,transcribed from the #aiaj ,a4 ,c4 ,fifield edition by ,david ,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org ,unconscious ,memory ,by ,samuel ,butler ,author of 8,life and ,habit10 8,erewhon10 8,the ,way of ,all ,flesh10 etc4 99 99 99 99 99 ,new ,edition1 entirely reset1 with an ,introduction by ,marcus ,hartog1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,,sc41 ,f4,l4,s41 ,f4,r4,h4,s41 ,pro- fessor of ,zoology in ,university ,college1 ,cork4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,op4 #e 99 99 99 99 99 ,london ,a4 ,c4 ,fifield1 #ac ,clifford's ,inn1 ,e4,c4 #aiaj 99 99 99 99 99 8,as this paper contains nothing which deserves the name either of experiment or discovery1 and as it is1 in fact1 destitute of every species of merit1 we should have allowed it to pass among the multitude of those articles which must always find their way into the collections of a society which is pledged to publish two or three volumes every year4 4 4 4 ,we wish to raise our feeble voice against innovations1 that can have no other effect than to check the progress of science1 and renew all those wild phantoms of the imagination which ,bacon and ,newton put to flight from her temple40--,opening ,paragraph of a ,review of ,dr4 ,young's ,bakerian ,lecture4 ,edinburgh ,review1 ,january #ahjc1 p4 #dej4 8,young's work was laid before the ,royal society1 and was made the #ahja ,bakerian ,lecture4 ,but he was before his time4 ,the second number of the ,edinburgh ,review contained an article levelled against him by ,henry 7afterwards ,lord7 ,brougham1 and this was so severe an attack that ,young's ideas were absolutely quenched for fifteen years4 ,brougham was then only twenty-four years of age4 ,young's theory was reproduced in ,france by ,fresnel4 ,in our days it is the accepted theory1 and is found to explain all the phenomena of light40--,times ,report of a ,lecture by ,professor ,tyndall on ,light1 ,april #bg1 #ahhj4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this ,book ,is inscribed to ,,richard ,,garnett1 ,,esq4 7,of the ,british ,museum7 ,in grateful acknowledgment of the unwearying kindness with which he has so often placed at my disposal his varied store of information4 ,contents ,,page ,,note4 ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,streatfeild viii ,,introduction4 ,by ,professor ,marcus ,hartog ix ,,author',s ,,preface xxxvii ,,chapter ,i4 ,introduction--,general ignorance on the subject #a of evolution at the time the 8,origin of ,species0 was published in #ahei ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,how ,i came to write 8,life and ,habit10 and #ab the circumstances of its completion ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,how ,i came to write 8,evolution1 ,old and #bf ,new0--,mr ,darwin's 8brief but imperfect0 sketch of the opinions of the writers on evolution who had preceded him--,the reception which 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 met with ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,the manner in which ,mr4 ,darwin met #ch 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new0 ,,chapter ,v4 ,introduction to ,professor ,hering's lecture #eb ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,professor ,ewald ,hering 8,on ,memory0 #fc ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,introduction to a translation of the #hg chapter upon instinct in ,von ,hartmann's 8,philosophy of the ,unconscious0 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,translation of the chapter on 8,the #ib ,unconscious in ,instinct10 from ,von ,hartmann's 8,philosophy of the ,unconscious0 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,remarks upon ,von ,hartmann's position in #acg regard to instinct ,,chapter ,x4 ,recapitulation and statement of an objection #adf ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,on ,cycles #aef ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,refutation--,memory at once a promoter and a #afa disturber of uniformity of action and structure ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,conclusion #agc ,note ,,for many years a link in the chain of ,samuel ,butler's biological works has been missing4 8,unconscious ,memory0 was originally published thirty years ago1 but for fully half that period it has been out of print1 owing to the destruction of a large number of the unbound sheets in a fire at the premises of the printers some years ago4 ,the present reprint comes1 ,i think1 at a peculiarly fortunate moment1 since the attention of the general public has of late been drawn to ,butler's biological theories in a marked manner by several distinguished men of science1 notably by ,dr4 ,francis ,darwin1 who1 in his presidential address to the ,british ,association in #aijh1 quoted from the translation of ,hering's address on 8,memory as a ,universal ,function of ,original ,matter10 which ,butler incorporated into 8,unconscious ,memory10 and spoke in the highest terms of ,butler himself4 ,it is not necessary for me to do more than refer to the changed attitude of scientific authorities with regard to ,butler and his theories1 since ,professor ,marcus ,hartog has most kindly consented to contribute an introduction to the present edition of 8,unconscious ,memory10 summarising ,butler's views upon biology1 and defining his position in the world of science4 ,a word must be said as to the controversy between ,butler and ,darwin1 with which ,chapter ,,iv is concerned4 ,i have been told that in reissuing the book at all ,i am committing a grievous error of taste1 that the world is no longer interested in these 8old1 unhappy far-off things and battles long ago10 and that ,butler himself1 by refraining from republishing 8,unconscious ,memory10 tacitly admitted that he wished the controversy to be consigned to oblivion4 ,this last suggestion1 at any rate1 has no foundation in fact4 ,butler desired nothing less than that his vindication of himself against what he considered unfair treatment should be forgotten4 ,he would have republished 8,unconscious ,memory0 himself1 had not the latter years of his life been devoted to all-engrossing work in other fields4 ,in issuing the present edition ,i am fulfilling a wish that he expressed to me shortly before his death4 ,r4 ,a4 ,,streatfeild4 ,april1 #aiaj4 ,introduction ,by ,marcus ,hartog1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,sc41 ,f4,l4,s41 ,f4,r4,h4,s4 ,,in reviewing ,samuel ,butler's works1 8,unconscious ,memory0 gives us an invaluable lead2 for it tells us 7,chaps4 ,,ii1 ,,iii7 how the author came to write the ,book of the ,machines in 8,erewhon0 7#ahgb71 with its foreshadowing of the later theory1 8,life and ,habit10 7#ahgh71 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new0 7#ahgi71 as well as 8,unconscious ,memory0 7#ahhj7 itself4 ,his fourth book on biological theory was 8,luck8 or ,cunning80 7#ahhg74 #j;a ,besides these books1 his contributions to biology comprise several essays3 8,remarks on ,romanes' ,mental ,evolution in ,animals1 contained in 8,selections from ,previous ,works0 7#ahhd7 incorporated into 8,luck8 or ,cunning10 8,the ,deadlock in ,darwinism0 7,universal ,review1 ,april-,june1 #ahij71 republished in the posthumous volume of 8,essays on ,life1 ,art1 and ,science0 7#aijd71 and1 finally1 some of the 8,extracts from the ,notebooks of the late ,samuel ,butler10 edited by ,mr4 ,h4 ,festing ,jones1 now in course of publication in the ,new ,quarterly ,review4 99 99 99 99 99 ,of all these1 8,,life ,,and ,,habit0 7#ahgh7 is the most important1 the main building to which the other writings are buttresses or1 at most1 annexes4 ,its teaching has been summarised in 8,unconscious ,memory0 in four main principles3 87#a7 the oneness of personality between parent and offspring2 7#b7 memory on the part of the offspring of certain actions which it did when in the persons of its forefathers2 7#c7 the latency of that memory until it is rekindled by a recurrence of the associated ideas2 7#d7 the unconsciousness with which habitual actions come to be performed40 ,to these we must add a fifth3 the purposiveness of the actions of living beings1 as of the machines which they make or select4 ,butler tells 78,life and ,habit10 p4 #cc7 that he sometimes hoped 8that this book would be regarded as a valuable adjunct to ,darwinism40 ,he was bitterly disappointed in the event1 for the book1 as a whole1 was received by professional biologists as a gigantic joke--a joke1 moreover1 not in the best possible taste4 ,true1 its central ideas1 largely those of ,lamarck1 had been presented by ,hering in #ahgj 7as ,butler found shortly after his publication72 they had been favourably received1 developed by ,haeckel1 expounded and praised by ,ray ,lankester4 ,coming from ,butler1 they met with contumely1 even from such men as ,romanes1 who1 as ,butler had no difficulty in proving1 were unconsciously inspired by the same ideas--8,nur mit ein bischen ander'n ,wrter40 ,it is easy1 looking back1 to see why 8,life and ,habit0 so missed its mark4 ,charles ,darwin's presentation of the evolution theory had1 for the first time1 rendered it possible for a 8sound naturalist0 to accept the doctrine of common descent with divergence2 and so given a real meaning to the term 8natural relationship10 which had forced itself upon the older naturalists1 despite their belief in special and independent creations4 ,the immediate aim of the naturalists of the day was now to fill up the gaps in their knowledge1 so as to strengthen the fabric of a unified biology4 ,for this purpose they found their actual scientific equipment so inadequate that they were fully occupied in inventing fresh technique1 and working therewith at facts--save a few critics1 such as ,st4 ,george ,mivart1 who was regarded as negligible1 since he evidently held a brief for a party standing outside the scientific world4 ,butler introduced himself as what we now call 8,the ,man in the ,street10 far too bare of scientific clothing to satisfy the ,mrs4 ,grundy of the domain3 lacking all recognised tools of science and all sense of the difficulties in his way1 he proceeded to tackle the problems of science with little save the deft pen of the literary expert in his hand4 ,his very failure to appreciate the difficulties gave greater power to his work--much as ,tartarin of ,tarascon ascended the ,jungfrau and faced successfully all dangers of ,alpine travel1 so long as he believed them to be the mere 8blagues de rclame0 of the wily ,swiss host4 ,his brilliant qualities of style and irony themselves told heavily against him4 ,was he not already known for having written the most trenchant satire that had appeared since 8,gulliver's ,travels08 ,had he not sneered therein at the very foundations of society1 and followed up its success by a pseudo-biography that had taken in the 8,record0 and the 8,rock08 ,in 8,life and ,habit10 at the very start1 he goes out of his way to heap scorn at the respected names of ,marcus ,aurelius1 ,lord ,bacon1 ,goethe1 ,arnold of ,rugby1 and ,dr4 ,w4 ,b4 ,carpenter4 ,he expressed the lowest opinion of the ,fellows of the ,royal ,society4 ,to him the professional man of science1 with self-conscious knowledge for his ideal and aim1 was a medicine-man1 priest1 augur--useful1 perhaps1 in his way1 but to be carefully watched by all who value freedom of thought and person1 lest with opportunity he develop into a persecutor of the worst type4 ,not content with blackguarding the audience to whom his work should most appeal1 he went on to depreciate that work itself and its author in his finest vein of irony4 ,having argued that our best and highest knowledge is that of whose possession we are most ignorant1 he proceeds3 8,above all1 let no unwary reader do me the injustice of believing in me4 ,in that ,i write at all ,i am among the damned40 99 99 99 99 99 ,his writing of 8,,evolution1 ,,old ,,and ,,new0 7#ahgi7 was due to his conviction that scant justice had been done by ,charles ,darwin and ,alfred ,wallace and their admirers to the pioneering work of ,buffon1 ,erasmus ,darwin1 and ,lamarck4 ,to repair this he gives a brilliant exposition of what seemed to him the most valuable portion of their teachings on evolution4 ,his analysis of ,buffon's true meaning1 veiled by the reticences due to the conditions under which he wrote1 is as masterly as the ,english in which he develops it4 ,his sense of wounded justice explains the vigorous polemic which here1 as in all his later writings1 he carries to the extreme4 ,as a matter of fact1 he never realised ,charles ,darwin's utter lack of sympathetic understanding of the work of his ,french precursors1 let alone his own grandfather1 ,erasmus4 ,yet this practical ignorance1 which to ,butler was so strange as to transcend belief1 was altogether genuine1 and easy to realise when we recall the position of ,natural ,science in the early thirties in ,darwin's student days at ,cambridge1 and for a decade or two later4 ,catastropharianism was the tenet of the day3 to the last it commended itself to his ,professors of ,botany and ,geology1--for whom ,darwin held the fervent allegiance of the ,indian scholar1 or chela1 to his guru4 ,as ,geikie has recently pointed out1 it was only later1 when ,lyell had shown that the breaks in the succession of the rocks were only partial and local1 without involving the universal catastrophes that destroyed all life and rendered fresh creations thereof necessary1 that any general acceptance of a descent theory could be expected4 ,we may be very sure that ,darwin must have received many solemn warnings against the dangerous speculations of the 8,french ,revolutionary ,school40 ,he himself was far too busy at the time with the reception and assimilation of new facts to be awake to the deeper interest of far-reaching theories4 ,it is the more unfortunate that ,butler's lack of appreciation on these points should have led to the enormous proportion of bitter personal controversy that we find in the remainder of his biological writings4 ,possibly1 as suggested by ,george ,bernard ,shaw1 his acquaintance and admirer1 he was also swayed by philosophical resentment at that banishment of mind from the organic universe1 which was generally thought to have been achieved by ,charles ,darwin's theory4 ,still1 we must remember that this mindless view is not implicit in ,charles ,darwin's presentment of his own theory1 nor was it accepted by him as it has been by so many of his professed disciples4 99 99 99 99 99 8,,unconscious ,,memory0 7#ahhj74--,we have already alluded to an anticipation of ,butler's main theses4 ,in #ahgj ,dr4 ,ewald ,hering1 one of the most eminent physiologists of the day1 ,professor at ,vienna1 gave an ,inaugural ,address to the ,imperial ,royal ,academy of ,sciences3 8,das ,gedchtniss als allgemeine ,funktion der organisirter ,substanz0 78,memory as a ,universal ,function of ,organised ,matter074 ,when 8,life and ,habit0 was well advanced1 ,francis ,darwin1 at the time a frequent visitor1 called ,butler's attention to this essay1 which he himself only knew from an article in 8,nature40 ,herein ,professor ,e4 ,ray ,lankester had referred to it with admiring sympathy in connection with its further development by ,haeckel in a pamphlet entitled 8,die ,perigenese der ,plastidule40 ,we may note1 however1 that in his collected ,essays1 8,the ,advancement of ,science0 7#ahij71 ,sir ,ray ,lankester1 while including this ,essay1 inserts on the blank page #j;b--we had almost written 8the white sheet0--at the back of it an apology for having ever advocated the possibility of the transmission of acquired characters4 8,unconscious ,memory0 was largely written to show the relation of ,butler's views to ,hering's1 and contains an exquisitely written translation of the ,address4 ,hering does1 indeed1 anticipate ,butler1 and that in language far more suitable to the persuasion of the scientific public4 ,it contains a subsidiary hypothesis that memory has for its mechanism special vibrations of the protoplasm1 and the acquired capacity to respond to such vibrations once felt upon their repetition4 ,i do not think that the theory gains anything by the introduction of this even as a mere formal hypothesis2 and there is no evidence for its being anything more4 ,butler1 however1 gives it a warm1 nay1 enthusiastic1 reception in ,chapter ,v 7,introduction to ,professor ,hering's lecture71 and in his notes to the translation of the ,address1 which bulks so large in this book1 but points out that he was 8not committed to this hypothesis1 though inclined to accept it on a prima facie view40 ,later on1 as we shall see1 he attached more importance to it4 ,the ,hering ,address is followed in 8,unconscious ,memory0 by translations of selected passages from ,von ,hartmann's 8,philosophy of the ,unconscious10 and annotations to explain the difference from this personification of 8,the ,unconscious0 as a mighty all-ruling1 all-creating personality1 and his own scientific recognition of the great part played by unconscious processes in the region of mind and memory4 ,these are the essentials of the book as a contribution to biological philosophy4 ,the closing chapters contain a lucid statement of objections to his theory as they might be put by a rigid necessitarian1 and a refutation of that interpretation as applied to human action4 ,but in the second chapter ,butler states his recession from the strong logical position he had hitherto developed in his writings from 8,erewhon0 onwards2 so far he had not only distinguished the living from the non-living1 but distinguished among the latter machines or tools from things at large4 #j;c ,machines or tools are the external organs of living beings1 as organs are their internal machines3 they are fashioned1 assembled1 or selected by the beings for a purposes so they have a future purpose1 as well as a past history4 8,things at large0 have a past history1 but no purpose 7so long as some being does not convert them into tools and give them a purpose73 ,machines have a ,why8 as well as a ,how83 8things at large0 have a ,how8 only4 ,in 8,unconscious ,memory0 the allurements of unitary or monistic views have gained the upper hand1 and ,butler writes 7p4 #bc73-- 8,the only thing of which ,i am sure is1 that the distinction between the organic and inorganic is arbitrary2 that it is more coherent with our other ideas1 and therefore more acceptable1 to start with every molecule as a living thing1 and then deduce death as the breaking up of an association or corporation1 than to start with inanimate molecules and smuggle life into them2 and that1 therefore1 what we call the inorganic world must be regarded as up to a certain point living1 and instinct1 within certain limits1 with consciousness1 volition1 and power of concerted action4 ,it is only of late1 however1 that ,i have come to this opinion40 ,i have italicised the last sentence1 to show that ,butler was more or less conscious of its irreconcilability with much of his most characteristic doctrine4 ,again1 in the closing chapter1 ,butler writes 7p4 #bge73-- 8,we should endeavour to see the so-called inorganic as living in respect of the qualities it has in common with the organic1 rather than the organic as non-living in respect of the qualities it has in common with the inorganic40 ,we conclude our survey of this book by mentioning the literary controversial part chiefly to be found in ,chapter ,,iv1 but cropping up elsewhere4 ,it refers to interpolations made in the authorised translation of ,krause's 8,life of ,erasmus ,darwin40 ,only one side is presented2 and we are not called upon1 here or elsewhere1 to discuss the merits of the question4 99 99 99 99 99 8,,luck1 ,,or ,,cunning1 as the ,main ,means of ,organic ,modification8 an ,attempt to throw ,additional ,light upon the late ,mr4 ,charles ,darwin's ,theory of ,natural ,selection0 7#ahhg71 completes the series of biological books4 ,this is mainly a book of strenuous polemic4 ,it brings out still more forcibly the ,hering-,butler doctrine of continued personality from generation to generation1 and of the working of unconscious memory throughout2 and points out that1 while this is implicit in much of the teaching of ,herbert ,spencer1 ,romanes1 and others1 it was nowhere--even after the appearance of 8,life and ,habit0--explicitly recognised by them1 but1 on the contrary1 masked by inconsistent statements and teaching4 ,not ,luck but ,cunning1 not the uninspired weeding out by ,natural ,selection but the intelligent striving of the organism1 is at the bottom of the useful variety of organic life4 ,and the parallel is drawn that not the happy accident of time and place1 but the ,machiavellian cunning of ,charles ,darwin1 succeeded in imposing1 as entirely his own1 on the civilised world an uninspired and inadequate theory of evolution wherein luck played the leading part2 while the more inspired and inspiring views of the older evolutionists had failed by the inferiority of their luck4 ,on this controversy ,i am bound to say that ,i do not in the very least share ,butler's opinions2 and ,i must ascribe them to his lack of personal familiarity with the biologists of the day and their modes of thought and of work4 ,butler everywhere undervalues the important work of elimination played by ,natural ,selection in its widest sense4 ,the 8,conclusion0 of 8,luck1 or ,cunning80 shows a strong advance in monistic views1 and a yet more marked development in the vibration hypothesis of memory given by ,hering and only adopted with the greatest reserve in 8,unconscious ,memory40 8,our conception1 then1 concerning the nature of any matter depends solely upon its kind and degree of unrest1 that is to say1 on the characteristics of the vibrations that are going on within it4 ,the exterior object vibrating in a certain way imparts some of its vibrations to our brain2 but if the state of the thing itself depends upon its vibrations1 it the thing must be considered as to all intents and purposes the vibrations themselves--plus1 of course1 the underlying substance that is vibrating4 4 4 4 ,the same vibrations1 therefore1 form the substance remembered1 introduce an infinitesimal dose of it within the brain1 modify the substance remembering1 and1 in the course of time1 create and further modify the mechanism of both the sensory and the motor nerves4 ,thought and thing are one4 8,i commend these two last speculations to the reader's charitable consideration1 as feeling that ,i am here travelling beyond the ground on which ,i can safely venture4 4 4 4 ,i believe they are both substantially true40 ,in #ahhe he had written an abstract of these ideas in his notebooks 7see ,new ,quarterly ,review1 #aiaj1 p4 #aaf71 and as in 8,luck1 or ,cunning80 associated them vaguely with the unitary conceptions introduced into chemistry by ,newlands and ,mendelejeff4 ,judging himself as an outsider1 the author of 8,life and ,habit0 would certainly have considered the mild expression of faith1 8,i believe they are both substantially true10 equivalent to one of extreme doubt4 ,thus 8the fact of the ,archbishop's recognising this as among the number of his beliefs is conclusive evidence1 with those who have devoted attention to the laws of thought1 that his mind is not yet clear0 on the matter of the belief avowed 7see 8,life and ,habit10 pp4 #bd1 #be74 ,to sum up3 ,butler's fundamental attitude to the vibration hypothesis was all through that taken in 8,unconscious ,memory02 he played with it as a pretty pet1 and fancied it more and more as time went on2 but instead of backing it for all he was worth1 like the main theses of 8,life and ,habit10 he put a big stake on it--and then hedged4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the last of ,butler's biological writings is the ,essay1 8,,the ,,deadlock ,,in ,,darwinism10 containing much valuable criticism on ,wallace and ,weismann4 ,it is in allusion to the misnomer of ,wallace's book1 8,darwinism10 that he introduces the term 8,wallaceism0 #j;d for a theory of descent that excludes the transmission of acquired characters4 ,this was1 indeed1 the chief factor that led ,charles ,darwin to invent his hypothesis of pangenesis1 which1 unacceptable as it has proved1 had far more to recommend it as a formal hypothesis than the equally formal germ-plasm hypothesis of ,weismann4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the chief difficulty in accepting the main theses of ,butler and ,hering is one familiar to every biologist1 and not at all difficult to understand by the layman4 ,everyone knows that the complicated beings that we term 8,animals0 and 8,plants10 consist of a number of more or less individualised units1 the cells1 each analogous to a simpler being1 a ,protist--save in so far as the character of the cell unit of the ,higher being is modified in accordance with the part it plays in that complex being as a whole4 ,most people1 too1 are familiar with the fact that the complex being starts as a single cell1 separated from its parent2 or1 where bisexual reproduction occurs1 from a cell due to the fusion of two cells1 each detached from its parent4 ,such cells are called 8,germ-cells40 ,the germ-cell1 whether of single or of dual origin1 starts by dividing repeatedly1 so as to form the primary embryonic cells1 a complex mass of cells1 at first essentially similar1 which1 however1 as they go on multiplying1 undergo differentiations and migrations1 losing their simplicity as they do so4 ,those cells that are modified to take part in the proper work of the whole are called tissue-cells4 ,in virtue of their activities1 their growth and reproductive power are limited--much more in ,animals than in ,plants1 in ,higher than in ,lower beings4 ,it is these tissues1 or some of them1 that receive the impressions from the outside which leave the imprint of memory4 ,other cells1 which may be closely associated into a continuous organ1 or more or less surrounded by tissue-cells1 whose part it is to nourish them1 are called 8secondary embryonic cells10 or 8germ-cells40 ,the germ-cells may be differentiated in the young organism at a very early stage1 but in ,plants they are separated at a much later date from the less isolated embryonic regions that provide for the ,plant's branching2 in all cases we find embryonic and germ-cells screened from the life processes of the complex organism1 or taking no very obvious part in it1 save to form new tissues or new organs1 notably in ,plants4 ,again1 in ourselves1 and to a greater or less extent in all ,animals1 we find a system of special tissues set apart for the reception and storage of impressions from the outer world1 and for guiding the other organs in their appropriate responses--the 8,nervous ,system02 and when this system is ill-developed or out of gear the remaining organs work badly from lack of proper skilled guidance and co-ordination4 ,how can we1 then1 speak of 8memory0 in a germ-cell which has been screened from the experiences of the organism1 which is too simple in structure to realise them if it were exposed to them8 ,my own answer is that we cannot form any theory on the subject1 the only question is whether we have any right to infer this 8memory0 from the behaviour of living beings2 and ,butler1 like ,hering1 ,haeckel1 and some more modern authors1 has shown that the inference is a very strong presumption4 ,again1 it is easy to over-value such complex instruments as we possess4 ,the possessor of an up-to-date camera1 well instructed in the function and manipulation of every part1 but ignorant of all optics save a hand-to-mouth knowledge of the properties of his own lens1 might say that a priori no picture could be taken with a cigar-box perforated by a pin-hole2 and our ignorance of the mechanism of the ,psychology of any organism is greater by many times than that of my supposed photographer4 ,we know that ,plants are able to do many things that can only be accounted for by ascribing to them a 8psyche10 and these co-ordinated enough to satisfy their needs2 and yet they possess no central organ comparable to the brain1 no highly specialised system for intercommunication like our nerve trunks and fibres4 ,as ,oscar ,hertwig says1 we are as ignorant of the mechanism of the development of the individual as we are of that of hereditary transmission of acquired characters1 and the absence of such mechanism in either case is no reason for rejecting the proven fact4 ,however1 the relations of germ and body just described led ,jger1 ,nussbaum1 ,galton1 ,lankester1 and1 above all1 ,weismann1 to the view that the germ-cells or 8stirp0 7,galton7 were in the body1 but not of it4 ,indeed1 in the body and out of it1 whether as reproductive cells set free1 or in the developing embryo1 they are regarded as forming one continuous homogeneity1 in contrast to the differentiation of the body2 and it is to these cells1 regarded as a continuum1 that the terms stirp1 germ-plasm1 are especially applied4 ,yet on this view1 so eagerly advocated by its supporters1 we have to substitute for the hypothesis of memory1 which they declare to have no real meaning here1 the far more fantastic hypotheses of ,weismann3 by these they explain the process of differentiation in the young embryo into new germ and body2 and in the young body the differentiation of its cells1 each in due time and place1 into the varied tissue cells and organs4 ,such views might perhaps be acceptable if it could be shown that over each cell-division there presided a wise all-guiding genie of transcending intellect1 to which ,clerk-,maxwell's sorting demons were mere infants4 ,yet these views have so enchanted many distinguished biologists1 that in dealing with the subject they have actually ignored the existence of equally able workers who hesitate to share the extremest of their views4 ,the phenomenon is one well known in hypnotic practice4 ,so long as the non-,weismannians deal with matters outside this discussion1 their existence and their work is rated at its just value2 but any work of theirs on this point so affects the orthodox ,weismannite 7whether he accept this label or reject it does not matter71 that for the time being their existence and the good work they have done are alike non-existent4 #j;e ,butler founded no school1 and wished to found none4 ,he desired that what was true in his work should prevail1 and he looked forward calmly to the time when the recognition of that truth and of his share in advancing it should give him in the lives of others that immortality for which alone he craved4 ,lamarckian views have never lacked defenders here and in ,america4 ,of the ,english1 ,herbert ,spencer1 who however1 was averse to the vitalistic attitude1 ,vines and ,henslow among botanists1 ,cunningham among zoologists1 have always resisted ,weismannism2 but1 ,i think1 none of these was distinctly influenced by ,hering and ,butler4 ,in ,america the majority of the great school of palontologists have been strong ,lamarckians1 notably ,cope1 who has pointed out1 moreover1 that the transformations of energy in living beings are peculiar to them4 ,we have already adverted to ,haeckel's acceptance and development of ,hering's ideas in his 8,perigenese der ,plastidule40 ,oscar ,hertwig has been a consistent ,lamarckian1 like ,yves ,delage of the ,sorbonne1 and these occupy pre-eminent positions not only as observers1 but as discriminating theorists and historians of the recent progress of biology4 ,we may also cite as a ,lamarckian--of a sort--,felix ,le ,dantec1 the leader of the chemico-physical school of the present day4 ,but we must seek elsewhere for special attention to the points which ,butler regarded as the essentials of 8,life and ,habit40 ,in #ahic ,henry ,p4 ,orr1 ,professor of ,biology in the ,university of ,louisiana1 published a little book entitled 8,a ,theory of ,heredity40 ,herein he insists on the nervous control of the whole body1 and on the transmission to the reproductive cells of such stimuli1 received by the body1 as will guide them on their path until they shall have acquired adequate experience of their own in the new body they have formed4 ,i have found the name of neither ,butler nor ,hering1 but the treatment is essentially on their lines1 and is both clear and interesting4 ,in #ahif ,i wrote an essay on 8,the ,fundamental ,principles of ,heredity10 primarily directed to the man in the street4 ,this1 after being held over for more than a year by one leading review1 was 8declined with regret10 and again after some weeks met the same fate from another editor4 ,it appeared in the pages of 8,natural ,science0 for ,october1 #ahig1 and in the 8,biologisches ,centralblatt0 for the same year4 ,i reproduce its closing paragraph3-- 8,this theory ,hering-,butler's has1 indeed1 a tentative character1 and lacks symmetrical completeness1 but is the more welcome as not aiming at the impossible4 ,a whole series of phenomena in organic beings are correlated under the term of memory1 conscious and unconscious1 patent and latent4 4 4 4 ,of the order of unconscious memory1 latent till the arrival of the appropriate stimulus1 is all the co-operative growth and work of the organism1 including its development from the reproductive cells4 ,concerning the modus operandi we know nothing3 the phenomena may be due1 as ,hering suggests1 to molecular vibrations1 which must be at least as distinct from ordinary physical disturbances as ,rntgen's rays are from ordinary light2 or it may be correlated1 as we ourselves are inclined to think1 with complex chemical changes in an intricate but orderly succession4 ,for the present1 at least1 the problem of heredity can only be elucidated by the light of mental1 and not material processes40 ,it will be seen that ,i express doubts as to the validity of ,hering's invocation of molecular vibrations as the mechanism of memory1 and suggest as an alternative rhythmic chemical changes4 ,this view has recently been put forth in detail by ,j4 ,j4 ,cunningham in his essay on the 8,hormone #j;f ,theory of ,heredity10 in the ,archiv fr ,entwicklungsmechanik 7#aiji71 but ,i have failed to note any direct effect of my essay on the trend of biological thought4 ,among post-,darwinian controversies the one that has latterly assumed the greatest prominence is that of the relative importance of small variations in the way of more or less 8fluctuations10 and of 8discontinuous variations10 or 8mutations10 as ,de ,vries has called them4 ,darwin1 in the first four editions of the 8,origin of ,species10 attached more importance to the latter than in subsequent editions2 he was swayed in his attitude1 as is well known1 by an article of the physicist1 ,fleeming ,jenkin1 which appeared in the ,north ,british ,review4 ,the mathematics of this article were unimpeachable1 but they were founded on the assumption that exceptional variations would only occur in single individuals1 which is1 indeed1 often the case among those domesticated races on which ,darwin especially studied the phenomena of variation4 ,darwin was no mathematician or physicist1 and we are told in his biography that he regarded every tool-shop rule or optician's thermometer as an instrument of precision3 so he appears to have regarded ,fleeming ,jenkin's demonstration as a mathematical deduction which he was bound to accept without criticism4 ,mr4 ,william ,bateson1 late ,professor of ,biology in the ,university of ,cambridge1 as early as #ahid laid great stress on the importance of discontinuous variations1 collecting and collating the known facts in his 8,materials for the ,study of ,variations02 but this important work1 now become rare and valuable1 at the time excited so little interest as to be #8remaindered' within a very few years after publication4 ,in #aija ,hugo ,de ,vries1 ,professor of ,botany in the ,university of ,amsterdam1 published 8,die ,mutationstheorie10 wherein he showed that mutations or discontinuous variations in various directions may appear simultaneously in many individuals1 and in various directions4 ,in the gardener's phrase1 the species may take to sporting in various directions at the same time1 and each sport may be represented by numerous specimens4 ,de ,vries shows the probability that species go on for long periods showing only fluctuations1 and then suddenly take to sporting in the way described1 short periods of mutation alternating with long intervals of relative constancy4 ,it is to mutations that ,de ,vries and his school1 as well as ,luther ,burbank1 the great former of new fruit- and flower-plants1 look for those variations which form the material of ,natural ,selection4 ,in 8,god the ,known and ,god the ,unknown10 which appeared in the ,examiner 7,may1 ,june1 and ,july71 #ahgi1 but though then revised was only published posthumously in #aiji1 ,butler anticipates this distinction3-- 8,under these circumstances organism must act in one or other of these two ways3 it must either change slowly and continuously with the surroundings1 paying cash for everything1 meeting the smallest change with a corresponding modification1 so far as is found convenient1 or it must put off change as long as possible1 and then make larger and more sweeping changes4 8,both these courses are the same in principle1 the difference being one of scale1 and the one being a miniature of the other1 as a ripple is an ,atlantic wave in little2 both have their advantages and disadvantages1 so that most organisms will take the one course for one set of things and the other for another4 ,they will deal promptly with things which they can get at easily1 and which lie more upon the surface2 those1 however1 which are more troublesome to reach1 and lie deeper1 will be handled upon more cataclysmic principles1 being allowed longer periods of repose followed by short periods of greater activity 4 4 4 it may be questioned whether what is called a sport is not the organic expression of discontent which has been long felt1 but which has not been attended to1 nor been met step by step by as much small remedial modification as was found practicable3 so that when a change does come it comes by way of revolution4 ,or1 again 7only that it comes to much the same thing71 it may be compared to one of those happy thoughts which sometimes come to us unbidden after we have been thinking for a long time what to do1 or how to arrange our ideas1 and have yet been unable to come to any conclusion0 7pp4 #ad1 #ae74 #j;g ,we come to another order of mind in ,hans ,driesch4 ,at the time he began his work biologists were largely busy in a region indicated by ,darwin1 and roughly mapped out by ,haeckel--that of phylogeny4 ,from the facts of development of the individual1 from the comparison of fossils in successive strata1 they set to work at the construction of pedigrees1 and strove to bring into line the principles of classification with the more or less hypothetical 8stemtrees40 ,driesch considered this futile1 since we never could reconstruct from such evidence anything certain in the history of the past4 ,he therefore asserted that a more complete knowledge of the physics and chemistry of the organic world might give a scientific explanation of the phenomena1 and maintained that the proper work of the biologist was to deepen our knowledge in these respects4 ,he embodied his views1 seeking the explanation on this track1 filling up gaps and tracing projected roads along lines of probable truth in his 8,analytische ,theorie der organische ,entwicklung40 ,but his own work convinced him of the hopelessness of the task he had undertaken1 and he has become as strenuous a vitalist as ,butler4 ,the most complete statement of his present views is to be found in 8,the ,philosophy of ,life0 7#aijh-i71 being the ,giffold ,lectures for #aijg-h4 ,herein he postulates a quality 78psychoid07 in all living beings1 directing energy and matter for the purpose of the organism1 and to this he applies the ,aristotelian designation 8,entelechy40 ,the question of the transmission of acquired characters is regarded as doubtful1 and he does not emphasise--if he accepts--the doctrine of continuous personality4 ,his early youthful impatience with descent theories and hypotheses has1 however1 disappeared4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the next work the influence of ,hering and ,butler is definitely present and recognised4 ,in #aijf ,signor ,eugenio ,rignano1 an engineer keenly interested in all branches of science1 and a little later the founder of the international review1 ,rivist di ,scienza 7now simply called ,scientia71 published in ,french a volume entitled 8,sur la transmissibilit des ,caractres acquis--,hypothse d'un ,centro-pigense40 ,into the details of the author's work we will not enter fully4 ,suffice it to know that he accepts the ,hering-,butler theory1 and makes a