From The Quarterly Review. DARWIN'S "DESCENT OF MAN."

"False facts," says Mr. Darwin," are highly injurious to the progress of science, for they often long endure; but false views, if supported by some evidence, do little harm, as every one takes a salutary pleasure in proving their falseness; and when this is done, one path towards error is closed and the road to truth is often at the same time opened." Descent of Man, vol. ii. p. 385.

IN Mr. Darwin's last work we possess at length a complete and thorough exposition of his matured views. He gives us the results of the patient labour of many years' unremitting investigation and of the application of a powerful and acute intellect, combined with an extraordinarily acAlthough we are unable to agree entive imagination, to an unequalled collec- tirely with Mr. Darwin in this remark, it tion of most varied, interesting and im- none the less contains an undoubted truth. portant biological data. In his earlier We cannot agree, because we feel that a writings a certain reticence veiled, though false theory which keenly solicits the imit did not hide, his ultimate conclusions as agination, put forward by a writer widely to the origin of our own species; but now and deservedly esteemed, and which reall possibility of misunderstanding or of a poses on a multitude of facts difficult to repetition of former disclaimers on the verify, skilfully interwoven, and exceedpart of any disciple is at an end, and the ingly hard to unravel, is likely to be very entire and naked truth as to the logical prejudicial to science. Nevertheless, sciconsequences of Darwinism is displayed ence cannot make progress without the with a frankness which we had a right to action of two distinct classes of thinkers : expect from the distinguished author. What was but obscurely hinted in the Origin of Species" is here fully and fairly stated in all its bearings and without disguise. Mr. Darwin has, in fact, "crowned the edifice," and the long looked for and anxiously awaited detailed statement of his views as to the human race is now unreservedly put before us.

We rise from the careful perusal of this book with mingled feelings of admiration and disappointment. The 'author's style is clear and attractive -clearer than in his earlier works - and his desire to avoid every kind of conscious misrepresentation is as conspicuous as ever. The number of interesting facts brought forward is as surprising as is the ingenuity often displayed in his manipulation of them. Under these circumstances it is a most painful task to have to point out grave defects and serious shortcomings. Mr. Darwin, however,

seems in his recent work even more than

in his earlier productions to challenge criticism, and to have thrown out ideas and suggestions with a distinct view to their subsequent modification by others. It is but an act of fairness to call attention to this:

The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. By Charles Darwin, M.A., F.R.S., &c. 2 vols. London, 1871.

the first consisting of men of creative ge-
nius, who strike out brilliant, hypotheses,
and who may be spoken of as "theorizers
in the good sense of the word; the second,
of men possessed of the critical faculty,
and who test, mould into shape, perfect or
destroy, the hypotheses thrown out by the
former class.

Obviously important as it is that there should be such theorizers, it is also most important that criticism should clearly point out when a theory is really proved, when it is but probable, and when it is a mere arbitrary hypothesis. This is all the more necessary if, as may often and very easily happen, from being repeatedly spoken of, and being connected with celebrated and influential names, it is likely to be taken for very much more than it is really worth.

The necessity of caution in respect to this is clearly shown by Mr. Darwin's present work, in which "sexual selection," from being again and again referred to as if it had been proved to be a vera causa, may readily be accepted as such by the uninstructed or careless reader. For many persons, at first violently opposed through ignorance or prejudice to Mr. Darwin's views, are now, with scarcely less ignorance and prejudice, as strongly inclined in their favour.

'Every detail of structure in every living creature (making some little allowance for the direct action of physical conditions) may be viewed, either as having been of special use to some ancestral form, or as being now of special use to the descendants of this form - either directly, or indirectly through the complex laws of growth;" and "if it could be proved that any part of the structure of any one species had been formed for the exclusive good of another species, it would annihilate my theory, for such could not have been produced through natural selection" (p. 220).

