Essays on Life 



from, and unconnected with that of the other 

 cells of the body, and to cheapen all evidence 

 that tends to prove any response on their part 

 to the past history of the individual, and hence 

 ultimately of the race. 



Professor Weismann is the foremost ex- 

 ponent of those who take this line. He has 

 naturally been welcomed by English Charles- 

 Darwinians ; for if his view can be sustained, 

 then it can be contended that use and disuse 

 produce no transmissible effect, and the ground 

 is cut from under Lamarck's feet ; if, on the 

 other hand, his view is unfounded, the La- 

 marckian reaction, already strong, will gain 

 still further strength. The issue, therefore, 

 is important, and is being fiercely contested 

 by those who have invested their all of repu- 

 tation for discernment in Charles-Darwinian 

 securities. 



Professor Weismann's theory is, that at 

 every new birth a part of the substance which 

 proceeds from parents and which goes to form 

 the new embryo is not used up in forming the 

 new animal, but remains apart to generate the 



germ-cells or perhaps I should say "germ- 



278 



