Herbert Spencer and the Doctrine of Evolution. 507 



proofs the most emphatic and convincing that the approach 

 to the present system of things has been gradual, and that 

 there has been a progressive development of organic struc- 

 ture subservient to the purposes of life." The traditional 

 explanation of the origin of the world, and all that belongs 

 to it, being thus discredited, it only remained to seek 

 another explanation : If it has not been done one way, how 

 has it been done ? was the inevitable question. One might 

 suppose that the effect of the utter breakdown of the old 

 hypothesis would have been to relegate the whole question 

 to the sphere of science, but this was far from being done. 

 The preternatural solution had failed, but its only logical 

 alternative, a natural solution, or the thorough investi- 

 gation of the subject on principles of causation, was not 

 adopted or urged. The geologists occupied themselves in 

 extending observations and accumulating facts rather than 

 in working out any comprehensive scientific or philosoph- 

 ical principles from the new point of view. The result 

 was a kind of tacit compromise between the contending 

 parties — the theologians conceding the vast antiquity of 

 the earth, and the geologists conceding preternatural in- 

 tervention in the regular on-working of the scheme ; so 

 that in place of one mighty miracle of creation occurring a 

 few thousand years ago, there was substituted the idea of 

 hundreds of thousands of separate miracles of special 

 creation scattered all along the geological ages, to account 

 for the phenomena of terrestrial life. Two systems of 

 agencies — natural and supernatural — were thus invoked to 

 explain the production of effects. What it now concerns 

 us to note is, that the subject had not yet been brought 

 into the domain of science. One portion of it was still 

 held to be above Nature, and therefore inaccessible to ra- 

 tional inquiry ; while that part of the problem which was 

 withheld from science was really the key to the whole sit- 

 uation. Under the new view the question of the origin of 



