The Author of the Glacial Theory. 149 



ordinary sentence : — " Du darfst Dich nicht wundern, den 

 Namen von Schimper darin nirgends genannt zu finden. Ich 

 wollte so seine Anmassung strafen. Alles, was er hatte sein 

 nennen konnen, wenn auch nur von feme, habe ich unberiihrt 

 gelassen, selbst wenn ich beistimmen miisste." Mr. Evans 

 says of this, " wherein consisted this presumption " which 

 Agassiz wished to punish by a policy of utterly ignoring 

 the achievements of a colleague, in a manner which, in the 

 interests of true learning and to the honour of human 

 nature, one would gladly think is rare in the annals of 

 scientific research ? Merely in the modest expression of a 

 desire to have his name publicly mentioned in connection 

 with a theory, of which, as is now clearly shown, he was the 

 real and only author." (Evans, op. cit. 96 and 97). Well 

 may Mr. Evans say, " Whatever glory emanated from the 

 new doctrine haloed round the brow of Agassiz as its 

 public expounder, and naturally enough he soon grew fond 

 of the easily-won fame. The nimbus of the Saint is a 

 covetable head-gear, provided one is not compelled to win 

 it by the thorny crown of martyrdom." {North American 

 Review, CXLV. 96). 



The result has been what ought to be expected. Schim- 

 per's name has dropped out of geological literature alto- 

 gether, and is not even referred to in such works as 

 Professor James Geikie's " Ice Age " and " Prehistoric 

 Europe," whose main thesis is that first maintained by the 

 German botanist. 



I think I have amply justified the strictures I passed 

 upon Agassiz at Newcastle, which were so unwelcome to 

 Professor Green. 



I cannot conclude this paper, however, without some 

 remarks about the ice cap theory of Agassiz, which, accord- 

 ing to the President of the Geological Section of the British 

 Association at Newcastle, is repudiated by nearly every 

 geologist. I was not alone in feeling surprise at this 



