66 
REVIEWS. 
THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES.* 
T O give anything like an adequate analysis of Mr. Darwin’s treatise 
would require a space far greater than that at our disposal. The volume 
itself is so extensive, the matter it contains is so compressed, and the argu- 
ments are so condensed, that nothing short of the hook itself could lay 
the facts in favour of the doctrine of Natural Selection fairly before the 
public. The present edition is the fourth which has been issued since 1859 ; 
and it is not merely a reprint of the one which preceded it, hut contains 
numerous additions and corrections. 
Whatever he the accuracy of the theory which Mr. Darwin has so ahly 
promulgated, it is surprising how many distinguished men of science in all 
parts of the world have given it their support and countenance. In this 
country, nearly all the naturalists of repute have admitted the force of Mr. 
Darwin’s opinions ; and though few of them are prepared to swear to the 
truth of the new doctrine, all are ready to admit that the hypothesis of 
Natural Selection has far more evidence in its favour than any other upon 
the same subject that has yet been published, and that, furthermore, it is 
in no way obnoxious to the facts of revelation. Among the more formid- 
able opponents to Mr. Darwin’s opinions is Professor 0 wen ; at least, we 
may say was, for we are at present in considerable difficulty as to the for- 
mation of an idea concerning Professor Owen’s views. And yet it seems as 
if the superintendent of the British Museum inclines towards the Darwinian 
theory, though he does not feel that he ought to adopt it. It was only 
through a recent letter, of 'Professor Owen that this mental condition dis- 
played itself. In May last an important notion of Professor Owen’s treatise 
on Comparative Anatomy appeared in the pages of the London Review , in 
which the writer criticised with some severity, but with much justice, 
Professor Owen’s comments on the theory of Natural Selection. To this 
review Professor Owen replied in a long and able letter, in which, among 
other statements, he remarked that, “No naturalist can dissent from the 
truth of your perception of the essential identity of the passage cited with 
the basis of that [the so-called Darwinian] theory, the power, viz., of spe- 
cies to accommodate themselves or bow to the influences of surrounding 
circumstances.” This was quite sufficient to show that Professor Owen 
desired to be considered the author, or at least the suggestor, of the theory 
* “ On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection; or the Pre- 
servation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.” By Charles Darwin, 
M.A., F.R.S. Fourth edition. London: Murray. 18G6. 
