I ROBINET AND BUFFON 17 



external. Robinet is not very clear about the method 

 which Nature followed in order to attain her object, 

 but the last part of his story is quite fluent, and the 

 ape appears as the last effort of Nature before she 

 succeeded in making man. 



This is very crude and elementary evolutionism, to 

 be sure, and the names of Robinet, De Maillet, and 

 Duret l have but slight historical interest, but it must 

 be remembered that between Robinet and Darwin not 

 a century elapsed, and there lies the reason for which 

 I have wished to recall briefly the quaint notions of 

 these transformists of the past A word, however, 

 may be said in their defence ; we must remember 

 that at the time they wrote, little was known concern- 

 ing species, and no idea could be obtained concerning 

 their origin and derivation, so long as their nature was 

 ignored. 



Evolutionism, scientific and really deserving this 

 name, appeared only a few years after the publication 

 of Robinet's ungainly views, and here the French 

 scientists took a prominent part. 



Buffon comes first. Much has been said and 

 written concerning the orthodoxy of the great natural- 

 ist, and contradictory statements have been made, so 



1 For details concerning their theories cf. Henry de Varigny : La 

 Philosophic Biologique aux xvii 1 ' el xmii e Siccles, l\.evt(e Scientijiyuc, 

 August 29th, 1889. Also De Quatrefages, Charles Darwin et ses Pre- 

 curseurs francaiS) 1870, of which anew edition is in the press (1892). 



C 



