V MR. GLADSTONE AND GENESIS 183 



article ; but the second half, by my friend Mr. 

 Sully, is really very good. He will there find 

 it said that in some of the philosophies of ancient 

 India, the idea of evolution is clearly expressed : 

 " Brahma is conceived as the eternal self-existent 

 being, which, on its material side, unfolds itself 

 to the world by gradually condensing itself to 

 material objects through the gradations of ether, 

 fire, water, earth, and other elements." Arid 

 again : " In the later system of emanation of 

 Sankhya there is a more marked approach to a 

 materialistic doctrine of evolution." What little 

 knowledge I have of the matter chiefly derived 

 from that very instructive book, <l Die Religion des 

 Buddha," by C. F. Koeppen, supplemented by 

 Hardy's interesting works leads me to think 

 that Mr. Sully might have spoken much more 

 strongly as to the evolutionary character of Indian 

 philosophy, and especially of that of the Budd- 

 hists. But the question is too large to be dealt 

 with incidentally. 



And, with respect to early Greek philosophy, 1 

 the seeker after additional enlightenment need go 

 no further than the same excellent storehouse of 

 information : 



The early Ionian physicists, including Thales, Anaximander, 

 and Anaximenes, seek to explain the world as generated out of 



1 I said nothing about "the greater number of schools of 

 Greek philosophy," as Mr. Gladstone implies that I did, but 

 expressly spoke of the " founders of Greek philosophy." 



