W. Ule, and a few unknown great men, Dr. Zimmer, Th. 

 Pappstein, R. Steiner, A. Haese; but stay, I came very near 

 forgetting the great pillar, Dodel of Zuerich. But where is 

 there mention of the professional colleagues of Haeckel 

 whose testimonies could be taken seriously? Under the 

 heading "Literary Humbug," which evidently has refer- 

 ence to the contents of his own work, Schmidt then meets 

 numerous objections. Here vigorous epithets are bandied 

 about, as, for instance, "absolute nonsense," "muddler," 

 "foolish and senseless prattle," "idle talk," etc.; and from 

 Dodel he copies the words with which the latter once 

 sought to annihilate me: Job, verse lo, "Thou hast spoken 

 like one of the foolish women." And he ventures to ex- 

 press indignation at Loofs' "invectives." As a compliment, 

 to Lasson he declares that he could easily conceive of the 

 possibility of an ape ascending the professor's chair and 

 speaking as intelligently as he (Lasson); which remark he 

 probably intended as a witticism. He informs his readers 

 that the criticism of Haeckel by men like Virchow, His, 

 Semper, Haacke, Baer, and Wigand have been examined 

 by professional specialists and proved practically worthless. 

 This statement alone so clearly reveals Schmidt's lack of 

 critical facultly and judgment that by it he at once forfeits 

 his right to be taken seriously. 



The whole book is nothing more than a collection of 

 quotations from the reviews of the "Weltraetsel," inter- 

 spersed with characteristic expressions like "idle talk," 

 "nonsense," etc., as exemplified above. A really pertinent 

 reply and refutation of objections is entirely beyond 



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