distinct advance on ,hering's rather crude hypothesis of persistent vibrations by suggesting that the remembering centres store slightly different forms of energy1 to give out energy of the same kind as they have received1 like electrical accumulators4 ,the last chapter1 8,le ,phnomne mnmonique et le ,phnomne vital10 is frankly based on ,hering4 ,in 8,the ,lesson of ,evolution0 7#aijg1 posthumous1 and only published for private circulation7 ,frederick ,wollaston ,hutton1 ,f4,r4,s41 late ,professor of ,biology and ,geology1 first at ,dunedin and after at ,christchurch1 ,new ,zealand1 puts forward a strongly vitalistic view1 and adopts ,hering's teaching4 ,after stating this he adds1 8,the same idea of heredity being due to unconscious memory was advocated by ,mr4 ,samuel ,butler in his 8,life and ,habit40 ,dr4 ,james ,mark ,baldwin1 ,stuart ,professor of ,psychology in ,princeton ,university1 ,u4,s4,a41 called attention early in the #ij's to a reaction characteristic of all living beings1 which he terms the 8,circular ,reaction40 ,we take his most recent account of this from his 8,development and ,evolution0 7#aijb73--j;h 8,the general fact is that the organism reacts by concentration upon the locality stimulated for the continuance of the conditions1 movements1 stimulations1 which are vitally beneficial1 and for the cessation of the conditions1 movements1 stimulations which are vitally depressing40 ,this amounts to saying in the terminology of ,jenning 7see below7 that the living organism alters its 8physiological states0 either for its direct benefit1 or for its indirect benefit in the reduction of harmful conditions4 ,again3-- 8,this form of concentration of energy on stimulated localities1 with the resulting renewal through movement of conditions that are pleasure-giving and beneficial1 and the consequent repetition of the movements is called #8circular reaction4'0 ,of course1 the inhibition of such movements as would be painful on repetition is merely the negative case of the circular reaction4 ,we must not put too much of our own ideas into the author's mind2 he nowhere says explicitly that the animal or plant shows its sense and does this because it likes the one thing and wants it repeated1 or dislikes the other and stops its repetition1 as ,butler would have said4 ,baldwin is very strong in insisting that no full explanation can be given of living processes1 any more than of history1 on purely chemico-physical grounds4 ,the same view is put differently and independently by ,h4 ,s4 ,jennings1 #j;i who started his investigations of living ,protista1 the simplest of living beings1 with the idea that only accurate and ample observation was needed to enable us to explain all their activities on a mechanical basis1 and devised ingenious models of protoplastic movements4 ,he was led1 like ,driesch1 to renounce such efforts as illusory1 and has come to the conviction that in the behaviour of these lowly beings there is a purposive and a tentative character--a method of 8trial and error0--that can only be interpreted by the invocation of psychology4 ,he points out that after stimulation the 8state0 of the organism may be altered1 so that the response to the same stimulus on repetition is other4 ,or1 as he puts it1 the first stimulus has caused the organism to pass into a new 8physiological state40 ,as the change of state from what we may call the 8primary indifferent state0 is advantageous to the organism1 we may regard this as equivalent to the doctrine of the 8circular reaction10 and also as containing the essence of ,semon's doctrine of 8engrams0 or imprints which we are about to consider4 ,we cite one passage which for audacity of thought 7underlying1 it is true1 most guarded expression7 may well compare with many of the boldest flights in 8,life and ,habit03-- 8,it may be noted that regulation in the manner we have set forth is what1 in the behaviour of higher organisms1 at least1 is called intelligence the examples have been taken from ,protista1 ,corals1 and the ,lowest ,worms4 ,if the same method of regulation is found in other fields1 there is no reason for refusing to compare the action to intelligence4 ,comparison of the regulatory processes that are shown in internal physiological changes and in regeneration to intelligence seems to be looked upon sometimes as heretical and unscientific4 ,yet intelligence is a name applied to processes that actually exist in the regulation of movements1 and there is1 a priori1 no reason why similar processes should not occur in regulation in other fields4 ,when we analyse regulation objectively there seems indeed reason to think that the processes are of the same character in behaviour as elsewhere4 ,if the term intelligence be reserved for the subjective accompaniments of such regulation1 then of course we have no direct knowledge of its existence in any of the fields of regulation outside of the self1 and in the self perhaps only in behaviour4 ,but in a purely objective consideration there seems no reason to suppose that regulation in behaviour 7intelligence7 is of a fundamentally different character from regulation elsewhere40 78,method of ,regulation10 p4 #dib47 ,jennings makes no mention of questions of the theory of heredity4 ,he has made some experiments on the transmission of an acquired character in ,protozoa2 but it was a mutilation-character1 which is1 as has been often shown1 #j;j not to the point4 99 99 99 99 99 ,one of the most obvious criticisms of ,hering's exposition is based upon the extended use he makes of the word 8,memory03 this he had foreseen and deprecated4 8,we have a perfect right10 he says1 8to extend our conception of memory so as to make it embrace involuntary and also unconscious reproductions of sensations1 ideas1 perceptions1 and efforts2 but we find1 on having done so1 that we have so far enlarged her boundaries that she proves to be an ultimate and original power1 the source and1 at the same time1 the unifying bond1 of our whole conscious life40 78,unconscious ,memory10 p4 #fh47 ,this sentence1 coupled with ,hering's omission to give to the concept of memory so enlarged a new name1 clear alike of the limitations and of the stains of habitual use1 may well have been the inspiration of the next work on our list4 ,richard ,semon is a professional zoologist and anthropologist of such high status for his original observations and researches in the mere technical sense1 that in these countries he would assuredly have been acclaimed as one of the ,fellows of the ,royal ,society who were ,samuel ,butler's special aversion4 ,the full title of his book is 8,,die ,,mneme als erhaltende ,prinzip im ,wechsel des organischen ,geschehens0 7,munich1 ,ed4 #a1 #aijd2 ,ed4 #b1 #aijh74 ,we may translate it 8,,mneme1 a ,principle of ,conservation in the ,transformations of ,organic ,existence40 ,from this ,i quote in free translation the opening passage of ,chapter ,,ii3-- 8,we have shown that in very many cases1 whether in ,protist1 ,plant1 or ,animal1 when an organism has passed into an indifferent state after the reaction to a stimulus has ceased1 its irritable substance has suffered a lasting change3 ,i call this after-action of the stimulus its #8imprint' or #8engraphic' action1 since it penetrates and imprints itself in the organic substance2 and ,i term the change so effected an #8imprint' or #8engram' of the stimulus2 and the sum of all the imprints possessed by the organism may be called its #8store of imprints1' wherein we must distinguish between those which it has inherited from its forbears and those which it has acquired itself4 ,any phenomenon displayed by an organism as the result either of a single imprint or of a sum of them1 ,i term a #8mnemic phenomenon'2 and the mnemic possibilities of an organism may be termed1 collectively1 its #8,,mneme4' 8,i have selected my own terms for the concepts that ,i have just defined4 ,on many grounds ,i refrain from making any use of the good ,german terms #8,gedchtniss1 ,erinnerungsbild4' ,the first and chiefest ground is that for my purpose ,i should have to employ the ,german words in a much wider sense than what they usually convey1 and thus leave the door open to countless misunderstandings and idle controversies4 ,it would1 indeed1 even amount to an error of fact to give to the wider concept the name already current in the narrower sense--nay1 actually limited1 like #8,erinnerungsbild1' to phenomena of consciousness4 4 4 4 ,in ,animals1 during the course of history1 one set of organs has1 so to speak1 specialised itself for the reception and transmission of stimuli--the ,nervous ,system4 ,but from this specialisation we are not justified in ascribing to the nervous system any monopoly of the function1 even when it is as highly developed as in ,man4 4 4 4 ,just as the direct excitability of the nervous system has progressed in the history of the race1 so has its capacity for receiving imprints2 but neither susceptibility nor retentiveness is its monopoly2 and1 indeed1 retentiveness seems inseparable from susceptibility in living matter40 ,semen here takes the instance of stimulus and imprint actions affecting the nervous system of a dog 8who has up till now never experienced aught but kindness from the ,lord of ,creation1 and then one day that he is out alone is pelted with stones by a boy4 4 4 4 ,here he is affected at once by two sets of stimuli3 7#a7 the optic stimulus of seeing the boy stoop for stones and throw them1 and 7#b7 the skin stimulus of the pain felt when they hit him4 ,here both stimuli leave their imprints2 and the organism is permanently changed in relation to the recurrence of the stimuli4 ,hitherto the sight of a human figure quickly stooping had produced no constant special reaction4 ,now the reaction is constant1 and may remain so till death4 4 4 4 ,the dog tucks in its tail between its legs and takes flight1 often with a howl as of pain40 8,here we gain on one side a deeper insight into the imprint action of stimuli4 ,it reposes on the lasting change in the conditions of the living matter1 so that the repetition of the immediate or synchronous reaction to its first stimulus 7in this case the stooping of the boy1 the flying stones1 and the pain on the ribs71 no longer demands1 as in the original state of indifference1 the full stimulus a1 but may be called forth by a partial or different stimulus1 b 7in this case the mere stooping to the ground74 ,i term the influences by which such changed reaction are rendered possible1 #8outcome-reactions1' and when such influences assume the form of stimuli1 #8outcome-stimuli4'0 ,they are termed 8outcome0 78ecphoria07 stimuli1 because the author regards them and would have us regard them as the outcome1 manifestation1 or efference of an imprint of a previous stimulus4 ,we have noted that the imprint is equivalent to the changed 8physiological state0 of ,jennings4 ,again1 the capacity for gaining imprints and revealing them by outcomes favourable to the individual is the 8circular reaction0 of ,baldwin1 but ,semon gives no reference to either author4 #jk ,in the preface to his first edition 7reprinted in the second7 ,semon writes1 after discussing the work of ,hering and ,haeckel3-- 8,the problem received a more detailed treatment in ,samuel ,butler's book1 #8,life and ,habit1' published in #ahgh4 ,though he only made acquaintance with ,hering's essay after this publication1 ,butler gave what was in many respects a more detailed view of the coincidences of these different phenomena of organic reproduction than did ,hering4 ,with much that is untenable1 ,butler's writings present many a brilliant idea2 yet1 on the whole1 they are rather a retrogression than an advance upon ,hering4 ,evidently they failed to exercise any marked influence upon the literature of the day40 ,this judgment needs a little examination4 ,butler claimed1 justly1 that his 8,life and ,habit0 was an advance on ,hering in its dealing with questions of hybridity1 and of longevity puberty and sterility4 ,since ,semon's extended treatment of the phenomena of crosses might almost be regarded as the rewriting of the corresponding section of 8,life and ,habit0 in the 8,mneme0 terminology1 we may infer that this view of the question was one of ,butler's 8brilliant ideas40 ,that ,butler shrank from accepting such a formal explanation of memory as ,hering did with his hypothesis should certainly be counted as a distinct 8advance upon ,hering10 for ,semon also avoids any attempt at an explanation of 8,mneme40 ,i think1 however1 we may gather the real meaning of ,semon's strictures from the following passages3-- 8,i refrain here from a discussion of the development of this theory of ,lamarck's by those ,neo-,lamarckians who would ascribe to the individual elementary organism an equipment of complex psychical powers--so to say1 anthropomorphic perception and volitions4 ,this treatment is no longer directed by the scientific principle of referring complex phenomena to simpler laws1 of deducing even human intellect and will from simpler elements4 ,on the contrary1 they follow that most abhorrent method of taking the most complex and unresolved as a datum1 and employing it as an explanation4 ,the adoption of such a method1 as formerly by ,samuel ,butler1 and recently by ,pauly1 ,i regard as a big and dangerous step backward0 7ed4 #b1 pp4 #chj-a1 note74 ,thus ,butler's alleged retrogressions belong to the same order of thinking that we have seen shared by ,driesch1 ,baldwin1 and ,jennings1 and most explicitly avowed1 as we shall see1 by ,francis ,darwin4 ,semon makes one rather candid admission1 8,the impossibility of interpreting the phenomena of physiological stimulation by those of direct reaction1 and the undeception of those who had put faith in this being possible1 have led many on the backward path of vitalism40 ,semon assuredly will never be able to complete his theory of 8,mneme0 until1 guided by the experience of ,jennings and ,driesch1 he forsakes the blind alley of mechanisticism and retraces his steps to reasonable vitalism4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but the most notable publications bearing on our matter are incidental to the ,darwin ,celebrations of #aijh-i4 ,dr4 ,francis ,darwin1 son1 collaborator1 and biographer of ,charles ,darwin1 was selected to preside over the ,meeting of the ,british ,association held in ,dublin in #aijh1 the jubilee of the first publications on ,natural ,selection by his father and ,alfred ,russel ,wallace4 ,in this address we find the theory of ,hering1 ,butler1 ,rignano1 and ,semon taking its proper place as a vera causa of that variation which ,natural ,selection must find before it can act1 and recognised as the basis of a rational theory of the development of the individual and of the race4 ,the organism is essentially purposive3 the impossibility of devising any adequate accounts of organic form and function without taking account of the psychical side is most strenuously asserted4 ,and with our regret that past misunderstandings should be so prominent in ,butler's works1 it was very pleasant to hear ,francis ,darwin's quotation from ,butler's translation of ,hering #jl followed by a personal tribute to ,butler himself4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in commemoration of the centenary of the birth of ,charles ,darwin and of the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of the 8,origin of ,species10 at the suggestion of the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society1 the ,university ,press published during the current year a volume entitled 8,darwin and ,modern ,science10 edited by ,mr4 ,a4 ,c4 ,seward1 ,professor of ,botany in the ,university4 ,of the twenty-nine essays by men of science of the highest distinction1 one is of peculiar interest to the readers of ,samuel ,butler3 8,heredity and ,variation in ,modern ,lights10 by ,professor ,w4 ,bateson1 ,f4,r4,s41 to whose work on 8,discontinuous ,variations0 we have already referred4 ,here once more ,butler receives from an official biologist of the first rank full recognition for his wonderful insight and keen critical power4 ,this is the more noteworthy because ,bateson has apparently no faith in the transmission of acquired characters2 but such a passage as this would have commended itself to ,butler's admiration3-- 8,all this indicates a definiteness and specific order in heredity1 and therefore in variation4 ,this order cannot by the nature of the case be dependent on ,natural ,selection for its existence1 but must be a consequence of the fundamental chemical and physical nature of living things4 ,the study of ,variation had from the first shown that an orderliness of this kind was present4 ,the bodies and properties of living things are cosmic1 not chaotic4 ,no matter how low in the scale we go1 never do we find the slightest hint of a diminution in that all-pervading orderliness1 nor can we conceive an organism existing for one moment in any other state40 ,we have now before us the materials to determine the problem of ,butler's relation to biology and to biologists4 ,he was1 we have seen1 anticipated by ,hering2 but his attitude was his own1 fresh and original4 ,he did not hamper his exposition1 like ,hering1 by a subsidiary hypothesis of vibrations which may or may not be true1 which burdens the theory without giving it greater carrying power or persuasiveness1 which is based on no objective facts1 and which1 as ,semon has practically demonstrated1 is needless for the detailed working out of the theory4 ,butler failed to impress the biologists of his day1 even those on whom1 like ,romanes1 he might have reasonably counted for understanding and for support4 ,but he kept alive ,hering's work when it bade fair to sink into the limbo of obsolete hypotheses4 ,to use ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes's phrase1 he 8depolarised0 evolutionary thought4 ,we quote the words of a young biologist1 who1 when an ardent and dogmatic ,weismannist of the most pronounced type1 was induced to read 8,life and ,habit03 8,the book was to me a transformation and an inspiration40 ,such learned writings as ,semon's or ,hering's could never produce such an effect3 they do not penetrate to the heart of man2 they cannot carry conviction to the intellect already filled full with rival theories1 and with the unreasoned faith that to-morrow or next day a new discovery will obliterate all distinction between ,man and his makings4 ,the mind must needs be open for the reception of truth1 for the rejection of prejudice2 and the violence of a ,samuel ,butler may in the future as in the past be needed to shatter the coat of mail forged by too exclusively professional a training4 ,,marcus ,,hartog ,cork1 ,april1 #aiaj ,author's ,preface ,,not finding the 8well-known ,german scientific journal ,kosmos0 #jm entered in the ,british ,museum ,catalogue1 ,i have presented the ,museum with a copy of the number for ,february #ahgi1 which contains the article by ,dr4 ,krause of which ,mr4 ,charles ,darwin has given a translation1 the accuracy of which is guaranteed--so he informs us--by the translator's 8scientific reputation together with his knowledge of ,german40 #jn ,i have marked the copy1 so that the reader can see at a glance what passages has been suppressed and where matter has been interpolated4 ,i have also present a copy of 8,erasmus ,darwin40 ,i have marked this too1 so that the genuine and spurious passages can be easily distinguished4 ,i understand that both the 8,erasmus ,darwin0 and the number of ,kosmos have been sent to the ,keeper of ,printed ,books1 with instructions that they shall be at once catalogued and made accessible to readers1 and do not doubt that this will have been done before the present volume is published4 ,the reader1 therefore1 who may be sufficiently interested in the matter to care to see exactly what has been done will now have an opportunity of doing so4 ,october #be1 #ahhj4 ,chapter ,i ,introduction--,general ignorance on the subject of evolution at the time the 8,origin of ,species0 was published in #ahei4 ,,there are few things which strike us with more surprise1 when we review the course taken by opinion in the last century1 than the suddenness with which belief in witchcraft and demoniacal possession came to an end4 ,this has been often remarked upon1 but ,i am not acquainted with any record of the fact as it appeared to those under whose eyes the change was taking place1 nor have ,i seen any contemporary explanation of the reasons which led to the apparently sudden overthrow of a belief which had seemed hitherto to be deeply rooted in the minds of almost all men4 ,as a parallel to this1 though in respect of the rapid spread of an opinion1 and not its decadence1 it is probable that those of our descendants who take an interest in ourselves will note the suddenness with which the theory of evolution1 from having been generally ridiculed during a period of over a hundred years1 came into popularity and almost universal acceptance among educated people4 ,it is indisputable that this has been the case2 nor is it less indisputable that the works of ,mr4 ,darwin and ,mr4 ,wallace have been the main agents in the change that has been brought about in our opinions4 ,the names of ,cobden and ,bright do not stand more prominently forward in connection with the repeal of the ,corn ,laws than do those of ,mr4 ,darwin and ,mr4 ,wallace in connection with the general acceptance of the theory of evolution4 ,there is no living philosopher who has anything like ,mr4 ,darwin's popularity with ,englishmen generally2 and not only this1 but his power of fascination extends all over ,europe1 and indeed in every country in which civilisation has obtained footing3 not among the illiterate masses1 though these are rapidly following the suit of the educated classes1 but among experts and those who are most capable of judging4 ,france1 indeed--the country of ,buffon and ,lamarck--must be counted an exception to the general rule1 but in ,england and ,germany there are few men of scientific reputation who do not accept ,mr4 ,darwin as the founder of what is commonly called 8,darwinism10 and regard him as perhaps the most penetrative and profound philosopher of modern times4 ,to quote an example from the last few weeks only1 #b ,i have observed that ,professor ,huxley has celebrated the twenty-first year since the 8,origin of ,species0 was published by a lecture at the ,royal ,institution1 and am told that he described ,mr4 ,darwin's candour as something actually 8terrible0 7,i give ,professor ,huxley's own word1 as reported by one who heard it72 and on opening a small book entitled 8,degeneration10 by ,professor ,ray ,lankester1 published a few days before these lines were written1 ,i find the following passage amid more that is to the same purport3-- 8,suddenly one of those great guesses which occasionally appear in the history of science was given to the science of biology by the imaginative insight of that greatest of living naturalists--,i would say that greatest of living men--,charles ,darwin40--,degeneration1 p4 #aj4 ,this is very strong language1 but it is hardly stronger than that habitually employed by the leading men of science when they speak of ,mr4 ,darwin4 ,to go farther afield1 in ,february #ahgi the ,germans devoted an entire number of one of their scientific periodicals #c to the celebration of ,mr4 ,darwin's seventieth birthday4 ,there is no other ,englishman now living who has been able to win such a compliment as this from foreigners1 who should be disinterested judges4 ,under these circumstances1 it must seem the height of presumption to differ from so great an authority1 and to join the small band of malcontents who hold that ,mr4 ,darwin's reputation as a philosopher1 though it has grown up with the rapidity of ,jonah's gourd1 will yet not be permanent4 ,i believe1 however1 that though we must always gladly and gratefully owe it to ,mr4 ,darwin and ,mr4 ,wallace that the public mind has been brought to accept evolution1 the admiration now generally felt for the 8,origin of ,species0 will appear as unaccountable to our descendants some fifty or eighty years hence as the enthusiasm of our grandfathers for the poetry of ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin does to ourselves2 and as one who has yielded to none in respect of the fascination ,mr4 ,darwin has exercised over him1 ,i would fain say a few words of explanation which may make the matter clearer to our future historians4 ,i do this the more readily because ,i can at the same time explain thus better than in any other way the steps which led me to the theory which ,i afterwards advanced in 8,life and ,habit40 ,this last1 indeed1 is perhaps the main purpose of the earlier chapters of this book4 ,i shall presently give a translation of a lecture by ,professor ,ewald ,hering of ,prague1 which appeared ten years ago1 and which contains so exactly the theory ,i subsequently advocated myself1 that ,i am half uneasy lest it should be supposed that ,i knew of ,professor ,hering's work and made no reference to it4 ,a friend to whom ,i submitted my translation in ,,ms41 asking him how closely he thought it resembled 8,life and ,habit10 wrote back that it gave my own ideas almost in my own words4 ,as far as the ideas are concerned this is certainly the case1 and considering that ,professor ,hering wrote between seven and eight years before ,i did1 ,i think it due to him1 and to my readers as well as to myself1 to explain the steps which led me to my conclusions1 and1 while putting ,professor ,hering's lecture before them1 to show cause for thinking that ,i arrived at an almost identical conclusion1 as it would appear1 by an almost identical road1 yet1 nevertheless1 quite independently1 ,i must ask the reader1 therefore1 to regard these earlier chapters as in some measure a personal explanation1 as well as a contribution to the history of an important feature in the developments of the last twenty years4 ,i hope also1 by showing the steps by which ,i was led to my conclusions1 to make the conclusions themselves more acceptable and easy of comprehension4 ,being on my way to ,new ,zealand when the 8,origin of ,species0 appeared1 ,i did not get it till #ahfj or #ahfa4 ,when ,i read it1 ,i found 8the theory of natural selection0 repeatedly spoken of as though it were a synonym for 8the theory of descent with modification02 this is especially the case in the recapitulation chapter of the work4 ,i failed to see how important it was that these two theories--if indeed 8natural selection0 can be called a theory--should not be confounded together1 and that a 8theory of descent with modification0 might be true1 while a 8theory of descent with modification through natural selection0 #d might not stand being looked into4 ,if any one had asked me to state in brief what ,mr4 ,darwin's theory was1 ,i am afraid ,i might have answered 8natural selection10 or 8descent with modification10 whichever came first1 as though the one meant much the same as the other4 ,i observe that most of the leading writers on the subject are still unable to catch sight of the distinction here alluded to1 and console myself for my want of acumen by reflecting that1 if ,i was misled1 ,i was misled in good company4 ,i--and ,i may add1 the public generally--failed also to see what the unaided reader who was new to the subject would be almost certain to overlook4 ,i mean1 that1 according to ,mr4 ,darwin1 the variations whose accumulation resulted in diversity of species and genus were indefinite1 fortuitous1 attributable but in small degree to any known causes1 and without a general principle underlying them which would cause them to appear steadily in a given direction for many successive generations and in a considerable number of individuals at the same time4 ,we did not know that the theory of evolution was one that had been quietly but steadily gaining ground during the last hundred years4 ,buffon we knew by name1 but he sounded too like 8buffoon0 for any good to come from him4 ,we had heard also of ,lamarck1 and held him to be a kind of ,french ,lord ,monboddo2 but we knew nothing of his doctrine save through the caricatures promulgated by his opponents1 or the misrepresentations of those who had another kind of interest in disparaging him4 ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin we believed to be a forgotten minor poet1 but ninety-nine out of every hundred of us had never so much as heard of the 8,zoonomia40 ,we were little likely1 therefore1 to know that ,lamarck drew very largely from ,buffon1 and probably also from ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin1 and that this last-named writer1 though essentially original1 was founded upon ,buffon1 who was greatly more in advance of any predecessor than any successor has been in advance of him4 ,we did not know1 then1 that according to the earlier writers the variations whose accumulation results in species were not fortuitous and definite1 but were due to a known principle of universal application--namely1 8sense of need0--or apprehend the difference between a theory of evolution which has a backbone1 as it were1 in the tolerably constant or slowly varying needs of large numbers of individuals for long periods together1 and one which has no such backbone1 but according to which the progress of one generation is always liable to be cancelled and obliterated by that of the next4 ,we did not know that the new theory in a quiet way professed to tell us less than the old had done1 and declared that it could throw little if any light upon the matter which the earlier writers had endeavoured to illuminate as the central point in their system4 ,we took it for granted that more light must be being thrown instead of less2 and reading in perfect good faith1 we rose from our perusal with the impression that ,mr4 ,darwin was advocating the descent of all existing forms of life from a single1 or from1 at any rate1 a very few primordial types2 that no one else had done this hitherto1 or that1 if they had1 they had got the whole subject into a mess1 which mess1 whatever it was--for we were never told this--was now being removed once for all by ,mr4 ,darwin4 ,the evolution part of the story1 that is to say1 the fact of evolution1 remained in our minds as by far the most prominent feature in ,mr4 ,darwin's book2 and being grateful for it1 we were very ready to take ,mr4 ,darwin's work at the estimate tacitly claimed for it by himself1 and vehemently insisted upon by reviewers in influential journals1 who took much the same line towards the earlier writers on evolution as ,mr4 ,darwin himself had taken4 ,but perhaps nothing more prepossessed us in ,mr4 ,darwin's favour than the air of candour that was omnipresent throughout his work4 ,the prominence given to the arguments of opponents completely carried us away2 it was this which threw us off our guard4 ,it never occurred to us that there might be other and more dangerous opponents who were not brought forward4 ,mr4 ,darwin did not tell us what his grandfather and ,lamarck would have had to say to this or that4 ,moreover1 there was an unobtrusive parade of hidden learning and of difficulties at last overcome which was particularly grateful to us4 ,whatever opinion might be ultimately come to concerning the value of his theory1 there could be but one about the value of the example he had set to men of science generally by the perfect frankness and unselfishness of his work4 ,friends and foes alike combined to do homage to ,mr4 ,darwin in this respect4 ,for1 brilliant as the reception of the 8,origin of ,species0 was1 it met in the first instance with hardly less hostile than friendly criticism4 ,but the attacks were ill-directed2 they came from a suspected quarter1 and those who led them did not detect more than the general public had done what were the really weak places in ,mr4 ,darwin's armour4 ,they attacked him where he was strongest2 and above all1 they were1 as a general rule1 stamped with a disingenuousness which at that time we believed to be peculiar to theological writers and alien to the spirit of science4 ,seeing1 therefore1 that the men of science ranged themselves more and more decidedly on ,mr4 ,darwin's side1 while his opponents had manifestly--so far as ,i can remember1 all the more prominent among them--a bias to which their hostility was attributable1 we left off looking at the arguments against 8,darwinism10 as we now began to call it1 and pigeon-holed the matter to the effect that there was one evolution1 and that ,mr4 ,darwin was its prophet4 ,the blame of our errors and oversights rests primarily with ,mr4 ,darwin himself4 ,the first1 and far the most important1 edition of the 8,origin of ,species0 came out as a kind of literary ,melchisedec1 without father and without mother in the works of other people4 ,here is its opening paragraph3-- 8,when on board ,h4,m4,s4 #8,beagle' as naturalist1 ,i was much struck with certain facts in the distribution of the inhabitants of ,south ,america1 and in the geological relations of the present to the past inhabitants of that continent4 ,these facts seemed to me to throw some light on the origin of species--that mystery of mysteries1 as it has been called by one of our greatest philosophers4 ,on my return home1 it occurred to me1 in #ahcg1 that something might be made out on this question by patiently accumulating and reflecting upon all sorts of facts which could possibly have any bearing on it4 ,after five years' work ,i allowed myself to speculate on the subject1 and drew up some short notes2 these ,i enlarged in #ahdd into a sketch of the conclusions which then seemed to me probable3 from that period to the present day ,i have steadily pursued the same object4 ,i hope that ,i may be excused for entering on these personal details1 as ,i give them to show that ,i have not been hasty in coming to a decision40 #h;a ,in the latest edition this passage remains unaltered1 except in one unimportant respect4 ,what could more completely throw us off the scent of the earlier writers8 ,if they had written anything worthy of our attention1 or indeed if there had been any earlier writers at all1 ,mr4 ,darwin would have been the first to tell us about them1 and to award them their due meed of recognition4 ,but1 no2 the whole thing was an original growth in ,mr4 ,darwin's mind1 and he had never so much as heard of his grandfather1 ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin4 ,dr4 ,krause1 indeed1 thought otherwise4 ,in the number of ,kosmos for ,february #ahgi he represented ,mr4 ,darwin as in his youth approaching the works of his grandfather with all the devotion which people usually feel for the writings of a renowned poet4 #h;b ,this should perhaps be a delicately ironical way of hinting that ,mr4 ,darwin did not read his grandfather's books closely2 but ,i hardly think that ,dr4 ,krause looked at the matter in this light1 for he goes on to say that 8almost every single work of the younger ,darwin may be paralleled by at least a chapter in the works of his ancestor3 the mystery of heredity1 adaptation1 the protective arrangements of animals and plants1 sexual selection1 insectivorous plants1 and the analysis of the emotions and sociological impulses2 nay1 even the studies on infants are to be found already discussed in the pages of the elder ,darwin40 #h;c ,nevertheless1 innocent as ,mr4 ,darwin's opening sentence appeared1 it contained enough to have put us upon our guard4 ,when he informed us that1 on his return from a long voyage1 8it occurred to0 him that the way to make anything out about his subject was to collect and reflect upon the facts that bore upon it1 it should have occurred to us in our turn1 that when people betray a return of consciousness upon such matters as this1 they are on the confines of that state in which other and not less elementary matters will not 8occur to0 them4 ,the introduction of the word 8patiently0 should have been conclusive4 ,i will not analyse more of the sentence1 but will repeat the next two lines3--8,after five years of work1 ,i allowed myself to speculate upon the subject1 and drew up some short notes40 ,we read this1 thousands of us1 and were blind4 ,if ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin's name was not mentioned in the first edition of the 8,origin of ,species10 we should not be surprised at there being no notice taken of ,buffon1 or at ,lamarck's being referred to only twice--on the first occasion to be serenely waved aside1 he and all his works2 #i;a on the second1 #i;b to be commended on a point of detail4 ,the author of the 8,vestiges of ,creation0 was more widely known to ,english readers1 having written more recently and nearer home4 ,he was dealt with summarily1 on an early and prominent page1 by a misrepresentation1 which was silently expunged in later editions of the 8,origin of ,species40 ,in his later editions 7,i believe first in his third1 when #fjjj copies had been already sold71 ,mr4 ,darwin did indeed introduce a few pages in which he gave what he designated as a 8brief but imperfect sketch0 of the progress of opinion on the origin of species prior to the appearance of his own work2 but the general impression which a book conveys to1 and leaves upon1 the public is conveyed by the first edition--the one which is alone1 with rare exceptions1 reviewed2 and in the first edition of the 8,origin of ,species0 ,mr4 ,darwin's great precursors were all either ignored or misrepresented4 ,moreover1 the 8brief but imperfect sketch10 when it did come1 was so very brief1 but1 in spite of this 7for this is what ,i suppose ,mr4 ,darwin must mean71 so very imperfect1 that it might as well have been left unwritten for all the help it gave the reader to see the true question at issue between the original propounders of the theory of evolution and ,mr4 ,charles ,darwin himself4 ,that question is this3 ,whether variation is in the main attributable to a known general principle1 or whether it is not8--whether the minute variations whose accumulation results in specific and generic differences are referable to something which will ensure their appearing in a certain definite direction1 or in certain definite directions1 for long periods together1 and in many individuals1 or whether they are not8--whether1 in a word1 these variations are in the main definite or indefinite8 ,it is observable that the leading men of science seem rarely to understand this even now4 ,i am told that ,professor ,huxley1 in his recent lecture on the coming of age of the 8,origin of ,species10 never so much as alluded to the existence of any such division of opinion as this4 ,he did not even1 ,i am assured1 mention 8natural selection10 but appeared to believe1 with ,professor ,tyndall1 #aj;a that 8evolution0 is 8,mr4 ,darwin's theory40 ,in his article on evolution in the latest edition of the 8,encyclopdia ,britannica10 ,i find only a veiled perception of the point wherein ,mr4 ,darwin is at variance with his precursors4 ,professor ,huxley evidently knows little of these writers beyond their names2 if he had known more1 it is impossible he should have written that 8,buffon contributed nothing to the general doctrine of evolution10 #aj;b and that ,erasmus ,darwin1 8though a zealous evolutionist1 can hardly be said to have made any real advance on his predecessors40 #aa ,the article is in a high degree unsatisfactory1 and betrays at once an amount of ignorance and of perception which leaves an uncomfortable impression4 ,if this is the state of things that prevails even now1 it is not surprising that in #ahfj the general public should1 with few exceptions1 have known of only one evolution1 namely1 that propounded by ,mr4 ,darwin4 ,as a member of the general public1 at that time residing eighteen miles from the nearest human habitation1 and three days' journey on horseback from a bookseller's shop1 ,i became one of ,mr4 ,darwin's many enthusiastic admirers1 and wrote a philosophical dialogue 7the most offensive form1 except poetry and books of travel into supposed unknown countries1 that even literature can assume7 upon the 8,origin of ,species40 ,this production appeared in the ,press1 ,canterbury1 ,new ,zealand1 in #ahfa or #ahfb1 but ,i have long lost the only copy ,i had4 ,chapter ,,ii ,how ,i came to write 8,life and ,habit10 and the circumstances of its completion4 ,,it was impossible1 however1 for ,mr4 ,darwin's readers to leave the matter as ,mr4 ,darwin had left it4 ,we wanted to know whence came that germ or those germs of life which1 if ,mr4 ,darwin was right1 were once the world's only inhabitants4 ,they could hardly have come hither from some other world2 they could not in their wet1 cold1 slimy state have travelled