94 
gégengesetzten Seiten sich vervollkommnen, s) da die Pflanze sich zuletzt im Baum 
dauernd und starr, das Tier im Menschen zur héchsten Beweglichkeit und Freiheit 
sich verherrlicht. 
Here he clearly seems to have some idea of the theory of descent and he 
refers also to the divergence of characters. 
BIELSCHOWsky™, explaining GoETHE’s idea as to the formation of species, 
opines that, as to the origin of species there are two possible theories, one 
is that all the species are created by God separately and indep2ndently, and 
the other is that all the species are formed by evolution from one single 
origin. His thought is, in other words, that the formation of species is ex- 
plainable in two ways, either by the creation theory or by the evolution 
theory. And finally he concludes that, as GoETHE undoubtedly did not believe 
the creation theory, he must have had in mind the evolution theory. 
My opinion is’ quite different from that of the above mentioned author. 
I think that there is, besides the two ways mentioned by BriELscHowsky, one 
more way possible for the formation of species; that is one which is explain- 
able by the participation theory to which I have above alluded. According 
to this theory, an innumerable number of species of organic beings have 
existed from the eternal past and will exist to the eternal future; they unite 
with or separate from one another, and produce many different organisms by 
different combinations of the genes; or they change by themselves, as the 
genes change. Thus, they come from the eternal past, changing their forms 
incessantly, and will continue to change forever. 
GoETHE’s idea is certainly not explainable by the creation theory. It is 
sometimes, as I have above stated, somewhat conformable to the evolution 
theory. Yet, the correct explanation of his ideas, according to my opinion, is 
given by the participation theory. 
Conclusion and Additions. 
GOETHE’s opinions sometimes change. To interpret them, according to 
one of his ideas, which I believe to be correct, his Blatt in the case of 
vegetable organs, or Urpflanze in the case of plant species, is neither a 
* BrerscHowsky, A.—lLc. p. 437. 
