But the theologians cannot get it out of their heads, that as they have
creeds, to which they must stick at all hazards, so have the men of
science. There is no more ridiculous delusion. We, at any rate, hold
ourselves morally bound to "try all things and hold fast to that which
is good"; and among public benefactors, we reckon him who explodes old
error, as next in rank to him who discovers new truth.

You are at liberty to make any use you please of this letter.

[Two letters on kindred subjects may appropriately follow in this
place. Thanking M. Henri Gadeau de Kerville for his "Causeries sur le
Transformisme," he writes (February 1):--]

Dear Sir,

Accept my best thanks for your interesting "causeries," which seem to
me to give a very clear view of the present state of the evolution
doctrine as applied to biology.

There is a statement on page 87 "Apres sa mort Lamarck fut completement
oublie," which may be true for France but certainly is not so for
England. From 1830 onwards for more than forty years Lyell's
"Principles of Geology" was one of the most widely read scientific
books in this country, and it contains an elaborate criticism of
Lamarck's views. Moreover, they were largely debated during the
controversies which arose out of the publication of the "Vestiges of
Creation" in 1844 or thereabouts. We are certainly not guilty of any
neglect of Lamarck on this side of the Channel.

If I may make another criticism it is that, to my mind, atheism is, on