DH. ERASMUS DARWIN. 45 



this book of Krause's, and of the convincing clearness 

 and ample length with and at which he establishes the 

 parallel between the grandfather and his grandson, it 

 must appear superfluous to repeat any such evidence 

 here ; but, as said, we cannot omit mention of a few of 

 the leading keynotes. 



What Erasmus maintains of lime is curious, and it 

 underlies, probably, his e conchis omnia. He holds that 

 " all the lime of the earth originated from living 

 creatures, corals, shells," etc. etc. ; and so it interests 

 him greatly as having " taken part in the pleasures and 

 pains of life." Actually, " the limestone mountains of 

 England appeared to him as mighty monuments of past 

 delight ! " He reminds more of Charles when, as regards 

 animals, he points to rudimentary remains of obsolete 

 organs, and asks the question, " Do some animals change 

 their forms gradually, and become new genera ? " Do not 

 the "useless or incomplete appendages to plants and 

 animals seem to show they have gradually undergone 

 change from their original state ? " Are not " all the 

 supposed monstrous births of nature but remains of their 

 habits of production in their former less perfect state, 

 or attempts to greater perfection ? " And " Do some 

 genera of animals perish by the increasing power of their 

 enemies ? " Erasmus anticipates the struggle ! 



Again, in regard to animals, may there not have 

 happened, he suggests, " changes in some parts of their 

 bodies which may have been effected to accommodate 

 them to new ways of procuring their food ? " A question, 

 plainly, identical with the one absorbing, great question 

 of the grandson, Charles, only that he would have put it 

 differently. He, Charles, namely, would not have spoken 

 of changes which may have been effected to accommodate 

 them to new ways of procuring their food, but of changes 

 which, being effected (to wit, casually), did accommodate 



