i BLINDNESS IN DARWINIANS 15 



curious to observe how admirably it 

 illustrates the idea of development. 

 Having first sought some shelter of 

 authority under words of the great pro- 

 phet himself, he becomes more and more 

 aggressive against the pretenders to his 

 authority. His grumbles against them 

 become loud and louder as he proceeds. 

 He speaks of " those who have committed 

 themselves to the current exclusive inter- 

 pretation. " l He observes upon ' ' inatten- 

 tion and reluctant attention " as leading 

 to the ignoring of facts. He speaks ot 

 " alienation from a belief" as "causing 

 naturalists to slight the evidence which 

 supports that belief, and refuse to occupy 

 themselves in seeking further evidence." 

 He compares their blindness now re- 

 specting the insufficiency of natural se- 

 lection with the blindness of naturalists 

 to the facts of evolution before Darwin's 

 1 P. 581. 



