An Introduction to a Biology 



builders rejected the same has become the headstone of 

 the corner. 



What, you may ask, has this to do with agriculture ? 

 In my opinion, a very great deal in a general way and in 

 a particular way. 



In a general way viewing the continent of knowledge 

 from a point higher up than an aeroplane can get, but not 

 so far off as the moon we have seen that the territory of 

 biology has extended its western frontier and has grown 

 into very intimate contact and union with the neighbouring 

 territory of the practical science of agriculture ; and on its 

 eastern frontier biology marches with the territory of phi- 

 losophy. Now it is true that the results of this latter 

 contact have not so far been encouraging. Biologists have, 

 with few exceptions, rejected M. Bergson's speculations as 

 fanciful and vain. The materialistic doctrines of orthodox 

 biology have so coloured thought that a man can get up 

 and say, " War is good : I can justify this statement biologic- 

 ally : the law of the stronger holds good everywhere : those 

 forms survive which are able to procure themselves the 

 most favourable conditions of life and to assert themselves 

 in the universal economy of nature." That is Bernhardi's 

 statement of the doctrine of Natural Selection. I think it 

 is the best concise statement of it that there is. Bernhardi's 

 biological justification for war is based on the materialistic 

 doctrine of Natural Selection. 



The history of biology in the nineteenth century is the 

 history of the attempt, doomed to failure, as I believe, from 

 the outset, to express vital phenomena in terms of matter. 

 We are beginning to see what a horrible failure it has been ; 

 and I believe that the biologist, if he is to succeed in giving 

 an approximately correct interpretation of life, must, to 

 a large extent, begin over again and follow up the clues 

 given by Samuel Butler and Henri Bergson. If, then, 

 biology is to be affected by the vital philosophy of Bergson 

 (and I for one believe that it is going to be so profoundly 



92 



