252.

[308] 'Phil. Zool.,' tom. i. p. 253.

[309] Page 254.

[310] 'Phil. Zool.,' tom. i. p. 256.

[311] Page 257.

[312] 'Phil. Zool.,' tom. i. p. 259.

[313] Page 260.

[314] Page 263.

[315] 'Phil. Zool.,' tom. i. p. 263.

[316] Page 265.

[317] 'Phil. Zool.,' tom. i. p. 343.

[318] 'Phil. Zool.,' tom. i. p. 343.

[319] Page 346.

[320] 'Phil. Zool.,' tom. i. p. 347.

CHAPTER XVIII.

MR. PATRICK MATTHEW, MM. ETIENNE AND ISIDORE GEOFFROY ST. HILAIRE, AND
MR. HERBERT SPENCER.

The same complaint must be made against Mr. Matthew's excellent survey
of the theory of evolution, as against Dr. Erasmus Darwin's original
exposition of the same theory, namely, that it is too short. It may be
very true that brevity is the soul of wit, but the leaders of science
will generally succeed in burking new-born wit, unless the brevity of
its soul is found compatible with a body of some bulk.

Mr. Darwin writes thus concerning Mr. Matthew in the historical sketch
to which I have already more than once referred.

"In 1831 Mr. Patrick Matthew published his work on 'Naval Timber and
Arboriculture,' in which he gives precisely the same view on the origin
of species as that (presently to be alluded to) propounded by Mr.
Wallace and myself in the 'Linnean Journal,' and as that enlarged in the
present volume. Unfortunately the view was given by Mr. Matthew very
briefly, in scattered passages in an appendix to a work on a different
subject, so that it remained unnoticed until Mr. Matthew himself drew
attention to it in the 'Gardener's Chronicle' for April 7, 1860. The
differences of Mr. Matthew's view from mine are not of much importance;
he seems to consider that the world was nearly depopulated at successive
periods, and then re-stocked, and he gives as an alternative, that new
forms may be generated 'without the presence of any mould or germ of
former aggregates.' I am not sure that I understand some passages; but
it seems that he attributes much influence to the direct action of the
conditions of life. He clearly saw, however, the full force of the
principle of natural selection."[321]

Nothing could well be more misleading. If Mr. Matthew's view of the
origin of species is "precisely the same as that" propounded by Mr.
Darwin, it is hard to see how Mr. Darwin can call those of Lamarck and
Dr. Erasmus Darwin "erroneous"; for Mr. Matthew's is nothing but an
excellent and well-digested summary of the conclus