THE DARWINIAN THEORY 



are just as free to investigate the causes 

 of this progressive development as we are 

 to follow the history of this earth as a 

 planet. Without doubt natural laws have 

 presided as much over the one as over the 

 other, and Science is quite within her 

 legitimate province in her investigation of 

 either of these sets of phenomena. 



As this progressive development could 

 not have been spontaneous, a number of 

 theories have been advanced from time to 

 time to explain its cause or causes. The 

 theory, however, which has attracted by 

 far the most attention was that promul- 

 gated by Charles Darwin in his great 

 work, The Origin of Species, published in 

 1858. Because of its great merits of 

 simplicity and apparent adequacy to 

 explain the problem, supported as that 

 explanation was by a striking array 

 of scientific evidence, it was hailed with 

 much enthusiasm as all that could be 

 5 



