DARWIN 131 



on the other hand, it cannot be questioned that 

 the confused nature of their fundamental idea, 

 which, in fact, was not far removed from the theo- 

 logical notion of the vital force, gave the rigid and 

 *' exact " academic workers an apparent right to 

 reject all speculation on the possibility of an evolu- 

 tion of species as an unscientific dream. The aged 

 Bronn was in 1860 one of the most prudent and 

 sober of the advocates of the inner principle of 

 evolution. He candidly acknowledged that Darwin 

 had struck a severe blow at the great idea of his 

 life, on one side at least. Darwin's work not 

 merely dismissed God to the wings as a personality, 

 but even left no room for the finger of God, for his 

 spiritual writing on the walls of the living world. 

 It found evidence of natural laws alone. From 

 them came, if not life itself, at all events selec- 

 tion, adaptation, and evolution by virtue of this 

 increasing adaptation — the higher advance that 

 converted the fish into a lizard and the lizard into 

 a mammal. The fine old worker, with an age of 

 indefatigable labour behind him, though he had 

 not got beyond the idea of a "law of evolution,'* 

 looked on Darwin with a mixture of fear and 

 admiration as he cut into the very heart of these 

 problems. He added amiable notes to the work 

 to the effect that one would like to go so far, but 

 the distance was intimidating. In fact, he omitted 

 altogether from his translation the very important 

 phrase that *^ light would be thrown on the origin 

 of man." It would be a terrible affair, he thought, 

 if the discussion were at once turned on this. 