through the dry ethereal medium which we call space1 and yet remained alive4 ,if they travelled slowly1 they would die2 if fast1 they would catch fire1 as meteors do on entering the earth's atmosphere4 ,the idea1 again1 of their having been created by a quasi-anthropomorphic being out of the matter upon the earth was at variance with the whole spirit of evolution1 which indicated that no such being could exist except as himself the result1 and not the cause1 of evolution4 ,having got back from ourselves to the monad1 we were suddenly to begin again with something which was either unthinkable1 or was only ourselves again upon a larger scale--to return to the same point as that from which we had started1 only made harder for us to stand upon4 ,there was only one other conception possible1 namely1 that the germs had been developed in the course of time from some thing or things that were not what we called living at all2 that they had grown up1 in fact1 out of the material substances and forces of the world in some manner more or less analogous to that in which man had been developed from themselves4 ,i first asked myself whether life might not1 after all1 resolve itself into the complexity of arrangement of an inconceivably intricate mechanism4 ,kittens think our shoe-strings are alive when they see us lacing them1 because they see the tag at the end jump about without understanding all the ins and outs of how it comes to do so4 8,of course10 they argue1 8if we cannot understand how a thing comes to move1 it must move of itself1 for there can be no motion beyond our comprehension but what is spontaneous2 if the motion is spontaneous1 the thing moving must he alive1 for nothing can move of itself or without our understanding why unless it is alive4 ,everything that is alive and not too large can be tortured1 and perhaps eaten2 let us therefore spring upon the tag0 and they spring upon it4 ,cats are above this2 yet give the cat something which presents a few more of those appearances which she is accustomed to see whenever she sees life1 and she will fall as easy a prey to the power which association exercises over all that lives as the kitten itself4 ,show her a toy-mouse that can run a few yards after being wound up2 the form1 colour1 and action of a mouse being here1 there is no good cat which will not conclude that so many of the appearances of mousehood could not be present at the same time without the presence also of the remainder4 ,she will1 therefore1 spring upon the toy as eagerly as the kitten upon the tag4 ,suppose the toy more complex still1 so that it might run a few yards1 stop1 and run on again without an additional winding up2 and suppose it so constructed that it could imitate eating and drinking1 and could make as though the mouse were cleaning its face with its paws4 ,should we not at first be taken in ourselves1 and assume the presence of the remaining facts of life1 though in reality they were not there8 ,query1 therefore1 whether a machine so complex as to be prepared with a corresponding manner of action for each one of the successive emergencies of life as it arose1 would not take us in for good and all1 and look so much as if it were alive that1 whether we liked it or not1 we should be compelled to think it and call it so2 and whether the being alive was not simply the being an exceedingly complicated machine1 whose parts were set in motion by the action upon them of exterior circumstances2 whether1 in fact1 man was not a kind of toy-mouse in the shape of a man1 only capable of going for seventy or eighty years1 instead of half as many seconds1 and as much more versatile as he is more durable8 ,of course ,i had an uneasy feeling that if ,i thus made all plants and men into machines1 these machines must have what all other machines have if they are machines at all--a designer1 and some one to wind them up and work them2 but ,i thought this might wait for the present1 and was perfectly ready then1 as now1 to accept a designer from without1 if the facts upon examination rendered such a belief reasonable4 ,if1 then1 men were not really alive after all1 but were only machines of so complicated a make that it was less trouble to us to cut the difficulty and say that that kind of mechanism was 8being alive10 why should not machines ultimately become as complicated as we are1 or at any rate complicated enough to be called living1 and to be indeed as living as it was in the nature of anything at all to be8 ,if it was only a case of their becoming more complicated1 we were certainly doing our best to make them so4 ,i do not suppose ,i at that time saw that this view comes to much the same as denying that there are such qualities as life and consciousness at all1 and that this1 again1 works round to the assertion of their omnipresence in every molecule of matter1 inasmuch as it destroys the separation between the organic and inorganic1 and maintains that whatever the organic is the inorganic is also4 ,deny it in theory as much as we please1 we shall still always feel that an organic body1 unless dead1 is living and conscious to a greater or less degree4 ,therefore1 if we once break down the wall of partition between the organic and inorganic1 the inorganic must be living and conscious also1 up to a certain point4 ,i have been at work on this subject now for nearly twenty years1 what ,i have published being only a small part of what ,i have written and destroyed4 ,i cannot1 therefore1 remember exactly how ,i stood in #ahfc4 ,nor can ,i pretend to see far into the matter even now2 for when ,i think of life1 ,i find it so difficult1 that ,i take refuge in death or mechanism2 and when ,i think of death or mechanism1 ,i find it so inconceivable1 that it is easier to call it life again4 ,the only thing of which ,i am sure is1 that the distinction between the organic and inorganic is arbitrary2 that it is more coherent with our other ideas1 and therefore more acceptable1 to start with every molecule as a living thing1 and then deduce death as the breaking up of an association or corporation1 than to start with inanimate molecules and smuggle life into them2 and that1 therefore1 what we call the inorganic world must be regarded as up to a certain point living1 and instinct1 within certain limits1 with consciousness1 volition1 and power of concerted action4 ,it is only of late1 however1 that ,i have come to this opinion4 ,one must start with a hypothesis1 no matter how much one distrusts it2 so ,i started with man as a mechanism1 this being the strand of the knot that ,i could then pick at most easily4 ,having worked upon it a certain time1 ,i drew the inference about machines becoming animate1 and in #ahfb or #ahfc wrote the sketch of the chapter on machines which ,i afterwards rewrote in 8,erewhon40 ,this sketch appeared in the ,press1 ,canterbury1 ,n4,z41 ,june #ac1 #ahfc2 a copy of it is in the ,british ,museum4 ,i soon felt that though there was plenty of amusement to be got out of this line1 it was one that ,i should have to leave sooner or later2 ,i therefore left it at once for the view that machines were limbs which we had made1 and carried outside our bodies instead of incorporating them with ourselves4 ,a few days or weeks later than ,june #ac1 #ahfc1 ,i published a second letter in the ,press putting this view forward4 ,of this letter ,i have lost the only copy ,i had2 ,i have not seen it for years4 ,the first was certainly not good2 the second1 if ,i remember rightly1 was a good deal worse1 though ,i believed more in the views it put forward than in those of the first letter4 ,i had lost my copy before ,i wrote 8,erewhon10 and therefore only gave a couple of pages to it in that book2 besides1 there was more amusement in the other view4 ,i should perhaps say there was an intermediate extension of the first letter which appeared in the ,reasoner1 ,july #a1 #ahfe4 ,in #ahgj and #ahga1 when ,i was writing 8,erewhon10 ,i thought the best way of looking at machines was to see them as limbs which we had made and carried about with us or left at home at pleasure4 ,i was not1 however1 satisfied1 and should have gone on with the subject at once if ,i had not been anxious to write 8,the ,fair ,haven10 a book which is a development of a pamphlet ,i wrote in ,new ,zealand and published in ,london in #ahfe4 ,as soon as ,i had finished this1 ,i returned to the old subject1 on which ,i had already been engaged for nearly a dozen years as continuously as other business would allow1 and proposed to myself to see not only machines as limbs1 but also limbs as machines4 ,i felt immediately that ,i was upon firmer ground4 ,the use of the word 8organ0 for a limb told its own story2 the word could not have become so current under this meaning unless the idea of a limb as a tool or machine had been agreeable to common sense4 ,what would follow1 then1 if we regarded our limbs and organs as things that we had ourselves manufactured for our convenience8 ,the first question that suggested itself was1 how did we come to make them without knowing anything about it8 ,and this raised another1 namely1 how comes anybody to do anything unconsciously8 ,the answer 8habit0 was not far to seek4 ,but can a person be said to do a thing by force of habit or routine when it is his ancestors1 and not he1 that has done it hitherto8 ,not unless he and his ancestors are one and the same person4 ,perhaps1 then1 they are the same person after all4 ,what is sameness8 ,i remembered ,bishop ,butler's sermon on 8,personal ,identity10 read it again1 and saw very plainly that if a man of eighty may consider himself identical with the baby from whom he has developed1 so that he may say1 8,i am the person who at six months old did this or that10 then the baby may just as fairly claim identity with its father and mother1 and say to its parents on being born1 8,i was you only a few months ago40 ,by parity of reasoning each living form now on the earth must be able to claim identity with each generation of its ancestors up to the primordial cell inclusive4 ,again1 if the octogenarian may claim personal identity with the infant1 the infant may certainly do so with the impregnate ovum from which it has developed4 ,if so1 the octogenarian will prove to have been a fish once in this his present life4 ,this is as certain as that he was living yesterday1 and stands on exactly the same foundation4 ,i am aware that ,professor ,huxley maintains otherwise4 ,he writes3 8,it is not true1 for example1 4 4 4 that a reptile was ever a fish1 but it is true that the reptile embryo0 7and what is said here of the reptile holds good also for the human embryo71 8at one stage of its development1 is an organism1 which1 if it had an independent existence1 must be classified among fishes40 #ag ,this is like saying1 8,it is not true that such and such a picture was rejected for the ,academy1 but it is true that it was submitted to the ,president and ,council of the ,royal ,academy1 with a view to acceptance at their next forthcoming annual exhibition1 and that the ,president and ,council regretted they were unable through want of space1 c41 c40--and as much more as the reader chooses4 ,i shall venture1 therefore1 to stick to it that the octogenarian was once a fish1 or if ,professor ,huxley prefers it1 8an organism which must be classified among fishes40 ,but if a man was a fish once1 he may have been a fish a million times over1 for aught he knows2 for he must admit that his conscious recollection is at fault1 and has nothing whatever to do with the matter1 which must be decided1 not1 as it were1 upon his own evidence as to what deeds he may or may not recollect having executed1 but by the production of his signatures in court1 with satisfactory proof that he has delivered each document as his act and deed4 ,this made things very much simpler4 ,the processes of embryonic development1 and instinctive actions1 might be now seen as repetitions of the same kind of action by the same individual in successive generations4 ,it was natural1 therefore1 that they should come in the course of time to be done unconsciously1 and a consideration of the most obvious facts of memory removed all further doubt that habit--which is based on memory--was at the bottom of all the phenomena of heredity4 ,i had got to this point about the spring of #ahgd1 and had begun to write1 when ,i was compelled to go to ,canada1 and for the next year and a half did hardly any writing4 ,the first passage in 8,life and ,habit0 which ,i can date with certainty is the one on page #eb1 which runs as follows3-- 8,it is one against legion when a man tries to differ from his own past selves4 ,he must yield or die if he wants to differ widely1 so as to lack natural instincts1 such as hunger or thirst1 and not to gratify them4 ,it is more righteous in a man that he should #8eat strange food1' and that his cheek should #8so much as lank not1' than that he should starve if the strange food be at his command4 ,his past selves are living in him at this moment with the accumulated life of centuries4 #8,do this1 this1 this1 which we too have done1 and found out profit in it1' cry the souls of his forefathers within him4 ,faint are the far ones1 coming and going as the sound of bells wafted on to a high mountain2 loud and clear are the near ones1 urgent as an alarm of fire40 ,this was written a few days after my arrival in ,canada1 ,june #ahgd4 ,i was on ,montreal mountain for the first time1 and was struck with its extreme beauty4 ,it was a magnificent ,summer's evening2 the noble ,st4 ,lawrence flowed almost immediately beneath1 and the vast expanse of country beyond it was suffused with a colour which even ,italy cannot surpass4 ,sitting down for a while1 ,i began making notes for 8,life and ,habit10 of which ,i was then continually thinking1 and had written the first few lines of the above1 when the bells of ,notre ,dame in ,montreal began to ring1 and their sound was carried to and fro in a remarkably beautiful manner4 ,i took advantage of the incident to insert then and there the last lines of the piece just quoted4 ,i kept the whole passage with hardly any alteration1 and am thus able to date it accurately4 ,though so occupied in ,canada that writing a book was impossible1 ,i nevertheless got many notes together for future use4 ,i left ,canada at the end of #ahge1 and early in #ahgf began putting these notes into more coherent form4 ,i did this in thirty pages of closely written matter1 of which a pressed copy remains in my commonplace-book4 ,i find two dates among them--the first1 8,sunday1 ,feb4 #f1 #ahgf02 and the second1 at the end of the notes1 8,feb4 #ab1 #ahgf40 ,from these notes ,i find that by this time ,i had the theory contained in 8,life and ,habit0 completely before me1 with the four main principles which it involves1 namely1 the oneness of personality between parents and offspring2 memory on the part of offspring of certain actions which it did when in the persons of its forefathers2 the latency of that memory until it is rekindled by a recurrence of the associated ideas2 and the unconsciousness with which habitual actions come to be performed4 ,the first half-page of these notes may serve as a sample1 and runs thus3-- 8,those habits and functions which we have in common with the lower animals come mainly within the womb1 or are done involuntarily1 as our growth of limbs1 eyes1 c41 and our power of digesting food1 c4 4 4 4 8,we say of the chicken that it knows how to run about as soon as it is hatched1 4 4 4 but had it no knowledge before it was hatched8 8,it knew how to make a great many things before it was hatched4 8,it grew eyes and feathers and bones4 8,yet we say it knew nothing about all this4 8,after it is born it grows more feathers1 and makes its bones larger1 and develops a reproductive system4 8,again we say it knows nothing about all this4 8,what then does it know8 8,whatever it does not know so well as to be unconscious of knowing it4 8,knowledge dwells upon the confines of uncertainty4 8,when we are very certain1 we do not know that we know4 ,when we will very strongly1 we do not know that we will40 ,i then began my book1 but considering myself still a painter by profession1 ,i gave comparatively little time to writing1 and got on but slowly4 ,i left ,england for ,north ,italy in the middle of ,may #ahgf and returned early in ,august4 ,it was perhaps thus that ,i failed to hear of the account of ,professor ,hering's lecture given by ,professor ,ray ,lankester in ,nature1 ,july #ac #ahgf2 though1 never at that time seeing ,nature1 ,i should probably have missed it under any circumstances4 ,on my return ,i continued slowly writing4 ,by ,august #ahgg ,i considered that ,i had to all intents and purposes completed my book4 ,my first proof bears date ,october #ac1 #ahgg4 ,at this time ,i had not been able to find that anything like what ,i was advancing had been said already4 ,i asked many friends1 but not one of them knew of anything more than ,i did2 to them1 as to me1 it seemed an idea so new as to be almost preposterous2 but knowing how things turn up after one has written1 of the existence of which one had not known before1 ,i was particularly careful to guard against being supposed to claim originality4 ,i neither claimed it nor wished for it2 for if a theory has any truth in it1 it is almost sure to occur to several people much about the same time1 and a reasonable person will look upon his work with great suspicion unless he can confirm it with the support of others who have gone before him4 ,still ,i knew of nothing in the least resembling it1 and was so afraid of what ,i was doing1 that though ,i could see no flaw in the argument1 nor any loophole for escape from the conclusion it led to1 yet ,i did not dare to put it forward with the seriousness and sobriety with which ,i should have treated the subject if ,i had not been in continual fear of a mine being sprung upon me from some unexpected quarter4 ,i am exceedingly glad now that ,i knew nothing of ,professor ,hering's lecture1 for it is much better that two people should think a thing out as far as they can independently before they become aware of each other's works but if ,i had seen it1 ,i should either1 as is most likely1 not have written at all1 or ,i should have pitched my book in another key4 ,among the additions ,i intended making while the book was in the press1 was a chapter on ,mr4 ,darwin's provisional theory of ,pangenesis1 which ,i felt convinced must be right if it was ,mr4 ,darwin's1 and which ,i was sure1 if ,i could once understand it1 must have an important bearing on 8,life and ,habit40 ,i had not as yet seen that the principle ,i was contending for was ,darwinian1 not ,neo-,darwinian4 ,my pages still teemed with allusions to 8natural selection10 and ,i sometimes allowed myself to hope that 8,life and ,habit0 was going to be an adjunct to ,darwinism which no one would welcome more gladly than ,mr4 ,darwin himself4 ,at this time ,i had a visit from a friend1 who kindly called to answer a question of mine1 relative1 if ,i remember rightly1 to 8,pangenesis40 ,he came1 ,september #bf1 #ahgg4 ,one of the first things he said was1 that the theory which had pleased him more than anything he had heard of for some time was one referring all life to memory4 ,i said that was exactly what ,i was doing myself1 and inquired where he had met with his theory4 ,he replied that ,professor ,ray ,lankester had written a letter about it in ,nature some time ago1 but he could not remember exactly when1 and had given extracts from a lecture by ,professor ,ewald ,hering1 who had originated the theory4 ,i said ,i should not look at it1 as ,i had completed that part of my work1 and was on the point of going to press4 ,i could not recast my work if1 as was most likely1 ,i should find something1 when ,i saw what ,professor ,hering had said1 which would make me wish to rewrite my own book2 it was too late in the day and ,i did not feel equal to making any radical alteration2 and so the matter ended with very little said upon either side4 ,i wrote1 however1 afterwards to my friend asking him to tell me the number of ,nature which contained the lecture if he could find it1 but he was unable to do so1 and ,i was well enough content4 ,a few days before this ,i had met another friend1 and had explained to him what ,i was doing4 ,he told me ,i ought to read ,professor ,mivart's 8,genesis of ,species10 and that if ,i did so ,i should find there were two sides to 8natural selection40 ,thinking1 as so many people do--and no wonder--that 8natural selection0 and evolution were much the same thing1 and having found so many attacks upon evolution produce no effect upon me1 ,i declined to read it4 ,i had as yet no idea that a writer could attack ,neo-,darwinism without attacking evolution4 ,but my friend kindly sent me a copy2 and when ,i read it1 ,i found myself in the presence of arguments different from those ,i had met with hitherto1 and did not see my way to answering them4 ,i had1 however1 read only a small part of ,professor ,mivart's work1 and was not fully awake to the position1 when the friend referred to in the preceding paragraph called on me4 ,when ,i had finished the 8,genesis of ,species10 ,i felt that something was certainly wanted which should give a definite aim to the variations whose accumulation was to amount ultimately to specific and generic differences1 and that without this there could have been no progress in organic development4 ,i got the latest edition of the 8,origin of ,species0 in order to see how ,mr4 ,darwin met ,professor ,mivart1 and found his answers in many respects unsatisfactory4 ,i had lost my original copy of the 8,origin of ,species10 and had not read the book for some years4 ,i now set about reading it again1 and came to the chapter on instinct1 where ,i was horrified to find the following passage3-- 8,but it would be a serious error to suppose that the greater number of instincts have been acquired by habit in one generation and then transmitted by inheritance to the succeeding generations4 ,it can be clearly shown that the most wonderful instincts with which we are acquainted1 namely1 those of the hive-bee and of many ants1 could not possibly have been acquired by habit40 #bc;a ,this showed that1 according to ,mr4 ,darwin1 ,i had fallen into serious error1 and my faith in him1 though somewhat shaken1 was far too great to be destroyed by a few days' course of ,professor ,mivart1 the full importance of whose work ,i had not yet apprehended4 ,i continued to read1 and when ,i had finished the chapter felt sure that ,i must indeed have been blundering4 ,the concluding words1 8,i am surprised that no one has hitherto advanced this demonstrative case of neuter insects against the well-known doctrine of inherited habit as advanced by ,lamarck10 #bc;b were positively awful4 ,there was a quiet consciousness of strength about them which was more convincing than any amount of more detailed explanation4 ,this was the first ,i had heard of any doctrine of inherited habit as having been propounded by ,lamarck 7the passage stands in the first edition1 8the well-known doctrine of ,lamarck10 p4 #bdb72 and now to find that ,i had been only busying myself with a stale theory of this long-since exploded charlatan--with my book three parts written and already in the press--it was a serious scare4 ,on reflection1 however1 ,i was again met with the overwhelming weight of the evidence in favour of structure and habit being mainly due to memory4 ,i accordingly gathered as much as ,i could second-hand of what ,lamarck had said1 reserving a study of his 8,philosophie ,zoologique0 for another occasion1 and read as much about ants and bees as ,i could find in readily accessible works4 ,in a few days ,i saw my way again2 and now1 reading the 8,origin of ,species0 more closely1 and ,i may say more sceptically1 the antagonism between ,mr4 ,darwin and ,lamarck became fully apparent to me1 and ,i saw how incoherent and unworkable in practice the later view was in comparison with the earlier4 ,then ,i read ,mr4 ,darwin's answers to miscellaneous objections1 and was met1 and this time brought up1 by the passage beginning 8,in the earlier editions of this work10 #bd;a c41 on which ,i wrote very severely in 8,life and ,habit02 #bd;b for ,i felt by this time that the difference of opinion between us was radical1 and that the matter must be fought out according to the rules of the game4 ,after this ,i went through the earlier part of my book1 and cut out the expressions which ,i had used inadvertently1 and which were inconsistent with a teleological view4 ,this necessitated only verbal alterations2 for1 though ,i had not known it1 the spirit of the book was throughout teleological4 ,i now saw that ,i had got my hands full1 and abandoned my intention of touching upon 8,pangenesis40 ,i took up the words of ,mr4 ,darwin quoted above1 to the effect that it would be a serious error to ascribe the greater number of instincts to transmitted habit4 ,i wrote chapter xi4 of 8,life and ,habit10 which is headed 8,instincts as ,inherited ,memory02 ,i also wrote the four subsequent chapters1 8,instincts of ,neuter ,insects10 8,lamarck and ,mr4 ,darwin10 8,mr4 ,mivart and ,mr4 ,darwin10 and the concluding chapter1 all of them in the month of ,october and the early part of ,november #ahgg1 the complete book leaving the binder's hands ,december #d1 #ahgg1 but1 according to trade custom1 being dated #ahgh4 ,it will be seen that these five concluding chapters were rapidly written1 and this may account in part for the directness with which ,i said anything ,i had to say about ,mr4 ,darwin2 partly this1 and partly ,i felt ,i was in for a penny and might as well be in for a pound4 ,i therefore wrote about ,mr4 ,darwin's work exactly as ,i should about any one else's1 bearing in mind the inestimable services he had undoubtedly--and must always be counted to have--rendered to evolution4 ,chapter ,,iii ,how ,i came to write 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new0--,mr ,darwin's 8brief but imperfect0 sketch of the opinions of the writers on evolution who had preceded him--,the reception which 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 met with4 ,,though my book was out in #ahgg1 it was not till ,january #ahgh that ,i took an opportunity of looking up ,professor ,ray ,lankester's account of ,professor ,hering's lecture4 ,i can hardly say how relieved ,i was to find that it sprung no mine upon me1 but that1 so far as ,i could gather1 ,professor ,hering and ,i had come to pretty much the same conclusion4 ,i had already found the passage in ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin which ,i quoted in 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 but may perhaps as well repeat it here4 ,it runs-- 8,owing to the imperfection of language1 the offspring is termed a new animal2 but is1 in truth1 a branch or elongation of the parent1 since a part of the embryon animal is or was a part of the parent1 and1 therefore1 in strict language1 cannot be said to be entirely new at the time of its production1 and1 therefore1 it may retain some of the habits of the parent system40 #bf ,when1 then1 the ,athenum reviewed 8,life and ,habit0 7,january #bf1 #ahgh71 ,i took the opportunity to write to that paper1 calling attention to ,professor ,hering's lecture1 and also to the passage just quoted from ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin4 ,the editor kindly inserted my letter in his issue of ,february #i1 #ahgh4 ,i felt that ,i had now done all in the way of acknowledgment to ,professor ,hering which it was1 for the time1 in my power to do4 ,i again took up ,mr4 ,darwin's 8,origin of ,species10 this time1 ,i admit1 in a spirit of scepticism4 ,i read his 8brief but imperfect0 sketch of the progress of opinion on the origin of species1 and turned to each one of the writers he had mentioned4 ,first1 ,i read all the parts of the 8,zoonomia0 that were not purely medical1 and was astonished to find that1 as ,dr4 ,krause has since said in his essay on ,erasmus ,darwin1 8he was the first who proposed and persistently carried out a well-rounded theory with regard to the development of the living world0 #bg 7italics in original74 ,this is undoubtedly the case1 and ,i was surprised at finding ,professor ,huxley say concerning this very eminent man that he could 8hardly be said to have made any real advance upon his predecessors40 ,still more was ,i surprised at remembering that1 in the first edition of the 8,origin of ,species10 ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin had never been so much as named2 while in the 8brief but imperfect0 sketch he was dismissed with a line of half-contemptuous patronage1 as though the mingled tribute of admiration and curiosity which attaches to scientific prophecies1 as distinguished from discoveries1 was the utmost he was entitled to4 8,it is curious10 says ,mr4 ,darwin innocently1 in the middle of a note in the smallest possible type1 8how largely my grandfather1 ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin1 anticipated the views and erroneous grounds of opinion of ,lamarck in his #8,zoonomia' 7vol4 i4 pp4 #ejj-eaj71 published in #agid02 this was all he had to say about the founder of 8,darwinism10 until ,i myself unearthed ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin1 and put his work fairly before the present generation in 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new40 ,six months after ,i had done this1 ,i had the satisfaction of seeing that ,mr4 ,darwin had woke up to the propriety of doing much the same thing1 and that he had published an interesting and charmingly written memoir of his grandfather1 of which more anon4 ,not that ,dr4 ,darwin was the first to catch sight of a complete theory of evolution4 ,buffon was the first to point out that1 in view of the known modifications which had been effected among our domesticated animals and cultivated plants1 the ass and the horse should be considered as1 in all probability1 descended from a common ancestor2 yet1 if this is so1 he writes--if the point 8were once gained that among animals and vegetables there had been1 ,i do not say several species1 but even a single one1 which had been produced in the course of direct descent from another species2 if1 for example1 it could be once shown that the ass was but a degeneration from the horse1 then there is no further limit to be set to the power of ,nature1 and we should not be wrong in supposing that1 with sufficient time1 she has evolved all other organised forms from one primordial type0 #bh;a 7et l'on n'auroit pas tort de supposer1 que d'un seul tre elle a su tirer avec le temps tous les autres tres organiss74 ,this1 ,i imagine1 in spite of ,professor ,huxley's dictum1 is contributing a good deal to the general doctrine of evolution2 for though ,descartes and ,leibnitz may have thrown out hints pointing more or less broadly in the direction of evolution1 some of which ,professor ,huxley has quoted1 he has adduced nothing approaching to the passage from ,buffon given above1 either in respect of the clearness with which the conclusion intended to be arrived at is pointed out1 or the breadth of view with which the whole ground of animal and vegetable nature is covered4 ,the passage referred to is only one of many to the same effect1 and must be connected with one quoted in 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 #bh;b from p4 #ac of ,buffon's first volume1 which appeared in #agdi1 and than which nothing can well point more plainly in the direction of evolution4 ,it is not easy1 therefore1 to understand why ,professor ,huxley should give #agec-gh as the date of ,buffon's work1 nor yet why he should say that ,buffon was 8at first a partisan of the absolute immutability of species10 #bi;a unless1 indeed1 we suppose he has been content to follow that very unsatisfactory writer1 ,isidore ,geoffroy ,st4 ,hilaire 7who falls into this error1 and says that ,buffon's first volume on animals appeared #agec71 without verifying him1 and without making any reference to him4 ,professor ,huxley quotes a passage from the 8,palingnsie ,philosophique0 of ,bonnet1 of which he says that1 making allowance for his peculiar views on the subject of generation1 they bear no small resemblance to what is understood by 8evolution0 at the present day4 ,the most important parts of the passage quoted are as follows3-- 8,should ,i be going too far if ,i were to conjecture that the plants and animals of the present day have arisen by a sort of natural evolution from the organised beings which peopled the world in its original state as it left the hands of the ,creator8 4 4 4 ,in the outset organised beings were probably very different from what they are now--as different as the original world is from our present one4 ,we have no means of estimating the amount of these differences1 but it is possible that even our ablest naturalist1 if transplanted to the original world1 would entirely fail to recognise our plants and animals therein40 #bi;b ,but this is feeble in comparison with ,buffon1 and did not appear till #agfi1 when ,buffon had been writing on evolution for fully twenty years with the eyes of scientific ,europe upon him4 ,whatever concession to the opinion of ,buffon ,bonnet may have been inclined to make in #agfi1 in #agfd1 when he published his 8,contemplation de la ,nature10 and in #agfb when his 8,considrations sur les ,corps ,organes0 appeared1 he cannot be considered to have been a supporter of evolution4 ,i went through these works in #ahgh when ,i was writing 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 to see whether ,i could claim him as on my side2 but though frequently delighted with his work1 ,i found it impossible to press him into my service4 ,the pre-eminent claim of ,buffon to be considered as the father of the modern doctrine of evolution cannot be reasonably disputed1 though he was doubtless led to his conclusions by the works of ,descartes and ,leibnitz1 of both of whom he was an avowed and very warm admirer4 ,his claim does not rest upon a passage here or there1 but upon the spirit of forty quartos written over a period of about as many years4 ,nevertheless he wrote1 as ,i have shown in 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 of set purpose enigmatically1 whereas there was no beating about the bush with ,dr4 ,darwin4 ,he speaks straight out1 and ,dr4 ,krause is justified in saying of him 8that he was the first who proposed and persistently carried out a well-rounded theory0 of evolution4 ,i now turned to ,lamarck4 ,i read the first volume of the 8,philosophie ,zoologique10 analysed it and translated the most important parts4 ,the second volume was beside my purpose1 dealing as it does rather with the origin of life than of species1 and travelling too fast and too far for me to be able to keep up with him4 ,again ,i was astonished at the little mention ,mr4 ,darwin had made of this illustrious writer1 at the manner in which he had motioned him away1 as it were1 with his hand in the first edition of the 8,origin of ,species10 and at the brevity and imperfection of the remarks made upon him in the subsequent historical sketch4 ,i got ,isidore ,geoffroy's 8,histoire ,naturelle ,gnrale10 which ,mr4 ,darwin commends in the note on the second page of the historical sketch1 as giving 8an excellent history of opinion0 upon the subject of evolution1 and a full account of ,buffon's conclusions upon the same subject4 ,this at least is what ,i supposed ,mr4 ,darwin to mean4 ,what he said was that ,isidore ,geoffroy gives an excellent history of opinion on the subject of the date of the first publication of ,lamarck1 and that in his work there is a full account of ,buffon's fluctuating conclusions upon the same subject4 #ca ,but ,mr4 ,darwin is a more than commonly puzzling writer4 ,i read what ,m4 ,geoffroy had to say upon ,buffon1 and was surprised to find that1 after all1 according to ,m4 ,geoffroy1 ,buffon1 and not ,lamarck1 was the founder of the theory of evolution4 ,his name1 as ,i have already said1 was never mentioned in the first edition of the 8,origin of ,species40 ,m4 ,geoffroy goes into the accusations of having fluctuated in his opinions1 which he tells us have been brought against ,buffon1 and comes to the conclusion that they are unjust1 as any one else will do who turns to ,buffon himself4 ,mr4 ,darwin1 however1 in the 8brief but imperfect sketch10 catches at the accusation1 and repeats it while saying nothing whatever about the defence4 ,the following is still all he says3 8,the first author who in modern times has treated0 evolution 8in a scientific spirit was ,buffon4 ,but as his opinions fluctuated greatly at different periods1 and as he does not enter on the causes or means of the transformation of species1 ,i need not here enter on details40 ,on the next page1 in the note last quoted1 ,mr4 ,darwin originally repeated the accusation of ,buffon's having been fluctuating in his opinions1 and appeared to give it the imprimatur of ,isidore ,geoffroy's approval2 the fact being that ,isidore ,geoffroy only quoted the accusation in order to refute it2 and though1 ,i suppose1 meaning well1 did not make half the case he might have done1 and abounds with misstatements4 ,my readers will find this matter particularly dealt with in 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 ,chapter ,x4 ,i gather that some one must have complained to ,mr4 ,darwin of his saying that ,isidore ,geoffroy gave an account of ,buffon's 8fluctuating conclusions0 concerning evolution1 when he was doing all he knew to maintain that ,buffon's conclusions did not fluctuate2 for ,i see that in the edition of #ahgf the word 8fluctuating0 has dropped out of the note in question1 and we now learn that ,isidore ,geoffroy gives 8a full account of ,buffon's conclusions10 without the 8fluctuating40 ,but ,buffon has not taken much by this1 for his opinions are still left fluctuating greatly at different periods on the preceding page1 and though he still was the first to treat evolution in a scientific spirit1 he still does not enter upon the causes or means of the transformation of species4 ,no one can understand ,mr4 ,darwin who does not collate the different editions of the 8,origin of ,species0 with some attention4 ,when he has done this1 he will know what ,newton meant by saying he felt like a child playing with pebbles upon the seashore4 ,one word more upon this note before ,i leave it4 ,mr4 ,darwin speaks of ,isidore ,geoffroy's history of opinion as 8excellent10 and his account of ,buffon's opinions as 8full40 ,i wonder how well qualified he is to be a judge of these matters8 ,if he knows much about the earlier writers1 he is the more inexcusable for having said so little about them4 ,if little1 what is his opinion worth8 ,to return to the 8brief but imperfect sketch40 ,i do not think ,i can ever again be surprised at anything ,mr4 ,darwin may say or do1 but if ,i could1 ,i should wonder how a writer who did not 8enter upon the causes or means of the transformation of species10 and whose opinions 8fluctuated greatly at different periods10 can be held to have treated evolution 8in a scientific spirit40 ,nevertheless1 when ,i reflect upon the scientific reputation ,mr4 ,darwin has attained1 and the means by which he has won it1 ,i suppose the scientific spirit must be much what he here implies4 ,i see ,mr4 ,darwin says of his own father1 ,dr4 ,robert ,darwin of ,shrewsbury1 that he does not consider him to have had a scientific mind4 ,mr4 ,darwin cannot tell why he does not think his father's mind to have been fitted for advancing science1 8for he was fond of theorising1 and was incomparably the best observer0 ,mr4 ,darwin ever knew4 #cc;a ,from the hint given in the 8brief but imperfect sketch10 ,i fancy ,i can help ,mr4 ,darwin to see why he does not think his father's mind to have been a scientific one4 ,it is possible that ,dr4 ,robert ,darwin's opinions did not fluctuate sufficiently at different periods1 and that ,mr4 ,darwin considered him as having in some way entered upon the causes or means of the transformation of species4 ,certainly those who read ,mr4 ,darwin's own works attentively will find no lack of fluctuation in his case2 and reflection will show them that a theory of evolution which relies mainly on the accumulation of accidental variations comes very close to not entering upon the causes or means of the transformation of species4 #cc;b ,i have shown1 however1 in 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 that the assertion that ,buffon does not enter on the causes or means of the transformation of species is absolutely without foundation1 and that1 on the contrary1 he is continually