HISTORICAL SKETCH IS 



one by the other, it appears that this eminent philosopher felt 

 in 1858 his confidence shaken that the Apteryx and the Red 

 (Grouse first appeared in their respective homes, "he knew 

 not how," or by some process "he knew not what." 



This Address was delivered after the papers by Mr. Wal- 

 lace and myself on the Origin of Species, presently to be 

 referred to, had been read before the Linnean Society. When 

 the first edition of this work was published, I was so com- 

 pletely deceived, as were many others, by such expressions as 

 " the continuous operation of creative power," that I included 

 Professor Owen with other palaeontologists as being firmly 

 convinced of the immutability of species ; but it appears 

 (' Anat. of Vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. 796) that this was on my 

 part a preposterous error. In the last edition of this work 

 I inferred, and the inference still seems to me perfectly just, 

 from a passage beginning with the words " no doubt the type- 

 form," &r. (Ibid. vol. i. p. XXXV.). that Professor Owen 

 admitted that natural selection may have done something in 

 the formation of a new species; but this it appears (Ibid. vol. 

 iii. p. 798) is inaccurate and without evidence. I also gave 

 some extracts from a correspondence between Professor 

 Owen and the Editor of the * London Review,' from which it 

 appeared manifest to the Editor as well as to myself, that 

 Professor Owen claimed to have promulgated the theory of 

 natural selection before I had done so; and I expressed my 

 surprise and satisfaction at this announcement ; but as far 

 as it is possible to understand certain recently published pas- 

 sages (Ibid. vol. iii. p. 798) I have either partially or wholly 

 again fallen into error. It is consolatory to me that others 

 find Professor Owen's controversial writings as difficult to 

 understand and to reconcile with each other, as I do. As far 

 as the mere enunciation of the principle of natural selection 

 is concerned, it is quite immaterial whether or not Professor 

 Owen preceded me, for both of us, as shown in this histori- 

 cal sketch, were long ago preceded by Dr. Wells and Mr. 

 Matthews. 



M. Isidore Geofifroy Saint-Hilaire, in his lectures delivered 

 in 1850 (of which a Resume appeared in the 'Revue et Mag. 

 de Zoolog.,' Jan. 1851), briefly gives his reason for believing 

 that specific characters "sont fixes, pour chaque cspcce, tant 



