man; and so little does he dream of there being any other destructive
causes at work, that, in discussing the possible existence of fossil
shells, he asks, "Pourquoi d'ailleurs seroient-ils perdues des que
l'homme n'a pu operer leur destruction?" ('Phil. Zool.,' vol. i. p.
77.) Of the influence of selection Lamarck has as little notion, and he
makes no use of the wonderful phenomena which are exhibited by
domesticated animals, and illustrate its powers. The vast influence of
Cuvier was employed against the Lamarckian views, and, as the
untenability of some of his conclusions was easily shown, his doctrines
sank under the opprobrium of scientific, as well as of theological,
heterodoxy. Nor have the efforts made of late years to revive them
tended to re-establish their credit in the minds of sound thinkers
acquainted with the facts of the case; indeed it may be doubted whether
Lamarck has not suffered more from his friends than from his foes.

Two years ago, in fact, though we venture to question if even the
strongest supporters of the special creation hypothesis had not, now
and then, an uneasy consciousness that all was not right, their
position seemed more impregnable than ever, if not by its own inherent
strength, at any rate by the obvious failure of all the attempts which
had been made to carry it. On the other hand, however much the few,
who thought deeply on the question of species, might be repelled by the
generally received dogmas, they saw no way of escaping from them save by
the adoption of suppositions so little justified by experiment or by
observation as to be at least equally distasteful.

The choice lay between two absurdities and a middle condition of uneasy
scepticism; which last, however unpleasant and unsatisfactory, was
obviously the only justifiable state of mind under the circumstances.