24 THE EVOLUTION THEORY 



Goethe, the first forerunner of the theory, and then aged eighty-one, 

 had in the intellectual combat that took place in the French Academy 

 between Cuvier and Isidore Geoffroy St.-Hilaire. A friend of Goethe's, 

 Soret, relates that on August 2, 1830, he went into the poet's room, 

 and was greeted with the words : ' Well, what do you think of this 

 great event ? The volcano is in eruption, and all is in flames. There 

 can no longer be discussion with closed doors.' Soret replied : ' It is 

 a terrible business ! But what else was to be expected with things 

 as they are, and with such a ministry, than that it should end in 

 the expulsion of the reigning family 1 ' To which Goethe answered : 



* We don't seem to understand each other, my dear friend. I am not 

 talking of these people at all ; I am thinking of quite different affairs. 

 I refer to the open rupture in the Academy between Cuvier and 

 Geoffroy St.-Hilaire ; it is of the utmost importance to science.' 



In this conflict of opinions, Cuvier opposed Geoffroy 's conception 

 of the unity of the plan of structure in all animals, confronting him 

 with the four Cuvierian types, in each of which the plan of structure 

 was altogether different, and strongly insisting on the doctrine of the 

 fixity of species, which he maintained to be the necessary postulate of 

 a scientific natural history. 



The victory fell to Cuvier, and it cannot be denied that there 

 was much justification for his opinions at the time, for the knowledge 

 of facts at that stage was not nearly comprehensive enough to give 

 security to the Evolution theory, and moreover the quiet progress of 

 science might have been hindered rather than furthered by premature 

 generalization and theorizing. It had now been seen how far the 

 interpretation of general biological problems could be carried with the 

 available material ; the ' Naturphilosophie ' had not merely exploited 

 it as far as possible, but had burdened it much beyond its carrying 

 power, and the world was weary of insecure speculations. The 



• Naturphilosophie ' was for the time quite worked out, and a long 

 period set in, during which all energies were devoted to detailed 

 research. 



