VII 



CREATION BY LAW 1 



AMONG the various criticisms that have appeared on Mr. 

 Darwin's celebrated Origin of Species, there is, perhaps, 

 none that will appeal to so large a number of well educated 

 and intelligent persons as that contained in the Duke of 

 Argyll's Reign of Law. The noble author represents the feel- 

 ings and expresses the ideas of that large class of persons who 

 take a keen interest in the progress of science in general, 

 and especially that of Natural History, but have never them- 

 selves studied nature in detail, or acquired that personal 

 knowledge of the structure of closely allied forms, the 

 wonderful gradations from species to species and from group 

 to group, and the infinite variety of the phenomena of " varia- 

 tion " in organic beings, which is absolutely necessary for 

 a full appreciation of the facts and reasonings contained in 

 Mr. Darwin's great work. 



Nearly half of the Duke's book is devoted to an exposition 

 of his idea of " Creation by Law," and he expresses so clearly 

 what are his difficulties and objections as regards the theory 

 of " Natural Selection," that I think it advisable that they 

 should be fairly answered, and that his own views should be 

 shown to lead to conclusions .as hard to accept as any which 

 he imputes to Mr. Darwin. 



The point on which the Duke of Argyll lays most stress 

 is, that proofs of Mind everywhere meet us in Nature, and 

 are more especially manifest wherever we find " contrivance " 

 or "beauty." He maintains that this indicates the constant 



1 First published in the Quarterly Journal of Science, October 1868 ; 

 reprinted in Contributions, etc., with a few alterations and additions. 



