I.] INTRODUCTORY. 31 



been fully provided for in the old philosophy centuries be- 

 fore Darwin, or even before Bacon, and that their place in 

 the system can be at once assigned them without even dis- 

 turbing its order or marring its harmony. 



Moreover, the old tradition in this respect has never 

 been abandoned, however much it may have been ignored 

 or neglected by some modern writers. In proof of this it 

 may be observed that perhaps no post-mediaeval theologian 

 has a wider reception among Christians throughout the 

 world than Suarez, who has a separate section " in opposi- 

 tion to those who maintain the distinct creation of the vari- 

 ous kinds or substantial forms of organic life. 



But the consideration of this matter must be deferred 

 for the present, and the question of evolution, whether Dar- 

 winian or other, be first gone into. It is proposed, after 

 that has been done, to return to this subject (here merely 

 alluded to), and to consider at some length the bearing of 

 " Evolution," whether Darwinian or non-Darwinian, upon 

 " Creation and Theism." 



Now we will revert simply to the consideration of the 

 theory of " Natural Selection " itself. 



Whatever may have hitherto been the amount of ac- 

 ceptance that this theory has met with, all, I think, anti- 

 cipated that the appearance of Mr. Darwin's large and care- 

 ful work on " Animals and Plants under Domestication " 

 could but further increase that acceptance. It is, however, 

 somewhat problematical how far such anticipations will be 

 realized. The newer book seems to add after all but little 

 in, support of the theory, and to leave most, if not all, its 

 difficulties exactly where they were. It is a question, also, 

 whether the hypothesis of " Pangenesis " 14 may not be 



13 Suarez, Metaphysica. Edition Yives. Paris, 1868. Vol. I. Dis- 

 putatio xv., 2. 



14 " Pangenesis " is the name of the new theory proposed by Mr. 

 Darwin, in order to account for various obscure physiological facts, such, 



