History of Evolution 12 



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prophesied, Protestantism rejected the idea of an in- 

 fallible Church in favour of the idea of an infallible 

 book, and, because it happened that this book included 

 an early legend of the origin of the world in a form ap- 

 parently incompatible with evolution, Protestantism 

 and, to a lesser and secondary extent, Catholicism, as- 

 sumed the position that there was no place for evolution 

 in a Christian philosophy. At the end of last century, 

 and up to the middle of this century, the problem was 

 not raised in any acute form. The chief anatomists 

 and botanists were occupied with the investigation and 

 discovery of facts, and, in an ordinary way, without 

 taking any particular trouble about it, accepted more 

 or less loosely the idea that species were fixed. Now 

 and then an evolutionist propounded his views ; but, 

 as a rule, he supported them with a knowledge of facts 

 very much inferior to that possessed by the more ortho- 

 dox school. Then came Herbert Spencer, reasserting 

 evolution in the old broad spirit, not merel}^ in its ap- 

 plication to species, but as the guiding principle of the 

 whole universe from the integrations of nebulae into 

 systems of suns and planets to the transformations of 

 chemical bodies. Before his marvellous generalisations 

 had time to grip biologists, there came Darwin ; and 

 Darwin brought two things: first, a re-statement of the 

 fact of evolution as applied to the living world, sup- 

 ported by an enormous body of evidence, new and old, 

 presented with incomparably greater force, clearness, 

 patience, and knowledge than had ever been seen be- 

 fore ; and, second, the exposition of the principle of 

 natural selection as a mechanism which might have 

 caused, and probably did cause, evolution. 



Huxley, as has been shewn, like many other anato- 

 mists, was ready for the general principle of evolution. 



