outset organised beings were probably very different from what they
are now--as different as the original world is from our present one.
We have no means of estimating the amount of these differences, but
it is possible that even our ablest naturalist, if transplanted to
the original world, would entirely fail to recognise our plants and
animals therein." {29b}


But this is feeble in comparison with Buffon, and did not appear till
1769, when Buffon had been writing on evolution for fully twenty
years with the eyes of scientific Europe upon him. Whatever
concession to the opinion of Buffon Bonnet may have been inclined to
make in 1769, in 1764, when he published his "Contemplation de la
Nature," and in 1762 when his "Considerations sur les Corps Organes"
appeared, he cannot be considered to have been a supporter of
evolution. I went through these works in 1878 when I was writing
"Evolution, Old and New," to see whether I could claim him as on my
side; but though frequently delighted with his work, I found it
impossible to press him into my service.

The pre-eminent claim of Buffon to be considered as the father of the
modern doctrine of evolution cannot be reasonably disputed, though he
was doubtless led to his conclusions by the works of Descartes and
Leibnitz, of both of whom he was an avowed and very warm admirer.
His claim does not rest upon a passage here or there, but upon the
spirit of forty quartos written over a period of about as many years.
Nevertheless he wrote, as I have shown in "Evolution, Old and New,"
of set purpose enigmatically, whereas there was no beating about the
bush with Dr. Darwin. He speaks straight out, and Dr. Krause is
justified in saying of him "THAT HE WAS THE FIRST WHO PROPOSED AND