26o LUCK, OR CUNNING? 



this, considering that it is done daily by nine out of 

 ten who call themselves Darwinians. Ask ten people 

 of ordinary intelligence how Mr. Darwin explains the 

 fact that giraffes have long necks, and nine of them 

 will answer "through continually stretching them to 

 reach higher and higher boughs." They do not under- 

 stand that this is the Lamarckian view of evolution, 

 not the Darwinian ; nor will Mr. AUen's book greatly 

 help the ordinary reader to catch the difference between 

 the two theories, in spite of his frequent reference to 

 Mr. Darwin's " distinctive feature," and to his " master- 

 key." No doubt the British public will get to under- 

 stand all about it some day, but it can hardly be 

 expected to do so all at once, considering the way in 

 which Mr, AUen and so many more throw dust in its 

 eyes, and will doubtless continue to throw it as long 

 as an honest penny is to be turned by doing so. Mr. 

 Allen, then, is probably right in saying that "the 

 name of Darwin will no doubt be often tacked on to 

 what are in reality the principles of Lamarck," nor 

 can it be denied that Mr. Darwin, by his practice of 

 using " the theory of natural selection " as though it 

 were a synonym for " the theory of descent with modi- 

 fication," contributed to this result. 



I do not myself doubt that he intended to do this, 

 but Mr. Allen would say no less confidently he did not. 

 He writes of Mr. Darwin as follows : — 



" Of Darwin's pure and exalted moral nature no 

 Englishman of the present generation can trust him- 

 self to speak with becoming moderation." 



He proceeds to trust himself thus : — 



