darwin and modern science-第3章

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1878：

Publication　of　the　second　edition　of　〃The　Effects　of　Cross　and　Self　fertilisation〃。

1879：

Publication　of　an　English　translation　of　Ernst　Krause's　〃Erasmus　Darwin〃；　with　a　notice　by　Charles　Darwin。　　〃I　am　EXTREMELY　glad　that　you　approve　of　the　little　'Life'　of　our　Grandfather；　for　I　have　been　repenting　that　I　ever　undertook　it；　as　the　work　was　quite　beyond　my　tether。〃　　（To　Mr　Francis　Galton；　Nov。　14；　1879。）

1880：

Publication　of　〃The　Power　of　Movement　in　Plants〃。

〃It　has　always　pleased　me　to　exalt　plants　in　the　scale　of　organised　beings。〃

Publication　of　the　second　edition　of　〃The　Different　Forms　of　Flowers〃。

1881：

Wrote　a　continuation　of　the　Autobiography。

Publication　of　〃The　Formation　of　Vegetable　Mould；　through　the　Action　of　Worms〃。

〃It　is　the　completion　of　a　short　paper　read　before　the　Geological　Society　more　than　forty　years　ago；　and　has　revived　old　geological　thoughts。。。As　far　as　I　can　judge　it　will　be　a　curious　little　book。〃

1882：

Charles　Darwin　died　at　Down；　April　19；　and　was　buried　in　Westminster　Abbey；　April　26；　in　the　north　aisle　of　the　Nave　a　few　feet　from　the　grave　of　Sir　Isaac　Newton。

〃As　for　myself；　I　believe　that　I　have　acted　rightly　in　steadily　following　and　devoting　my　life　to　Science。　　I　feel　no　remorse　from　having　committed　any　great　sin；　but　have　often　and　often　regretted　that　I　have　not　done　more　direct　good　to　my　fellow　creatures。〃

The　quotations　in　the　above　Epitome　are　taken　from　the　Autobiography　and　published　Letters：

〃The　Life　and　Letters　of　Charles　Darwin〃；　including　an　Autobiographical　Chapter。　　Edited　by　his　son；　Francis　Darwin；　3　Vols。；　London；　1887。

〃Charles　Darwin〃：　　His　life　told　in　an　Autobiographical　Chapter；　and　in　a　selected　series　of　his　published　Letters。　　Edited　by　his　son；　Francis　Darwin；　London；　1902。

〃More　Letters　of　Charles　Darwin〃。　　A　record　of　his　work　in　a　series　of　hitherto　unpublished　Letters。　　Edited　by　Francis　Darwin　and　A。C。　Seward；　2　Vols。；　London；　1903。


I。　　INTRODUCTORY　LETTER

FROM　SIR　JOSEPH　DALTON　HOOKER；

O。M。；　G。C。S。I。；　C。B。；　M。D。；　D。C。L。；　LL。D。；　F。R。S。；　ETC。


The　Camp；

near　Sunningdale；

January　15；　1909。

Dear　Professor　Seward；

The　publication　of　a　Series　of　Essays　in　Commemoration　of　the　century　of　the　birth　of　Charles　Darwin　and　of　the　fiftieth　anniversary　of　the　publication　of　〃The　Origin　of　Species〃　is　assuredly　welcome　and　is　a　subject　of　congratulation　to　all　students　of　Science。

These　Essays　on　the　progress　of　Science　and　Philosophy　as　affected　by　Darwin's　labours　have　been　written　by　men　known　for　their　ability　to　discuss　the　problems　which　he　so　successfully　worked　to　solve。　　They　cannot　but　prove　to　be　of　enduring　value；　whether　for　the　information　of　the　general　reader　or　as　guides　to　investigators　occupied　with　problems　similar　to　those　which　engaged　the　attention　of　Darwin。

The　essayists　have　been　fortunate　in　having　for　reference　the　five　published　volumes　of　Charles　Darwin's　Life　and　Correspondence。　　For　there　is　set　forth　in　his　own　words　the　inception　in　his　mind　of　the　problems；　geological；　zoological　and　botanical；　hypothetical　and　theoretical；　which　he　set　himself　to　solve　and　the　steps　by　which　he　proceeded　to　investigate　them　with　the　view　of　correlating　the　phenomena　of　life　with　the　evolution　of　living　things。　　In　his　letters　he　expressed　himself　in　language　so　lucid　and　so　little　burthened　with　technical　terms　that　they　may　be　regarded　as　models　for　those　who　were　asked　to　address　themselves　primarily　to　the　educated　reader　rather　than　to　the　expert。