dealing with this very matter1 and devotes to it one of his longest and most important chapters1 #cc;c but ,i admit that he is less satisfactory on this head than either ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin or ,lamarck4 ,as a matter of fact1 ,buffon is much more of a ,neo-,darwinian than either ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin or ,lamarck1 for with him the variations are sometimes fortuitous4 ,in the case of the dog1 he speaks of them as making their appearance 8by some chance common enough with ,nature10 #cc;d and being perpetuated by man's selection4 ,this is exactly the 8if any slight favourable variation happen to arise0 of ,mr4 ,charles ,darwin4 ,buffon also speaks of the variations among pigeons arising 8par hasard40 ,but these expressions are only ships2 his main cause of variation is the direct action of changed conditions of existence1 while with ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin and ,lamarck the action of the conditions of existence is indirect1 the direct action being that of the animals or plants themselves1 in consequence of changed sense of need under changed conditions4 ,i should say that the sketch so often referred to is at first sight now no longer imperfect in ,mr4 ,darwin's opinion4 ,it was 8brief but imperfect0 in #ahfa and in #ahff1 but in #ahgf ,i see that it is brief only4 ,of course1 discovering that it was no longer imperfect1 ,i expected to find it briefer4 ,what1 then1 was my surprise at finding that it had become rather longer8 ,i have found no perfectly satisfactory explanation of this inconsistency1 but1 on the whole1 incline to think that the 8greatest of living men0 felt himself unequal to prolonging his struggle with the word 8but10 and resolved to lay that conjunction at all hazards1 even though the doing so might cost him the balance of his adjectives2 for ,i think he must know that his sketch is still imperfect4 ,from ,isidore ,geoffroy ,i turned to ,buffon himself1 and had not long to wait before ,i felt that ,i was now brought into communication with the master-mind of all those who have up to the present time busied themselves with evolution4 ,for a brief and imperfect sketch of him1 ,i must refer my readers to 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new40 ,i have no great respect for the author of the 8,vestiges of ,creation10 who behaved hardly better to the writers upon whom his own work was founded than ,mr4 ,darwin himself has done4 ,nevertheless1 ,i could not forget the gravity of the misrepresentation with which he was assailed on page #c of the first edition of the 8,origin of ,species10 nor impugn the justice of his rejoinder in the following year1 #cd when he replied that it was to be regretted ,mr4 ,darwin had read his work 8almost as much amiss as if1 like its declared opponents1 he had an interest in misrepresenting it40 #ce;a ,i could not1 again1 forget that1 though ,mr4 ,darwin did not venture to stand by the passage in question1 it was expunged without a word of apology or explanation of how it was that he had come to write it4 ,a writer with any claim to our consideration will never fall into serious error about another writer without hastening to make a public apology as soon as he becomes aware of what he has done4 ,reflecting upon the substance of what ,i have written in the last few pages1 ,i thought it right that people should have a chance of knowing more about the earlier writers on evolution than they were likely to hear from any of our leading scientists 7no matter how many lectures they may give on the coming of age of the 8,origin of ,species07 except ,professor ,mivart4 ,a book pointing the difference between teleological and non-teleological views of evolution seemed likely to be useful1 and would afford me the opportunity ,i wanted for giving a rsum of the views of each one of the three chief founders of the theory1 and of contrasting them with those of ,mr4 ,charles ,darwin1 as well as for calling attention to ,professor ,hering's lecture4 ,i accordingly wrote 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 which was prominently announced in the leading literary periodicals at the end of ,february1 or on the very first days of ,march #ahgi1 #ce;b as 8a comparison of the theories of ,buffon1 ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin1 and ,lamarck1 with that of ,mr4 ,charles ,darwin1 with copious extracts from the works of the three first-named writers40 ,in this book ,i was hardly able to conceal the fact that1 in spite of the obligations under which we must always remain to ,mr4 ,darwin1 ,i had lost my respect for him and for his work4 ,i should point out that this announcement1 coupled with what ,i had written in 8,life and ,habit10 would enable ,mr4 ,darwin and his friends to form a pretty shrewd guess as to what ,i was likely to say1 and to quote from ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin in my forthcoming book4 ,the announcement1 indeed1 would tell almost as much as the book itself to those who knew the works of ,erasmus ,darwin4 ,as may be supposed1 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 met with a very unfavourable reception at the hands of many of its reviewers4 ,the ,saturday ,review was furious4 8,when a writer10 it exclaimed1 8who has not given as many weeks to the subject as ,mr4 ,darwin has given years1 is not content to air his own crude though clever fallacies1 but assumes to criticise ,mr4 ,darwin with the superciliousness of a young schoolmaster looking over a boy's theme1 it is difficult not to take him more seriously than he deserves or perhaps desires4 ,one would think that ,mr4 ,butler was the travelled and laborious observer of ,nature1 and ,mr4 ,darwin the pert speculator who takes all his facts at secondhand40 #cf ,the lady or gentleman who writes in such a strain as this should not be too hard upon others whom she or he may consider to write like schoolmasters4 ,it is true ,i have travelled--not much1 but still as much as many others1 and have endeavoured to keep my eyes open to the facts before me2 but ,i cannot think that ,i made any reference to my travels in 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new40 ,i did not quite see what that had to do with the matter4 ,a man may get to know a good deal without ever going beyond the four-mile radius from ,charing ,cross4 ,much less did ,i imply that ,mr4 ,darwin was pert3 pert is one of the last words that can be applied to ,mr4 ,darwin4 ,nor1 again1 had ,i blamed him for taking his facts at secondhand2 no one is to be blamed for this1 provided he takes well-established facts and acknowledges his sources4 ,mr4 ,darwin has generally gone to good sources4 ,the ground of complaint against him is that he muddied the water after he had drawn it1 and tacitly claimed to be the rightful owner of the spring1 on the score of the damage he had effected4 ,notwithstanding1 however1 the generally hostile1 or more or less contemptuous1 reception which 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 met with1 there were some reviews--as1 for example1 those in the ,field1 #cg;a the ,daily ,chronicle1 #cg;b the ,athenum1 #cg;c the ,journal of ,science1 #cg;d the ,british ,journal of ,homopathy1 #cg;e the ,daily ,news1 #cg;f the ,popular ,science ,review #cg;g--which were all ,i could expect or wish4 ,chapter ,,iv ,the manner in which ,mr4 ,darwin met 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new40 ,,by far the most important notice of 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 was that taken by ,mr4 ,darwin himself2 for ,i can hardly be mistaken in believing that ,dr4 ,krause's article would have been allowed to repose unaltered in the pages of the well-known ,german scientific journal1 ,kosmos1 unless something had happened to make ,mr4 ,darwin feel that his reticence concerning his grandfather must now be ended4 ,mr4 ,darwin1 indeed1 gives me the impression of wishing me to understand that this is not the case4 ,at the beginning of this year he wrote to me1 in a letter which ,i will presently give in full1 that he had obtained ,dr4 ,krause's consent for a translation1 and had arranged with ,mr4 ,dallas1 before my book was 8announced40 8,i remember this10 he continues1 8because ,mr4 ,dallas wrote to tell me of the advertisement40 ,but ,mr4 ,darwin is not a clear writer1 and it is impossible to say whether he is referring to the announcement of 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new0--in which case he means that the arrangements for the translation of ,dr4 ,krause's article were made before the end of ,february #ahgi1 and before any public intimation could have reached him as to the substance of the book on which ,i was then engaged--or to the advertisements of its being now published1 which appeared at the beginning of ,may2 in which case1 as ,i have said above1 ,mr4 ,darwin and his friends had for some time had full opportunity of knowing what ,i was about4 ,i believe1 however1 ,mr4 ,darwin to intend that he remembered the arrangements having been made before the beginning of ,may--his use of the word 8announced10 instead of 8advertised10 being an accident2 but let this pass4 ,some time after ,mr4 ,darwin's work appeared in ,november #ahgi1 ,i got it1 and looking at the last page of the book1 ,i read as follows3-- 8,they0 7the elder ,darwin and ,lamarck7 8explain the adaptation to purpose of organisms by an obscure impulse or sense of what is purpose-like2 yet even with regard to man we are in the habit of saying1 that one can never know what so-and-so is good for4 ,the purpose-like is that which approves itself1 and not always that which is struggled for by obscure impulses and desires4 ,just in the same way the beautiful is what pleases40 ,i had a sort of feeling as though the writer of the above might have had 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 in his mind1 but went on to the next sentence1 which ran-- 8,erasmus ,darwin's system was in itself a most significant first step in the path of knowledge which his grandson has opened up for us1 but to wish to revive it at the present day1 as has actually been seriously attempted1 shows a weakness of thought and a mental anachronism which no one can envy40 8,that's me10 said ,i to myself promptly4 ,i noticed also the position in which the sentence stood1 which made it both one of the first that would be likely to catch a reader's eye1 and the last he would carry away with him4 ,i therefore expected to find an open reply to some parts of 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 and turned to ,mr4 ,darwin's preface4 ,to my surprise1 ,i there found that what ,i had been reading could not by any possibility refer to me1 for the preface ran as follows3-- 8,in the ,february number of a well-known ,german scientific journal1 ,kosmos1 #ci ,dr4 ,ernest ,krause published a sketch of the #8,life of ,erasmus ,darwin1' the author of the #8,zoonomia1' #8,botanic ,garden1' and other works4 ,this article bears the title of a #8,contribution to the ,history of the ,descent ,theory'2 and ,dr4 ,krause has kindly allowed my brother ,erasmus and myself to have a translation made of it for publication in this country40 ,then came a note as follows3-- 8,mr4 ,dallas has undertaken the translation1 and his scientific reputation1 together with his knowledge of ,german1 is a guarantee for its accuracy40 ,i ought to have suspected inaccuracy where ,i found so much consciousness of accuracy1 but ,i did not4 ,however this may be1 ,mr4 ,darwin pins himself down with every circumstance of preciseness to giving ,dr4 ,krause's article as it appeared in ,kosmos1--the whole article1 and nothing but the article4 ,no one could know this better than ,mr4 ,darwin4 ,on the second page of ,mr4 ,darwin's preface there is a small-type note saying that my work1 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 had appeared since the publication of ,dr4 ,krause's article4 ,mr4 ,darwin thus distinctly precludes his readers from supposing that any passage they might meet with could have been written in reference to1 or by the light of1 my book4 ,if anything appeared condemnatory of that book1 it was an undesigned coincidence1 and would show how little worthy of consideration ,i must be when my opinions were refuted in advance by one who could have no bias in regard to them4 ,knowing that if the article ,i was about to read appeared in ,february1 it must have been published before my book1 which was not out till three months later1 ,i saw nothing in ,mr4 ,darwin's preface to complain of1 and felt that this was only another instance of my absurd vanity having led me to rush to conclusions without sufficient grounds1--as if it was likely1 indeed1 that ,mr4 ,darwin should think what ,i had said of sufficient importance to be affected by it4 ,it was plain that some one besides myself1 of whom ,i as yet knew nothing1 had been writing about the elder ,darwin1 and had taken much the same line concerning him that ,i had done4 ,it was for the benefit of this person1 then1 that ,dr4 ,krause's paragraph was intended4 ,i returned to a becoming sense of my own insignificance1 and began to read what ,i supposed to be an accurate translation of ,dr4 ,krause's article as it originally appeared1 before 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 was published4 ,on pp4 #c and #d of ,dr4 ,krause's part of ,mr4 ,darwin's book 7pp4 #acc and #acd of the book itself71 ,i detected a sub-apologetic tone which a little surprised me1 and a notice of the fact that ,coleridge when writing on ,stillingfleet had used the word 8,darwinising40 ,mr4 ,r4 ,garnett had called my attention to this1 and ,i had mentioned it in 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 but the paragraph only struck me as being a little odd4 ,when ,i got a few pages farther on 7p4 #adg of ,mr4 ,darwin's book71 ,i found a long quotation from ,buffon about rudimentary organs1 which ,i had quoted in 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new40 ,i observed that ,dr4 ,krause used the same edition of ,buffon that ,i did1 and began his quotation two lines from the beginning of ,buffon's paragraph1 exactly as ,i had done2 also that he had taken his nominative from the omitted part of the sentence across a full stop1 as ,i had myself taken it4 ,a little lower ,i found a line of ,buffon's omitted which ,i had given1 but ,i found that at that place ,i had inadvertently left two pair of inverted commas which ought to have come out1 #da having intended to end my quotation1 but changed my mind and continued it without erasing the commas4 ,it seemed to me that these commas had bothered ,dr4 ,krause1 and made him think it safer to leave something out1 for the line he omits is a very good one4 ,i noticed that he translated 8,mais comme nous voulons toujours tout rapporter un certain but10 8,but we1 always wishing to refer10 c41 while ,i had it1 8,but we1 ever on the look-out to refer10 c42 and 8,nous ne faisons pas attention que nous altrons la philosophie10 8,we fail to see that thus we deprive philosophy of her true character10 whereas ,i had 8,we fail to see that we thus rob philosophy of her true character40 ,this last was too much2 and though it might turn out that ,dr4 ,krause had quoted this passage before ,i had done so1 had used the same edition as ,i had1 had begun two lines from the beginning of a paragraph as ,i had done1 and that the later resemblances were merely due to ,mr4 ,dallas having compared ,dr4 ,krause's ,german translation of ,buffon with my ,english1 and very properly made use of it when he thought fit1 it looked prim facie more as though my quotation had been copied in ,english as it stood1 and then altered1 but not quite altered enough4 ,this1 in the face of the preface1 was incredible2 but so many points had such an unpleasant aspect1 that ,i thought it better to send for ,kosmos and see what ,i could make out4 ,at this time ,i knew not one word of ,german4 ,on the same day1 therefore1 that ,i sent for ,kosmos ,i began acquire that language1 and in the fortnight before ,kosmos came had got far enough forward for all practical purposes--that is to say1 with the help of a translation and a dictionary1 ,i could see whether or no a ,german passage was the same as what purported to be its translation4 ,when ,kosmos came ,i turned to the end of the article to see how the sentence about mental anachronism and weakness of thought looked in ,german4 ,i found nothing of the kind1 the original article ended with some innocent rhyming doggerel about somebody going on and exploring something with eagle eye2 but ten lines from the end ,i found a sentence which corresponded with one six pages from the end of the ,english translation4 ,after this there could be little doubt that the whole of these last six ,english pages were spurious matter4 ,what little doubt remained was afterwards removed by my finding that they had no place in any part of the genuine article4 ,i looked for the passage about ,coleridge's using the word 8,darwinising02 it was not to be found in the ,german4 ,i looked for the piece ,i had quoted from ,buffon about rudimentary organs2 but there was nothing of it1 nor indeed any reference to ,buffon4 ,it was plain1 therefore1 that the article which ,mr4 ,darwin had given was not the one he professed to be giving4 ,i read ,mr4 ,darwin's preface over again to see whether he left himself any loophole4 ,there was not a chink or cranny through which escape was possible4 ,the only inference that could be drawn was either that some one had imposed upon ,mr4 ,darwin1 or that ,mr4 ,darwin1 although it was not possible to suppose him ignorant of the interpolations that had been made1 nor of the obvious purpose of the concluding sentence1 had nevertheless palmed off an article which had been added to and made to attack 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 as though it were the original article which appeared before that book was written4 ,i could not and would not believe that ,mr4 ,darwin had condescended to this4 ,nevertheless1 ,i saw it was necessary to sift the whole matter1 and began to compare the ,german and the ,english articles paragraph by paragraph4 ,on the first page ,i found a passage omitted from the ,english1 which with great labour ,i managed to get through1 and can now translate as follows3-- 8,alexander ,von ,humboldt used to take pleasure in recounting how powerfully ,forster's pictures of the ,south ,sea ,islands and ,st4 ,pierre's illustrations of ,nature had provoked his ardour for travel and influenced his career as a scientific investigator4 ,how much more impressively must the works of ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin1 with their reiterated foreshadowing of a more lofty interpretation of ,nature1 have affected his grandson1 who in his youth assuredly approached them with the devotion due to the works of a renowned poet40 #dc ,i then came upon a passage common to both ,german and ,english1 which in its turn was followed in the ,english by the sub-apologetic paragraph which ,i had been struck with on first reading1 and which was not in the ,german1 its place being taken by a much longer passage which had no place in the ,english4 ,a little farther on ,i was amused at coming upon the following1 and at finding it wholly transformed in the supposed accurate translation3-- 8,how must this early and penetrating explanation of rudimentary organs have affected the grandson when he read the poem of his ancestor6 ,but indeed the biological remarks of this accurate observer in regard to certain definite natural objects must have produced a still deeper impression upon him1 pointing1 as they do1 to questions which hay attained so great a prominence at the present day2 such as1 ,why is any creature anywhere such as we actually see it and nothing else8 ,why has such and such a plant poisonous juices8 ,why has such and such another thorns8 ,why have birds and fishes light-coloured breasts and dark backs1 and1 ,why does every creature resemble the one from which it sprung80 #dd;a ,i will not weary the reader with further details as to the omissions from and additions to the ,german text4 ,let it suffice that the so-called translation begins on p4 #aca and ends on p4 #baf of ,mr4 ,darwin's book4 ,there is new matter on each one of the pp4 #acb-aci1 while almost the whole of pp4 #adg-aeb inclusive1 and the whole of pp4 #baa-baf inclusive1 are spurious--that is to say1 not what the purport to be1 not translations from an article that was published in ,february #ahgi1 and before 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 but interpolations not published till six months after that book4 ,bearing in mind the contents of two of the added passages and the tenor of the concluding sentence quoted above1 #dd;b ,i could no longer doubt that the article had been altered by the light of and with a view to 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new40 ,the steps are perfectly clear4 ,first ,dr4 ,krause published his article in ,kosmos and my book was announced 7its purport being thus made obvious71 both in the month of ,february #ahgi4 ,soon afterwards arrangements were made for a translation of ,dr4 ,krause's essay1 and were completed by the end of ,april4 ,then my book came out1 and in some way or other ,dr4 ,krause happened to get hold of it4 ,he helped himself--not to much1 but to enough2 made what other additions to and omissions from his article he thought would best meet 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 and then fell to condemning that book in a finale that was meant to be crushing4 ,nothing was said about the revision which ,dr4 ,krause's work had undergone1 but it was expressly and particularly declared in the preface that the ,english translation was an accurate version of what appeared in the ,february number of ,kosmos1 and no less expressly and particularly stated that my book was published subsequently to this4 ,both these statements are untrue2 they are in ,mr4 ,darwin's favour and prejudicial to myself4 ,all this was done with that well-known 8happy simplicity0 of which the ,pall ,mall ,gazette1 ,december #ab1 #ahgi1 declared that ,mr4 ,darwin was 8a master40 ,the final sentence1 about the 8weakness of thought and mental anachronism which no one can envy10 was especially successful4 ,the reviewer in the ,pall ,mall ,gazette just quoted from gave it in full1 and said that it was thoroughly justified4 ,he then mused forth a general gnome that the 8confidence of writers who deal in semi-scientific paradoxes is commonly in inverse proportion to their grasp of the subject40 ,again my vanity suggested to me that ,i was the person for whose benefit this gnome was intended4 ,my vanity1 indeed1 was well fed by the whole transaction2 for ,i saw that not only did ,mr4 ,darwin1 who should be the best judge1 think my work worth notice1 but that he did not venture to meet it openly4 ,as for ,dr4 ,krause's concluding sentence1 ,i thought that when a sentence had been antedated the less it contained about anachronism the better4 ,only one of the reviews that ,i saw of ,mr4 ,darwin's 8,life of ,erasmus ,darwin0 showed any knowledge of the facts4 ,the ,popular ,science ,review for ,january #ahhj1 in flat contradiction to ,mr4 ,darwin's preface1 said that only part of ,dr4 ,krause's article was being given by ,mr4 ,darwin4 ,this reviewer had plainly seen both ,kosmos and ,mr4 ,darwin's book4 ,in the same number of the ,popular ,science ,review1 and immediately following the review of ,mr4 ,darwin's book1 there is a review of 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new40 ,the writer of this review quotes the passage about mental anachronism as quoted by the reviewer in the ,pall ,mall ,gazette1 and adds immediately3 8,this anachronism has been committed by ,mr4 ,samuel ,butler in a 4 4 4 little volume now before us1 and it is doubtless to this1 which appeared while his own work was in progress italics mine that ,dr4 ,krause alludes in the foregoing passage40 ,considering that the editor of the ,popular ,science ,review and the translator of ,dr4 ,krause's article for ,mr4 ,darwin are one and the same person1 it is likely the ,popular ,science ,review is well informed in saying that my book appeared before ,dr4 ,krause's article had been transformed into its present shape1 and that my book was intended by the passage in question4 ,unable to see any way of escaping from a conclusion which ,i could not willingly adopt1 ,i thought it best to write to ,mr4 ,darwin1 stating the facts as they appeared to myself1 and asking an explanation1 which ,i would have gladly strained a good many points to have accepted4 ,it is better1 perhaps1 that ,i should give my letter and ,darwin's answer in full4 ,my letter ran thus3-- ,january #b1 #ahhj4 ,,charles ,,darwin1 ,,esq41 ,f4,r4,s41 c4 ,,dear ,,sir1--,will you kindly refer me to the edition of ,kosmos which contains the text of ,dr4 ,krause's article on ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin1 as translated by ,mr4 ,w4 ,s4 ,dallas8 ,i have before me the last ,february number of ,kosmos1 which appears by your preface to be the one from which ,mr4 ,dallas has translated1 but his translation contains long and important passages which are not in the ,february number of ,kosmos1 while many passages in the original article are omitted in the translation4 ,among the passages introduced are the last six pages of the ,english article1 which seem to condemn by anticipation the position ,i have taken as regards ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin in my book1 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 and which ,i believe ,i was the first to take4 ,the concluding1 and therefore1 perhaps1 most prominent sentence of the translation you have given to the public stands thus3-- 8,erasmus ,darwin's system was in itself a most significant first step in the path of knowledge which his grandson has opened up for us1 but to wish to revive it at the present day1 as has actually been seriously attempted1 shows a weakness of thought and a mental anachronism which no man can envy40 ,the ,kosmos which has been sent me from ,germany contains no such passage4 ,as you have stated in your preface that my book1 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 appeared subsequently to ,dr4 ,krause's article1 and as no intimation is given that the article has been altered and added to since its original appearance1 while the accuracy of the translation as though from the ,february number of ,kosmos is1 as you expressly say1 guaranteed by ,mr4 ,dallas's 8scientific reputation together with his knowledge of ,german10 your readers will naturally suppose that all they read in the translation appeared in ,february last1 and therefore before 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 was written1 and therefore independently of1 and necessarily without reference to1 that book4 ,i do not doubt that this was actually the case1 but have failed to obtain the edition which contains the passage above referred to1 and several others which appear in the translation4 ,i have a personal interest in this matter1 and venture1 therefore1 to ask for the explanation which ,i do not doubt you will readily give me4--,yours faithfully1 ,s4 ,,butler4 ,the following is ,mr4 ,darwin's answer3-- ,january #c1 #ahhj4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1--,dr4 ,krause1 soon after the appearance of his article in ,kosmos told me that he intended to publish it separately and to alter it considerably1 and the altered ,,ms4 was sent to ,mr4 ,dallas for translation4 ,this is so common a practice that it never occurred to me to state that the article had been modified2 but now ,i much regret that ,i did not do so4 ,the original will soon appear in ,german1 and ,i believe will be a much larger book than the ,english one2 for1 with ,dr4 ,krause's consent1 many long extracts from ,miss ,seward were omitted 7as well as much other matter71 from being in my opinion superfluous for the ,english reader4 ,i believe that the omitted parts will appear as notes in the ,german edition4 ,should there be a reprint of the ,english ,life ,i will state that the original as it appeared in ,kosmos was modified by ,dr4 ,krause before it was translated4 ,i may add that ,i had obtained ,dr4 ,krause's consent for a translation1 and had arranged with ,mr4 ,dallas before your book was announced4 ,i remember this because ,mr4 ,dallas wrote to tell me of the advertisement4--,i remain1 yours faithfully1 ,c4 ,,darwin4 ,this was not a letter ,i could accept4 ,if ,mr4 ,darwin had said that by some inadvertence1 which he was unable to excuse or account for1 a blunder had been made which he would at once correct so far as was in his power by a letter to the ,times or the ,athenum1 and that a notice of the erratum should be printed on a flyleaf and pasted into all unsold copies of the 8,life of ,erasmus ,darwin10 there would have been no more heard about the matter from me2 but when ,mr4 ,darwin maintained that it was a common practice to take advantage of an opportunity of revising a work to interpolate a covert attack upon an opponent1 and at the same time to misdate the interpolated matter by expressly stating that it appeared months sooner than it actually did1 and prior to the work which it attacked2 when he maintained that what was being done was 8so common a practice that it never occurred10 to him--the writer of some twenty volumes--to do what all literary men must know to be inexorably requisite1 ,i thought this was going far beyond what was permissible in honourable warfare1 and that it was time1 in the interests of literary and scientific morality1 even more than in my own1 to appeal to public opinion4 ,i was particularly struck with the use of the words 8it never occurred to me10 and felt how completely of a piece it was with the opening paragraph of the 8,origin of ,species40 ,it was not merely that it did not occur to ,mr4 ,darwin to state that the article had been modified since it was written--this would have been bad enough under the circumstances but that it did occur to him to go out of his way to say what was not true4 ,there was no necessity for him to have said anything about my book4 ,it appeared1 moreover1 inadequate to tell me that if a reprint of the ,english ,life was wanted 7which might or might not be the case1 and if it was not the case1 why1 a shrug of the shoulders1 and ,i must make the best of it71 ,mr4 ,darwin might perhaps silently omit his note about my book1 as he omitted his misrepresentation of the author of the 8,vestiges of ,creation10 and put the words 8revised and corrected by the author0 on his title-page4 ,no matter how high a writer may stand1 nor what services he may have unquestionably rendered1 it cannot be for the general well-being that he should be allowed to set aside the fundamental principles of straightforwardness and fair play4 ,when ,i thought of ,buffon1 of ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin1 of ,lamarck and even of the author of the 8,vestiges of ,creation10 to all of whom ,mr4 ,darwin had dealt the same measure which he was now dealing to myself2 when ,i thought of these great men1 now dumb1 who had borne the burden and heat of the day1 and whose laurels had been filched from them2 of the manner1 too1 in which ,mr4 ,darwin had been abetted by those who should have been the first to detect the fallacy which had misled him2 of the hotbed of intrigue which science has now become2 of the disrepute into which we ,english must fall as a nation if such practices as ,mr4 ,darwin had attempted in this case were to be tolerated2--when ,i thought of all this1 ,i felt that though prayers for the repose of dead men's souls might be unavailing1 yet a defence of their work and memory1 no matter against what odds1 might avail the living1 and resolved that ,i would do my utmost to make my countrymen aware of the spirit now ruling among those whom they delight to honour4 ,at first ,i thought ,i ought to continue the correspondence privately with ,mr4 ,darwin1 and explain to him that his letter was insufficient1 but on reflection ,i felt that little good was likely to come of a second letter1 if what ,i had already written was not enough4 ,i therefore wrote to the ,athenum and gave a condensed account of the facts contained in the last ten or a dozen pages4 ,my letter appeared ,january #ca1 #ahhj4 #ej ,the accusation was a very grave one2 it was made in a very public place4 ,i gave my name2 ,i adduced the strongest prim facie grounds for the acceptance of my statements2 but there was no rejoinder1 and for the best of all reasons--that no rejoinder was possible4 ,besides1 what is the good of having a reputation for candour if one may not stand upon it at a pinch8 ,i never yet knew a person with an especial reputation for candour without finding sooner or later that he had developed it as animals develop their organs1 through 8sense of need40 ,not only did ,mr4 ,darwin remain perfectly quiet1 but all reviewers and littrateurs remained perfectly quiet also4 ,it seemed--though ,i do not for a moment believe that this is so--as if public opinion rather approved of what ,mr4 ,darwin had done1 and of his silence than otherwise4 ,i saw the 8,life of ,erasmus ,darwin0 more frequently and more prominently advertised now than ,i had seen it hitherto--perhaps in the hope of selling off the adulterated copies1 and being able to reprint the work with a corrected title page4 ,presently ,i saw ,professor ,huxley hastening to the rescue with his lecture on the coming of age of the 8,origin of ,species10 and by ,may it was easy for ,professor ,ray ,lankester to imply that ,mr4 ,darwin was the greatest of living men4 ,i have since noticed two or three other controversies raging in the ,athenum and ,times2 in each of these cases ,i saw it assumed that the defeated party1 when proved to have publicly misrepresented his adversary1 should do his best to correct in public the injury which he had publicly inflicted1 but ,i noticed that in none of them had the beaten side any especial reputation for candour4 ,this probably made all the difference4 ,but however this may be1 ,mr4 ,darwin left me in possession of the field1 in the hope1 doubtless1 that the matter would blow over--which it apparently soon did4 ,whether it has done so in reality or no1 is a matter which remains to be seen4 ,my own belief is that people paid no attention to what ,i said1 as believing it simply incredible1 and that when they come to know that it is true1 they will think as ,i do concerning it4 ,from ladies and gentlemen of science ,i admit that ,i have no expectations4 ,there is no conduct so dishonourable that people will not deny it or explain it away1 if it has been committed by one whom they recognise as of their own persuasion4 ,it must be remembered that facts cannot be respected by the scientist in the same way as by other people4 ,it is his business to familiarise himself with facts1 and1 as we all know1 the path from familiarity to contempt is an easy one4 ,here1 then1 ,i take leave of this matter for the present4 ,if it appears that ,i have used language such as is rarely seen in controversy1 let the reader remember that the occasion is1 so far as ,i know1 unparalleled for the cynicism and audacity with which the wrong complained of was committed and persisted in4 ,i trust1 however1 that1 though not indifferent to this1 my indignation has been mainly roused1 as when ,i wrote 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 before ,mr4 ,darwin had given me personal ground of complaint against him1 by the wrongs he has inflicted on dead men1 on whose behalf ,i now fight1 as ,i trust that some one--whom ,i thank by anticipation--may one day fight on mine4 ,chapter ,v ,introduction to ,professor ,hering's lecture4 ,,after ,i had finished 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 ,i wrote some articles for the ,examiner1 #eb in which ,i carried out the idea put forward in 8,life and ,habit10 that we are one person with our ancestors4 ,it follows from this1 that all living animals and vegetables1 being--as appears likely if the theory of evolution is accepted--descended from a common ancestor1 are in reality one person1 and unite to form a body corporate1 of whose existence1 however1 they are unconscious4 ,there is an obvious analogy between this and the manner in which the component cells of our bodies unite to form our single individuality1 of which it is not likely they have a conception1 and with which they have probably only the same partial and imperfect sympathy as we1 the body corporate1 have with them4 ,in the articles above alluded to ,i separated the organic from the inorganic1 and when ,i came to rewrite them1 ,i found that this could not be done1 and that ,i must reconstruct what ,i had written4 ,i was at work on this--to which ,i hope to return shortly--when ,dr4 ,krause's' 8,erasmus ,darwin10 with its preliminary notice by ,mr4 ,charles ,darwin1 came out1 and having been compelled1 as ,i have shown above1 by ,dr4 ,krause's work to look a little into the ,german language1 the opportunity seemed favourable for going on with it and becoming acquainted with ,professor ,hering's lecture4 ,i therefore began to translate his lecture at once1 with the kind assistance of friends whose patience seemed inexhaustible1 and found myself well rewarded for my trouble4 ,professor ,hering and ,i1 to use a metaphor of his own1 are as men who have observed the action of living beings upon the stage of the world1 he from the point of view at once of a spectator and of one who has free access to much of what goes on behind the scenes1 ,i from that of a spectator only1 with none but the vaguest notion of the actual manner in which the stage machinery is worked4 ,if two men so placed1 after years of reflection1 arrive independently of one another at an identical conclusion as regards the manner in which this machinery must have been invented and perfected1 it is natural that each should take a deep interest in the arguments of the other1 and be anxious to put them forward with the utmost possible prominence4 ,it seems to me that the theory which ,professor ,hering and ,i are supporting in common1 is one the importance of which is hardly inferior to that of the theory of evolution itself--for it puts the backbone1 as it were1 into the theory of evolution4 ,i shall therefore make no apology for laying my translation of ,professor ,hering's work before my reader4 ,concerning the identity of the main idea put forward in 8,life and ,habit0 with that of ,professor ,hering's lecture1 there can hardly1 ,i think1 be two opinions4 ,we both of us maintain that we grow our limbs as we do1 and possess the instincts we possess1 because we remember having grown our limbs in this way1 and having had these instincts in past generations when we were in the persons of our forefathers--each individual life adding a small 7but so small1 in any one lifetime1 as to be hardly appreciable7 amount of new experience to the general store of memory2 that we have thus got into certain habits which we can now rarely break2 and that we do much of what we do unconsciously on the same principle as that 7whatever it is7 on which we do all other habitual actions1 with the greater ease and unconsciousness the more often we repeat them4 ,not only is the main idea the same1 but ,i was surprised to find how often ,professor ,hering and ,i had taken the same illustrations with which to point our meaning4 ,nevertheless1 we have each of us left undealt with some points which the other has treated of4 ,professor ,hering1 for example1 goes into the question of what memory is1 and this ,i did not venture to do4 ,i confined myself to saying that whatever memory was1 heredity was also4 ,professor ,hering adds that memory is due to vibrations of the molecules of the nerve fibres1 which under certain circumstances recur1 and bring about a corresponding recurrence of visible action4 ,this approaches closely to the theory concerning the physics of memory which has been most generally adopted since the time of ,bonnet1 who wrote as follows3-- 8,the soul never has a new sensation but by the inter position of the senses4 ,this sensation has been originally attached to the motion of certain fibres4 ,its reproduction or recollection by the senses will then be likewise connected with these same fibres40 4 4 4 #ed;a ,and again3-- 8,it appeared to me that since this memory is connected with the body1 it must depend upon some change which must happen to the primitive state of the sensible fibres by the action of objects4 ,i have1 therefore1 admitted as probable that the state of the fibres on