CH.X.] NATURAL SELECTION. \ 



actions of motor organs, may induce further development of 

 such organs," and that, consequently, animals may become 

 directly adapted through structural changes to changes in 

 their environment. We shall see, as we continue the dis- 

 cussion, that such directly adaptive changes really take 

 place ; but Lamarck ill understood their character, and 

 indeed could not have been expected to understand it, 

 since in his day dynamical biology was in its earliest in- 

 fancy.* By insisting on volition as a chief cause of adaptive 

 change, the illustrious naturalist not only left the causes of 

 vegetable variation unexplained, but even in the zoological 

 department laid open the way for malicious misrepresen- 

 tations which the uninstructed zeal of theological adversaries 

 has gladly transferred to the account of Mr. Darwin. Some 

 time ago a clergyman in New Yoik, lecturing about Dar- 

 winism, sarcastically alluded to "the bear which took to 

 swimming, and so became a whale." Had this worthy person 

 condescended to study the subject about which he thought 

 himself fit to enlighten the public, he would soon have dis- 

 covered that his funny remark is not even a parody upon 

 any opinion held by Mr. Darwin. In so far as it is appli- 

 cable to any opinion ever held by a scientific writer, it may 

 perhaps be accepted as a parody, though at best a very far- 

 fetched and feeble one, of the hypothesis of Lamarck. 



It is now time to explain what the Darwinian theory is. 

 At the outset we may observe that whUe it is a common error 

 to speak of Mr. Darwin as if he were the originator of the 

 derivation theory, the opposite error is not unfrequently 

 committed of alluding to him as if he had contributed 

 nothing to the establishment of that theory save the doctrine 

 of natural selection. Mr. Mivart habitually thus alludes to 

 him. In fact, however, Mr. Darwin's merits are twofold. 

 He was the first to marshal the arguments from classification, 



^ Lamarck also tried to explain organic development metaphysically, a« 

 the continuous manifestation of an *' inherent tendency " toward perfection. 