I　may　add　that　by　no　one　can　the　perusal　of　the　Essays　be　more　vividly　appreciated　than　by　the　writer　of　these　lines。　　It　was　my　privilege　for　forty　years　to　possess　the　intimate　friendship　of　Charles　Darwin　and　to　be　his　companion　during　many　of　his　working　hours　in　Study；　Laboratory；　and　Garden。　　I　was　the　recipient　of　letters　from　him；　relating　mainly　to　the　progress　of　his　researches；　the　copies　of　which　（the　originals　are　now　in　the　possession　of　his　family）　cover　upwards　of　a　thousand　pages　of　foolscap；　each　page　containing；　on　an　average；　three　hundred　words。

That　the　editorship　of　these　Essays　has　been　entrusted　to　a　Cambridge　Professor　of　Botany　must　be　gratifying　to　all　concerned　in　their　production　and　in　their　perusal；　recalling　as　it　does　the　fact　that　Charles　Darwin's　instructor　in　scientific　methods　was　his　lifelong　friend　the　late　Rev。　J。S。　Henslow　at　that　time　Professor　of　Botany　in　the　University。　　It　was　owing　to　his　recommendation　that　his　pupil　was　appointed　Naturalist　to　H。M。S。　〃Beagle〃；　a　service　which　Darwin　himself　regarded　as　marking　the　dawn　of　his　scientific　career。

Very　sincerely　yours；

J。D。　HOOKER。


II。　　DARWIN'S　PREDECESSORS。

By　J。　ARTHUR　THOMSON。　Professor　of　Natural　History　in　the　University　of　Aberdeen。

In　seeking　to　discover　Darwin's　relation　to　his　predecessors　it　is　useful　to　distinguish　the　various　services　which　he　rendered　to　the　theory　of　organic　evolution。

（I）　　As　everyone　knows；　the　general　idea　of　the　Doctrine　of　Descent　is　that　the　plants　and　animals　of　the　present…day　are　the　lineal　descendants　of　ancestors　on　the　whole　somewhat　simpler；　that　these　again　are　descended　from　yet　simpler　forms；　and　so　on　backwards　towards　the　literal　〃Protozoa〃　and　〃Protophyta〃　about　which　we　unfortunately　know　nothing。　　Now　no　one　supposes　that　Darwin　originated　this　idea；　which　in　rudiment　at　least　is　as　old　as　Aristotle。　　What　Darwin　did　was　to　make　it　current　intellectual　coin。　　He　gave　it　a　form　that　commended　itself　to　the　scientific　and　public　intelligence　of　the　day；　and　he　won　wide…spread　conviction　by　showing　with　consummate　skill　that　it　was　an　effective　formula　to　work　with；　a　key　which　no　lock　refused。　　In　a　scholarly；　critical；　and　pre…eminently　fair…minded　way；　admitting　difficulties　and　removing　them；　foreseeing　objections　and　forestalling　them；　he　showed　that　the　doctrine　of　descent　supplied　a　modal　interpretation　of　how　our　present…day　fauna　and　flora　have　come　to　be。

（II）　　In　the　second　place；　Darwin　applied　the　evolution…idea　to　particular　problems；　such　as　the　descent　of　man；　and　showed　what　a　powerful　organon　it　is；　introducing　order　into　masses　of　uncorrelated　facts；　interpreting　enigmas　both　of　structure　and　function；　both　bodily　and　mental；　and；　best　of　all；　stimulating　and　guiding　further　investigation。　　But　here　again　it　cannot　be　claimed　that　Darwin　was　original。　　The　problem　of　the　descent　or　ascent　of　man；　and　other　particular　cases　of　evolution；　had　attracted　not　a　few　naturalists　before　Darwin's　day；　though　no　one　（except　Herbert　Spencer　in　the　psychological　domain　（1855））　had　come　near　him　in　precision　and　thoroughness　of　inquiry。

（III）　　In　the　third　place；　Darwin　contributed　largely　to　a　knowledge　of　the　factors　in　the　evolution…process；　especially　by　his　analysis　of　what　occurs　in　the　case　of　domestic　animals　and　cultivated　plants；　and　by　his　elaboration　of　the　theory　of　Natural　Selection；　which　Alfred　Russel　Wallace　independently　stated　at　the　same　time；　and　of　which　there　had　been　a　few　previous　suggestions　of　a　more　or　less　vague　description。　　It　was　here　that　Darwin's　originality　was　greatest；　for　he　revealed　to　naturalists　the　many　different　formsoften　very　subtlewhich　natural　selection　takes；　and　with　the　insight　of　a　disciplined　scientific　imagination　he　realised　what　a　mighty　engine　of　progress　it　has　been　and　is。

