature 

 of evolution is mainly due to the work of those recent 



1 F. Darwin and Seward state that Charles Darwin only possessed the 

 third and fourth editions (I.e. p. 44) ; they also agree that 'in the historical 

 sketch prefixed to the Origin of Species writers are named as precursors 

 whose claims are less strong than Prichard's ' (1. c. p. 45). 



