68 GERMINAL SELECTION. 



ture : in the end all of them lead us into hypothetical 

 regions. If we are not disposed to follow here, noth- 

 ing remains but to abandon utterly the hope of ex- 

 plaining the adaptive character of life — z renunciation 

 which is not likely to gain our approval when we reflect 

 that by the other method is actually offered at least in 

 principle, not only a broad insight into the adaptation 

 of the single forms of life to their conditions, but also 

 into the mode of formation of the living world as a 

 whole. The variety of the organised world, its trans- 

 formation by adaptation to new, and by reversed adap- 

 tation to old conditions, the inequality of the sys- 

 tematic groups, the attainment of the same ends by 

 diiferent means, that is, by different organisations, , 

 and a thousand and one other things assume on this 

 hypothesis in a certain measure an intelligible form, 

 whilst without it they remain lifeless facts. 



And so in this case, I may say, that again doubt is 

 the parent of all progress. For the idea of germinal 

 selection has its roots in the necessity of putting some- 

 thing else in the place of the Lamarckian principle, 

 after that had been recognised as inadequate. That 

 principle did, indeed, seem to offer an easy explanation 

 of many phenomena, but others stood in open con- 

 tradiction to it, and consequently that was the point 

 at which the lever had to be applied if we were to 

 penetrate deeper into the phenomena in question. For 

 it is at the places where previous views are at variance 

 with facts that the divining rod of the well-seekers 

 must thrice nod. There lie the hidden waters of 

 knowledge, and they will leap forth as from an arte- 

 sian well if he who bores will only drive undaunted 

 his drill into their depths. 



