256 Evolution and Adaptation 
if I were a Lamarckian, I should feel very uncomfortable to 
have the best evidence in support of the theory come from 
this source, because there are a number of facts in the results 
that make them appear as though they might, after all, be the 
outcome of a transmitted disease, as Weismann claims, rather 
than the inheritance of an acquired character. Until we 
know more of the pathology of epilepsy, it may be well not 
to lay too great emphasis on these experiments. It should 
not be overlooked that during the long time that the embryo 
is nourished in the uterus of the mother, there is ample op- 
portunity given for the transmission of material, or possibly 
even of bacteria. If it should prove true that epilepsy is due 
to some substance present in the nervous system, such sub- 
stances could get there during the uterine life of the embryo. 
Even if this were the case, it may be claimed that it does 
not give an explanation of the local reappearance of the 
disease in the offspring. But here also we must be on our 
guard, for it is possible that only certain regions of the body 
are susceptible to a given disease; and it has by no means 
been shown that the local defect itself is inherited, but only 
the disease. Romanes insists that a very special operation is 
necessary to bring about certain forms of transmission. 
It is well also to keep in mind the fact, that if this sort of 
effect is inherited, then we must be prepared to accept as a 
possibility that other kinds of injury to the parent may be 
transmitted to the offspring. It would be of great disadvan- 
tage to animals if they were to inherit the injuries that their 
parents have suffered in the course of their lives. In fact, 
we might expect to find many plants and animals born in a 
dreadful state of mutilation as a result of inheritances of this 
sort. Thus, while the Lamarckians try to show that, on their 
principle, characters for the good of the species may be 
acquired, they must also be prepared, if they accept this 
kind of evidence, to grant that immense harm may also result 
from its action. I do not urge this as an argument against 
