20 FROM THE GREEKS TO DARWIN 



Leibnitz, or the famous 'echelle des etres' of 

 Bonnet. 



It is evident that the modern conception of 

 branching ascent grew out of the discovery of 

 the extinction of earlier and intermediate forms 

 of hfe such as came from palaeontology, and that 

 it is essentially different from the ancient 'lad- 

 der' or 'chain' conception, which regarded the 

 existing terminal twigs of the tree as directly 

 affiliated to each other, rather than through the 

 extinct earlier branches. Pre-Lamarckian Evo- 

 lution was mainly a conception of the gradual 

 rise of higher forms of life by descent and modi- 

 fication from lower forms still existing. This, in 

 contrast with the notions of sudden production 

 of life from the earth or of Special Creation, was 

 based upon slow development, and had the dis- 

 tinction always of being a naturalistic expla- 

 nation. 



The variety of terms under which the law of 

 Evolution^ has figured marks to a certain extent 

 the chapters in its history. The word 'evolution' 

 itself was early used in the English language, in 



1 Evolution [ad. L. evolution-em (recorded in the sense 'unroll- 

 ing of a book'), n. of action f. evolvere]. I. The process of unroll- 

 ing, opening out, or disengaging from an envelope. II. The opening 

 out or unfolding of what is wrapped up {e. g. a. roll, a bud, etc.) ; 

 fig. the spreading out before the mental vision (of a series of ob- 

 jects) ; the appearance in orderly succession of a long train of 

 events. Also concr. 'the series of things unfolded or unrolled' 

 (J.). — Murray; New English Dictionary, vol. 3, pt. 2 E. 



