72 
-—was not merely incapable of producing living .beings, but 
was hostile to the existence of vegetable and animal organ- 
isms.” But afterwards, with the appearance of water,” he 
tells us, cc organic life developed itselt ” ! * Then at Notting- 
ham last year, in Mr. Grovers address, while we had much the 
same sentiments repeated as to “ the self-evolving powers of 
nature,” and the doctrine of continuity, we had actually gra- 
vitation questioned, although Mr. Warington has once more 
made this appeal to the discovery of Neptune as proving the 
truth of the theory, I very much fear without going into 
the merits of that discovery. And just so was a confident 
appeal made by Sir Charles Lyell and Professor Huxley to the 
discovery of the Neanderthal skull, as an evidence that there 
probably was some low- caste, half-human creature, inter- 
mediate between man and apes (which, of course, there might 
have been without proving transmutation from the one into 
the other) ; but upon investigation by Dr. Barnard Davis, it 
was found that the Neanderthal skull proved nothing, being 
evidently an abnormal development, caused by synostysis or 
ossification of the sutures, and that similar skulls, known to 
be the skulls of modern men, are in our museums. 
Dismissing, then, Mr. Warington*s chosen analogy as 
worthless, I come to his direct arguments in favour of Dar- 
winism. Mr. Warington, I think, very fairly states one of 
the main issues thus:— “That species grow. and reproduce, 
and that they pass on their characteristics by inheritance, and 
that they are liable to variation is admitted by every one. 
The point at issue is whether they can so pass on and accu- 
mulate their f variations* by inheritance as in the end to bring 
about specific differences/* i.e. new species. Of course it is 
obvious that, in order to settle this point, we must have a 
definite meaning for the word “ species.** Well, Sir, I think 
I can furnish a meaning that, although somewhat absolute, 
will not be questioned, at least by Mr. Warington, namely 
this : — “ The only fair definition of a species is a race of living 
beings possessing common characteristic differences from all 
others, which differences at the present time are constant and 
inherent . 3 * This definition is Mr. Warington* s own ! It 
occurs just before the other quotation I have made from his 
paper. It is admitted that at the present time the charac- 
teristics of species are constant and inherent. Yet, according 
to the same authority, if species are liable to such variation 
as may accumulate and in the end bring about new species, 
then Darwinism is to be pronounced “ possible ** ! But, as 
* Force and Matter, p. 63. (Triibner & Co.) 
