Essays on Life 



shall we be wrong in conceiving it as possible 

 that all specialisation,* whether of structure 

 or instinct, may be due ultimately to habit. 



How far this can be shown to be probable 

 is, of course, another matter, but I am not 

 immediately concerned with this ; all I am 

 concerned with now is to show that the germ- 

 cells not unfrequently become permanently 

 affected by events that have made a profound 

 impression upon the somatic cells, in so far 

 that they transmit an obvious reminiscence 

 of the impression to the embryos which they 

 go subsequently towards forming. This is all 

 that is necessary for my case, and I do not 

 find that Professor Weismann, after all, dis- 

 putes it. 



But here, again, comes the difficulty of 

 saying what Professor Weismann does, and 

 what he does not, dispute. One moment he 

 gives all that is wanted for the Lamarckian 

 contention, the next he denies common-sense 

 the bare necessaries of life. For a more ex- 

 haustive and detailed criticism of Professor 

 Weismann's position, I would refer the reader 



to an admirably clear article by Mr, Sidney 



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