CONTENTS. 



I. THE ANTICIPATION AND INTERPRETATION OF NATURE i 



Preliminary Survey. Environment of the Evolution idea. Periods 

 of its development. Nature of the idea. The scientific method of 

 thought. The Advance of Philosophy. Advance of Zoology and 

 Botany. Embryology. 



II. AMONG THE GREEKS 29 



Conditions of Greek thought. The Greek Periods. lonians and 

 Eleatics : Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Xenophanes. The 

 Physicists: Heraclitus, Empedocles, Democritus, Anaxagoras. 

 Aristotle and his followers. Pliny, Epicurus, Lucretius. The legacy 

 of the Greeks to later Evolution. 



III. THE THEOLOGIANS AND NATURAL PHILOSOPHERS 69 



Transition from Greek Philosophy to Christian Theology. The 

 Fathers and Schoolmen : Gregory, Augustine, Erigena, Aquinas. 

 Arabic Science and Philosophy: Avicenna, Avempace, Abubacer. 

 Bruno and Suarez. The awakening of Science. Characteristics of 

 Evolution in Philosophy. The Natural Philosophers : Bacon, Des- 

 cartes, Leibnitz, Kant, Lessing, Herder, Schelling. 



IV. THE EVOLUTIONISTS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 106 



The two series of Evolutionists. The speculative Evolutionists : 

 Duret, Kircher, Maupertuis, Diderot, Bonnet, De Maillet, Robinet, 

 Oken. The Naturalists : Linnaeus, Buffon, E. Darwin. 



V. FROM LAMARCK TO ST. HILAIRE 152 



Erasmus Darwin and Lamarck. Lamarck. Goethe. Treviranus. 

 Cuvier. Geoffrey St. Hilaire. Discussion between Cuvier and St. 

 Hilaire. Bory de St. Vincent. Isidore St. Hilaire. Decline of the 

 Evolution idea. 



VI. DARWIN 209 



The first half-century. Miscellaneous writers. The Embryolo- 

 gists : Meckel, Baer, Serres. The followers of Buffon : Herbert, 

 Buch, Haldeman, Spencer. The Progressionists : Chambers, Owen. 

 The Selectionists: Wells, Matthew, St. Hilaire, Naudin, Wallace. 

 Darwin. Darwin and Wallace in 1858. Retrospect. 



