62 " Natural Selection " 



It is indeed no small gain to present-day thought 

 that such an astute and accurate observer of the pheno- 

 mena of nature as Henri Fabre should unhesitatingly 

 state his disbelief in the theory of natural selection. 

 He resembles Darwin in the possession of the greatest 

 gifts of precise and detailed observation ; unlike him, 

 however, he has no theory to establish. His observa- 

 tion of nature's facts and methods are so minute that 

 he is able positively to demonstrate the absurdity of the 

 conclusion that natural selection could have brought 

 about the phenomena which he has been able to 

 elucidate. As he says : " Voyez d'abord, vous argu- 

 menterez afrez." After the most minute observa- 

 tion and study, he is able to declare unhesitatingly 

 that the animate world cannot be explained by 

 chemical and mechanical formulae. " The facts that 

 I observe are of such a kind as to force dissent from 

 Darwin's theories." And in a noteworthy passage he 

 affirms that " variations are superficial ; they never 

 affect essentials." This declaration is one of the 

 greatest importance, and requires serious consideration 

 in that it is an affirmation of the truth of our thesis of 

 the obliteration of all variations and the return to the 

 average type as the generations proceed. And it is 

 with intense satisfaction from the point of view of 

 science and the cause of truth that we receive the 

 pronouncement of this marvellous observer, whose 

 knowledge of living matter and instinctive processes 

 is facile ■princeps : " The more I observe, the more 

 this intelligence shines out behind the mystery of things 

 — a sovereign order, controlling matter." 



In his account of the sand-wasp and the wonderful 

 process by which it slays its prey — the caterpillar — in 

 such a manner that it will be rendered motionless but 

 still retain its vitality, and so provide a fitting nutrient 

 for the egg deposited upon it, he is able to demonstrate 



