the influence of mere authority in establishing erroneous
theories and in retarding the progress of scientific truth."

(5) The Duke of Argyll illustrates the influence of his
fictitious "Reign of Terror" by the statement that Mr. John
Murray "was strongly advised against the publication of his
views in derogation of Darwin's long-accepted theory of the
coral islands, and was actually induced to delay it for two
years" (p.307). And in "Nature" for the l7th November, 1887, the
Duke of Argyll states that he has seen a letter from Sir Wyville
Thomson in which he "urged and almost insisted that Mr. Murray
should withdraw the reading of his papers on the subject from
the Royal Society of Edinburgh. This was in February, 1877."
The next paragraph, however, contains the confession:
"No special reason was assigned." The Duke of Argyll proceeds to
give a speculative opinion that "Sir Wyville dreaded some injury
to the scientific reputation of the body of which he was the
chief." Truly, a very probable supposition; but as Sir Wyville
Thomson's tendencies were notoriously anti-Darwinian, it does
not appear to me to lend the slightest justification to the Duke
of Argyll's insinuation that the Darwinian "terror" influenced
him. However, the question was finally set at rest by a letter
which appeared in "Nature" (29th of December, 1887), in which
the writer says that:

"talking with Sir Wyville about 'Murray's new theory,' I asked
what objection he had to its being brought before the public?
The answer simply was: he considered that the grounds of the
theory had not, as yet, been sufficiently investigated or
sufficiently corroborated, and that therefore any immature