How I wrote '' Evolution," etc. 35 



representing it." ^ I could not, again, forget that, though 

 Mr. Darwin did not venture to stand by the passage in 

 question, it was expunged without a \\'ord of apology or 

 explanation of how it was that he had come to write it. 

 A WTiter with any claim to our consideration will never 

 fall into serious error about another writer without hasten- 

 ing to make a public apology as soon as he becomes aware 

 of what he has done. 



Reflecting upon the substance of what I have written in 

 the last few pages, I thought it right that people should 

 have a chance of knowing more about the earlier writers 

 on evolution than they were likely to hear from any of our 

 leading scientists (no matter how many lectures they may 

 give on the coming of age of the " Origin of Species ") 

 except Professor Mivart. A book pointing the difference 

 between teleological and non-teleological views of evolution 

 seemed likely to be useful, and would afford me the oppor- 

 tunity I wanted for giving a resume of the views of each 

 one of the three chief founders of the theory, and of con- 

 trasting them with those of Mr. Charles Darwin, as well as 

 for calling attention to Professor Hering's lecture. I 

 accordingly wrote " Evolution, Old and New," which 

 was prominently announced in the leading literary 

 periodicals at the end of February, or on the very first 

 days of March 1879,- as " a comparison of the theories of 

 Buffon, Dr. Erasmus Darwin, and Lamarck, with that of 

 Mr. Charles Darwin, with copious extracts from the works 

 of the three first-named writers." In this book I was 

 hardly able to conceal the fact that, in spite of the obliga- 

 tions under which we must always remain to Mr. Darwin, 

 I had lost my respect for him and for his work. 



I should point out that this announcement, coupled with 

 what I had written in " Life and Habit," would enable 

 Mr. Darwin and his friends to form a pretty shrewd guess 



^ Vestiges of Creation, ed. i860, " Proofs, Illustrations, &c.," 

 p. Ixiv. 



^ The first announcement was in the Examiner, February 22, 1879. 



