﻿4 
  THE 
  ZOOLOGIST. 
  

  

  little 
  importance 
  to 
  Natural 
  Selection 
  — 
  the 
  leading 
  idea 
  of 
  Dar- 
  

   win's 
  earlier 
  teaching. 
  Later 
  on 
  he 
  proposed 
  to 
  substitute 
  for 
  

   " 
  Natural 
  Selection 
  " 
  the 
  term 
  " 
  Survival 
  of 
  the 
  Fittest." 
  Con- 
  

   cerning 
  this 
  Spencer 
  published 
  another 
  very 
  important 
  note 
  ; 
  it 
  

   is 
  on 
  p. 
  530 
  of 
  vol. 
  i. 
  of 
  the 
  1898 
  edition 
  of 
  the 
  ' 
  Principles 
  of 
  

   Biology,' 
  and 
  runs 
  : 
  — 
  " 
  It 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  the 
  argument 
  natur- 
  

   ally 
  leads 
  up 
  to 
  this 
  expression 
  — 
  Survival 
  of 
  the 
  Fittest 
  — 
  which 
  

   was 
  here 
  used 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  time. 
  Two 
  years 
  later 
  (July, 
  1866) 
  

   Mr. 
  A. 
  R. 
  Wallace 
  wrote 
  to 
  Mr. 
  Darwin, 
  contending 
  that 
  it 
  should 
  

   be 
  substituted 
  for 
  the 
  expression 
  ' 
  Natural 
  Selection.' 
  Mr. 
  Darwin 
  

   demurred 
  to 
  this 
  proposal. 
  Among 
  reasons 
  for 
  retaining 
  his 
  

   own 
  expression, 
  he 
  said 
  that 
  I 
  had 
  myself, 
  in 
  many 
  cases, 
  pre- 
  

   ferred 
  it 
  — 
  ' 
  continually 
  using 
  the 
  words 
  Natural 
  Selection 
  ' 
  (' 
  Life 
  

   and 
  Letters,' 
  &c, 
  vol. 
  iii. 
  pp. 
  45-6). 
  Mr. 
  Darwin 
  was 
  quite 
  right 
  

   in 
  his 
  statement, 
  but 
  not 
  right 
  in 
  the 
  motive 
  he 
  attributed 
  to 
  me. 
  

   My 
  reason 
  for 
  frequently 
  using 
  the 
  phrase 
  ' 
  Natural 
  Selection 
  ' 
  

   after 
  the 
  date 
  at 
  which 
  the 
  phrase 
  ' 
  Survival 
  of 
  the 
  Fittest 
  ' 
  was 
  

   first 
  used 
  above 
  was 
  that 
  disuse 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Darwin's 
  phrase 
  would 
  

   have 
  seemed 
  like 
  an 
  endeavour 
  to 
  keep 
  out 
  of 
  sight 
  my 
  own 
  in- 
  

   debtedness 
  to 
  him, 
  and 
  the 
  indebtedness 
  of 
  the 
  world 
  at 
  large. 
  

   The 
  implied 
  feeling 
  has 
  led 
  me 
  ever 
  since 
  to 
  use 
  the 
  expressions 
  

   Natural 
  Selection 
  and 
  Survival 
  of 
  the 
  Fittest 
  with 
  something 
  like 
  

   equal 
  frequency." 
  

  

  These 
  facts 
  are 
  sufficient 
  to 
  emphasize 
  the 
  independence 
  of 
  

   the 
  views 
  of 
  the 
  two 
  men. 
  Spencer 
  continued 
  to 
  be 
  polite 
  to 
  

   Darwin 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  latter, 
  in 
  the 
  historical 
  sketch 
  prefixed 
  to 
  the 
  

   later 
  editions 
  of 
  'Natural 
  Selection,' 
  actually 
  made 
  Spencer's 
  

   priority 
  over 
  himself 
  appear 
  greater 
  than 
  it 
  really 
  was 
  by 
  

   attributing 
  the 
  origin 
  of 
  Spencer's 
  ' 
  System 
  ' 
  to 
  1852 
  instead 
  

   of 
  1857. 
  

  

  Certainly 
  the 
  two 
  terms 
  were 
  not 
  worth 
  fighting 
  about. 
  The 
  

   two 
  great 
  French 
  biologists, 
  Le 
  Dantec 
  and 
  Delage, 
  have 
  ex- 
  

   pressed 
  their 
  opinions 
  of 
  the 
  terms 
  very 
  clearly. 
  Delage 
  says 
  of 
  

   Natural 
  Selection, 
  in 
  his 
  work 
  ' 
  L'Heredite,' 
  the 
  analytical 
  por- 
  

   tions 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  of 
  the 
  highest 
  merit, 
  " 
  Ici 
  comme 
  partout, 
  la 
  

   selection 
  naturelle 
  en 
  ne 
  laissant 
  vivre 
  que 
  ce 
  qui 
  est 
  apte 
  a 
  vivre 
  

   donne 
  l'illusion 
  du 
  providentiel." 
  And 
  Le 
  Dantec 
  adequately 
  

   disposes 
  of 
  " 
  Survival 
  of 
  the 
  Fittest 
  " 
  by 
  pointing 
  out 
  that, 
  as 
  we 
  

   can 
  define 
  the 
  " 
  Fittest 
  " 
  in 
  no 
  other 
  way 
  than 
  " 
  the 
  one 
  that 
  

  

  