which an object has acted is not precisely the same after this action as it was before ,i have conjectured that the sensible fibres experience more or less durable modifications1 which constitute the physics of memory and recollection40 #ed;b ,professor ,hering comes near to endorsing this view1 and uses it for the purpose of explaining personal identity4 ,this1 at least1 is what he does in fact1 though perhaps hardly in words4 ,i did not say more upon the essence of personality than that it was inseparable from the idea that the various phases of our existence should have flowed one out of the other1 8in what we see as a continuous1 though it may be at times a very troubled1 stream0 #ee but ,i maintained that the identity between two successive generations was of essentially the same kind as that existing between an infant and an octogenarian4 ,i thus left personal identity unexplained1 though insisting that it was the key to two apparently distinct sets of phenomena1 the one of which had been hitherto considered incompatible with our ideas concerning it4 ,professor ,hering insists on this too1 but he gives us farther insight into what personal identity is1 and explains how it is that the phenomena of heredity are phenomena also of personal identity4 ,he implies1 though in the short space at his command he has hardly said so in express terms1 that personal identity as we commonly think of it--that is to say1 as confined to the single life of the individual--consists in the uninterruptedness of a sufficient number of vibrations1 which have been communicated from molecule to molecule of the nerve fibres1 and which go on communicating each one of them its own peculiar characteristic elements to the new matter which we introduce into the body by way of nutrition4 ,these vibrations may be so gentle as to be imperceptible for years together2 but they are there1 and may become perceived if they receive accession through the running into them of a wave going the same way as themselves1 which wave has been set up in the ether by exterior objects and has been communicated to the organs of sense4 ,as these pages are on the point of leaving my hands1 ,i see the following remarkable passage in ,mind for the current month1 and introduce it parenthetically here3-- 8,i followed the sluggish current of hyaline material issuing from globules of most primitive living substance4 ,persistently it followed its way into space1 conquering1 at first1 the manifold resistances opposed to it by its watery medium4 ,gradually1 however1 its energies became exhausted1 till at last1 completely overwhelmed1 it stopped1 an immovable projection stagnated to death-like rigidity4 ,thus for hours1 perhaps1 it remained stationary1 one of many such rays of some of the many kinds of protoplasmic stars4 ,by degrees1 then1 or perhaps quite suddenly1 help would come to it from foreign but congruous sources4 ,it would seem to combine with outside complemental matter drifted to it at random4 ,slowly it would regain thereby its vital mobility4 ,shrinking at first1 but gradually completely restored and reincorporated into the onward tide of life1 it was ready to take part again in the progressive flow of a new ray40 #ef ,to return to the end of the last paragraph but one4 ,if this is so--but ,i should warn the reader that ,professor ,hering is not responsible for this suggestion1 though it seems to follow so naturally from what he has said that ,i imagine he intended the inference to be drawn1--if this is so1 assimilation is nothing else than the communication of its own rhythms from the assimilating to the assimilated substance1 to the effacement of the vibrations or rhythms heretofore existing in this last2 and suitability for food will depend upon whether the rhythms of the substance eaten are such as to flow harmoniously into and chime in with those of the body which has eaten it1 or whether they will refuse to act in concert with the new rhythms with which they have become associated1 and will persist obstinately in pursuing their own course4 ,in this case they will either be turned out of the body at once1 or will disconcert its arrangements1 with perhaps fatal consequences4 ,this comes round to the conclusion ,i arrived at in 8,life and ,habit10 that assimilation was nothing but the imbuing of one thing with the memories of another4 7,see 8,life and ,habit10 pp4 #acf1 #acg1 #adj1 c47 ,it will be noted that1 as ,i resolved the phenomena of heredity into phenomena of personal identity1 and left the matter there1 so ,professor ,hering resolves the phenomena of personal identity into the phenomena of a living mechanism whose equilibrium is disturbed by vibrations of a certain character--and leaves it there4 ,we now want to understand more about the vibrations4 ,but if1 according to ,professor ,hering1 the personal identity of the single life consists in the uninterruptedness of vibrations1 so also do the phenomena of heredity4 ,for not only may vibrations of a certain violence or character be persistent unperceived for many years in a living body1 and communicate themselves to the matter it has assimilated1 but they may1 and will1 under certain circumstances1 extend to the particle which is about to leave the parent body as the germ of its future offspring4 ,in this minute piece of matter there must1 if ,professor ,hering is right1 be an infinity of rhythmic undulations incessantly vibrating with more or less activity1 and ready to be set in more active agitation at a moment's warning1 under due accession of vibration from exterior objects4 ,on the occurrence of such stimulus1 that is to say1 when a vibration of a suitable rhythm from without concurs with one within the body so as to augment it1 the agitation may gather such strength that the touch1 as it were1 is given to a house of cards1 and the whole comes toppling over4 ,this toppling over is what we call action2 and when it is the result of the disturbance of certain usual arrangements in certain usual ways1 we call it the habitual development and instinctive characteristics of the race4 ,in either case1 then1 whether we consider the continued identity of the individual in what we call his single life1 or those features in his offspring which we refer to heredity1 the same explanation of the phenomena is applicable4 ,it follows from this as a matter of course1 that the continuation of life or personal identity in the individual and the race are fundamentally of the same kind1 or1 in other words1 that there is a veritable prolongation of identity or oneness of personality between parents and offspring4 ,professor ,hering reaches his conclusion by physical methods1 while ,i reached mine1 as ,i am told1 by metaphysical4 ,i never yet could understand what 8metaphysics0 and 8metaphysical0 mean2 but ,i should have said ,i reached it by the exercise of a little common sense while regarding certain facts which are open to every one4 ,there is1 however1 so far as ,i can see1 no difference in the conclusion come to4 ,the view which connects memory with vibrations may tend to throw light upon that difficult question1 the manner in which neuter bees acquire structures and instincts1 not one of which was possessed by any of their direct ancestors4 ,those who have read 8,life and ,habit0 may remember1 ,i suggested that the food prepared in the stomachs of the nurse-bees1 with which the neuter working bees are fed1 might thus acquire a quasi-seminal character1 and be made a means of communicating the instincts and structures in question4 #eh ,if assimilation be regarded as the receiving by one substance of the rhythms or undulations from another1 the explanation just referred to receives an accession of probability4 ,if it is objected that ,professor ,hering's theory as to continuity of vibrations being the key to memory and heredity involves the action of more wheels within wheels than our imagination can come near to comprehending1 and also that it supposes this complexity of action as going on within a compass which no unaided eye can detect by reason of its littleness1 so that we are carried into a fairy land with which sober people should have nothing to do1 it may be answered that the case of light affords us an example of our being truly aware of a multitude of minute actions1 the hundred million millionth part of which we should have declared to be beyond our ken1 could we not incontestably prove that we notice and count them all with a very sufficient and creditable accuracy4 8,who would not10 #ei;a says ,sir ,john ,herschel1 8ask for demonstration when told that a gnat's wing1 in its ordinary flight1 beats many hundred times in a second8 or that there exist animated and regularly organised beings many thousands of whose bodies laid close together would not extend to an inch8 ,but what are these to the astonishing truths which modern optical inquiries have disclosed1 which teach us that every point of a medium through which a ray of light passes is affected with a succession of periodical movements1 recurring regularly at equal intervals1 no less than five hundred millions of millions of times in a second2 that it is by such movements communicated to the nerves of our eyes that we see2 nay1 more1 that it is the difference in the frequency of their recurrence which affects us with the sense of the diversity of colour2 that1 for instance1 in acquiring the sensation of redness1 our eyes are affected four hundred and eighty-two millions of millions of times2 of yellowness1 five hundred and forty-two millions of millions of times2 and of violet1 seven hundred and seven millions of millions of times per second8 #ei;b ,do not such things sound more like the ravings of madmen than the sober conclusions of people in their waking senses8 ,they are1 nevertheless1 conclusions to which any one may most certainly arrive who will only be at the pains of examining the chain of reasoning by which they have been obtained40 ,a man counting as hard as he can repeat numbers one after another1 and never counting more than a hundred1 so that he shall have no long words to repeat1 may perhaps count ten thousand1 or a hundred a hundred times over1 in an hour4 ,at this rate1 counting night and day1 and allowing no time for rest or refreshment1 he would count one million in four days and four hours1 or say four days only4 ,to count a million a million times over1 he would require four million days1 or roughly ten thousand years2 for five hundred millions of millions1 he must have the utterly unrealisable period of five million years4 ,yet he actually goes through this stupendous piece of reckoning unconsciously hour after hour1 day after day1 it may be for eighty years1 often in each second of daylight2 and how much more by artificial or subdued light ,i do not know4 ,he knows whether his eye is being struck five hundred millions of millions of times1 or only four hundred and eighty-two millions of millions of times4 ,he thus shows that he estimates or counts each set of vibrations1 and registers them according to his results4 ,if a man writes upon the back of a ,british ,museum blotting-pad of the common nonpareil pattern1 on which there are some thousands of small spaces each differing in colour from that which is immediately next to it1 his eye will1 nevertheless1 without an effort assign its true colour to each one of these spaces4 ,this implies that he is all the time counting and taking tally of the difference in the numbers of the vibrations from each one of the small spaces in question4 ,yet the mind that is capable of such stupendous computations as these so long as it knows nothing about them1 makes no little fuss about the conscious adding together of such almost inconceivably minute numbers as1 we will say1 #bgcjafi and #egijace--or1 if these be considered too large1 as #bg and #ai4 ,let the reader remember that he cannot by any effort bring before his mind the units1 not in ones1 but in millions of millions of the processes which his visual organs are undergoing second after second from dawn till dark1 and then let him demur if he will to the possibility of the existence in a germ1 of currents and undercurrents1 and rhythms and counter rhythms1 also by the million of millions--each one of which1 on being overtaken by the rhythm from without that chimes in with and stimulates it1 may be the beginning of that unsettlement of equilibrium which results in the crash of action1 unless it is timely counteracted4 ,if another objector maintains that the vibrations within the germ as above supposed must be continually crossing and interfering with one another in such a manner as to destroy the continuity of any one series1 it may be replied that the vibrations of the light proceeding from the objects that surround us traverse one another by the millions of millions every second yet in no way interfere with one another4 ,nevertheless1 it must be admitted that the difficulties of the theory towards which ,i suppose ,professor ,hering to incline are like those of all other theories on the same subject--almost inconceivably great4 ,in 8,life and ,habit0 ,i did not touch upon these vibrations1 knowing nothing about them4 ,here1 then1 is one important point of difference1 not between the conclusions arrived at1 but between the aim and scope of the work that ,professor ,hering and ,i severally attempted4 ,another difference consists in the points at which we have left off4 ,professor ,hering1 having established his main thesis1 is content4 ,i1 on the other hand1 went on to maintain that if vigour was due to memory1 want of vigour was due to want of memory4 ,thus ,i was led to connect memory with the phenomena of hybridism and of old age2 to show that the sterility of certain animals under domestication is only a phase of1 and of a piece with1 the very common sterility of hybrids--phenomena which at first sight have no connection either with each other or with memory1 but the connection between which will never be lost sight of by those who have once laid hold of it4 ,i also pointed out how exactly the phenomena of development agreed with those of the abeyance and recurrence of memory1 and the rationale of the fact that puberty in so many animals and plants comes about the end of development4 ,the principle underlying longevity follows as a matter of course4 ,i have no idea how far ,professor ,hering would agree with me in the position ,i have taken in respect of these phenomena1 but there is nothing in the above at variance with his lecture4 ,another matter on which ,professor ,hering has not touched is the bearing of his theory on that view of evolution which is now commonly accepted4 ,it is plain he accepts evolution1 but it does not appear that he sees how fatal his theory is to any view of evolution except a teleological one--the purpose residing within the animal and not without it4 ,there is1 however1 nothing in his lecture to indicate that he does not see this4 ,it should be remembered that the question whether memory is due to the persistence within the body of certain vibrations1 which have been already set up within the bodies of its ancestors1 is true or no1 will not affect the position ,i took up in 8,life and ,habit40 ,in that book ,i have maintained nothing more than that whatever memory is heredity is also4 ,i am not committed to the vibration theory of memory1 though inclined to accept it on a prim facie view4 ,all ,i am committed to is1 that if memory is due to persistence of vibrations1 so is heredity2 and if memory is not so due1 then no more is heredity4 ,finally1 ,i may say that ,professor ,hering's lecture1 the passage quoted from ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin on p4 #bf of this volume1 and a few hints in the extracts from ,mr4 ,patrick ,mathew which ,i have quoted in 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 are all that ,i yet know of in other writers as pointing to the conclusion that the phenomena of heredity are phenomena also of memory4 ,chapter ,,vi ,professor ,ewald ,hering 8,on ,memory40 ,i ,,will now lay before the reader a translation of ,professor ,hering's own words4 ,i have had it carefully revised throughout by a gentleman whose native language is ,german1 but who has resided in ,england for many years past4 ,the original lecture is entitled 8,on ,memory as a ,universal ,function of ,organised ,matter10 and was delivered at the anniversary meeting of the ,imperial ,academy of ,sciences at ,vienna1 ,may #cj1 #ahgj4 #fc ,it is as follows3-- 8,when the student of ,nature quits the narrow workshop of his own particular inquiry1 and sets out upon an excursion into the vast kingdom of philosophical investigation1 he does so1 doubtless1 in the hope of finding the answer to that great riddle1 to the solution of a small part of which he devotes his life4 ,those1 however1 whom he leaves behind him still working at their own special branch of inquiry1 regard his departure with secret misgivings on his behalf1 while the born citizens of the kingdom of speculation among whom he would naturalise himself1 receive him with well-authorised distrust4 ,he is likely1 therefore1 to lose ground with the first1 while not gaining it with the second4 ,the subject to the consideration of which ,i would now solicit your attention does certainly appear likely to lure us on towards the flattering land of speculation1 but bearing in mind what ,i have just said1 ,i will beware of quitting the department of natural science to which ,i have devoted myself hitherto4 ,i shall1 however1 endeavour to attain its highest point1 so as to take a freer view of the surrounding territory4 ,it will soon appear that ,i should fail in this purpose if my remarks were to confine themselves solely to physiology4 ,i hope to show how far psychological investigations also afford not only permissible1 but indispensable1 aid to physiological inquiries4 ,consciousness is an accompaniment of that animal and human organisation and of that material mechanism which it is the province of physiology to explore2 and as long as the atoms of the brain follow their due course according to certain definite laws1 there arises an inner life which springs from sensation and idea1 from feeling and will4 ,we feel this in our own cases2 it strikes us in our converse with other people2 we can see it plainly in the more highly organised animals2 even the lowest forms of life bear traces of it2 and who can draw a line in the kingdom of organic life1 and say that it is here the soul ceases8 ,with what eyes1 then1 is physiology to regard this two-fold life of the organised world8 ,shall she close them entirely to one whole side of it1 that she may fix them more intently on the other8 ,so long as the physiologist is content to be a physicist1 and nothing more--using the word 8physicist0 in its widest signification--his position in regard to the organic world is one of extreme but legitimate one-sidedness4 ,as the crystal to the mineralogist or the vibrating string to the acoustician1 so from this point of view both man and the lower animals are to the physiologist neither more nor less than the matter of which they consist4 ,that animals feel desire and repugnance1 that the material mechanism of the human frame is in chose connection with emotions of pleasure or pain1 and with the active idea-life of consciousness--this cannot1 in the eyes of the physicist1 make the animal or human body into anything more than what it actually is4 ,to him it is a combination of matter1 subjected to the same inflexible laws as stones and plants--a material combination1 the outward and inward movements of which interact as cause and effect1 and are in as close connection with each other and with their surroundings as the working of a machine with the revolutions of the wheels that compose it4 ,neither sensation1 nor idea1 nor yet conscious will1 can form a link in this chain of material occurrences which make up the physical life of an organism4 ,if ,i am asked a question and reply to it1 the material process which the nerve fibre conveys from the organ of hearing to the brain must travel through my brain as an actual and material process before it can reach the nerves which will act upon my organs of speech4 ,it cannot1 on reaching a given place in the brain1 change then and there into an immaterial something1 and turn up again some time afterwards in another part of the brain as a material process4 ,the traveller in the desert might as well hope1 before he again goes forth into the wilderness of reality1 to take rest and refreshment in the oasis with which the ,fata ,morgana illudes him2 or as well might a prisoner hope to escape from his prison through a door reflected in a mirror4 ,so much for the physiologist in his capacity of pure physicist4 ,as long as he remains behind the scenes in painful exploration of the details of the machinery--as long as he only observes the action of the players from behind the stage--so long will he miss the spirit of the performance1 which is1 nevertheless1 caught easily by one who sees it from the front4 ,may he not1 then1 for once in a way1 be allowed to change his standpoint8 ,true1 he came not to see the representation of an imaginary world2 he is in search of the actual2 but surely it must help him to a comprehension of the dramatic apparatus itself1 and of the manner in which it is worked1 if he were to view its action from in front as well as from behind1 or at least allow himself to hear what sober-minded spectators can tell him upon the subject4 ,there can be no question as to the answer2 and hence it comes that psychology is such an indispensable help to physiology1 whose fault it only in small part is that she has hitherto made such little use of this assistance2 for psychology has been late in beginning to till her fertile field with the plough of the inductive method1 and it is only from ground so tilled that fruits can spring which can be of service to physiology4 ,if1 then1 the student of nervous physiology takes his stand between the physicist and the psychologist1 and if the first of these rightly makes the unbroken causative continuity of all material processes an axiom of his system of investigation1 the prudent psychologist1 on the other hand1 will investigate the laws of conscious life according to the inductive method1 and will hence1 as much as the physicist1 make the existence of fixed laws his initial assumption4 ,if1 again1 the most superficial introspection teaches the physiologist that his conscious life is dependent upon the mechanical adjustments of his body1 and that inversely his body is subjected with certain limitations to his will1 then it only remains for him to make one assumption more1 namely1 that this mutual interdependence between the spiritual and the material is itself also dependent on law1 and he has discovered the bond by which the science of matter and the science of consciousness are united into a single whole4 ,thus regarded1 the phenomena of consciousness become functions of the material changes of organised substance1 and inversely--though this is involved in the use of the word 8function0--the material processes of brain substance become functions of the phenomena of consciousness4 ,for when two variables are so dependent upon one another in the changes they undergo in accordance with fixed laws that a change in either involves simultaneous and corresponding change in the other1 the one is called a function of the other4 ,this1 then1 by no means implies that the two variables above-named--matter and consciousness--stand in the relation of cause and effect1 antecedent and consequence1 to one another4 ,for on this subject we know nothing4 ,the materialist regards consciousness as a product or result of matter1 while the idealist holds matter to be a result of consciousness1 and a third maintains that matter and spirit are identical2 with all this the physiologist1 as such1 has nothing whatever to do2 his sole concern is with the fact that matter and consciousness are functions one of the other4 ,by the help of this hypothesis of the functional interdependence of matter and spirit1 modern physiology is enabled to bring the phenomena of consciousness within the domain of her investigations without leaving the terra firma of scientific methods4 ,the physiologist1 as physicist1 can follow the ray of light and the wave of sound or heat till they reach the organ of sense4 ,he can watch them entering upon the ends of the nerves1 and finding their way to the cells of the brain by means of the series of undulations or vibrations which they establish in the nerve filaments4 ,here1 however1 he loses all trace of them4 ,on the other hand1 still looking with the eyes of a pure physicist1 he sees sound waves of speech issue from the mouth of a speaker2 he observes the motion of his own limbs1 and finds how this is conditional upon muscular contractions occasioned by the motor nerves1 and how these nerves are in their turn excited by the cells of the central organ4 ,but here again his knowledge comes to an end4 ,true1 he sees indications of the bridge which is to carry him from excitation of the sensory to that of the motor nerves in the labyrinth of intricately interwoven nerve cells1 but he knows nothing of the inconceivably complex process which is introduced at this stage4 ,here the physiologist will change his standpoint2 what matter will not reveal to his inquiry1 he will find in the mirror1 as it were1 of consciousness2 by way of a reflection1 indeed1 only1 but a reflection1 nevertheless1 which stands in intimate relation to the object of his inquiry4 ,when at this point he observes how one idea gives rise to another1 how closely idea is connected with sensation and sensation with will1 and how thought1 again1 and feeling are inseparable from one another1 he will be compelled to suppose corresponding successions of material processes1 which generate and are closely connected with one another1 and which attend the whole machinery of conscious life1 according to the law of the functional interdependence of matter and consciousness4 99 99 99 99 99 ,after this explanation ,i shall venture to regard under a single aspect a great series of phenomena which apparently have nothing to do with one another1 and which belong partly to the conscious and partly to the unconscious life of organised beings4 ,i shall regard them as the outcome of one and the same primary force of organised matter--namely1 its memory or power of reproduction4 ,the word 8memory0 is often understood as though it meant nothing more than our faculty of intentionally reproducing ideas or series of ideas4 ,but when the figures and events of bygone days rise up again unbidden in our minds1 is not this also an act of recollection or memory8 ,we have a perfect right to extend our conception of memory so as to make it embrace involuntary reproductions1 of sensations1 ideas1 perceptions1 and efforts2 but we find1 on having done so1 that we have so far enlarged her boundaries that she proves to be an ultimate and original power1 the source1 and at the same time the unifying bond1 of our whole conscious life4 ,we know that when an impression1 or a series of impressions1 has been made upon our senses for a long time1 and always in the same way1 it may come to impress itself in such a manner upon the so-called sense-memory that hours afterwards1 and though a hundred other things have occupied our attention meanwhile1 it will yet return suddenly to our consciousness with all the force and freshness of the original sensation4 ,a whole group of sensations is sometimes reproduced in its due sequence as regards time and space1 with so much reality that it illudes us1 as though things were actually present which have long ceased to be so4 ,we have here a striking proof of the fact that after both conscious sensation and perception have been extinguished1 their material vestiges yet remain in our nervous system by way of a change in its molecular or atomic disposition1 #fi that enables the nerve substance to reproduce all the physical processes of the original sensation1 and with these the corresponding psychical processes of sensation and perception4 ,every hour the phenomena of sense-memory are present with each one of us1 but in a less degree than this4 ,we are all at times aware of a host of more or less faded recollections of earlier impressions1 which we either summon intentionally or which come upon us involuntarily4 ,visions of absent people come and go before us as faint and fleeting shadows1 and the notes of long-forgotten melodies float around us1 not actually heard1 but yet perceptible4 ,some things and occurrences1 especially if they have happened to us only once and hurriedly1 will be reproducible by the memory in respect only of a few conspicuous qualities2 in other cases those details alone will recur to us which we have met with elsewhere1 and for the reception of which the brain is1 so to speak1 attuned4 ,these last recollections find themselves in fuller accord with our consciousness1 and enter upon it more easily and energetically2 hence also their aptitude for reproduction is enhanced2 so that what is common to many things1 and is therefore felt and perceived with exceptional frequency1 becomes reproduced so easily that eventually the actual presence of the corresponding external stimuli is no longer necessary1 and it will recur on the vibrations set up by faint stimuli from within4 #gj ,sensations arising in this way from within1 as1 for example1 an idea of whiteness1 are not1 indeed1 perceived with the full freshness of those raised by the actual presence of white light without us1 but they are of the same kind2 they are feeble repetitions of one and the same material brain process--of one and the same conscious sensation4 ,thus the idea of whiteness arises in our mind as a faint1 almost extinct1 sensation4 ,in this way those qualities which are common to many things become separated1 as it were1 in our memory from the objects with which they were originally associated1 and attain an independent existence in our consciousness as ideas and conceptions1 and thus the whole rich superstructure of our ideas and conceptions is built up from materials supplied by memory4 ,on examining more closely1 we see plainly that memory is a faculty not only of our conscious states1 but also1 and much more so1 of our unconscious ones4 ,i was conscious of this or that yesterday1 and am again conscious of it to-day4 ,where has it been meanwhile8 ,it does not remain continuously within my consciousness1 nevertheless it returns after having quitted it4 ,our ideas tread but for a moment upon the stage of consciousness1 and then go back again behind the scenes1 to make way for others in their place4 ,as the player is only a king when he is on the stage1 so they too exist as ideas so long only as they are recognised4 ,how do they live when they are off the stage8 ,for we know that they are living somewhere2 give them their cue and they reappear immediately4 ,they do not exist continuously as ideas2 what is continuous is the special disposition of nerve substance in virtue of which this substance gives out to-day the same sound which it gave yesterday if it is rightly struck4 #ga ,countless reproductions of organic processes of our brain connect themselves orderly together1 so that one acts as a stimulus to the next1 but a phenomenon of consciousness is not necessarily attached to every link in the chain4 ,from this it arises that a series of ideas may appear to disregard the order that would be observed in purely material processes of brain substance unaccompanied by consciousness2 but on the other hand it becomes possible for a long chain of recollections to have its due development without each link in the chain being necessarily perceived by ourselves4 ,one may emerge from the bosom of our unconscious thoughts without fully entering upon the stage of conscious perception2 another dies away in unconsciousness1 leaving no successor to take its place4 ,between the 8me0 of to-day and the 8me0 of yesterday lie night and sleep1 abysses of unconsciousness2 nor is there any bridge but memory with which to span them4 ,who can hope after this to disentangle the infinite intricacy of our inner life8 ,for we can only follow its threads so far as they have strayed over within the bounds of consciousness4 ,we might as well hope to familiarise ourselves with the world of forms that teem within the bosom of the sea by observing the few that now and again come to the surface and soon return into the deep4 ,the bond of union1 therefore1 which connects the individual phenomena of our consciousness lies in our unconscious world2 and as we know nothing of this but what investigation into the laws of matter teach us--as1 in fact1 for purely experimental purposes1 8matter0 and the 8unconscious0 must be one and the same thing--so the physiologist has a full right to denote memory as1 in the wider sense of the word1 a function of brain substance1 whose results1 it is true1 fall1 as regards one part of them1 into the domain of consciousness1 while another and not less essential part escapes unperceived as purely material processes4 ,the perception of a body in space is a very complicated process4 ,i see suddenly before me1 for example1 a white ball4 ,this has the effect of conveying to me more than a mere sensation of whiteness4 ,i deduce the spherical character of the ball from the gradations of light and shade upon its surface4 ,i form a correct appreciation of its distance from my eye1 and hence again ,i deduce an inference as to the size of the ball4 ,what an expenditure of sensations1 ideas1 and inferences is found to be necessary before all this can be brought about2 yet the production of a correct perception of the ball was the work only of a few seconds1 and ,i was unconscious of the individual processes by means of which it was effected1 the result as a whole being alone present in my consciousness4 ,the nerve substance preserves faithfully the memory of habitual actions4 #gb ,perceptions which were once long and difficult1 requiring constant and conscious attention1 come to reproduce themselves in transient and abridged guise1 without such duration and intensity that each link has to pass over the threshold of our consciousness4 ,we have chains of material nerve processes to which eventually a link becomes attached that is attended with conscious perception4 ,this is sufficiently established from the standpoint of the physiologist1 and is also proved by our unconsciousness of many whole series of ideas and of the inferences we draw from them4 ,if the soul is not to ship through the fingers of physiology1 she must hold fast to the considerations suggested by our unconscious states4 ,as far1 however1 as the investigations of the pure physicist are concerned1 the unconscious and matter are one and the same thing1 and the physiology of the unconscious is no 8philosophy of the unconscious40 ,by far the greater number of our movements are the result of long and arduous practice4 ,the harmonious cooperation of the separate muscles1 the finely adjusted measure of participation which each contributes to the working of the whole1 must1 as a rule1 have been laboriously acquired1 in respect of most of the movements that are necessary in order to effect it4 ,how long does it not take each note to find its way from the eyes to the fingers of one who is beginning to learn the pianoforte2 and1 on the other hand1 what an astonishing performance is the playing of the professional pianist4 ,the sight of each note occasions the corresponding movement of the fingers with the speed of thought--a hurried glance at the page of music before him suffices to give rise to a whole series of harmonies2 nay1 when a melody has been long practised1 it can be played even while the player's attention is being given to something of a perfectly different character over and above his music4 ,the will need now no longer wend its way to each individual finger before the desired movements can be extorted from it2 no longer now does a sustained attention keep watch over the movements of each limb2 the will need exercise a supervising control only4 ,at the word of command the muscles become active1 with a due regard to time and proportion1 and go on working1 so long as they are bidden to keep in their accustomed groove1 while a slight hint on the part of the will1 will indicate to them their further journey4 ,how could all this be if every part of the central nerve system1 by means of which movement is effected1 were not able #gd;a to reproduce whole series of vibrations1 which at an earlier date required the constant and continuous participation of consciousness1 but which are now set in motion automatically on a mere touch1 as it were1 from consciousness--if it were not able to reproduce them the more quickly and easily in proportion to the frequency of the repetitions--if1 in fact1 there was no power of recollecting earlier performances8 ,our perceptive faculties must have remained always at their lowest stage if we had been compelled to build up consciously every process from the details of the sensation-causing materials tendered to us by our senses2 nor could our voluntary movements have got beyond the helplessness of the child1 if the necessary impulses could only be imparted to every movement through effort of the will and conscious reproduction of all the corresponding ideas--if1 in a word1 the motor nerve system had not also its memory1 #gd;b though that memory is unperceived by ourselves4 ,the power of this memory is what is called 8the force of habit40 ,it seems1 then1 that we owe to memory almost all that we either have or are2 that our ideas and conceptions are its work1 and that our every perception1 thought1 and movement is derived from this source4 ,memory collects the countless phenomena of our existence into a single whole2 and as our bodies would be scattered into the dust of their component atoms if they were not held together by the attraction of matter1 so our consciousness would be broken up into as many fragments as we had lived seconds but for the binding and unifying force of memory4 ,we have already repeatedly seen that the reproductions of organic processes1 brought about by means of the memory of the nervous system1 enter but partly within the domain of consciousness1 remaining unperceived in other and not less important respects4 ,this is also confirmed by numerous facts in the life of that part of the nervous system which ministers almost exclusively to our unconscious life processes4 ,for the memory of the so-called sympathetic ganglionic system is no less rich than that of the brain and spinal marrow1 and a great part of the medical art consists in making wise use of the assistance thus afforded us4 ,to bring1 however1 this part of my observations to a close1 ,i will take leave of the nervous system1 and glance hurriedly at other phases of organised matter1 where we meet with the same powers of reproduction1 but in simpler guise4 ,daily experience teaches us that a muscle becomes the stronger the more we use it4 ,the muscular fibre1 which in the first instance may have answered but feebly to the stimulus conducted to it by the motor nerve1 does so with the greater energy the more often it is stimulated1 provided1 of course1 that reasonable times are allowed for repose4 ,after each individual action it becomes more capable1 more disposed towards the same kind of work1 and has a greater aptitude for repetition of the same organic processes4 ,it gains also in weight1 for it assimilates more matter than when constantly at rest4 ,we have here1 in its simplest form1 and in a phase which comes home most closely to the comprehension of the physicist1 the same power of reproduction which we encountered when we were dealing with nerve substance1 but under such far more complicated conditions4 ,and what is known thus certainly from muscle substance holds good with greater or less plainness for all our organs4 ,more especially may we note the fact1 that after increased use1 alternated with times of repose1 there accrues to the organ in all animal economy an increased power of execution with an increased power of assimilation and a gain in size4 ,this gain in size consists not only in the enlargement of the individual cells or fibres of which the organ is composed1 but in the multiplication of their number2 for when cells have grown to a certain size they give rise to others1 which inherit more or less completely the qualities of those from which they came1 and therefore appear to be repetitions of the same cell4 ,this growth1 and multiplication of cells is only a special phase of those manifold functions which characterise