Evolution. 147 



nature. This, instead of strength, is the utmost of weakness. 

 Darwin has not shown this, but the weaklings (and nearly- 

 all his followers have been slow to reason) will now 

 probably think that geotropism and apogeotropism will 

 take the place of nature's most occult laws and will fancy 

 these words also to be explanations. We should not be 

 surprised to hear some of those who imagine themselves 

 to be followers, but really are laggers behind, giving cir- 

 cumnutation as an explanation of intellect, and making 

 the nutation of the plant as similar in meaning to the 

 nutus of power. Some people also think that the * survival 

 of the fittest ' is a great discovery. What else could sur- 

 vive } Were there ever men who believed that the least 

 fit to live could live longest } It is, however, a telling 

 expression — a name for a fact. 



It is only fair on the general question to quote Lord 

 Monboddo's words ; he neglected the best part of his ideas 

 and wandered over all the world losing the path with which 

 he began. We may see what a fine foundation he had to 

 work on. The following is from his * Origin and Progress 

 of Language,' 2nd ed. vol. i. p. 175, 1774. 



* For it seems to be a law of nature, that no species of 

 thing is formed at once, but by steps and progression from 

 one stage to another. Thus naturalists observe several 

 different appearances betwixt the seed and the vegetable, 

 the embryo and the animal. The principles of body in 

 general are points^ lines, and surfaces, which are not body, and 

 of number the monad and duad, which are not numbers, 

 and in general the elements of things are different from 

 the things themselves.' 



Here we have clearly enough expressed, notwithstanding 

 some imperfection in utterance, the idea of the progressive 



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