?62 



NA TURE 



[August 15, 1S95 



In the lonj< second period, that of the thcolog^ians 

 and natural philosophers, '" no advance whatever in the 

 <levelopment of the evolution idea was made . . . ; 

 scientific speculation and observation were at a stand- 

 still, except among the Arabs " (p. 70\ 



As we advance towards the work of the naturalists and 

 philosophers of the two last centuries, the difficulties and 

 dangers of interpretation increase. It is even easier to 

 read preconceived notions into the single passages of 

 dead writers than into the phenomena of nature ; and we 

 all know that the latter process is only too easy. If the 

 results are not to be in the highest degree misleading, 

 the author must, like Prof. Osborn, be entirely free from 

 bias, and must possess a cool and critical judgment. 



We meet with constant and timely protests against the 

 rash conclusions which may be reached by selecting 

 isolated passages from an author, and dealing with thcin 

 apart from their context, and the full recognition of the 

 great danger which underlies this too common practice, 

 VIZ. that we unconsciously read into such passages our 

 present knowledge (p. 80). 



Prof. Osborn considers that too high a place has 

 been assigned to Oken and Treviranus by Haeckel and 

 Huxley respectively, and that Xaudin's supposed antici- 

 pation of natural selection is far from being as satisfactory- 

 as Quatrefages and X'arigny maintain. The suggestion 

 that Oken anticipated the cell theory is acutely criticised : 

 it is suggested that his conception of the cell as a sphere 

 was probably only a result of the transccndant position 

 occupied by this geometrical form in his system of 

 philosophy (p. 124). 



The suggestion (on p. 235) that Darwin's 1844 Essay 

 should be published will, the present writer feels assured, 

 meet with warm approval from the wide circle of readers 

 who are eager to learn all that can be learnt of the 

 histor)' of Darwin's views upon the great work of his 

 life. 



The hope is expressed (on p. 245) that we shall learn 

 the steps which led to Wallace's independent discover)' 

 •of natural selection. That information is fortunately now 

 before us, and we know that Wallace was led to the dis- 

 cover)- by reflecting on Malthus' " Essay on Popu- 

 lation," as he lay ill of intermittent fever at Ternate 

 (quoted, without reference, in .\Iilncs Marshall's " Lectures 

 on the Darwinian Theory," London, 1894, pp. 212, 213, 

 and to be found in the abridged form of the " Life and 

 Letters of Charles Darwin"). Thus another most im- 

 portant detail is added to the extraordinary coincidence 

 of the independent discovery of natural selection. 



There is comparatively little to criticise in the volume. 



The idea of the marine origin of life, traced to Thalcs, 

 is stated to be "now- a fundamental principle of evolu- 

 tion " ^p. 33, ; but at the end of the volume it is more 

 correctly asserted that we are now too wise to answer 

 the inquiry : Where did life first appear? (p. 247). 



Concerning the debated question as to whether 

 I-imarck was aware of Erasmus Darwin's writings, and 

 made use of (hem without acknowledgment, the author 

 I'pp. 154, 155; quotes a passage from the ".\nimaux sans 

 Vertcbres," in which Lamarck states that his theory is 

 the first which has been presented. This he considers 

 to be " satisfactory evidence that Erasmus Danvin and 

 NO. 1346, VOL. 52] 



Lamarck independently evolved their views." But if 

 Lamarck borrowed without acknowledgment, it would be 

 but a small step further to write the passage in question. 



The statements and conclusions to which exception is 

 chiefly to be taken concern the life of Darwin himself, 

 which the author professedly treats in a very brief and 

 imperfect manner, any detailed account being beyond the 

 scope of this volume. 



The author spe.-iks (p. 227) of " Huxley's somewhat 

 guarded acceptance of the theory " on the fust appearance 

 of the " Origin," and implies that he became a much 

 stronger supporter of evolution in later years. But in 

 reality his convictions on this subject never changed. In 

 his letter to Darwin, written November 23, 1859, the day 

 before the publication of the " Origin," Huxley expressed 

 himself as "prepared to go to the stake, if requisite, in 

 support of" those parts of the book which deal with 

 evolution as apart from natural selection. .•\s to the latter 

 he says : " 1 think you have demonstrated a true cause 

 for the production of species, and have thrown the onus 

 probandi that species did not arise in the way you sup- 

 pose, on your adversaries." And these were Huxlej-'s 

 views up to the last occasions on which he spoke on the 

 subject, at the Oxford meeting of the British .Association 

 last year, and at the anniversary of the Royal Society 

 when he received the Darwin Medal. On both occasions 

 he carefully distinguished between evolution and natural 

 selection, being prepared to defend the former to the 

 uttermost, while lie declined to commit himself upon the 

 latter. 



It is contended .p. 239^ that Darwin's faith in natural 

 selection reached its climax in 1858, and then gradually 

 declined. The evidence quoted in support of this con- 

 clusion is a letter to Carus in 1869, in which Darwin says : 

 " I have been led to infer that single variations are of 

 even less importance in comparison with individual 

 differences than I formerly thought." Hut this passage 

 proves a strengthening, and not a weakening of his belief 

 in the efficiency of natural selection, inasmuch as it is 

 considered competent to work upon the minute differences 

 which separate individuals instead of upon the ready- 

 made material provided by single variations, however 

 conspicuous. By " single variations " he meant single 

 individuals differing widely and conspicuously from the 

 average of (heir species. His letter to Carus was written 

 shortly after he had been convinced on this point by 

 Fleeming Jenkin's re\iew of the " Origin " {iVoii/i Ihilish 

 Re^iiew, June 1867). A careful study of vol. iii. of the 

 "Life and Letters" leaves no doubt upon this point; 

 while the facts thus brought out tend 10 refute the 

 argument on p. 245 as to the supposed antagonism be- 

 I iween Darsvin's .-ind Wallace's conception of the operation 

 of natural selection as expressed in their contribution^ to 

 the Linnean Society in 1858. 



.\ jjassage in the sixth edition of the "Origin" is re- 

 ferred to (p. 242) as having been published in 1880. ami 

 is therefore considered to be " among Darwin's last words 

 upon the factors of evolution." The passage in i|uestion 

 is referred to p. 424 of the " Origin," but occurs on p. 421 

 of the copies I have consulted. In it Darwin expresses 

 his belief that evolution has been effected "chielly 'by 

 natural selection, "aided in an important manner by the 

 inherited effects of use and disuse of parts ; and in an 



