296 Evolution in the Netherlands. [ May, 
“ Over het begrip van levenskracht uit een geologisch oogpunt be- 
schouwd ” (On the Idea of Vitality considered from a Geolog- 
ical Point of View). The first appeared in 1808; the latter, 
though written about the same time, was published in 1816, to- 
gether with other papers more or less similar in tendency, under 
the title of “© Wijsgeerig-natuurkundige verhandelingen ” ( Trea- 
tises on the Philosophy of Natural History). In these publica- 
tions we recognize Doornik as a decided advocate of the theory 
that the various modifications in which life was revealed in consec- 
utive times originated each from the other. He already occupies 
the point of vantage on which, shortly afterwards, Lamarck, with 
reference to the animal kingdom, and, in his wake, Prévost and 
Lyell, with respect to the geological history of our globe, have 
taken their stand. 
Yet the seeds scattered by Dr. Doornik did not take root in 
fertile soil. It is true that a Groningen professor, G. Bakker, 
combated at great length some of his arguments regarding the 
origin of man ; they attracted but little publie attention, and 
soon passed into oblivion. 
A generation had passed away ere the theory of evolution be- 
gan to attract more attention in the Netherlands. The impulse 
was given by the appearance of the well-known work, Vestiges 
of the Natural History of Creation, of which a Dutch translation 
was published in 1849 by Dr. T. H. van den Broek, professor 
of chemistry at the military medical college in Utrecht, with an 
introductory preface by the celebrated chemist, Prof. G. T. Mul- 
der, as well known in England as elsewhere. This work excited 
a lively controversy, but its opponents were more numerous than 
its partisans. Remarkably enough, it found more favor with the 
general public, and especially with some theologians of liberal 
principles, than with the representatives of the natural sciences. 
The majority of zoölogists and botanists of any celebrity in the 
Netherlands looked upon the writer’s opinions as a chimera, and 
speculated on the weaker points rather than on the merits of the 
work. Notwithstanding, this presented no obstacle to a compat- 
ative success, and in 1854 even a third edition of the translation 
was published, enriched by the translator with numerous annota- 
tions. 
Among the few Dutch savants to recognize the light which the 
theory of development spreads over creation must be mentioned 
two Utrecht professors, namely, F. C. Donders and P. Harting- 
The former, in his inaugural address pronounced in 1848, “ De 