Mr. Darwin's recent work, supplement- been formed by numerous, successive, ing and completing, as it does, his earlier slight modifications, my theory would abpublications, offers a good opportunity for solutely break down. But I can find out reviewing his whole position. We shall no such case " (p. 208). He adds:thus be better able to estimate the value of his convictions regarding the special subject of his present inquiry. We shall first call attention to his earlier statements, in order that we may see whether he has modified his views, and, if so, how far and with what results. If he has, even by his own showing and admission, been overhasty and seriously mistaken previously, we must be the more careful how we commit ourselves to his guidance now. We shall endeavour to show that Mr. Darwin's convictions have undergone grave modifications, and that the opinions adopted by It is almost impossible for Mr. Darwin to him now are quite distinct from, and even have used words by which more thoroughly subversive of, the views he originally put to stake the whole of his theory on the forth. The assignment of the law of "nat- non-existence or non-action of causes of ural selection" to a subordinate position is any moment other than natural selection. virtually an abandonment of the Darwin- For why should such a phenomenon "anian theory; for the one distinguishing nihilate his theory"? Because the very feature of that theory was the all-suffi- essence of his theory, as originally stated, ciency of "natural selection." Not the is to recognize only the conservation of less, however, ought we to feel grateful minute variations directly beneficial to the to Mr. Darwin for bringing forward that creature presenting them, by enabling it theory, and for forcing on men's minds, by to obtain food, escape enemies, and propahis learning, acuteness, zeal, perseverance, gate its kind. But once more he says: firmness, and candour, a recognition of the probability, if not more, of evolution and of the certainty of the action of "natural selection." For though the "survival of the fittest" is a truth which readily pre-lection will always be very slow, and will act, sents itself to any one who considers the subject, and though its converse, the destruction of the least fit, was recognized thousands of years ago, yet to Mr. Darwin, and (through Mr. Wallace's reticence) to Mr. Darwin alone, is due the credit of hav

"We have seen that species at any one period are not indefinitely variable, and are not linked together by a multitude of intermediate gradations, partly because the process of natural se

at any one time, only on a very few forms; and partly because the very process of natural selection almost implies the continual supplanting and extinction of preceding and intermediate gradations." - P. 223.

Such are Mr. Darwin's earlier state

ing first brought it prominently forwardments. At present we read as follows: and demonstrated its truth in a volume | which will doubtless form a landmark in the domain of zoological science.

sages:

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"I now admit, after reading the essay by Nägeli on plants, and the remarks by various those recently made by Professor Broca, that in authors with respect to animals, more especially the earlier editions of my Origin of Species' probably attributed too much to the action of natural selection or the survival of the fittest."

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We find even in the third edition of his "Origin of Species" the following pasNatural selection can act only by taking advantage of slight successive variations; she can never take a leap, but "I had not formerly sufficiently conmust advance by short and slow steps' sidered the existence of many structures which (p. 214). Again he says:-"If it could appear to be, as far as we can judge, neither be demonstrated that any complex organ beneficial nor injurious; and this I believe existed, which could not possibly have to be one of the greatest oversights as yet

A still more remarkable admission is that in which he says, after referring to the action of both natural and sexual selection:

"An unexplained residuum of change, perhaps a large one, must be left to the assumed action of those unknown agencies, which occasionally induce strongly marked and abrupt deviations of structure in our domestic productions." vol. i. p. 154.

But perhaps the most glaring contradiction is presented by the following passage:

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("Descent of Man," | marked" changes, "neither beneficial nor injurious" to the creatures possessing them, produced "by unknown agencies" lying deep in "the nature or constitution of the organism," and which, if acting uniformly, would "probably " modify sim-ilarly all the individuals of a species.", If this is not an abandonment of "natural selection," it would be difficult to select terms more calculated to express it. But Mr. Darwin's admissions of error do not stop here. In the fifth edition of his Origin of Species" (p. 104) he says, "Until reading an able and valuable article in the North British Review' (1867), I did not appreciate how rarely single variations, whether slight or strongly marked, could be perpetuated." Again: he was formerly "inclined to lay much stress on the principle of protection, as accounting for the less bright colours of female birds" ("Descent of Man," vol. ii. p. 198); but now he speaks as if the correctness of his old conception of such colours being due to protection was unlikely. "Is it probable," he asks, "that the head of the female chaffinch, the crimson on the breast of the female bullfinch, - the green of the female chaffinch, - the crest of the female golden-crested wren, have all been rendered less bright by the slow process of selection for the sake of protection? I cannot think so" (vol. ii. p. 176).

"No doubt man, as well as every other animal, presen ts structures, which as far as we can judge with our little knowledge, are not now of any service to him, nor have been so during any former period of his existence, either in relation to his general conditions of life, or of one sex to the other. Such structures cannot be accounted for by any form of selection, or by the inherited effects of the use and disuse of parts. We know, however, that many strange and strongly marked peculiarities of structure occasionally appear in our domesticated productions; and if the unknown causes which produce them were to act more uniformly, they would probably

become common to all the individuals of the species."— vol. ii. p. 387.

Mr. Darwin, indeed, seems now to admit the existence of internal, innate powers, for he goes on to say:

..

Once more Mr. Darwin shows us (vol. "We may hope hereafter, to understand i. p. 125) how he has been over-hasty in atsomething about the causes of such occasional tributing the development of certain strucmodifications, especially through the study of tures to reversion. He remarks, "In my monstrosities." "In the greater number Variations of Animals under Domesticaof cases we can only say that the cause of each tion' (vol. ii. p. 57) I attributed the not slight variation and of each monstrosity lies much very rare cases of supernumerary mammæ more in the nature or constitution of the organ-in women to reversion." "But Professor ism* than in the nature of the surrounding conditions; though new and changed conditions certainly play an important part in exciting organic changes of all kinds."

