THE "GENERAL MORPHOLOGY" 230 



Studies, the criticism of D'Alton's Sloths 

 and Pachyderms (which is very important), and 

 several others, compels us to think that Goethe 

 really believed, in a strikingly Darwinian way, 

 in a slow transformation and evolution of animal 

 and plant species in virtue of purely natural 

 laws; and that he always laid great stress on 

 this idea of his as an original notion, far in 

 advance of the professional science of his time. 

 We not only have several clear passages, but 

 the whole point of his argument really rests on 

 this idea. Hence, apart altogether from the 

 pedantry that tries to make a cabalistic mystery 

 out of Goethe's works, and always reads B for A 

 and C for B, it does seem that there was truth 

 in HaeckeFs first view of the matter, in spite of 

 all the ink that has been shed over it and the 

 vast amount of word-splitting exegesis. Darwin- 

 ism has, in a certain sense, its German side, even 

 apart from all that Haeckel has done for it. 



This was the book, then, that the deeply 

 afflicted author wrung from himself as his " testa- 

 ment." It was written and printed with unprece- 

 dented speed. When the first copies were issued, 

 the author had a feeling that he had nearly '* done 

 for himself." He could not sleep. The state 

 of his nerves gave great concern to his friends, 

 who were watching him most anxiously. With 

 a stolid fatalism, as if nothing mattered now, he 

 yielded to their pressing advice, and decided to 

 travel for a time. Far away on the blue Atlantic, 



