14 THE GENESIS OF SPECIES. [Chap. 



"individual" is a very incomplete one. The word "indi- 

 vidual" denotes a concrete whole with a real, separate, and 

 distinct existence. The word " species," on the other hand, 

 denotes a peculiar congeries of characters, innate powers 

 and qualities, and a certain nature realized indeed in indi- 

 viduals, but having no separate existence, except ideally as 

 a thought in some mind. 



Thus the birth of a " species " can only be compared 

 metaphorically, and very imperfectly, with that of an " indi- 

 vidual." 



Individuals, as individuals^ actually and din^clly produce 

 and bring forth other individuals ; but no " congeries of 

 characters," no " common nature " as such^ can directly 

 bring forth another " common nature," because, per se, it 

 lias no existence (other than ideal) apart from the individ- 

 uals in which it is manifested. 



The problem then is, " By what combination of natural 

 laws does a new * common nature ' appear upon the scene 

 of realized existence?" i. e., how is an individual embody- 

 ing such new characters produced ? 



For the approximation we have of late made toward the 

 solution of this problem, we are mainly indebted to the in- 

 valuable labors and active brains of Charles Darwin and 

 Alfred Wallace. 



Nevertheless, important as have been the impulse and 

 direction given by those writers to both our observations 

 and speculations, the solution will not (if the views here 

 advocated are correct) ultimatel}'^ present that aspect and 

 character with which it has issued from the hands of those 

 writers. 



Neither, most certainly, will that solution agree in ap- 

 pearance or substance with the more or less crude concep- 

 tions which have been put forth by most of the opponents 

 of Messrs. Darwin and Wallace. 



Rather, judging from the more recent manifestations of 



