eternal self-existent being, which, on its material side,
unfolds itself to the world by gradually condensing itself to
material objects through the gradations of ether, fire, water,
earth, and other elements." And again: "In the later system of
emanation of Sankhya there is a more marked approach to a
materialistic doctrine of evolution." What little knowledge I
have of the matter--chiefly derived from that very instructive
book, "Die Religion des Buddha," by C. F. Koeppen, supplemented
by Hardy's interesting works--leads me to think that Mr. Sully
might have spoken much more strongly as to the evolutionary
character of Indian philosophy, and especially of that of the
Buddhists. But the question is too large to be dealt
with incidentally.

And, with respect to early Greek philosophy,<3> the seeker after
additional enlightenment need go no further than the same
excellent storehouse of information:--

The early Ionian physicists, including Thales,
Anaximander, and Anaximenes, seek to explain the world as
generated out of a primordial matter which is at the same time
the universal support of things. This substance is endowed with
a generative or transmutative force by virtue of which it passes
into a succession of forms. They thus resemble modern
evolutionists since they regard the world, with its infinite
variety of forms, as issuing from a simple mode of matter.


Further on, Mr. Sully remarks that "Heraclitus deserves a
prominent place in the history of the idea of evolution," and he