380 EVOLUTION AND DOGMA. 



the teachings of Greek philosophy and modern sci- 

 ence respecting the theory of Evolution. Accord- 

 ing to Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes, the 

 world and all it contains were generated from simple 

 primordial matter. From the simple proceeds the 

 complex, from the indeterminate, TO axetpov, arise all 

 the manifold differentiated forms of the cosmos. 

 Living originates from non-living matter, because all 

 life had its origin in pristine mud. Heraclitus antic- 

 ipates Darwin's notion of " the struggle for exist- 

 ence," in his view of conflict, wls/ios, as the originator 

 of all things, and also in his conception of the en- 

 deavor made by individuals to insure their existence 

 against the processes of destruction with which they 

 are surrounded. Empedocles, like our modern sci- 

 entists, taught not only that all terrestrial things arise 

 from certain primitive elements, but also, like Dar- 

 win, recognized a development in animal and vege- 

 table forms. He likewise attempted to explain the 

 origin of the various organic beings, species, genera, 

 etc., by the existence of certain adaptations which 

 tend to perpetuate themselves. 



Teleological Ideas of Anaxagoras and Aristotle. 



The first one of the Greek philosophers to take a 

 teleological view of nature, to perceive in the won- 

 derful adaptations everywhere manifested an evi- 

 dence of intelligent design, was Anaxagoras. His 

 predecessors and contemporaries were, for the most 

 part, believers in the doctrine that all things were 

 originated by chance, or the fortuitous concourse of 



