102 THEORIES OF EVOLUTION 



by the specious character of the words themselves. 

 I suppose that the Duke feels himself bound to account 

 in some way or other for the fact that people believe in 

 Natural Selection, while he does not, and accordingly he 

 suggests that the seductive power of the title employed 

 by Darwin has misled the scientific mind into a belief 

 in the process itself, — only rare and subtle intellects like 

 his own being proof against such an allurement. Natural: 

 a word expressive of familiar objects and processes always 

 around us. Selection: a process with which we are all 

 familiar. In this way it seems reasonable to the Duke 

 of Argyll to suppose that men have been misled by the 

 seductive nature of the terms employed by Darwin. 

 The terms apply to processes familiar to every one, 

 and therefore every one accepted them at once, without 

 inquiring what they really meant. This is, of course, 

 an explanation eminently satisfactory to the single writer 

 who was not to be overcome by 'the power of loose 

 analogy'. But when we proceed to test this ingenious 

 suggestion, and look into the history of the times to 

 which it applies, when we read Darwin's letters, we find 

 that he continually complains that people do not under- 

 stand what he means by Natural Selection, and he almost 

 regrets having used the words. He says more than once 

 that he wishes he had employed Herbert Spencer's term, 

 the Survival of the Fittest, because his own title, Natural 

 Selection, is comprehended with such difficulty. 



When we look to another class of evidence we find 

 equally sure ground for the conviction that Natural 

 Selection was driven into men's minds with the very 

 greatest difficulty, and by no means with the ease which 

 the Duke of Argyll assumes. It is very interesting to 

 consult the various skits written between twenty and 

 thirty-five years ago, 1 in which the writers supposed that 

 they were making fun of Darwin's theory. If you will 

 read them, you will be struck by one very remarkable 

 fact : their authors are all making fun of Lamarck when 

 they believe they are making fun of Darwin. 



1 The discussion at which these words were used took place Feb. 7, 

 1894. 



