WHAT IS DARWINISM? 85 



life originated spontaneously by the combina- 

 tion of molecules of matter under favorable 

 conditions ; all the phenomena of the universe, 

 inorganic and organic, whether physical, vital, 

 or mental, are due to matter and its forces. 

 Consequently there is no God, no creation, no 

 mind distinct from matter, no conscious exist- 

 ence of man after death. All this is asserted 

 in the most explicit terms. Dr. Biichner has 

 published a work on Darwinism in two vol- 

 umes. Darwin's theory, he says, " is the most 

 thoroughly naturalistic that can be imagined, 

 and far more atheistic than that of his decried 

 predecessor Lamarck, who admitted at least a 

 general law of progress and development ; 

 whereas, according to Darwin, the whole de- 

 velopment is due to the gradual summation 

 of innumerable minute and accidental opera- 

 tions." 1 



Carl Vogt. 



In his preface to his work on the " Descent 

 of Man," Mr. Darwin quotes this author as a 

 high authority. We see him elsewhere refer- 

 red to as one of the first physiologists of Ger- 

 many. Vogt devotes the concluding lecture of 



^ Sechs Vorlesungen iiber die Darwinische Theorie. Von Lud- 

 wig Biichner. Zweite Auflage, Leipzig, 1848, vol. i. p. 125. 