organised matter1 and which consist not only in what goes on within the cell substance as alterations or undulatory movement of the molecular disposition1 but also in that which becomes visible outside the cells as change of shape1 enlargement1 or subdivision4 ,reproduction of performance1 therefore1 manifests itself to us as reproduction of the cells themselves1 as may be seen most plainly in the case of plants1 whose chief work consists in growth1 whereas with animal organism other faculties greatly preponderate4 ,let us now take a brief survey of a class of facts in the case of which we may most abundantly observe the power of memory in organised matter4 ,we have ample evidence of the fact that characteristics of an organism may descend to offspring which the organism did not inherit1 but which it acquired owing to the special circumstances under which it lived2 and that1 in consequence1 every organism imparts to the germ that issues from it a small heritage of acquisitions which it has added during its own lifetime to the gross inheritance of its race4 ,when we reflect that we are dealing with the heredity of acquired qualities which came to development in the most diverse parts of the parent organism1 it must seem in a high degree mysterious how those parts can have any kind of influence upon a germ which develops itself in an entirely different place4 ,many mystical theories have been propounded for the elucidation of this question1 but the following reflections may serve to bring the cause nearer to the comprehension of the physiologist4 ,the nerve substance1 in spite of its thousandfold subdivision as cells and fibres1 forms1 nevertheless1 a united whole1 which is present directly in all organs--nay1 as more recent histology conjectures1 in each cell of the more important organs--or is at least in ready communication with them by means of the living1 irritable1 and therefore highly conductive substance of other cells4 ,through the connection thus established all organs find themselves in such a condition of more or less mutual interdependence upon one another1 that events which happen to one are repeated in others1 and a notification1 however slight1 of a vibration set up #gg in one quarter is at once conveyed even to the farthest parts of the body4 ,with this easy and rapid intercourse between all parts is associated the more difficult communication that goes on by way of the circulation of sap or blood4 ,we see1 further1 that the process of the development of all germs that are marked out for independent existence causes a powerful reaction1 even from the very beginning of that existence1 on both the conscious and unconscious life of the whole organism4 ,we may see this from the fact that the organ of reproduction stands in closer and more important relation to the remaining parts1 and especially to the nervous system1 than do the other organs2 and1 inversely1 that both the perceived and unperceived events affecting the whole organism find a more marked response in the reproductive system than elsewhere4 ,we can now see with sufficient plainness in what the material connection is established between the acquired peculiarities of an organism1 and the proclivity on the part of the germ in virtue of which it develops the special characteristics of its parent4 ,the microscope teaches us that no difference can be perceived between one germ and another2 it cannot1 however1 be objected on this account that the determining cause of its ulterior development must be something immaterial1 rather than the specific kind of its material constitution4 ,the curves and surfaces which the mathematician conceives1 or finds conceivable1 are more varied and infinite than the forms of animal life4 ,let us suppose an infinitely small segment to be taken from every possible curve2 each one of these will appear as like every other as one germ is to another1 yet the whole of every curve lies dormant1 as it were1 in each of them1 and if the mathematician chooses to develop it1 it will take the path indicated by the elements of each segment4 ,it is an error1 therefore1 to suppose that such fine distinctions as physiology must assume lie beyond the limits of what is conceivable by the human mind4 ,an infinitely small change of position on the part of a point1 or in the relations of the parts of a segment of a curve to one another1 suffices to alter the law of its whole path1 and so in like manner an infinitely small influence exercised by the parent organism on the molecular disposition of the germ #gh may suffice to produce a determining effect upon its whole farther development4 ,what is the descent of special peculiarities but a reproduction on the part of organised matter of processes in which it once took part as a germ in the germ-containing organs of its parent1 and of which it seems still to retain a recollection that reappears when time and the occasion serve1 inasmuch as it responds to the same or like stimuli in a like way to that in which the parent organism responded1 of which it was once part1 and in the events of whose history it was itself also an accomplice8 #gi ,when an action through long habit or continual practice has become so much a second nature to any organisation that its effects will penetrate1 though ever so faintly1 into the germ that lies within it1 and when this last comes to find itself in a new sphere1 to extend itself1 and develop into a new creature--7the individual parts of which are still always the creature itself and flesh of its flesh1 so that what is reproduced is the same being as that in company with which the germ once lived1 and of which it was once actually a part7--all this is as wonderful as when a grey-haired man remembers the events of his own childhood2 but it is not more so4 ,whether we say that the same organised substance is again reproducing its past experience1 or whether we prefer to hold that an offshoot or part of the original substance has waxed and developed itself since separation from the parent stock1 it is plain that this will constitute a difference of degree1 not kind4 ,when we reflect upon the fact that unimportant acquired characteristics can be reproduced in offspring1 we are apt to forget that offspring is only a full-sized reproduction of the parent--a reproduction1 moreover1 that goes as far as possible into detail4 ,we are so accustomed to consider family resemblance a matter of course1 that we are sometimes surprised when a child is in some respect unlike its parent2 surely1 however1 the infinite number of points in respect of which parents and children resemble one another is a more reasonable ground for our surprise4 ,but if the substance of the germ can reproduce characteristics acquired by the parent during its single life1 how much more will it not be able to reproduce those that were congenital to the parent1 and which have happened through countless generations to the organised matter of which the germ of to-day is a fragment8 ,we cannot wonder that action already taken on innumerable past occasions by organised matter is more deeply impressed upon the recollection of the germ to which it gives rise than action taken once only during a single lifetime4 #hj;a ,we must bear in mind that every organised being now in existence represents the last link of an inconceivably long series of organisms1 which come down in a direct line of descent1 and of which each has inherited a part of the acquired characteristics of its predecessor4 ,everything1 furthermore1 points in the direction of our believing that at the beginning of this chain there existed an organism of the very simplest kind1 something1 in fact1 like those which we call organised germs4 ,the chain of living beings thus appears to be the magnificent achievement of the reproductive power of the original organic structure from which they have all descended4 ,as this subdivided itself and transmitted its characteristics #hj;b to its descendants1 these acquired new ones1 and in their turn transmitted them--all new germs transmitting the chief part of what had happened to their predecessors1 while the remaining part lapsed out of their memory1 circumstances not stimulating it to reproduce itself4 ,an organised being1 therefore1 stands before us a product of the unconscious memory of organised matter1 which1 ever increasing and ever dividing itself1 ever assimilating new matter and returning it in changed shape to the inorganic world1 ever receiving some new thing into its memory1 and transmitting its acquisitions by the way of reproduction1 grows continually richer and richer the longer it lives4 ,thus regarded1 the development of one of the more highly organised animals represents a continuous series of organised recollections concerning the past development of the great chain of living forms1 the last link of which stands before us in the particular animal we may be considering4 ,as a complicated perception may arise by means of a rapid and superficial reproduction of long and laboriously practised brain processes1 so a germ in the course of its development hurries through a series of phases1 hinting at them only4 ,often and long foreshadowed in theories of varied characters1 this conception has only now found correct exposition from a naturalist of our own time4 #ha ,for ,truth hides herself under many disguises from those who seek her1 but in the end stands unveiled before the eyes of him whom she has chosen4 ,not only is there a reproduction of form1 outward and inner conformation of body1 organs1 and cells1 but the habitual actions of the parent are also reproduced4 ,the chicken on emerging from the eggshell runs off as its mother ran off before it2 yet what an extraordinary complication of emotions and sensations is necessary in order to preserve equilibrium in running4 ,surely the supposition of an inborn capacity for the reproduction of these intricate actions can alone explain the facts4 ,as habitual practice becomes a second nature to the individual during his single lifetime1 so the often-repeated action of each generation becomes a second nature to the race4 ,the chicken not only displays great dexterity in the performance of movements for the effecting of which it has an innate capacity1 but it exhibits also a tolerably high perceptive power4 ,it immediately picks up any grain that may be thrown to it4 ,yet1 in order to do this1 more is wanted than a mere visual perception of the grains2 there must be an accurate apprehension of the direction and distance of the precise spot in which each grain is lying1 and there must be no less accuracy in the adjustment of the movements of the head and of the whole body4 ,the chicken cannot have gained experience in these respects while it was still in the egg4 ,it gained it rather from the thousands of thousands of beings that have lived before it1 and from which it is directly descended4 ,the memory of organised substance displays itself here in the most surprising fashion4 ,the gentle stimulus of the light proceeding from the grain that affects the retina of the chicken1 #hb gives occasion for the reproduction of a many-linked chain of sensations1 perceptions1 and emotions1 which were never yet brought together in the case of the individual before us4 ,we are accustomed to regard these surprising performances of animals as manifestations of what we call instinct1 and the mysticism of natural philosophy has ever shown a predilection for this theme2 but if we regard instinct as the outcome of the memory or reproductive power of organised substance1 and if we ascribe a memory to the race as we already ascribe it to the individual1 then instinct becomes at once intelligible1 and the physiologist at the same time finds a point of contact which will bring it into connection with the great series of facts indicated above as phenomena of the reproductive faculty4 ,here1 then1 we have a physical explanation which has not1 indeed1 been given yet1 but the time for which appears to be rapidly approaching4 ,when1 in accordance with its instinct1 the caterpillar becomes a chrysalis1 or the bird builds its nest1 or the bee its cell1 these creatures act consciously and not as blind machines4 ,they know how to vary their proceedings within certain limits in conformity with altered circumstances1 and they are thus liable to make mistakes4 ,they feel pleasure when their work advances and pain if it is hindered2 they learn by the experience thus acquired1 and build on a second occasion better than on the first2 but that even in the outset they hit so readily upon the most judicious way of achieving their purpose1 and that their movements adapt themselves so admirably and automatically to the end they have in view--surely this is owing to the inherited acquisitions of the memory of their nerve substance1 which requires but a touch and it will fall at once to the most appropriate kind of activity1 thinking always1 and directly1 of whatever it is that may be wanted4 ,man can readily acquire surprising kinds of dexterity if he confines his attention to their acquisition4 ,specialisation is the mother of proficiency4 ,he who marvels at the skill with which the spider weaves her web should bear in mind that she did not learn her art all on a sudden1 but that innumerable generations of spiders acquired it toilsomely and step by step--this being about all that1 as a general rule1 they did acquire4 ,man took to bows and arrows if his nets failed him--the spider starved4 ,thus we see the body and--what most concerns us--the whole nervous system of the new-born animal constructed beforehand1 and1 as it were1 ready attuned for intercourse with the outside world in which it is about to play its part1 by means of its tendency to respond to external stimuli in the same manner as it has often heretofore responded in the persons of its ancestors4 ,we naturally ask whether the brain and nervous system of the human infant are subjected to the principles we have laid down above8 ,man certainly finds it difficult to acquire arts of which the lower animals are born masters2 but the brain of man at birth is much farther from its highest development than is the brain of an animal4 ,it not only grows for a longer time1 but it becomes stronger than that of other living beings4 ,the brain of man may be said to be exceptionally young at birth4 ,the lower animal is born precocious1 and acts precociously2 it resembles those infant prodigies whose brain1 as it were1 is born old into the world1 but who1 in spite of1 or rather in addition to1 their rich endowment at birth1 in after life develop as much mental power as others who were less splendidly furnished to start with1 but born with greater freshness of youth4 ,man's brain1 and indeed his whole body1 affords greater scope for individuality1 inasmuch as a relatively greater part of it is of post-natal growth4 ,it develops under the influence of impressions made by the environment upon its senses1 and thus makes its acquisitions in a more special and individual manner1 whereas the animal receives them ready made1 and of a more final1 stereotyped character4 ,nevertheless1 it is plain we must ascribe both to the brain and body of the new-born infant a far-reaching power of remembering or reproducing things which have already come to their development thousands of times over in the persons of its ancestors4 ,it is in virtue of this that it acquires proficiency in the actions necessary for its existence--so far as it was not already at birth proficient in them--much more quickly and easily than would be otherwise possible2 but what we call instinct in the case of animals takes in man the looser form of aptitude1 talent1 and genius4 #hd ,granted that certain ideas are not innate1 yet the fact of their taking form so easily and certainly from out of the chaos of his sensations1 is due not to his own labour1 but to that of the brain substance of the thousands of thousands of generations from whom he is descended4 ,theories concerning the development of individual consciousness which deny heredity or the power of transmission1 and insist upon an entirely fresh start for every human soul1 as though the infinite number of generations that have gone before us might as well have never lived for all the effect they have had upon ourselves1--such theories will contradict the facts of our daily experience at every touch and turn4 ,the brain processes and phenomena of consciousness which ennoble man in the eyes of his fellows have had a less ancient history than those connected with his physical needs4 ,hunger and the reproductive instinct affected the oldest and simplest forms of the organic world4 ,it is in respect of these instincts1 therefore1 and of the means to gratify them1 that the memory of organised substance is strongest--the impulses and instincts that arise hence having still paramount power over the minds of men4 ,the spiritual life has been superadded slowly2 its most splendid outcome belongs to the latest epoch in the history of organised matter1 nor has any very great length of time elapsed since the nervous system was first crowned with the glory of a large and well-developed brain4 ,oral tradition and written history have been called the memory of man1 and this is not without its truth4 ,but there is another and a living memory in the innate reproductive power of brain substance1 and without this both writings and oral tradition would be without significance to posterity4 ,the most sublime ideas1 though never so immortalised in speech or letters1 are yet nothing for heads that are out of harmony with them2 they must be not only heard1 but reproduced2 and both speech and writing would be in vain were there not an inheritance of inward and outward brain development1 growing in correspondence with the inheritance of ideas that are handed down from age to age1 and did not an enhanced capacity for their reproduction on the part of each succeeding generation accompany the thoughts that have been preserved in writing4 ,man's conscious memory comes to an end at death1 but the unconscious memory of ,nature is true and ineradicable3 whoever succeeds in stamping upon her the impress of his work1 she will remember him to the end of time4 ,chapter ,,vii ,introduction to a translation of the chapter upon instinct in ,von ,hartmann's 8,philosophy of the ,unconscious40 ,i ,,am afraid my readers will find the chapter on instinct from ,von ,hartmann's 8,philosophy of the ,unconscious10 which will now follow1 as distasteful to read as ,i did to translate1 and would gladly have spared it them if ,i could4 ,at present1 the works of ,mr4 ,sully1 who has treated of the 8,philosophy of the ,unconscious0 both in the ,westminster ,review 7vol4 xlix4 ,n4,s47 and in his work 8,pessimism10 are the best source to which ,english readers can have recourse for information concerning ,von ,hartmann4 ,giving him all credit for the pains he has taken with an ungrateful1 if not impossible subject1 ,i think that a sufficient sample of ,von ,hartmann's own words will be a useful adjunct to ,mr4 ,sully's work1 and may perhaps save some readers trouble by resolving them to look no farther into the 8,philosophy of the ,unconscious40 ,over and above this1 ,i have been so often told that the views concerning unconscious action contained in the foregoing lecture and in 8,life and ,habit0 are only the very fallacy of ,von ,hartmann over again1 that ,i should like to give the public an opportunity of seeing whether this is so or no1 by placing the two contending theories of unconscious action side by side4 ,i hope that it will thus be seen that neither ,professor ,hering nor ,i have fallen into the fallacy of ,von ,hartmann1 but that rather ,von ,hartmann has fallen into his fallacy through failure to grasp the principle which ,professor ,hering has insisted upon1 and to connect heredity with memory4 ,professor ,hering's philosophy of the unconscious is of extreme simplicity4 ,he rests upon a fact of daily and hourly experience1 namely1 that practice makes things easy that were once difficult1 and often results in their being done without any consciousness of effort4 ,but if the repetition of an act tends ultimately1 under certain circumstances1 to its being done unconsciously1 so also is the fact of an intricate and difficult action being done unconsciously an argument that it must have been done repeatedly already4 ,as ,i said in 8,life and ,habit10 it is more easy to suppose that occasions on which such an action has been performed have not been wanting1 even though we do not see when and where they were1 than that the facility which we observe should have been attained without practice and memory 7p4 #ef74 ,there can be nothing better established or more easy1 whether to understand or verify1 than the unconsciousness with which habitual actions come to be performed4 ,if1 however1 it is once conceded that it is the manner of habitual action generally1 then all priori objection to ,professor ,hering's philosophy of the unconscious is at an end4 ,the question becomes one of fact in individual cases1 and of degree4 ,how far1 then1 does the principle of the convertibility1 as it were1 of practice and unconsciousness extend8 ,can any line be drawn beyond which it shall cease to operate8 ,if not1 may it not have operated and be operating to a vast and hitherto unsuspected extent8 ,this is all1 and certainly it is sufficiently simple4 ,i sometimes think it has found its greatest stumbling-block in its total want of mystery1 as though we must be like those conjurers whose stock in trade is a small deal table and a kitchen-chair with bare legs1 and who1 with their parade of 8no deception0 and 8examine everything for yourselves10 deceive worse than others who make use of all manner of elaborate paraphernalia4 ,it is true we require no paraphernalia1 and we produce unexpected results1 but we are not conjuring4 ,to turn now to ,von ,hartmann4 ,when ,i read ,mr4 ,sully's article in the ,westminster ,review1 ,i did not know whether the sense of mystification which it produced in me was wholly due to ,von ,hartmann or no2 but on making acquaintance with ,von ,hartmann himself1 ,i found that ,mr4 ,sully has erred1 if at all1 in making him more intelligible than he actually is4 ,von ,hartmann has not got a meaning4 ,give him ,professor ,hering's key and he might get one1 but it would be at the expense of seeing what approach he had made to a system fallen to pieces4 ,granted that in his details and subordinate passages he often both has and conveys a meaning1 there is1 nevertheless1 no coherence between these details1 and the nearest approach to a broad conception covering the work which the reader can carry away with him is at once so incomprehensible and repulsive1 that it is difficult to write about it without saying more perhaps than those who have not seen the original will accept as likely to be true4 ,the idea to which ,i refer is that of an unconscious clairvoyance1 which1 from the language continually used concerning it1 must be of the nature of a person1 and which is supposed to take possession of living beings so fully as to be the very essence of their nature1 the promoter of their embryonic development1 and the instigator of their instinctive actions4 ,this approaches closely to the personal ,god of ,mosaic and ,christian theology1 with the exception that the word 8clairvoyance0 #hi is substituted for ,god1 and that the ,god is supposed to be unconscious4 ,mr4 ,sully says3-- 8,when we grasp it the philosophy of ,von ,hartmann as a whole1 it amounts to nothing more than this1 that all or nearly all the phenomena of the material and spiritual world rest upon and result from a mysterious1 unconscious being1 though to call it being is really to add on an idea not immediately contained within the all-sufficient principle4 ,but what difference is there between this and saying that the phenomena of the world at large come we know not whence8 4 4 4 ,the unconscious1 therefore1 tends to be simple phrase and nothing more 4 4 4 ,no doubt there are a number of mental processes 4 4 4 of which we are unconscious 4 4 4 but to infer from this that they are due to an unconscious power1 and to proceed to demonstrate them in the presence of the unconscious through all nature1 is to make an unwarrantable saltus in reasoning4 ,what1 in fact1 is this #8unconscious' but a high-sounding name to veil our ignorance8 ,is the unconscious any better explanation of phenomena we do not understand than the #8devil-devil' by which ,australian tribes explain the ,leyden jar and its phenomena8 ,does it increase our knowledge to know that we do not know the origin of language or the cause of instinct8 4 4 4 ,alike in organic creation and the evolution of history #8performances and actions'--the words are those of ,strauss--are ascribed to an unconscious1 which can only belong to a conscious being4 #ij;a 4 4 4 4 4 8,the difficulties of the system advance as we proceed4 #ij;b ,subtract this questionable factor--the unconscious from ,hartmann's #8,biology and ,psychology1' and the chapters remain pleasant and instructive reading4 ,but with the third part of his work--the ,metaphysic of the ,unconscious--our feet are clogged at every step4 ,we are encircled by the merest play of words1 the most unsatisfactory demonstrations1 and most inconsistent inferences4 ,the theory of final causes has been hitherto employed to show the wisdom of the world2 with our ,pessimist philosopher it shows nothing but its irrationality and misery4 ,consciousness has been generally supposed to be the condition of all happiness and interest in life2 here it simply awakens us to misery1 and the lower an animal lies in the scale of conscious life1 the better and the pleasanter its lot4 4 4 4 4 4 8,thus1 then1 the universe1 as an emanation of the unconscious1 has been constructed4 #ij;c ,throughout it has been marked by design1 by purpose1 by finality2 throughout a wonderful adaptation of means to ends1 a wonderful adjustment and relativity in different portions has been noticed--and all this for what conclusion8 ,not1 as in the hands of the natural theologians of the eighteenth century1 to show that the world is the result of design1 of an intelligent1 beneficent ,creator1 but the manifestation of a ,being whose only predicates are negatives1 whose very essence is to be unconscious4 ,it is not only like ancient ,athens1 to an unknown1 but to an unknowing ,god1 that modern ,pessimism rears its altar4 ,yet surely the fact that the motive principle of existence moves in a mysterious way outside our consciousness no way requires that the ,all-one ,being should be himself unconscious40 ,i believe the foregoing to convey as correct an idea of ,von ,hartmann's system as it is possible to convey1 and will leave it to the reader to say how much in common there is between this and the lecture given in the preceding chapter1 beyond the fact that both touch upon unconscious actions4 ,the extract which will form my next chapter is only about a thirtieth part of the entire 8,philosophy of the ,unconscious10 but it will1 ,i believe1 suffice to substantiate the justice of what ,mr4 ,sully has said in the passages above quoted4 ,as regards the accuracy of the translation1 ,i have submitted all passages about which ,i was in the least doubtful to the same gentleman who revised my translation of ,professor ,hering's lecture2 ,i have also given the ,german wherever ,i thought the reader might be glad to see it4 ,chapter ,,viii ,translation of the chapter on 8,the ,unconscious in ,instinct10 from ,von ,hartmann's 8,philosophy of the ,unconscious40 ,,von ,,hartmann',s chapter on instinct is as follows3-- ,instinct is action taken in pursuance of a purpose but without conscious perception of what the purpose is4 #ib;a ,a purposive action1 with consciousness of the purpose and where the course taken is the result of deliberation is not said to be instinctive2 nor yet1 again1 is blind aimless action1 such as outbreaks of fury on the part of offended or otherwise enraged animals4 ,i see no occasion for disturbing the commonly received definition of instinct as given above2 for those who think they can refer all the so-called ordinary instincts of animals to conscious deliberation ipso facto deny that there is such a thing as instinct at all1 and should strike the word out of their vocabulary4 ,but of this more hereafter4 ,assuming1 then1 the existence of instinctive action as above defined1 it can be explained as-- ,i4 ,a mere necessary consequence of bodily organisation4 #ib;b ,,ii4 ,a mechanism of brain or mind contrived by nature4 ,,iii4 ,the outcome of an unconscious activity of mind4 ,in neither of the two first cases is there any scope for the idea of purpose2 in the third1 purpose must be present immediately before the action4 ,in the two first cases1 action is supposed to be brought about by means of an initial arrangement1 either of bodily or mental mechanism1 purpose being conceived of as existing on a single occasion only--that is to say1 in the determination of the initial arrangement4 ,in the third1 purpose is conceived as present in every individual instance4 ,let us proceed to the consideration of these three cases4 ,instinct is not a mere consequence of bodily organisation2 for-- 7a47 ,bodies may be alike1 yet they may be endowed with different instincts4 ,all spiders have the same spinning apparatus1 but one kind weaves radiating webs1 another irregular ones1 while a third makes none at all1 but lives in holes1 whose walls it overspins1 and whose entrance it closes with a door4 ,almost all birds have a like organisation for the construction of their nests 7a beak and feet71 but how infinitely do their nests vary in appearance1 mode of construction1 attachment to surrounding objects 7they stand1 are glued on1 hang1 c471 selection of site 7caves1 holes1 corners1 forks of trees1 shrubs1 the ground71 and excellence of workmanship2 how often1 too1 are they not varied in the species of a single genus1 as of parus4 ,many birds1 moreover1 build no nest at all4 ,the difference in the songs of birds are in like manner independent of the special construction of their voice apparatus1 nor do the modes of nest construction that obtain among ants and bees depend upon their bodily organisation4 ,organisation1 as a general rule1 only renders the bird capable of singing1 as giving it an apparatus with which to sing at all1 but it has nothing to do with the specific character of the execution 4 4 4 ,the nursing1 defence1 and education of offspring cannot be considered as in any way more dependent upon bodily organisation2 nor yet the sites which insects choose for the laying of their eggs2 nor1 again1 the selection of deposits of spawn1 of their own species1 by male fish for impregnation4 ,the rabbit burrows1 the hare does not1 though both have the same burrowing apparatus4 ,the hare1 however1 has less need of a subterranean place of refuge by reason of its greater swiftness4 ,some birds1 with excellent powers of flight1 are nevertheless stationary in their habits1 as the secretary falcon and certain other birds of prey2 while even such moderate fliers as quails are sometimes known to make very distant migrations4 7b47 ,like instincts may be found associated with unlike organs4 ,birds with and without feet adapted for climbing live in trees2 so also do monkeys with and without flexible tails1 squirrels1 sloths1 pumas1 c4 ,mole-crickets dig with a well-pronounced spade upon their fore-feet1 while the burying-beetle does the same thing though it has no special apparatus whatever4 ,the mole conveys its winter provender in pockets1 an inch wide1 long and half an inch wide within its cheeks2 the field-mouse does so without the help of any such contrivance4 ,the migratory instinct displays itself with equal strength in animals of widely different form1 by whatever means they may pursue their journey1 whether by water1 land1 or air4 ,it is clear1 therefore1 that instinct is in great measure independent of bodily organisation4 ,granted1 indeed1 that a certain amount of bodily apparatus is a sine qu non for any power of execution at all--as1 for example1 that there would be no ingenious nest without organs more or less adapted for its construction1 no spinning of a web without spinning glands--nevertheless1 it is impossible to maintain that instinct is a consequence of organisation4 ,the mere existence of the organ does not constitute even the smallest incentive to any corresponding habitual activity4 ,a sensation of pleasure must at least accompany the use of the organ before its existence can incite to its employment4 ,and even so when a sensation of pleasure has given the impulse which is to render it active1 it is only the fact of there being activity at all1 and not the special characteristics of the activity1 that can be due to organisation4 ,the reason for the special mode of the activity is the very problem that we have to solve4 ,no one will call the action of the spider instinctive in voiding the fluid from her spinning gland when it is too full1 and therefore painful to her2 nor that of the male fish when it does what amounts to much the same thing as this4 ,the instinct and the marvel lie in the fact that the spider spins threads1 and proceeds to weave her web with them1 and that the male fish will only impregnate ova of his own species4 ,another proof that the pleasure felt in the employment of an organ is wholly inadequate to account for this employment is to be found in the fact that the moral greatness of instinct1 the point in respect of which it most commands our admiration1 consists in the obedience paid to its behests1 to the postponement of all personal well-being1 and at the cost1 it may be1 of life itself4 ,if the mere pleasure of relieving certain glands from overfulness were the reason why caterpillars generally spin webs1 they would go on spinning until they had relieved these glands1 but they would not repair their work as often as any one destroyed it1 and do this again and again until they die of exhaustion4 ,the same holds good with the other instincts that at first sight appear to be inspired only by a sensation of pleasure2 for if we change the circumstances1 so as to put self-sacrifice in the place of self-interest1 it becomes at once apparent that they have a higher source than this4 ,we think1 for example1 that birds pair for the sake of mere sexual gratification2 why1 then1 do they leave off pairing as soon as they have laid the requisite number of eggs8 ,that there is a reproductive instinct over and above the desire for sexual gratification appears from the fact that if a man takes an egg out of the nest1 the birds will come together again and the hen will lay another egg2 or1 if they belong to some of the more wary species1 they will desert their nest1 and make preparation for an entirely new brood4 ,a female wryneck1 whose nest was daily robbed of the egg she laid in it1 continued to lay a new one1 which grew smaller and smaller1 till1 when she had laid her twenty-ninth egg1 she was found dead upon her nest4 ,if an instinct cannot stand the test of self-sacrifice--if it is the simple outcome of a desire for bodily gratification--then it is no true instinct1 and is only so called erroneously4 ,instinct is not a mechanism of brain or mind implanted in living beings by nature2 for1 if it were1 then instinctive action without any1 even unconscious1 activity of mind1 and with no conception concerning the purpose of the action1 would be executed mechanically1 the purpose having been once for all thought out by ,nature or ,providence1 which has so organised the individual that it acts henceforth as a purely mechanical medium4 ,we are now dealing with a psychical organisation as the cause instinct1 as we were above dealing with a physical4 ,a psychical organisation would be a conceivable explanation and we need look no farther if every instinct once belonging to an animal discharged its functions in an unvarying manner4 ,but this is never found to be the case1 for instincts vary when there arises a sufficient motive for varying them4 ,this proves that special exterior circumstances enter into the matter1 and that these circumstances are the very things that render the attainment of the purpose possible through means selected by the instinct4 ,here first do we find instinct acting as though it were actually design with action following at its heels1 for until the arrival of the motive1 the instinct remains late and discharges no function whatever4 ,the motive enters by way of an idea received into the mind through the instrumentality of the senses1 and there is a constant connection between instinct in action and all sensual images which give information that an opportunity has arisen for attaining the ends proposed to itself by the instinct4 ,the psychical mechanism of this constant connection must also be looked for4 ,it may help us here to turn to the piano for an illustration4 ,the struck keys are the motives1 the notes that sound in consequence are the instincts in action4 ,this illustration might perhaps be allowed to pass 7if we also suppose that entirely different keys can give out the same sound7 if instincts could only be compared with distinctly tuned notes1 so that one and the same instinct acted always in the same manner on the rising of the motive which should set it in action4 ,this1 however1 is not so2 for it is the blind unconscious purpose of the instinct that is alone constant1 the instinct itself--that is to say1 the will to make use of certain means--varying as the means that can be most suitably employed vary under varying circumstances4 ,in this we condemn the theory which refuses to recognise unconscious purpose as present in each individual case of instinctive action4 ,for he who maintains instinct to be the result of a mechanism of mind1 must suppose a special and constant mechanism for each variation and modification of the instinct in accordance with exterior circumstances1 #ig that is to say1 a new string giving a note with a new tone must be inserted1 and this would involve the mechanism in endless complication4 ,but the fact that the purpose is constant notwithstanding all manner of variation in the means chosen by the instinct1 proves that there is no necessity for the supposition of such an elaborate mental mechanism--the presence of an unconscious purpose being sufficient to explain the facts4 ,the purpose of the bird1 for example1 that has laid her eggs is constant1 and consists in the desire to bring her young to maturity4 ,when the temperature of the air is insufficient to effect this1 she sits upon her eggs1 and only intermits her sittings in the warmest countries2 the mammal1 on the other hand1 attains the fulfilment of its instinctive purpose without any co-operation on its own part4 ,in warm climates many birds only sit by night1 and small exotic birds that have built in aviaries kept at a high temperature sit little upon their eggs or not at all4 ,how inconceivable is the supposition of a mechanism that impels the bird to sit as soon as the temperature falls below a certain height6 ,how clear and simple1 on the other hand1 is the view that there is an unconscious purpose constraining the volition of the bird to the use of the fitting means1 of which process1 however1 only the last link1 that is to say1 the will immediately preceding the action falls within the consciousness of the bird6 ,in ,south ,africa the sparrow surrounds her nest with thorns as a defence against apes and serpents4 ,the eggs of the cuckoo1 as regards size1 colour1 and marking1 invariably resemble those of the birds in whose nests she lays4 ,sylvia ruja1 for example1 lays a white egg with violet spots2 ,sylvia hippolais1 a red one with black spots2 ,regulus ignicapellus1 a cloudy red2 but the cuckoo's egg is in each case so deceptive an imitation of its model1 that it can hardly be distinguished except by the structure of its shell4 ,huber contrived that his bees should be unable to build in their usual instinctive manner1 beginning from above and working downwards2 on this they began building from below1 and again horizontally4 ,the outermost cells that spring from the top of the hive or abut against its sides are not hexagonal1 but pentagonal1 so as to gain in strength1 being attached with one base instead of two sides4 ,in autumn bees lengthen their existing honey cells if these are insufficient1 but in the ensuing spring they again shorten them in order to get greater roadway between the combs4 ,when the full combs have become too heavy1 they strengthen the walls of the uppermost or bearing cells by thickening them with wax and propolis4 ,if larv of working bees are introduced into the cells set apart