228 
Analyses of Books. 
fApril, 
Goethe and Oken, which the former evinced in a very unworthy 
manner. Making use of his position in the Weimar Govern- 
ment, he prevented Oken from delivering a course on botany in 
the LeCture-Hall of the Botanical Gardens at Jena. Worse than 
this, he took part — as a document quoted by Herr Ecker but too 
plainly shows — in the intrigues which led to the removal of Oken 
from his professorship and the suspension of his journal, the 
well-known “ Isis.” 
We can add no more save an aspiration of “ peace to his 
ashes and glory to his memory,” and an expression of thankful- 
ness to Herr Ecker for his able and faithful survey of the life 
and the struggles of the illustrious biologist. 
Is Darwin right ? or, the Origin of Man. By William Denton. 
Wellesley, Mass. : Denton Publishing Co. 
The work before us is one which may fairly claim our attention. 
The author is most decidedly an evolutionist. He argues ably 
against the advocates of mechanical creation, and in support of 
the “ natural origin of man ” he appeals to the metamorphosis 
of animals, to anatomical similarity, to linking forms, rudimentary 
organs, palaeontological resemblance, geological succession, in- 
sular organic resemblance, the antiquity of our species, and to 
brutal characteristics. In all these respeCts, if no absolutely new 
faCts are brought forward, the evidence is summarised with great 
clearness, and the objections to the theory of development are 
met in a masterly manner. 
Mr. Denton belongs, however, to that — dare we say “ in- 
creasing ” ? — party who, whilst fully accepting Evolution, and 
even recognising “ Natural Selection ” as a vera causa , consider 
it as insufficient to account for the existence of all organic forms, 
and especially of man. He has been led by his “ investigations 
in mesmerism, spiritualism, and psychometry ” to consider the 
theories of Darwin and Huxley deficient as ignoring “ the 
spiritual side of the universe, infinitely its most important side.” 
“ Natural Selection ” he regards as “ the gardener that trims the 
tree of life, lops off the imperfeCt branches, and destroys the 
sprouts that might divert its energies, but not the Creator that 
gave life and form to the tree.” Here, though on very different 
grounds, he will find thoughtful naturalists not a few who will 
agree with him, and who think the struggle for existence more 
likely to reduce than to increase the number of organic forms. 
Mr. Denton differs from the Darwinian school in rejecting hap- 
hazard variation as the grand agent in the production of species. 
He considers that Evolution has followed a plan in which pur- 
pose and wisdom are conspicuous. He enumerates certain 
