96 HEREDITY. 



terialism, which I am not now discussing, the Eng- 

 lish forms are only other shapes of the old Lucre- 

 tian atomic theory. At the last analysis, every me- 

 chanical theory of life is only a redressed ghost of 

 Lucretius. When candidly unmasked, nearly all 

 that has been given to us from England in support 

 of materialism exhibits the faded features of the 

 Lucretian hypothesis. Many and many a theory has 

 fallen into the ditch of Oheim in this battle. Lu- 

 cretius himself lies there at the bottom, a corpse. 

 Fifty proud systems of materialistic philosophy lie 

 above it ; and now, writhing there on the very sum- 

 mit, under the hoofs of the retreating hosts, lies 

 Darwin's theory of pangenesis. [Applause.] 



What is Darwin's famous provisional hypothesis of 

 pangenesis, and what are some of the replies to it Q 

 First, let me give you an outline of the theory in 

 language containing no technical terms ; next, let me 

 state the theory in Darwin's own words ; and, after- 

 ward, permit me to mention the more important of 

 the objections which may be made to its fundamental 

 propositions. 



Suppose that we have here a single naked mass of 

 homogeneous bioplasm [drawing a figure like that of 

 an amoeba upon the blackboard]. Let it be assumed 

 that this piece of germinal matter is of one and the 

 same substance in all its parts. It may be a living 

 creature of one of the lowest types. If, now, this 

 throbbing homogeneous bioplasm throws off from any 

 part of its substance a portion of itself, the divided 

 offspring will have qualities like those found in every 



