Essays on Life 



even moderate weight, or to let judgment 

 go by default. As regards Mr. Darwin's 

 claim to the theory of evolution generally, 

 Darwinians are beginning now to perceive 

 that this cannot be admitted, and either say 

 with some hardihood that Mr. Darwin never 

 claimed it, or after a few saving clauses to 

 the effect that this theory refers only to the 

 particular means by which evolution has been 

 brought about, imply forthwith thereafter 

 none the less that evolution is Mr. Darwin's 

 theory. Mr. Wallace has done this repeatedly 

 in his recent " Darwinism." Indeed, I should 

 be by no means sure that on the first page of 

 his preface, in the passage about " Darwin's 

 theory," which I have already somewhat 

 severely criticised, he was not intending 

 evolution by "Darwin's theory," if in his 

 preceding paragraph he had not so clearly 

 shown that he knew evolution to be a theory 

 of greatly older date than Mr. Darwin's. 



The history of science well exemplified 

 by that of the development theory is the 

 history of eminent men who have fought 



against light and have been worsted. The 



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