222 FROM THE GREEKS TO DARWIN 



A Question of Priority 



First we must consider an important step in 

 the history of the evolution theory; that is, the 

 relation of Erasmus Darwin to Lamarck. We 

 shall see, in treating Lamarck, that the parallel- 

 ism between the line of reasoning of these two 

 men is very striking. They use not only the same 

 illustrations but almost the same language, and 

 by putting together various passages from Dar- 

 win's writings we can reconstruct, almost verba- 

 tim, the four principles of Lamarck. Darwin's 

 Zoonomia was published in 1794, while Lamarck^ 

 in the same year adopted Buffon's maturer and 

 more conservative views, as shown in the follow- 

 ing statements : 



All the individuals of this nature are derived from 

 similar individuals, which altogether constitute the 

 entire species. ... If there exist many varieties 

 produced by the action of environment [circon- 

 stancesl, these varieties do not at all change the spe- 

 cies [ces varietes ne denaturent point les especes] . 



It was not until 1801, seven years after the pub- 

 lication of the Zoonomia, that Lamarck pub- 

 lished his theory of the mutability of species. This 

 theory had two main features, namely, that ani- 



'^Recherches sur les Causes des principaux Faits physiques, 1794, 

 4th pt., 686, p. 214. 