for drones1 the working bees will cover these cells with the flat lids usual for this kind of larv1 and not with the round ones that are proper for drones4 ,in autumn1 as a general rule1 bees kill their drones1 but they refrain from doing this when they have lost their queen1 and keep them to fertilise the young queen1 who will be developed from larv that would otherwise have become working bees4 ,huber observed that they defend the entrance of their hive against the inroads of the sphinx moth by means of skilful constructions made of wax and propolis4 ,they only introduce propolis when they want it for the execution of repairs1 or for some other special purpose4 ,spiders and caterpillars also display marvellous dexterity in the repair of their webs if they have been damaged1 and this requires powers perfectly distinct from those requisite for the construction of a new one4 ,the above examples might be multiplied indefinitely1 but they are sufficient to establish the fact that instincts are not capacities rolled1 as it were1 off a reel mechanically1 according to an invariable system1 but that they adapt themselves most closely to the circumstances of each case1 and are capable of such great modification and variation that at times they almost appear to cease to be instinctive4 ,many will1 indeed1 ascribe these modifications to conscious deliberation on the part of the animals themselves1 and it is impossible to deny that in the case of the more intellectually gifted animals there may be such a thing as a combination of instinctive faculty and conscious reflection4 ,i think1 however1 the examples already cited are enough to show that often where the normal and the abnormal action springs from the same source1 without any complication with conscious deliberation1 they are either both instinctive or both deliberative4 #ii ,or is that which prompts the bee to build hexagonal prisms in the middle of her comb something of an actually distinct character from that which impels her to build pentagonal ones at the sides8 ,are there two separate kinds of thing1 one of which induces birds under certain circumstances to sit upon their eggs1 while another leads them under certain other circumstances to refrain from doing so8 ,and does this hold good also with bees when they at one time kill their brethren without mercy and at another grant them their lives8 ,or with birds when they construct the kind of nest peculiar to their race1 and1 again1 any special provision which they may think fit under certain circumstances to take8 ,if it is once granted that the normal and the abnormal manifestations of instinct--and they are often incapable of being distinguished--spring from a single source1 then the objection that the modification is due to conscious knowledge will be found to be a suicidal one later on1 so far as it is directed against instinct generally4 ,it may be sufficient here to point out1 in anticipation of remarks that will be found in later chapters1 that instinct and the power of organic development involve the same essential principle1 though operating under different circumstances--the two melting into one another without any definite boundary between them4 ,here1 then1 we have conclusive proof that instinct does not depend upon organisation of body or brain1 but that1 more truly1 the organisation is due to the nature and manner of the instinct4 ,on the other hand1 we must now return to a closer consideration of the conception of a psychical mechanism4 #ajj ,and here we find that this mechanism1 in spite of its explaining so much1 is itself so obscure that we can hardly form any idea concerning it4 ,the motive enters the mind by way of a conscious sensual impression2 this is the first link of the process2 the last link #aja appears as the conscious motive of an action4 ,both1 however1 are entirely unlike1 and neither has anything to do with ordinary motivation1 which consists exclusively in the desire that springs from a conception either of pleasure or dislike--the former prompting to the attainment of any object1 the latter to its avoidance4 ,in the case of instinct1 pleasure is for the most part a concomitant phenomenon2 but it is not so always1 as we have already seen1 inasmuch as the consummation and highest moral development of instinct displays itself in self-sacrifice4 ,the true problem1 however1 lies far deeper than this4 ,for every conception of a pleasure proves that we have experienced this pleasure already4 ,but it follows from this1 that when the pleasure was first felt there must have been will present1 in the gratification of which will the pleasure consisted2 the question1 therefore1 arises1 whence did the will come before the pleasure that would follow on its gratification was known1 and before bodily pain1 as1 for example1 of hunger1 rendered relief imperative8 ,yet we may see that even though an animal has grown up apart from any others of its kind1 it will yet none the less manifest the instinctive impulses of its race1 though experience can have taught it nothing whatever concerning the pleasure that will ensue upon their gratification4 ,as regards instinct1 therefore1 there must be a causal connection between the motivating sensual conception and the will to perform the instinctive action1 and the pleasure of the subsequent gratification has nothing to do with the matter4 ,we know by the experience of our own instincts that this causal connection does not lie within our consciousness2 #ajb;a therefore1 if it is to be a mechanism of any kind1 it can only be either an unconscious mechanical induction and metamorphosis of the vibrations of the conceived motive into the vibrations of the conscious action in the brain1 or an unconscious spiritual mechanism4 ,in the first case1 it is surely strange that this process should go on unconsciously1 though it is so powerful in its effects that the will resulting from it overpowers every other consideration1 every other kind of will1 and that vibrations of this kind1 when set up in the brain1 become always consciously perceived2 nor is it easy to conceive in what way this metamorphosis can take place so that the constant purpose can be attained under varying circumstances by the resulting will in modes that vary with variation of the special features of each individual case4 ,but if we take the other alternative1 and suppose an unconscious mental mechanism1 we cannot legitimately conceive of the process going on in this as other than what prevails in all mental mechanism1 namely1 than as by way of idea and will4 ,we are1 therefore1 compelled to imagine a causal connection between the consciously recognised motive and the will to do the instinctive action1 through unconscious idea and will2 nor do ,i know how this connection can be conceived as being brought about more simply than through a conceived and willed purpose4 #ajb;b ,arrived at this point1 however1 we have attained the logical mechanism peculiar to and inseparable from all mind1 and find unconscious purpose to be an indispensable link in every instinctive action4 ,with this1 therefore1 the conception of a mental mechanism1 dead and predestined from without1 has disappeared1 and has become transformed into the spiritual life inseparable from logic1 so that we have reached the sole remaining requirement for the conception of an actual instinct1 which proves to be a conscious willing of the means towards an unconsciously willed purpose4 ,this conception explains clearly and without violence all the problems which instinct presents to us2 or more truly1 all that was problematical about instinct disappears when its true nature has been thus declared4 ,if this work were confined to the consideration of instinct alone1 the conception of an unconscious activity of mind might excite opposition1 inasmuch as it is one with which our educated public is not yet familiar2 but in a work like the present1 every chapter of which adduces fresh facts in support of the existence of such an activity and of its remarkable consequences1 the novelty of the theory should be taken no farther into consideration4 ,though ,i so confidently deny that instinct is the simple action of a mechanism which has been contrived once for all1 ,i by no means exclude the supposition that in the constitution of the brain1 the ganglia1 and the whole body1 in respect of morphological as well as molecular-physiological condition1 certain predispositions can be established which direct the unconscious intermediaries more readily into one channel than into another4 ,this predisposition is either the result of a habit which keeps continually cutting for itself a deeper and deeper channel1 until in the end it leaves indelible traces whether in the individual or in the race1 or it is expressly called into being by the unconscious formative principle in generation1 so as to facilitate action in a given direction4 ,this last will be the case more frequently in respect of exterior organisation--as1 for example1 with the weapons or working organs of animals--while to the former must be referred the molecular condition of brain and ganglia which bring about the perpetually recurring elements of an instinct such as the hexagonal shape of the cells of bees4 ,we shall presently see that by individual character we mean the sum of the individual methods of reaction against all possible motives1 and that this character depends essentially upon a constitution of mind and body acquired in some measure through habit by the individual1 but for the most part inherited4 ,but an instinct is also a mode of reaction against certain motives2 here1 too1 then1 we are dealing with character1 though perhaps not so much with that of the individual as of the race2 for by character in regard to instinct we do not intend the differences that distinguish individuals1 but races from one another4 ,if any one chooses to maintain that such a predisposition for certain kinds of activity on the part of brain and body constitutes a mechanism1 this may in one sense be admitted2 but as against this view it must be remarked-- #a4 ,that such deviations from the normal scheme of an instinct as cannot be referred to conscious deliberation are not provided for by any predisposition in this mechanism4 #b4 ,that heredity is only possible under the circumstances of a constant superintendence of the embryonic development by a purposive unconscious activity of growth4 ,it must be admitted1 however1 that this is influenced in return by the predisposition existing in the germ4 #c4 ,that the impressing of the predisposition upon the individual from whom it is inherited can only be effected by long practice1 consequently the instinct without auxiliary mechanism #aje;a is the originating cause of the auxiliary mechanism4 #d4 ,that none of those instinctive actions that are performed rarely1 or perhaps once only1 in the lifetime of any individual--as1 for example1 those connected with the propagation and metamorphoses of the lower forms of life1 and none of those instinctive omissions of action1 neglect of which necessarily entails death--can be conceived as having become engrained into the character through habit2 the ganglionic constitution1 therefore1 that predisposes the animal towards them must have been fashioned purposively4 #e4 ,that even the presence of an auxiliary mechanism #aje;b does not compel the unconscious to a particular corresponding mode of instinctive action1 but only predisposes it4 ,this is shown by the possibility of departure from the normal type of action1 so that the unconscious purpose is always stronger than the ganglionic constitution1 and takes any opportunity of choosing from several similar possible courses the one that is handiest and most convenient to the constitution of the individual4 ,we now approach the question that ,i have reserved for our final one1--,is there1 namely1 actually such a thing as instinct1 #aje;c or are all so-called instinctive actions only the results of conscious deliberation8 ,in support of the second of these two views1 it may be alleged that the more limited is the range of the conscious mental activity of any living being1 the more fully developed in proportion to its entire mental power is its performance commonly found to be in respect of its own limited and special instinctive department4 ,this holds as good with the lower animals as with men1 and is explained by the fact that perfection of proficiency is only partly dependent upon natural capacity1 but is in great measure due to practice and cultivation of the original faculty4 ,a philologist1 for example1 is unskilled in questions of jurisprudence2 a natural philosopher or mathematician1 in philology2 an abstract philosopher1 in poetical criticism4 ,nor has this anything to do with the natural talents of the several persons1 but follows as a consequence of their special training4 ,the more special1 therefore1 is the direction in which the mental activity of any living being is exercised1 the more will the whole developing and practising power of the mind be brought to bear upon this one branch1 so that it is not surprising if the special power comes ultimately to bear an increased proportion to the total power of the individual1 through the contraction of the range within which it is exercised4 ,those1 however1 who apply this to the elucidation of instinct should not forget the words1 8in proportion to the entire mental power of the animal in question10 and should bear in mind that the entire mental power becomes less and less continually as we descend the scale of animal life1 whereas proficiency in the performance of an instinctive action seems to be much of a muchness in all grades of the animal world4 ,as1 therefore1 those performances which indisputably proceed from conscious deliberation decrease proportionately with decrease of mental power1 while nothing of the kind is observable in the case of instinct--it follows that instinct must involve some other principle than that of conscious intelligence4 ,we see1 moreover1 that actions which have their source in conscious intelligence are of one and the same kind1 whether among the lower animals or with mankind--that is to say1 that they are acquired by apprenticeship or instruction and perfected by practice2 so that the saying1 8,age brings wisdom10 holds good with the brutes as much as with ourselves4 ,instinctive actions1 on the contrary1 have a special and distinct character1 in that they are performed with no less proficiency by animals that have been reared in solitude than by those that have been instructed by their parents1 the first essays of a hitherto unpractised animal being as successful as its later ones4 ,there is a difference in principle here which cannot be mistaken4 ,again1 we know by experience that the feebler and more limited an intelligence is1 the more slowly do ideas act upon it1 that is to say1 the slower and more laborious is its conscious thought4 ,so long as instinct does not come into play1 this holds good both in the case of men of different powers of comprehension and with animals2 but with instinct all is changed1 for it is the speciality of instinct never to hesitate or loiter1 but to take action instantly upon perceiving that the stimulating motive has made its appearance4 ,this rapidity in arriving at a resolution is common to the instinctive actions both of the highest and the lowest animals1 and indicates an essential difference between instinct and conscious deliberation4 ,finally1 as regards perfection of the power of execution1 a glance will suffice to show the disproportion that exists between this and the grade of intellectual activity on which an animal may be standing4 ,take1 for instance1 the caterpillar of the emperor moth 7,saturnia pavonia minor74 ,it eats the leaves of the bush upon which it was born2 at the utmost has just enough sense to get on to the lower sides of the leaves if it begins to rain1 and from time to time changes its skin4 ,this is its whole existence1 which certainly does not lead us to expect a display of any1 even the most limited1 intellectual power4 ,when1 however1 the time comes for the larva of this moth to become a chrysalis1 it spins for itself a double cocoon1 fortified with bristles that point outwards1 so that it can be opened easily from within1 though it is sufficiently impenetrable from without4 ,if this contrivance were the result of conscious reflection1 we should have to suppose some such reasoning process as the following to take place in the mind of the caterpillar3--8,i am about to become a chrysalis1 and1 motionless as ,i must be1 shall be exposed to many different kinds of attack4 ,i must therefore weave myself a web4 ,but when ,i am a moth ,i shall not be able1 as some moths are1 to find my way out of it by chemical or mechanical means2 therefore ,i must leave a way open for myself4 ,in order1 however1 that my enemies may not take advantage of this1 ,i will close it with elastic bristles1 which ,i can easily push asunder from within1 but which1 upon the principle of the arch1 will resist all pressure from without40 ,surely this is asking rather too much from a poor caterpillar2 yet the whole of the foregoing must be thought out if a correct result is to be arrived at4 ,this theoretical separation of instinct from conscious intelligence can be easily misrepresented by opponents of my theory1 as though a separation in practice also would be necessitated in consequence4 ,this is by no means my intention4 ,on the contrary1 ,i have already insisted at some length that both the two kinds of mental activity may co-exist in all manner of different proportions1 so that there may be every degree of combination1 from pure instinct to pure deliberation4 ,we shall see1 however1 in a later chapter1 that even in the highest and most abstract activity of human consciousness there are forces at work that are of the highest importance1 and are essentially of the same kind as instinct4 ,on the other hand1 the most marvellous displays of instinct are to be found not only in plants1 but also in those lowest organisms of the simplest bodily form which are partly unicellular1 and in respect of conscious intelligence stand far below the higher plants--to which1 indeed1 any kind of deliberative faculty is commonly denied4 ,even in the case of those minute microscopic organisms that baffle our attempts to classify them either as animals or vegetables1 we are still compelled to admire an instinctive1 purposive behaviour1 which goes far beyond a mere reflex responsive to a stimulus from without2 all doubt1 therefore1 concerning the actual existence of an instinct must be at an end1 and the attempt to deduce it as a consequence of conscious deliberation be given up as hopeless4 ,i will here adduce an instance as extraordinary as any we yet know of1 showing1 as it does1 that many different purposes1 which in the case of the higher animals require a complicated system of organs of motion1 can be attained with incredibly simple means4 ,arcella vulgaris is a minute morsel of protoplasm1 which lives in a concave-convex1 brown1 finely reticulated shell1 through a circular opening in the concave side of which it can project itself by throwing out pseudopodia4 ,if we look through the microscope at a drop of water containing living arcell1 we may happen to see one of them lying on its back at the bottom of the drop1 and making fruitless efforts for two or three minutes to lay hold of some fixed point by means of a pseudopodium4 ,after this there will appear suddenly from two to five1 but sometimes more1 dark points in the protoplasm at a small distance from the circumference1 and1 as a rule1 at regular distances from one another4 ,these rapidly develop themselves into well-defined spherical air vesicles1 and come presently to fill a considerable part of the hollow of the shell1 thereby driving part of the protoplasm outside it4 ,after from five to twenty minutes1 the specific gravity of the arcella is so much lessened that it is lifted by the water with its pseudopodia1 and brought up against the upper surface of the water-drop1 on which it is able to travel4 ,in from five to ten minutes the vesicles will now disappear1 the last small point vanishing with a jerk4 ,if1 however1 the creature has been accidentally turned over during its journey1 and reaches the top of the water-drop with its back uppermost1 the vesicles will continue growing only on one side1 while they diminish on the other2 by this means the shell is brought first into an oblique and then into a vertical position1 until one of the pseudopodia obtains a footing and the whole turns over4 ,from the moment the animal has obtained foothold1 the bladders become immediately smaller1 and after they have disappeared the experiment may be repeated at pleasure4 ,the positions of the protoplasm which the vesicles fashion change continually2 only the grainless protoplasm of the pseudopodia develops no air4 ,after long and fruitless efforts a manifest fatigue sets in2 the animal gives up the attempt for a time1 and resumes it after an interval of repose4 ,engelmann1 the discoverer of these phenomena1 says 7,pflger's ,archiv fr ,physologie1 ,bd4 ,,ii473 8,the changes in volume in all the vesicles of the same animal are for the most part synchronous1 effected in the same manner1 and of like size4 ,there are1 however1 not a few exceptions2 it often happens that some of them increase or diminish in volume much faster than others2 sometimes one may increase while another diminishes2 all the changes1 however1 are throughout unquestionably intentional4 ,the object of the air-vesicles is to bring the animal into such a position that it can take fast hold of something with its pseudopodia4 ,when this has been obtained1 the air disappears without our being able to discover any other reason for its disappearance than the fact that it is no longer needed4 4 4 4 ,if we bear these circumstances in mind1 we can almost always tell whether an arcella will develop air-vesicles or no2 and if it has already developed them1 we can tell whether they will increase or diminish 4 4 4 ,the arcell1 in fact1 in this power of altering their specific gravity possess a mechanism for raising themselves to the top of the water1 or lowering themselves to the bottom at will4 ,they use this not only in the abnormal circumstances of their being under microscopical observation1 but at all times1 as may be known by our being always able to find some specimens with air-bladders at the top of the water in which they live40 ,if what has been already advanced has failed to convince the reader of the hopelessness of attempting to explain instinct as a mode of conscious deliberation1 he must admit that the following considerations are conclusive4 ,it is most certain that deliberation and conscious reflection can only take account of such data as are consciously perceived2 if1 then1 it can be shown that data absolutely indispensable for the arrival at a just conclusion cannot by any possibility have been known consciously1 the result can no longer be held as having had its source in conscious deliberation4 ,it is admitted that the only way in which consciousness can arrive at a knowledge of exterior facts is by way of an impression made upon the senses4 ,we must1 therefore1 prove that a knowledge of the facts indispensable for arrival at a just conclusion could not have been thus acquired4 ,this may be done as follows3 #aaa for1 ,firstly1 the facts in question lie in the future1 and the present gives no ground for conjecturing the time and manner of their subsequent development4 ,secondly1 they are manifestly debarred from the category of perceptions perceived through the senses1 inasmuch as no information can be derived concerning them except through experience of similar occurrences in time past1 and such experience is plainly out of the question4 ,it would not affect the argument if1 as ,i think likely1 it were to turn out1 with the advance of our physiological knowledge1 that all the examples of the first case that ,i am about to adduce reduce themselves to examples of the second1 as must be admitted to have already happened in respect of many that ,i have adduced hitherto4 ,for it is hardly more difficult to conceive of priori knowledge1 disconnected from any impression made upon the senses1 than of knowledge which1 it is true1 does at the present day manifest itself upon the occasion of certain general perceptions1 but which can only be supposed to be connected with these by means of such a chain of inferences and judiciously applied knowledge as cannot be believed to exist when we have regard to the capacity and organisation of the animal we may be considering4 ,an example of the first case is supplied by the larva of the stag-beetle in its endeavour to make itself a convenient hole in which to become a chrysalis4 ,the female larva digs a hole exactly her own size1 but the male makes one as long again as himself1 so as to allow for the growth of his horns1 which will be about the same length as his body4 ,a knowledge of this circumstance is indispensable if the result achieved is to be considered as due to reflection1 yet the actual present of the larva affords it no ground for conjecturing beforehand the condition in which it will presently find itself4 ,as regards the second case1 ferrets and buzzards fall forthwith upon blind worms or other non-poisonous snakes1 and devour them then and there4 ,but they exhibit the greatest caution in laying hold of adders1 even though they have never before seen one1 and will endeavour first to bruise their heads1 so as to avoid being bitten4 ,as there is nothing in any other respect alarming in the adder1 a conscious knowledge of the danger of its bite is indispensable1 if the conduct above described is to be referred to conscious deliberation4 ,but this could only have been acquired through experience1 and the possibility of such experience may be controlled in the case of animals that have been kept in captivity from their youth up1 so that the knowledge displayed can be ascertained to be independent of experience4 ,on the other hand1 both the above illustrations afford evidence of an unconscious perception of the facts1 and prove the existence of a direct knowledge underivable from any sensual impression or from consciousness4 ,this has always been recognised1 #aac and has been described under the words 8presentiment0 or 8foreboding40 ,these words1 however1 refer1 on the one hand1 only to an unknowable in the future1 separated from us by space1 and not to one that is actually present2 on the other hand1 they denote only the faint1 dull1 indefinite echo returned by consciousness to an invariably distinct state of unconscious knowledge4 ,hence the word 8presentiment10 which carries with it an idea of faintness and indistinctness1 while1 however1 it may be easily seen that sentiment destitute of all1 even unconscious1 ideas can have no influence upon the result1 for knowledge can only follow upon an idea4 ,a presentiment that sounds in consonance with our consciousness can indeed1 under certain circumstances1 become tolerably definite1 so that in the case of man it can be expressed in thought and language2 but experience teaches us that even among ourselves this is not so when instincts special to the human race come into play2 we see rather that the echo of our unconscious knowledge which finds its way into our consciousness is so weak that it manifests itself only in the accompanying feelings or frame of mind1 and represents but an infinitely small fraction of the sum of our sensations4 ,it is obvious that such a faintly sympathetic consciousness cannot form a sufficient foundation for a superstructure of conscious deliberation2 on the other hand1 conscious deliberation would be unnecessary1 inasmuch as the process of thinking must have been already gone through unconsciously1 for every faint presentiment that obtrudes itself upon our consciousness is in fact only the consequence of a distinct unconscious knowledge1 and the knowledge with which it is concerned is almost always an idea of the purpose of some instinctive action1 or of one most intimately connected therewith4 ,thus1 in the case of the stag-beetle1 the purpose consists in the leaving space for the growth of the horns2 the means1 in the digging the hole of a sufficient size2 and the unconscious knowledge1 in prescience concerning the future development of the horns4 ,lastly1 all instinctive actions give us an impression of absolute security and infallibility4 ,with instinct the will is never hesitating or weak1 as it is when inferences are being drawn consciously4 ,we never find instinct making mistakes2 we cannot1 therefore1 ascribe a result which is so invariably precise to such an obscure condition of mind as is implied when the word presentiment is used2 on the contrary1 this absolute certainty is so characteristic a feature of instinctive actions1 that it constitutes almost the only well-marked point of distinction between these and actions that are done upon reflection4 ,but from this it must again follow that some principle lies at the root of instinct other than that which underlies reflective action1 and this can only be looked for in a determination of the will through a process that lies in the unconscious1 #aae;a to which this character of unhesitating infallibility will attach itself in all our future investigations4 ,many will be surprised at my ascribing to instinct an unconscious knowledge1 arising out of no sensual impression1 and yet invariably accurate4 ,this1 however1 is not a consequence of my theory concerning instinct2 it is the foundation on which that theory is based1 and is forced upon us by facts4 ,i must therefore adduce examples4 ,and to give a name to the unconscious knowledge1 which is not acquired through impression made upon the senses1 but which will be found to be in our possession1 though attained without the instrumentality of means1 #aae;b ,i prefer the word 8clairvoyance0 #aae;c to 8presentiment10 which1 for reasons already given1 will not serve me4 ,this word1 therefore1 will be here employed throughout1 as above defined4 ,let us now consider examples of the instincts of self-preservation1 subsistence1 migration1 and the continuation of the species4 ,most animals know their natural enemies prior to experience of any hostile designs upon themselves4 ,a flight of young pigeons1 even though they have no old birds with them1 will become shy1 and will separate from one another on the approach of a bird of prey4 ,horses and cattle that come from countries where there are no lions become unquiet and display alarm as soon as they are aware that a lion is approaching them in the night4 ,horses going along a bridle-path that used to leave the town at the back of the old dens of the carnivora in the ,berlin ,zoological ,gardens were often terrified by the propinquity of enemies who were entirely unknown to them4 ,sticklebacks will swim composedly among a number of voracious pike1 knowing1 as they do1 that the pike will not touch them4 ,for if a pike once by mistake swallows a stickleback1 the stickleback will stick in its throat by reason of the spine it carries upon its back1 and the pike must starve to death without being able to transmit his painful experience to his descendants4 ,in some countries there are people who by choice eat dog's flesh2 dogs are invariably savage in the presence of these persons1 as recognising in them enemies at whose hands they may one day come to harm4 ,this is the more wonderful inasmuch as dog's fat applied externally 7as when rubbed upon boots7 attracts dogs by its smell4 ,grant saw a young chimpanzee throw itself into convulsions of terror at the sight of a large snake2 and even among ourselves a ,gretchen can often detect a ,mephistopheles4 ,an insect of the genius bombyx will seize another of the genus parnopa1 and kill it wherever it finds it1 without making any subsequent use of the body2 but we know that the last-named insect lies in wait for the eggs of the first1 and is therefore the natural enemy of its race4 ,the phenomenon known to stockdrivers and shepherds as 8das ,biesen des ,viehes0 affords another example4 ,for when a 8dassel0 or 8bies0 fly draws near the herd1 the cattle become unmanageable and run about among one another as though they were mad1 knowing1 as they do1 that the larv from the eggs which the fly will lay upon them will presently pierce their hides and occasion them painful sores4 ,these 8dassel0 flies--which have no sting--closely resemble another kind of gadfly which has a sting4 ,nevertheless1 this last kind is little feared by cattle1 while the first is so to an inordinate extent4 ,the laying of the eggs upon the skin is at the time quite painless1 and no ill consequences follow until long afterwards1 so that we cannot suppose the cattle to draw a conscious inference concerning the connection that exists between the two4 ,i have already spoken of the foresight shown by ferrets and buzzards in respect of adders2 in like manner a young honey-buzzard1 on being shown a wasp for the first time1 immediately devoured it after having squeezed the sting from its body4 ,no animal1 whose instinct has not been vitiated by unnatural habits1 will eat poisonous plants4 ,even when apes have contracted bad habits through their having been brought into contact with mankind1 they can still be trusted to show us whether certain fruits found in their native forests are poisonous or no2 for if poisonous fruits are offered them they will refuse them with loud cries4 ,every animal will choose for its sustenance exactly those animal or vegetable substances which agree best with its digestive organs1 without having received any instruction on the matter1 and without testing them beforehand4 ,even1 indeed1 though we assume that the power of distinguishing the different kinds of food is due to sight and not to smell1 it remains none the less mysterious how the animal can know what it is that will agree with it4 ,thus the kid which ,galen took prematurely from its mother smelt at all the different kinds of food that were set before it1 but drank only the milk without touching anything else4 ,the cherry-finch opens a cherry-stone by turning it so that her beak can hit the part where the two sides join1 and does this as much with the first stone she cracks as with the last4 ,fitchets1 martens1 and weasels make small holes on the opposite sides of an egg which they are about to suck1 so that the air may come in while they are sucking4 ,not only do animals know the food that will suit them best1 but they find out the most suitable remedies when they are ill1 and constantly form a correct diagnosis of their malady with a therapeutical knowledge which they cannot possibly have acquired4 ,dogs will often eat a great quantity of grass--particularly couch-grass--when they are unwell1 especially after spring1 if they have worms1 which thus pass from them entangled in the grass1 or if they want to get fragments of bone from out of their stomachs4 ,as a purgative they make use of plants that sting4 ,hens and pigeons pick lime from walls and pavements if their food does not afford them lime enough to make their eggshells with4 ,little children eat chalk when suffering from acidity of the stomach1 and pieces of charcoal if they are troubled with flatulence4 ,we may observe these same instincts for certain kinds of food or drugs even among grown-up people1 under circumstances in which their unconscious nature has unusual power2 as1 for example1 among women when they are pregnant1 whose capricious appetites are probably due to some special condition of the ftus1 which renders a certain state of the blood desirable4 ,field-mice bite off the germs of the corn which they collect together1 in order to prevent its growing during the winter4 ,some days before the beginning of cold weather the squirrel is most assiduous in augmenting its store1 and then closes its dwelling4 ,birds of passage betake themselves to warmer countries at times when there is still no scarcity of food for them here1 and when the temperature is considerably warmer than it will be when they return to us4 ,the same holds good of the time when animals begin to prepare their winter quarters1 which beetles constantly do during the very hottest days of autumn4 ,when swallows and storks find their way back to their native places over distances of hundreds of miles1 and though the aspect of the country is reversed1 we say that this is due to the acuteness of their perception of locality2 but the same cannot be said of dogs1 which1 though they have been carried in a bag from one place to another that they do not know1 and have been turned round and round twenty times over1 have still been known to find their way home4 ,here we can say no more than that their instinct has conducted them--that the clairvoyance of the unconscious has allowed them to conjecture their way4 #aai;a ,before an early winter1 birds of passage collect themselves in preparation for their flight sooner than usual2 but when the winter is going to be mild1 they will either not migrate at all1 or travel only a small distance southward4 ,when a hard winter is coming1 tortoises will make their burrows deeper4 ,if wild geese1 cranes1 etc41 soon return from the countries to which they had betaken themselves at the beginning of spring1 it is a sign that a hot and dry summer is about to ensue in those countries1 and that the drought will prevent their being able to rear their young4 ,in years of flood1 beavers construct their dwellings at a higher level than usual1 and shortly before an inundation the field-mice in ,kamtschatka come out of their holes in large bands4 ,if the summer is going to be dry1 spiders may be seen in ,may and ,april1 hanging from the ends of threads several feet in length4 ,if in winter spiders are seen running about much1 fighting with one another and preparing new webs1 there will be cold weather within the next nine days1 or from that to twelve3 when they again hide themselves there will be a thaw4 ,i have no doubt that much of this power of prophesying the weather is due to a perception of certain atmospheric conditions which escape ourselves1 but this perception can only have relation to a certain actual and now present condition of the weather2 and what can the impression made by this have to do with their idea of the weather that will ensue8 ,no one will ascribe to animals a power of prognosticating the weather months beforehand by means of inferences drawn logically from a series of observations1 #aai;b to the extent of being able to foretell floods4 ,it is far more probable that the power of perceiving subtle differences of actual atmospheric condition is nothing more than the sensual perception which acts as motive--for a motive must assuredly be always present--when an instinct comes into operation4 ,it continues to hold good1 therefore1 that the power of foreseeing the weather is a case of unconscious clairvoyance1 of which the stork which takes its departure for the south four weeks earlier than usual knows no more than does the stag when before a cold winter he grows himself a thicker pelt than is his wont4 ,on the one hand1 animals have present in their consciousness a perception of the actual state of the weather2 on the other1 their ensuing action is precisely such as it would be if the idea present with them was that of the weather that is about to come4 ,this they cannot consciously have2 the only natural intermediate link1 therefore1 between their conscious knowledge and their action is supplied by unconscious idea1 which1 however1 is always accurately prescient1 inasmuch as it contains something which is neither given directly to the animal through sensual perception1 nor can be deduced inferentially through the understanding4 ,most wonderful of all are the instincts connected with the continuation of the species4 ,the males always find out the females of their own kind1 but certainly not solely through their resemblance to themselves4 ,with many animals1 as1 for example1 parasitic crabs1 the sexes so little resemble one another that the male would be more likely to seek a mate from the females of a thousand other species than from his own4 ,certain butterflies are polymorphic1 and not only do the males and females of the same species differ1 but the females present two distinct forms1 one of which as a general rule mimics the outward appearance of a distant but highly valued species2 yet the males will pair only with the females of their own kind1 and not with the strangers1 though these may be very likely much more like the males themselves4 ,among the insect species of the strepsiptera1 the female