IV THE GENEALOGY OP ANIMALS 109 



spontaneous generation, while admitting that there 

 is no experimental evidence in its favour, Professor 

 Haeckel denies the possibility of disproving it, and 

 points out- that the assumption that it has occurred 

 is a necessary part of the doctrine of Evolution. 

 The fourteenth lecture, on " Schopfungs-Perioden 

 und Schopfungs-Urkunden," answers pretty much 

 to the famous disquisition on the " Imperfection 

 of the Geological Record " in the " Origin of 

 Species." 



The following five lectures contain the most 

 original matter of any, being devoted to " Phylo- 

 geny," or the working out of the details of the 

 process of Evolution in the animal and vegetable 

 kingdoms, so as to prove the line of descent of 

 each group of living beings, and to furnish it 

 with its proper genealogical tree, or " phylum." 



The last lecture considers objections and sums 

 up the evidence in favour of biological Evolution. 



I shall best testify to my sense of the value of 

 the work thus briefly analysed if I now proceed to 

 note down some of the more important criticisms 

 which have been suggested to me by its perusal. 



I. In more than one place, Professor Haeckel 

 enlarges upon the service which the " Origin of 

 Species " has done, in favouring what he terms 

 the " causal or mechanical " view of living nature 

 as opposed to the " teleological or vitalistic " view. 

 And no doubt it is quite true that the doctrine of 

 Evolution is the most formidable opponent of all 



