The times., 1900-12-23

given by Lucretius, and from his day
down to the middle of the eighteenth CEN
tury no advance had been made. Either
the problem was not referred to at all,
or the theological doctrine Of q special
creation was held to be the only possible
one But in the middle of the eighteenth
century the great French naturalist Buff
fon published his very important work.
"Histoire Naturelle," in fifteen volumes
Q749-1767), in which. besides describing
the characters and habits of all the ami
mails then known. he introduced much
philosophical and speculative Thought,
which would probably have been carried
much further had he not felt obliged to
conform to the religious prejudices OF the
age. We are indebted to Mr.. Samuel
Butler for having brought together all
the important passages of Buffou's vol
luminous and now little-read works bear
ing upon the question of evolution, and
it is from his volume that l quote.
Button lays stress on the great resem-
blance Of all mammalia in internal struct-
ure, showing that the most unlike crea-
lures may be really alike structurally. He
says; The horse, for example; wat can
at first sight seem more unlike mankind?
Yet when we compare man and horse
pcint by point and detail by detail, our
wonder is excited rather by the resem-
blances than by the differences between
them" He then shows that all the parts
of the skeleton agree, and that 1t is only
in proportions, the increase of some bones
and the suppression of others, that they
differ, adding: IF we regard the matter
thus, not only the ass and the horse, but
even man himself, the apes, etc, might
be regarded as forming members OF one
and the same family" Then, after few
more illustrations, he remarks: III we
once admit that there are families OF
plants and animals, so that the ass may
be of the family of the horse, and that the
one may only differ from the other by
degeneration from a common ancestor, we
might be driven to admit that the ape is
of the family of man; that he Is but de-
generate man, and that he and man have
had a common ancestor. II 1t
were once shown that we had right
grounds for establishing these families,
II the point we're once gained that among
plants and animals there have been even
a single species which had been produced
in the course OF direct descent from an
other species, then there is no further
limit to be set to the power OF nature,
and We should not be wrong in supposing
that with sufficient time she could have
evolved all other organized forms from
one primordial type
This indicates clearly enough his own
opinion but to save himself from the &C.
ciesiasticaI authorities he at once adds
this saying clause: But no. 1t Is GER
tain. from revelation, that all animals
have alike been favored with the grace
Of an act of direct creation, and that the
first pair of every species issued 1uli
formed from the hands Of the Creator.
Such examples of disarming religious
prejudice are frequent, but he continually
recurs to statements as to nutability
which neutraIize them. Here, for ex-
ample, is a broad claim for nature as op-
posed to creation. He has been showing
how variable are many animals and now
changes of food, climate and general sur
roundings influence both their forms and
their habits; and then he exclaiTns;
What cannot nature effect with such
means at her disposal2 She can do all
except either create matter or destroy it,
These two extremes OF power the Deity
has reserved for himself only; creation
and destruction are tine actio, OF his oni-
nfpotence To alter and undo, to develop
and renew-these are powers which he
has handed over to the charge of nature
Here we have claim for the power OF
nature In the modification CT species
which fully comes up to the requirements
of the most advanced evolutionist. 1t is
remarkable. too. how clearly he perceived
the great factors SO important for the
evolution of organisms rapid mrltiplica-
tion, great variability. and the struggle
for existence. Thus he remarks; 1t may
be said that the movement OF nature
turns upon two immovable pivots-one.
the illimitable fecundity which she has
given to all species; the other, the in
Vulnerable difficulties which reduce the
results of that fecundity and leave
throughout time nearly the same quantity
of individuals In every species" Here
the term "difflculties'' corresponds to the
positive checks of Malthus, and to the
struggle for existence" Of Darwin; and
he again and again refers to variability
as when he says: "Hence-when by some
chance. common enough with natuTe-a
variation or special feature makes its ap-
pearance nan has tried to perpetuate it
by uniting together the individuals in
which ii has appeared
As Button thus clearly understood arti-
fetal selection, thoroughly appreciated
the rapid increase of all organisms, and
equally well saw that their inordinate in
crease was wholly neutralized through
such destructive agencies as hunger, dis
/ ease and enemies, and as at the same
time he had such gnbounded faith in the
power of nature to modify animal and
vegetable forms. We feel assured that this
great writer and original thinker only
needed freedom to pursue this train of
thought little further and he would cer-
tainly have anticipated Darwin's great
discovery of natural selection by whole
century. Even as 1t is we must class him
as one OF the great pioneers OF organic
evolution
The next distinct step toward a theory
I 40 Nv he Sar
I Goethe at the very end of the eighteenth
century in his views Of the metamorpho-
sis of plants He pointed out the success
sive notifications of the leaf which pro-
duced all the other essential parts OF the
higher plants-the simple cotyledonS or
seed leaves became modified into the va
riously formed leaves of the fully grown
/ plants; these again were successfully
modified into the calyx, corolla, stamens
and ovary of the flower. He supposed this
( to be due TO the increased refinement. of
the sap under the influence of light and
air and to indicate the steps by which the
& various parts of the flower had been de-
; veloped II was. therefore, a theory OF
/ evolution; but Il was very unsatisfactory
! inpsm,ch as IL in no way accounted FOR
the wonderful variety or the floral organs
or Indicated any purpose served by the
( most prominent and conspicuous part OF
| the flower. the highly colored and often
/ strangely formed coroIla. II was also cr-
roneous in supposing that the corolla was
modified calyx, whereas it is now known
/ 10 be a modification of the stamens
| Next came the great work OF Lamarck
/ in the first decade Of the nineteenth CEN
tury. in which he proposed a general sys-
| tenn of evolution of the whole animal
/ world. Hence he may be termed the first
| systematic evolutionist. His system has
I beea rather fully described by Lyell. who
! in his principles of Geology" devotes
a whole chapter to a summary of his