Permanence and Evolution. 121 



changes may be beneficial is practically equally 

 unlimited. 



It is plain that such a view, resting on a 

 cause of which we neither a priori know the 

 nature, nor inductively can calculate any laws, 

 enables us to take advantage of any facts 

 that seem favourable, and to ignore all of a 

 contrary tenour. If Newton could have sup- 

 posed the centripetal and centrifugal forces to 

 proceed at uncertain rates, and to counteract 

 each other indefinitely, he would have saved 

 himself a life of labour, but also have ranked as 

 a physicist with Fludd or Campanella. And so 

 here there is nothing which can be required of a 

 Darwinian. There is nothing of which it can 

 be said, if Darwinism is true this must be, the 

 hypothesis is too elastic. But still, one or two 

 remarks may-be made by way of showing the 

 reason why I, personally, think that whatever 

 else is the origin of species, natural selection 

 certainly is not. It does not seem to me that 