Also, in a note (vol. i. p. 223) he speaks

of "incidental results of certain unknown

differences in the constitution of the reproductive system."

Thus, then, it is admitted by our author that we may have "abrupt, strongly

• The italics in the quotations from Mr. Darwin's book in this article are, in almost all cases, ours, and not the author's.

Preyer states that mamma erraticæ have been known to occur in other situations, even on the back; so that the force of my argument is greatly weakened or perhaps quite destroyed."

Finally, we have a postscript at the beginning of the second volume of the “De

scent of Man" which contains an avowal more remarkable than even the passages already cited. He therein declares :

"I have fallen into a serious and unfortunate error, in relation to the sexual differences of an

These are hard words; and, even at the

imals in attempting to explain what seemed to must recognize our parentage (vol. i. p. me a singular coincidence in the late period of 213). life at which the necessary variations have arisen in many cases, and the late period at which sexual selection acts. The ex-risk of being accused of wilful blindness, planation given is wholly erroneous, as I have discovered by working out an illustration in figures."

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we shall now proceed, with an unbiassed and unprejudiced mind, to examine carefully the arguments upon which Mr. Darwin's theory rests. Must we acknowledge that "man with all his noble qualities, with sympathy which feels for the most debased, with benevolence which extends not only to other men but to the humblest living creature, with his god-like intellect which has penetrated into the movements and constitution of the solar system," must we acknowledge that man "with all these exalted powers" is descended from an Ascidian? Is this a scientific truth resting on scientific evidence, or is it to be classed with the speculations of a bygone age?

While willingly paying a just tribute of esteem to the candour which dictated these several admissions, it would be idle to dissemble, and disingenuous not to declare, the amount of distrust with which such repeated over-hasty conclusions and erroneous calculations inspire us. When their Author comes before us anew, as he now does, with opinions and conclusions still more startling, and calculated in a yet greater degree to disturb convictions reposing upon the general consent of the majority of cultivated minds, we may well With regard to the Origin of Man, pause before we trust ourselves unreserv- Mr. Darwin considers that both "natural edly to a guidance which thus again and selection" and "sexual selection" have again declares its cwn reiterated fallibility. acted. We need not on the present occaMr. Darwin's conclusions may be correct, sion discuss the action of natural selecbut we feel we have now indeed a right to tion; but it will be necessary to consider demand that they shall be proved before that of" sexual selection" at some length. we assent to them; and that since what It plays a very important part in the "deMr. Darwin before declared "must be," he scent of man," according to Mr. Darwin's now admits not only to be unnecessary views. He maintains that we owe to it but untrue; we may justly regard with ex- our power of song and our hairlessness of treme distrust the numerous statements body, and that also to it is due the formand calculations which, in the "Descent ation and conservation of the various races of Man," are avowedly recommended by a and varieties of the human species. In mere may be." This is the more neces-this matter then, we fear we shall have to sary, as the Author, starting at first with make some demand upon our readers' "Sexual selection" is the coran avowed hypothesis, constantly asserts patience. it as an undoubted fact, and claims for it, ner-stone of Mr. Darwin's theory. It ocsomewhat in the spirit of a theologian, cupies three-fourths of his two volumes; that it should be received as an aticle of and unless he has clearly established this faith. Thus the formidable objection to point, the whole fabric falls to the ground. Mr. Darwin's theory, that the great break It is impossible, therefore, to review the in the organic chain between man and his book without entering fully into the subnearest allies, which cannot be bridged ject, even at the risk of touching upon over by any extinct or living species, is an- some points which, for obvious reasons, swered simply by an appeal "to a belief in we should have preferred to pass over in the general principle of evolution" (vol. i. silence. p. 200), or by a confident statement that 66 we have every reason to believe that breaks in the series are simply the result of many forms having become extinct (vol. i. p. 187). So, in like manner, we are assured that "the early progenitors of man were, no doubt, once covered with hair, both sexes having beards; their ears were pointed and capable of movement; and their bodies were provided with a tail, having the proper muscles" (vol. i. p. 206). And, finally, we are told, with a dogmatism little worthy of a philosopher, that, "unless we wilfully close our eyes," we

Under the head of "sexual selection" Mr. Darwin includes two very distinct processes. One of these consists in the action of superior strength or activity, by which one male succeeds in obtaining possession of mates and in keeping away rivals. This is, undoubtedly, a vera causa; but may be more conveniently reckoned as one kind of "natural selection" than a branch of "sexual selection." The second process consists in alleged preference or choice, exercised freely by the female in favour of particular males on account of some attractiveness or beauty of form,