LECTURE VI. 



A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE POSI- 

 TION OF MR. DARWIN'S WORK, "ON 

 THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES," IN RELATION 

 TO THE COMPLETE THEORY OF THE 

 CAUSES OF THE PHENOMENA OF OR- 

 GANIC NATURE. 



In the preceding five lectures I have endeavoured to 

 give you an account of those facts, and of those reason- 

 ings from facts, which form the data upon which all 

 theories regarding the causes of the phenomena of 

 organic nature must be based. And, although I have 

 had frequent occasion to quote Mr. Darwin — as all 

 persons hereafter, in speaking upon these subjects, Avill 

 have occasion to quote his famous book on the " Origin 

 of Species/'' — you must yet remember that, wherever I 

 have quoted him, it has not been upon theoretical 

 points, or for statements in any way connected with his 

 particular speculations, but on matters of fact, brought 

 forward by himself, or collected by himself, and which 

 appear incidentally in his book. If a man will make a 

 book, professing to discuss a single question, an ency- 

 clopaedia, I cannot help it. 



Now, having had an opportunity of considering in 

 this sort of way the different statements bearing upon 



