them; that he affirmed the true order of classification to coincide with
the order of their development one from another; that he insisted on the
necessity of allowing sufficient time, very strongly; and that all the
varieties of instinct and reason were traced back by him to the same cause
as that which has given rise to species, we have enumerated his chief
contributions to the advance of the question. On the other hand, from his
ignorance of any power in Nature competent to modify the structure of
animals, except the development of parts, or atrophy of them, in
consequence of a change of needs, Lamarck was led to attach infinitely
greater weight than it deserves to this agency, and the absurdities into
which he was led have met with deserved condemnation. Of the struggle for
existence, on which, as we shall see, Mr. Darwin lays such great stress, he
had no conception; indeed, he doubts whether there really are such things
as extinct species, unless they be such large animals as may have met their
death at the hands of 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