322 FROM THE GREEKS TO DARWIN 



a theory of the origin of species, of which Dar- 

 win says :^ 



The differences of Mr. Matthew's views from mine 

 are not of much importance: he seems to consider 

 that the world was nearly depopulated at successive 

 periods, and then restocked; and he gives as an al- 

 ternative, that new forms may be generated "without 

 the presence of any mould or germ of former aggre- 

 gates" [abiogenesis] . I am not sure that I under- 

 stand some passages ; but it seems that he attributes 

 much influence to the direct action of the conditions 

 of life. He clearly saw, however, the full force of the 

 principle of natural selection. 



Mr. Matthew was not satisfied with this hand- 

 some recognition of his priority and is said to 

 have placed on a subsequent title-page, after his 

 name, "Discoverer of the principle of Natural 

 Selection." 



In 1855 appeared an article^ by Alfred Rus- 

 sel Wallace, "On the Law which has regulated 

 the Introduction of New Species." This con- 

 tains a very strong argument for the theory of 

 descent, as explaining the facts of classification, 

 of distribution, and of succession of species in 

 geological time during the great changes upon 

 the earth. Wallace at this time showed himself 



'^Loc. cit. 



^Annals and Magazine of Natural History, September, 1855. 

 Republished in 1870 in Contributions to the Theory of Natural 

 Selection. A Series of Essays. Macmillan & Co., London. 



