584: APPENDIX. 



geneous characterizes all evolution; and he puts this at the 

 outset of his criticism as though I made this change the pri- 

 mary characteristic. But if he will refer to First Principles, 

 Part II. chap. 1-1 (in the second and subsequent editions) he 

 will find it shown that under its primary aspect, Evolution 

 " is a change from a less coherent form to a more coherent 

 form, consequent on the dissipation of motion and integra- 

 tion of matter." The next chapter contains proofs that the 

 change from homogeneity to heterogeneity is a secondary 

 change, which, when conditions allow, accompanies the 

 change from the incoherent to the coherent. At the begin- 

 ning of the chapter after that, come the sentences — " But 

 now, does this generalization express the whole truth? Does 

 it include everything essentially characterizing Evolution and 

 exclude everything else? ... A critical examination of the 

 facts will show that it does neither." And the chapter then 

 goes on to show that the change is from an indefinite inco- 

 herent homogeneity to a definite coherent heterogeneity. 

 Further qualifications contained in a succeeding chapter, bring 

 the formula to this final form — " Evolution is an integration 

 of matter and concomitant dissipation of motion; during 

 which the matter passes from an indefinite, incoherent homo- 

 geneity to a definite, coherent heterogeneity; and during 

 which the retained motion undergoes a parallel transforma- 

 tion." 



Now if these various traits of the process of Evolution are 

 kept simultaneously in view, it will be seen that most of Mr. 

 Cliffe Leslie's objections fail to apply. He says: — 



" The movement of language, law, and political and civil union, is for 

 the most part in an opposite direction. In a savage country like Africa, 

 speech is in a perpetual flux, and new dialects spring up with every 

 swarm from the parent hive. In the civilized world the unification of 

 language is rapidly proceeding." 



Here two different ideas are involved — the evolution of a lan- 

 guage considered singly, and the evolution of languages con- 

 sidered as an aggregate. Nothing which he says implies that 

 any one language becomes, during its evolution, less hetero- 

 geneous. The disappearance of dialects is not a progress to- 

 wards the homogeneity of a language, but is the final triumph 

 of one variety of a language over the other varieties, and the 

 extinction of them: the conquering variety meanwhile be- 

 coming within itself more heterogeneous. This, too, is the 

 process which Mr. Leslie refers to as likely to end in an ex- 