（IV）　　As　an　epoch…marking　contribution；　not　only　to　Aetiology　but　to　Natural　History　in　the　widest　sense；　we　rank　the　picture　which　Darwin　gave　to　the　world　of　the　web　of　life；　that　is　to　say；　of　the　inter…relations　and　linkages　in　Nature。　　For　the　Biology　of　the　individualif　that　be　not　a　contradiction　in　termsno　idea　is　more　fundamental　than　that　of　the　correlation　of　organs；　but　Darwin's　most　characteristic　contribution　was　not　less　fundamental；it　was　the　idea　of　the　correlation　of　organisms。　　This；　again；　was　not　novel；　we　find　it　in　the　works　of　naturalist　like　Christian　Conrad　Sprengel；　Gilbert　White；　and　Alexander　von　Humboldt；　but　the　realisation　of　its　full　import　was　distinctively　Darwinian。

AS　REGARDS　THE　GENERAL　IDEA　OF　ORGANIC　EVOLUTION。

While　it　is　true；　as　Prof。　H。F。　Osborn　puts　it；　that　〃'Before　and　after　Darwin'　will　always　be　the　ante　et　post　urbem　conditam　of　biological　history；〃　it　is　also　true　that　the　general　idea　of　organic　evolution　is　very　ancient。　　In　his　admirable　sketch　〃From　the　Greeks　to　Darwin〃　（〃Columbia　University　Biological　Series〃；　Vol。　I。　New　York　and　London；　1894。　　We　must　acknowledge　our　great　indebtness　to　this　fine　piece　of　work。）；　Prof。　Osborn　has　shown　that　several　of　the　ancient　philosophers　looked　upon　Nature　as　a　gradual　development　and　as　still　in　process　of　change。　　In　the　suggestions　of　Empedocles；　to　take　the　best　instance；　there　were　〃four　sparks　of　truth；first；　that　the　development　of　life　was　a　gradual　process；　second；　that　plants　were　evolved　before　animals；　third；　that　imperfect　forms　were　gradually　replaced　（not　succeeded）　by　perfect　forms；　fourth；　that　the　natural　cause　of　the　production　of　perfect　forms　was　the　extinction　of　the　imperfect。〃　　（Op。　cit。　page　41。）　　But　the　fundamental　idea　of　one　stage　giving　origin　to　another　was　absent。　　As　the　blue　Aegean　teemed　with　treasures　of　beauty　and　threw　many　upon　its　shores；　so　did　Nature　produce　like　a　fertile　artist　what　had　to　be　rejected　as　well　as　what　was　able　to　survive；　but　the　idea　of　one　species　emerging　out　of　another　was　not　yet　conceived。

Aristotle's　views　of　Nature　（See　G。J。　Romanes；　〃Aristotle　as　a　Naturalist〃；　〃Contemporary　Review〃；　Vol。　LIX。　page　275；　1891；　G。　Pouchet　〃La　Biologie　Aristotelique〃；　Paris；　1885；　E。　Zeller；　〃A　History　of　Greek　Philosophy〃；　London；　1881；　and　〃Ueber　die　griechischen　Vorganger　Darwin's〃；　〃Abhandl。　Berlin　Akad。〃　1878；　pages　111…124。）　seem　to　have　been　more　definitely　evolutionist　than　those　of　his　predecessors；　in　this　sense；　at　least；　that　he　recognised　not　only　an　ascending　scale；　but　a　genetic　series　from　polyp　to　man　and　an　age…long　movement　towards　perfection。　　〃It　is　due　to　the　resistance　of　matter　to　form　that　Nature　can　only　rise　by　degrees　from　lower　to　higher　types。〃　　〃Nature　produces　those　things　which；　being　continually　moved　by　a　certain　principle　contained　in　themselves；　arrive　at　a　certain　end。〃

To　discern　the　outcrop　of　evolution…doctrine　in　the　long　interval　between　Aristotle　and　Bacon　seems　to　be　very　difficult；　and　some　of　the　instances　that　have　been　cited　strike　one　as　forced。　　Epicurus　and　Lucretius；　often　called　poets　of　evolution；　both　pictured　animals　as　arising　directly　out　of　the　earth；　very　much　as　Milton's　lion　long　afterwards　pawed　its　way　out。　　Even　when　we　come　to　Bruno　who　wrote　that　〃to　the　sound　of　the　harp　of　the　Universal　Apollo　（the　World　Spirit）；　the　lower　organisms　are　called　by　stages　to　higher；　and　the　lower　stages　are　connected　by　intermediate　forms　with　the　higher；〃　there　is　great　room；　as　Prof。　Osborn　points　out　（op。　cit。　page　81。）；　for　difference　of　opinion　as　to　how　far　he　was　an　evolutionist　in　our　sense　of　the　term。

The　awakening　of　natural　science　in　the　sixteenth　century　brought　the　possibility　of　a　concrete　evolution　theory　nearer；　and　in　the　early　seventeenth　century　we　find　evidences　of　a　new　spiritin　the　em