is a shapeless worm which lives its whole life long in the hind body of a wasp2 its head1 which is of the shape of a lentil1 protrudes between two of the belly rings of the wasp1 the rest of the body being inside4 ,the male1 which only lives for a few hours1 and resembles a moth1 nevertheless recognises his mate in spite of these adverse circumstances1 and fecundates her4 ,before any experience of parturition1 the knowledge that it is approaching drives all mammals into solitude1 and bids them prepare a nest for their young in a hole or in some other place of shelter4 ,the bird builds her nest as soon as she feels the eggs coming to maturity within her4 ,snails1 land-crabs1 tree-frogs1 and toads1 all of them ordinarily dwellers upon land1 now betake themselves to the water2 sea-tortoises go on shore1 and many saltwater fishes come up into the rivers in order to lay their eggs where they can alone find the requisites for their development4 ,insects lay their eggs in the most varied kinds of situations1--in sand1 on leaves1 under the hides and horny substances of other animals2 they often select the spot where the larva will be able most readily to find its future sustenance1 as in autumn upon the trees that will open first in the coming spring1 or in spring upon the blossoms that will first bear fruit in autumn1 or in the insides of those caterpillars which will soonest as chrysalides provide the parasitic larva at once with food and with protection4 ,other insects select the sites from which they will first get forwarded to the destination best adapted for their development4 ,thus some horseflies lay their eggs upon the lips of horses or upon parts where they are accustomed to lick themselves4 ,the eggs get conveyed hence into the entrails1 the proper place for their development1--and are excreted upon their arrival at maturity4 ,the flies that infest cattle know so well how to select the most vigorous and healthiest beasts1 that cattle-dealers and tanners place entire dependence upon them1 and prefer those beasts and hides that are most scarred by maggots4 ,this selection of the best cattle by the help of these flies is no evidence in support of the conclusion that the flies possess the power of making experiments consciously and of reflecting thereupon1 even though the men whose trade it is to do this recognise them as their masters4 ,the solitary wasp makes a hole several inches deep in the sand1 lays her egg1 and packs along with it a number of green maggots that have no legs1 and which1 being on the point of becoming chrysalides1 are well nourished and able to go a long time without food2 she packs these maggots so closely together that they cannot move nor turn into chrysalides1 and just enough of them to support the larva until it becomes a chrysalis4 ,a kind of bug 7cerceris bupresticida71 which itself lives only upon pollen1 lays her eggs in an underground cell1 and with each one of them she deposits three beetles1 which she has lain in wait for and captured when they were still weak through having only just left off being chrysalides4 ,she kills these beetles1 and appears to smear them with a fluid whereby she preserves them fresh and suitable for food4 ,many kinds of wasps open the cells in which their larv are confined when these must have consumed the provision that was left with them4 ,they supply them with more food1 and again close the cell4 ,ants1 again1 hit always upon exactly the right moment for opening the cocoons in which their larv are confined and for setting them free1 the larva being unable to do this for itself4 ,yet the life of only a few kinds of insects lasts longer than a single breeding season4 ,what then can they know about the contents of their eggs and the fittest place for their development8 ,what can they know about the kind of food the larva will want when it leaves the egg--a food so different from their own8 ,what1 again1 can they know about the quantity of food that will be necessary8 ,how much of all this at least can they know consciously8 ,yet their actions1 the pains they take1 and the importance they evidently attach to these matters1 prove that they have a foreknowledge of the future3 this knowledge therefore can only be an unconscious clairvoyance4 ,for clairvoyance it must certainly be that inspires the will of an animal to open cells and cocoons at the very moment that the larva is either ready for more food or fit for leaving the cocoon4 ,the eggs of the cuckoo do not take only from two to three days to mature in her ovaries1 as those of most birds do1 but require from eleven to twelve2 the cuckoo1 therefore1 cannot sit upon her own eggs1 for her first egg would be spoiled before the last was laid4 ,she therefore lays in other birds' nests--of course laying each egg in a different nest4 ,but in order that the birds may not perceive her egg to be a stranger and turn it out of the nest1 not only does she lay an egg much smaller than might be expected from a bird of her size 7for she only finds her opportunity among small birds71 but1 as already said1 she imitates the other eggs in the nest she has selected with surprising accuracy in respect both of colour and marking4 ,as the cuckoo chooses the nest some days beforehand1 it may be thought1 if the nest is an open one1 that the cuckoo looks upon the colour of the eggs within it while her own is in process of maturing inside her1 and that it is thus her egg comes to assume the colour of the others2 but this explanation will not hold good for nests that are made in the holes of trees1 as that of sylvia phnicurus1 or which are oven-shaped with a narrow entrance1 as with sylvia rufa4 ,in these cases the cuckoo can neither slip in nor look in1 and must therefore lay her egg outside the nest and push it inside with her beak2 she can therefore have no means of perceiving through her senses what the eggs already in the nest are like4 ,if1 then1 in spite of all this1 her egg closely resembles the others1 this can only have come about through an unconscious clairvoyance which directs the process that goes on within the ovary in respect of colour and marking4 ,an important argument in support of the existence of a clairvoyance in the instincts of animals is to be found in the series of facts which testify to the existence of a like clairvoyance1 under certain circumstances1 even among human beings1 while the self-curative instincts of children and of pregnant women have been already mentioned4 ,here1 however1 #abd in correspondence with the higher stage of development which human consciousness has attained1 a stronger echo of the unconscious clairvoyance commonly resounds within consciousness itself1 and this is represented by a more or less definite presentiment of the consequences that will ensue4 ,it is also in accord with the greater independence of the human intellect that this kind of presentiment is not felt exclusively immediately before the carrying out of an action1 but is occasionally disconnected from the condition that an action has to be performed immediately1 and displays itself simply as an idea independently of conscious will1 provided only that the matter concerning which the presentiment is felt is one which in a high degree concerns the will of the person who feels it4 ,in the intervals of an intermittent fever or of other illness1 it not unfrequently happens that sick persons can accurately foretell the day of an approaching attack and how long it will last4 ,the same thing occurs almost invariably in the case of spontaneous1 and generally in that of artificial1 somnambulism2 certainly the ,pythia1 as is well known1 used to announce the date of her next ecstatic state4 ,in like manner the curative instinct displays itself in somnambulists1 and they have been known to select remedies that have been no less remarkable for the success attending their employment than for the completeness with which they have run counter to received professional opinion4 ,the indication of medicinal remedies is the only use which respectable electro-biologists will make of the half-sleeping1 half-waking condition of those whom they are influencing4 8,people in perfectly sound health have been known1 before childbirth or at the commencement of an illness1 to predict accurately their own approaching death4 ,the accomplishment of their predictions can hardly be explained as the result of mere chance1 for if this were all1 the prophecy should fail at least as often as not1 whereas the reverse is actually the case4 ,many of these persons neither desire death nor fear it1 so that the result cannot be ascribed to imagination40 ,so writes the celebrated physiologist1 ,burdach1 from whose chapter on presentiment in his work 8,bhicke in's ,leben0 a great part of my most striking examples is taken4 ,this presentiment of deaths1 which is the exception among men1 is quite common with animals1 even though they do not know nor understand what death is4 ,when they become aware that their end is approaching1 they steal away to outlying and solitary places4 ,this is why in cities we so rarely see the dead body or skeleton of a cat4 ,we can only suppose that the unconscious clairvoyance1 which is of essentially the same kind whether in man or beast1 calls forth presentiments of different degrees of definiteness1 so that the cat is driven to withdraw herself through a mere instinct without knowing why she does so1 while in man a definite perception is awakened of the fact that he is about to die4 ,not only do people have presentiments concerning their own death1 but there are many instances on record in which they have become aware of that of those near and dear to them1 the dying person having appeared in a dream to friend or wife or husband4 ,stories to this effect prevail among all nations1 and unquestionably contain much truth4 ,closely connected with this is the power of second sight1 which existed formerly in ,scotland1 and still does so in the ,danish islands4 ,this power enables certain people without any ecstasy1 but simply through their keener perception1 to foresee coming events1 or to tell what is going on in foreign countries on matters in which they are deeply interested1 such as deaths1 battles1 conflagrations 7,swedenborg foretold the burning of ,stockholm71 the arrival or the doings of friends who are at a distance4 ,with many persons this clairvoyance is confined to a knowledge of the death of their acquaintances or fellow-townspeople4 ,there have been a great many instances of such death-prophetesses1 and1 what is most important1 some cases have been verified in courts of law4 ,i may say1 in passing1 that this power of second sight is found in persons who are in ecstatic states1 in the spontaneous or artificially induced somnambulism of the higher kinds of waking dreams1 as well as in lucid moments before death4 ,these prophetic glimpses1 by which the clairvoyance of the unconscious reveals itself to consciousness1 #abf are commonly obscure because in the brain they must assume a form perceptible by the senses1 whereas the unconscious idea can have nothing to do with any form of sensual impression3 it is for this reason that humours1 dreams1 and the hallucinations of sick persons can so easily have a false signification attached to them4 ,the chances of error and self-deception that arise from this source1 the ease with which people may be deceived intentionally1 and the mischief which1 as a general rule1 attends a knowledge of the future1 these considerations place beyond all doubt the practical unwisdom of attempts to arrive at certainty concerning the future4 ,this1 however1 cannot affect the weight which in theory should be attached to phenomena of this kind1 and must not prevent us from recognising the positive existence of the clairvoyance whose existence ,i am maintaining1 though it is often hidden under a chaos of madness and imposture4 ,the materialistic and rationalistic tendencies of the present day lead most people either to deny facts of this kind in toto1 or to ignore them1 inasmuch as they are inexplicable from a materialistic standpoint1 and cannot be established by the inductive or experimental method--as though this last were not equally impossible in the case of morals1 social science1 and politics4 ,a mind of any candour will only be able to deny the truths of this entire class of phenomena so long as it remains in ignorance of the facts that have been related concerning them2 but1 again1 a continuance in this ignorance can only arise from unwillingness to be convinced4 ,i am satisfied that many of those who deny all human power of divination would come to another1 and1 to say the least1 more cautious conclusion if they would be at the pains of further investigation2 and ,i hold that no one1 even at the present day1 need be ashamed of joining in with an opinion which was maintained by all the great spirits of antiquity except ,epicurus--an opinion whose possible truth hardly one of our best modern philosophers has ventured to contravene1 and which the champions of ,german enlightenment were so little disposed to relegate to the domain of old wives' tales1 that ,goethe furnishes us with an example of second sight that fell within his own experience1 and confirms it down to its minutest details4 ,although ,i am far from believing that the kind of phenomena above referred to form in themselves a proper foundation for a superstructure of scientific demonstration1 ,i nevertheless find them valuable as a completion and further confirmation of the series of phenomena presented to us by the clairvoyance which we observe in human and animal instinct4 ,even though they only continue this series #abh through the echo that is awakened within our consciousness1 they as powerfully support the account which instinctive actions give concerning their own nature1 as they are themselves supported by the analogy they present to the clairvoyance observable in instinct4 ,this1 then1 as well as my desire not to lose an opportunity of protesting against a modern prejudice1 must stand as my reason for having allowed myself to refer1 in a scientific work1 to a class of phenomena which has fallen at present into so much discredit4 ,i will conclude with a few words upon a special kind of instinct which has a very instructive bearing upon the subject generally1 and shows how impossible it is to evade the supposition of an unconscious clairvoyance on the part of instinct4 ,in the examples adduced hitherto1 the action of each individual has been done on the individual's own behalf1 except in the case of instincts connected with the continuation of the species1 where the action benefits others--that is to say1 the offspring of the creature performing it4 ,we must now examine the cases in which a solidarity of instinct is found to exist between several individuals1 so that1 on the one hand1 the action of each redounds to the common welfare1 and1 on the other1 it becomes possible for a useful purpose to be achieved through the harmonious association of individual workers4 ,this community of instinct exists also among the higher animals1 but here it is harder to distinguish from associations originating through conscious will1 inasmuch as speech supplies the means of a more perfect intercommunication of aim and plan4 ,we shall1 however1 definitely recognise #abi this general effect of a universal instinct in the origin of speech and in the great political and social movements in the history of the world4 ,here we are concerned only with the simplest and most definite examples that can be found anywhere1 and therefore we will deal in preference with the lower animals1 among which1 in the absence of voice1 the means of communicating thought1 mimicry1 and physiognomy1 are so imperfect that the harmony and interconnection of the individual actions cannot in its main points be ascribed to an understanding arrived at through speech4 ,huber observed that when a new comb was being constructed a number of the largest working-bees1 that were full of honey1 took no part in the ordinary business of the others1 but remained perfectly aloof4 ,twenty-four hours afterwards small plates of wax had formed under their bellies4 ,the bee drew these off with her hind-feet1 masticated them1 and made them into a band4 ,the small plates of wax thus prepared were then glued to the roof of the hive one on the top of the other4 ,when one of the bees of this kind had used up her plates of wax1 another followed her and carried the same work forward in the same way4 ,a thin rough vertical wall1 half a line in thickness and fastened to the sides of the hive1 was thus constructed4 ,on this1 one of the smaller working-bees whose belly was empty came1 and after surveying the wall1 made a flat half-oval excavation in the middle of one of its sides2 she piled up the wax thus excavated round the edge of the excavation4 ,after a short time she was relieved by another like herself1 till more than twenty followed one another in this way4 ,meanwhile another bee began to make a similar hollow on the other side of the wall1 but corresponding only with the rim of the excavation on this side4 ,presently another bee began a second hollow upon the same side1 each bee being continually relieved by others4 ,other bees kept coming up and bringing under their bellies plates of wax1 with which they heightened the edge of the small wall of wax4 ,in this1 new bees were constantly excavating the ground for more cells1 while others proceeded by degrees to bring those already begun into a perfectly symmetrical shape1 and at the same time continued building up the prismatic walls between them4 ,thus the bees worked on opposite sides of the wall of wax1 always on the same plan and in the closest correspondence with those upon the other side1 until eventually the cells on both sides were completed in all their wonderful regularity and harmony of arrangement1 not merely as regards those standing side by side1 but also as regards those which were upon the other side of their pyramidal base4 ,let the reader consider how animals that are accustomed to confer together1 by speech or otherwise1 concerning designs which they may be pursuing in common1 will wrangle with thousandfold diversity of opinion2 let him reflect how often something has to be undone1 destroyed1 and done over again2 how at one time too many hands come forward1 and at another too few2 what running to and fro there is before each has found his right place2 how often too many1 and again too few1 present themselves for a relief gang2 and how we find all this in the concerted works of men1 who stand so far higher than bees in the scale of organisation4 ,we see nothing of the kind among bees4 ,a survey of their operations leaves rather the impression upon us as though an invisible master-builder had prearranged a scheme of action for the entire community1 and had impressed it upon each individual member1 as though each class of workers had learnt their appointed work by heart1 knew their places and the numbers in which they should relieve each other1 and were informed instantaneously by a secret signal of the moment when their action was wanted4 ,this1 however1 is exactly the manner in which an instinct works2 and as the intention of the entire community is instinctively present in the unconscious clairvoyance #aca;a of each individual bee1 so the possession of this common instinct impels each one of them to the discharge of her special duties when the right moment has arrived4 ,it is only thus that the wonderful tranquillity and order which we observe could be attained4 ,what we are to think concerning this common instinct must be reserved for explanation later on1 but the possibility of its existence is already evident1 inasmuch #aca;b as each individual has an unconscious insight concerning the plan proposed to itself by the community1 and also concerning the means immediately to be adopted through concerted action--of which1 however1 only the part requiring his own co-operation is present in the consciousness of each4 ,thus1 for example1 the larva of the bee itself spins the silky chamber in which it is to become a chrysalis1 but other bees must close it with its lid of wax4 ,the purpose of there being a chamber in which the larva can become a chrysalis must be present in the minds of each of these two parties to the transaction1 but neither of them acts under the influence of conscious will1 except in regard to his own particular department4 ,i have already mentioned the fact that the larva1 after its metamorphosis1 must be freed from its cell by other bees1 and have told how the working-bees in autumn kill the drones1 so that they may not have to feed a number of useless mouths throughout the winter1 and how they only spare them when they are wanted in order to fecundate a new queen4 ,furthermore1 the working-bees build cells in which the eggs laid by the queen may come to maturity1 and1 as a general rule1 make just as many chambers as the queen lays eggs2 they make these1 moreover1 in the same order as that in which the queen lays her eggs1 namely1 first for the working-bees1 then for the drones1 and lastly for the queens4 ,in the polity of the bees1 the working and the sexual capacities1 which were once united1 are now personified in three distinct kinds of individual1 and these combine with an inner1 unconscious1 spiritual union1 so as to form a single body politic1 as the organs of a living body combine to form the body itself4 ,in this chapter1 therefore1 we have arrived at the following conclusions3-- ,instinct is not the result of conscious deliberation2 #acb it is not a consequence of bodily organisation2 it is not a mere result of a mechanism which lies in the organisation of the brain2 it is not the operation of dead mechanism1 glued on1 as it were1 to the soul1 and foreign to its inmost essence2 but it is the spontaneous action of the individual1 springing from his most essential nature and character4 ,the purpose to which any particular kind of instinctive action is subservient is not the purpose of a soul standing outside the individual and near akin to ,providence--a purpose once for all thought out1 and now become a matter of necessity to the individual1 so that he can act in no other way1 though it is engrafted into his nature from without1 and not natural to it4 ,the purpose of the instinct is in each individual case thought out and willed unconsciously by the individual1 and afterwards the choice of means adapted to each particular case is arrived at unconsciously4 ,a knowledge of the purpose is often absolutely unattainable #acc by conscious knowledge through sensual perception4 ,then does the peculiarity of the unconscious display itself in the clairvoyance of which consciousness perceives partly only a faint and dull1 and partly1 as in the case of man1 a more or less definite echo by way of sentiment1 whereas the instinctive action itself--the carrying out of the means necessary for the achievement of the unconscious purpose--falls always more clearly within consciousness1 inasmuch as due performance of what is necessary would be otherwise impossible4 ,finally1 the clairvoyance makes itself perceived in the concerted action of several individuals combining to carry out a common but unconscious purpose4 ,up to this point we have encountered clairvoyance as a fact which we observe but cannot explain1 and the reader may say that he prefers to take his stand here1 and be content with regarding instinct simply as a matter of fact1 the explanation of which is at present beyond our reach4 ,against this it must be urged1 firstly1 that clairvoyance is not confined to instinct1 but is found also in man2 secondly1 that clairvoyance is by no means present in all instincts1 and that therefore our experience shows us clairvoyance and instinct as two distinct things--clairvoyance being of great use in explaining instinct1 but instinct serving nothing to explain clairvoyance2 thirdly and lastly1 that the clairvoyance of the individual will not continue to be so incomprehensible to us1 but will be perfectly well explained in the further course of our investigation1 while we must give up all hope of explaining instinct in any other way4 ,the conception we have thus arrived at enables us to regard instinct as the innermost kernel1 so to speak1 of every living being4 ,that this is actually the case is shown by the instincts of self-preservation and of the continuation of the species which we observe throughout creation1 and by the heroic self-abandonment with which the individual will sacrifice welfare1 and even life1 at the bidding of instinct4 ,we see this when we think of the caterpillar1 and how she repairs her cocoon until she yields to exhaustion2 of the bird1 and how she will lay herself to death2 of the disquiet and grief displayed by all migratory animals if they are prevented from migrating4 ,a captive cuckoo will always die at the approach of winter through despair at being unable to fly away2 so will the vineyard snail if it is hindered of its winter sleep4 ,the weakest mother will encounter an enemy far surpassing her in strength1 and suffer death cheerfully for her offspring's sake4 ,every year we see fresh cases of people who have been unfortunate going mad or committing suicide4 ,women who have survived the ,csarian operation allow themselves so little to be deterred from further childbearing through fear of this frightful and generally fatal operation1 that they will undergo it no less than three times4 ,can we suppose that what so closely resembles demoniacal possession can have come about through something engrafted on to the soul as a mechanism foreign to its inner nature1 #ace or through conscious deliberation which adheres always to a bare egoism1 and is utterly incapable of such self-sacrifice for the sake of offspring as is displayed by the procreative and maternal instincts8 ,we have now1 finally1 to consider how it arises that the instincts of any animal species are so similar within the limits of that species--a circumstance which has not a little contributed to the engrafted-mechanism theory4 ,but it is plain that like causes will be followed by like effects2 and this should afford sufficient explanation4 ,the bodily mechanism1 for example1 of all the individuals of a species is alike2 so again are their capabilities and the outcomes of their conscious intelligence--though this1 indeed1 is not the case with man1 nor in some measure even with the highest animals2 and it is through this want of uniformity that there is such a thing as individuality4 ,the external conditions of all the individuals of a species are also tolerably similar1 and when they differ essentially1 the instincts are likewise different--a fact in support of which no examples are necessary4 ,from like conditions of mind and body 7and this includes like predispositions of brain and ganglia7 and like exterior circumstances1 like desires will follow as a necessary logical consequence4 ,again1 from like desires and like inward and outward circumstances1 a like choice of means--that is to say1 like instincts--must ensue4 ,these last two steps would not be conceded without restriction if the question were one involving conscious deliberation1 but as these logical consequences are supposed to follow from the unconscious1 which takes the right step unfailingly without vacillation or delay so long as the premises are similar1 the ensuing desires and the instincts to adopt the means for their gratification will be similar also4 ,thus the view which we have taken concerning instinct explains the very last point which it may be thought worth while to bring forward in support of the opinions of our opponents4 ,i will conclude this chapter with the words of ,schelling3 8,thoughtful minds will hold the phenomena of animal instinct to belong to the most important of all phenomena1 and to be the true touchstone of a durable philosophy40 ,chapter ,,ix ,remarks upon ,von ,hartmann's position in regard to instinct4 ,,uncertain how far the foregoing chapter is not better left without comment of any kind1 ,i nevertheless think that some of my readers may be helped by the following extracts from the notes ,i took while translating4 ,i will give them as they come1 without throwing them into connected form4 99 99 99 99 99 ,von ,hartmann defines instinct as action done with a purpose1 but without consciousness of purpose4 ,the building of her nest by a bird is an instinctive action2 it is done with a purpose1 but it is arbitrary to say that the bird has no knowledge of that purpose4 ,some hold that birds when they are building their nest know as well that they mean to bring up a family in it as a young married couple do when they build themselves a house4 ,this is the conclusion which would be come to by a plain person on a prim facie view of the facts1 and ,von ,hartmann shows no reason for modifying it4 ,a better definition of instinct would be that it is inherited knowledge in respect of certain facts1 and of the most suitable manner in which to deal with them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,von ,hartmann speaks of 8a mechanism of brain or mind0 contrived by nature1 and again of 8a psychical organisation10 as though it were something distinct from a physical organisation4 ,we can conceive of such a thing as mechanism of brain1 for we have seen brain and handled it2 but until we have seen a mind and handled it1 or at any rate been enabled to draw inferences which will warrant us in conceiving of it as a material substance apart from bodily substance1 we cannot infer that it has an organisation apart from bodily organisation4 ,does ,von ,hartmann mean that we have two bodies--a body-body1 and a soul-body8 99 99 99 99 99 ,he says that no one will call the action of the spider instinctive in voiding the fluids from its glands when they are too full4 ,why not8 99 99 99 99 99 ,he is continually personifying instinct2 thus he speaks of the 8ends proposed to itself by the instinct10 of 8the blind unconscious purpose of the instinct10 of 8an unconscious purpose constraining the volition of the bird10 of 8each variation and modification of the instinct10 as though instinct1 purpose1 and1 later on1 clairvoyance1 were persons1 and not words characterising a certain class of actions4 ,the ends are proposed to itself by the animal1 not by the instinct4 ,nothing but mischief can come of a mode of expression which does not keep this clearly in view4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it must not be supposed that the same cuckoo is in the habit of laying in the nests of several different species1 and of changing the colour of her eggs according to that of the eggs of the bird in whose nest she lays4 ,i have inquired from ,mr4 ,r4 ,bowdler ,sharpe of the ornithological department at the ,british ,museum1 who kindly gives it me as his opinion that though cuckoos do imitate the eggs of the species on whom they foist their young ones1 yet one cuckoo will probably lay in the nests of one species also1 and will stick to that species for life4 ,if so1 the same race of cuckoos may impose upon the same species for generations together4 ,the instinct will even thus remain a very wonderful one1 but it is not at all inconsistent with the theory put forward by ,professor ,hering and myself4 99 99 99 99 99 ,returning to the idea of psychical mechanism1 he admits that 8it is itself so obscure that we can hardly form any idea concerning it10 #aci;a and then goes on to claim for it that it explains a great many other things4 ,this must have been the passage which ,mr4 ,sully had in view when he very justly wrote that ,von ,hartmann 8dogmatically closes the field of physical inquiry1 and takes refuge in a phantom which explains everything1 simply because it is itself incapable of explanation40 99 99 99 99 99 ,according to ,von ,hartmann #aci;b the unpractised animal manifests its instinct as perfectly as the practised4 ,this is not the case4 ,the young animal exhibits marvellous proficiency1 but it gains by experience4 ,i have watched sparrows1 which ,i can hardly doubt to be young ones1 spend a whole month in trying to build their nest1 and give it up in the end as hopeless4 ,i have watched three such cases this spring in a tree not twenty feet from my own window and on a level with my eye1 so that ,i have been able to see what was going on at all hours of the day4 ,in each case the nest was made well and rapidly up to a certain point1 and then got top-heavy and tumbled over1 so that little was left on the tree3 it was reconstructed and reconstructed over and over again1 always with the same result1 till at last in all three cases the birds gave up in despair4 ,i believe the older and stronger birds secure the fixed and best sites1 driving the younger birds to the trees1 and that the art of building nests in trees is dying out among house-sparrows4 99 99 99 99 99 ,he declares that instinct is not due to organisation so much as organisation to instinct4 #adj ,the fact is1 that neither can claim precedence of or pre-eminence over the other4 ,instinct and organisation are only mind and body1 or mind and matter2 and these are not two separable things1 but one and inseparable1 with1 as it were1 two sides2 the one of which is a function of the other4 ,there was never yet either matter without mind1 however low1 nor mind1 however high1 without a material body of some sort2 there can be no change in one without a corresponding change in the other2 neither came before the other2 neither can either cease to change or cease to be2 for 8to be0 is to continue changing1 so that 8to be0 and 8to change0 are one4 99 99 99 99 99 ,whence1 he asks1 comes the desire to gratify an instinct before experience of the pleasure that will ensue on gratification8 ,this is a pertinent question1 but it is met by ,professor ,hering with the answer that this is due to memory--to the continuation in the germ of vibrations that were vibrating in the body of the parent1 and which1 when stimulated by vibrations of a suitable rhythm1 become more and more powerful till they suffice to set the body in visible action4 ,for my own part ,i only venture to maintain that it is due to memory1 that is to say1 to an enduring sense on the part of the germ of the action it took when in the persons of its ancestors1 and of the gratification which ensued thereon4 ,this meets ,von ,hartmann's whole difficulty4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the glacier is not snow4 ,it is snow packed tight into a small compass1 and has thus lost all trace of its original form4 ,how incomplete1 however1 would be any theory of glacial action which left out of sight the origin of the glacier in snow6 ,von ,hartmann loses sight of the origin of instinctive in deliberative actions because the two classes of action are now in many respects different4 ,his philosophy of the unconscious fails to consider what is the normal process by means of which such common actions as we can watch1 and whose history we can follow1 have come to be done unconsciously4 99 99 99 99 99 ,he says1 #ada 8,how inconceivable is the supposition of a mechanism1 c41 c42 how clear and simple1 on the other hand1 is the view that there is an unconscious purpose constraining the volition of the bird to the use of the fitting means40 ,does he mean that there is an actual thing--an unconscious purpose--something outside the bird1 as it were a man1 which lays hold of the bird and makes it do this or that1 as a master makes a servant do his bidding8 ,if so1 he again personifies the purpose itself1 and must therefore embody it1 or be talking in a manner which plain people cannot understand4 ,if1 on the other hand1 he means 8how simple is the view that the bird acts unconsciously10 this is not more simple than supposing it to act consciously2 and what ground has he for supposing that the bird is unconscious8 ,it is as simple1 and as much in accordance with the facts1 to suppose that the bird feels the air to be colder1 and knows that she must warm her eggs if she is to hatch them1 as consciously as a mother knows that she must not expose her new-born infant to the cold4 99 99 99 99 99 ,on page #ii of this book we find ,von ,hartmann saying that if it is once granted that the normal and abnormal manifestations of instinct spring from a single source1 then the objection that the modification is due to conscious knowledge will be found to be a suicidal one later on1 in so far as it is directed against instinct generally4 ,i understand him to mean that if we admit instinctive action1 and the modifications of that action which more nearly resemble results of reason1 to be actions of the same ultimate kind differing in degree only1 and if we thus attempt to reduce instinctive action to the prophetic strain arising from old experience1 we shall be obliged to admit that the formation of the embryo is ultimately due to reflection--which he seems to think is a reductio ad absurdum of the argument4 ,therefore1 he concludes1 if there is to be only one source1 the source must be unconscious1 and not conscious4 ,we reply1 that we do not see the absurdity of the position which we grant we have been driven to4 ,we hold that the formation of the embryo is ultimately due to reflection and design4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the writer of an article in the ,times1 ,april #a1 #ahhj1 says that servants must be taught their calling before they can practise it2 but1 in fact1 they can only be taught their calling by practising it4 ,so ,von ,hartmann says animals must feel the pleasure consequent on gratification of an instinct before they can be stimulated to act upon the instinct by a knowledge of the pleasure that will ensue4 ,this sounds logical1 but in practice a little performance and a little teaching--a little sense of pleasure and a little connection of that pleasure with this or that practice1--come up simultaneously from something that we cannot see1 the two being so small and so much abreast1 that we do not know which is first1 performance or teaching2 and1 again1 action1 or pleasure supposed as coming from the action4 99 99 99 99 99 8,geistes-mechanismus0 comes as near to 8disposition of mind10 or1 more shortly1 8disposition10 as so unsatisfactory a word can come to anything4 ,yet1 if we translate it throughout by 8disposition10 we shall see how little we are being told4 ,we find on page #aad that 8all instinctive actions give us an impression of absolute security and infallibility02 that 8the will is never weak or hesitating1 as it is when inferences are being drawn consciously40 8,we never10 ,von ,hartmann continues1 8find instinct making mistakes40 ,passing over the fact that instinct is again personified1 the statement is still incorrect4 ,instinctive actions are certainly1 as a general rule1 performed with less uncertainty than deliberative ones2 this is explicable by the fact that they have been more often practised1 and thus reduced more completely to a matter of routine2 but nothing is more certain than that animals acting under the guidance of inherited experience or instinct frequently make mistakes which with further practice they correct4 ,von ,hartmann has abundantly admitted that the manner of an instinctive action is often varied in correspondence with variation in external circumstances4 ,it is impossible to see how this does not involve both possibility of error and the connection of instinct with deliberation at one and the same time4 ,the fact is simply this--when an animal finds itself in a like position with that in which it has already often done a certain thing in the persons of its forefathers1 it will do this thing well and easily3 when it finds the position somewhat1 but not unrecognisably1 altered through change either in its own person or in the circumstances exterior to it1 it will vary its action with greater or less ease according to the nature of the change in the position3 when the position is gravely altered the animal either bungles or is completely thwarted4 99 99 99 99 99 ,not only does ,von ,hartmann suppose that instinct may1 and does1 involve knowledge antecedent to1 and independent of1 experience--an idea as contrary to the tendency of modern thought as that of spontaneous generation1 with which indeed it is identical though presented in another shape--but he implies by his frequent use of the word 8unmittelbar0 that a result can come about without any cause whatever4 ,so he says1 8,um fr die unbewusster ,erkenntniss1 welche nicht durch sinnliche ,wahrnehmung erworben1 sondern als unmittelbar ,besitz10 c4 #add;a ,because he does not see where the experience can have been gained1 he cuts the knot1 and denies that there has been experience4 ,we say1 ,look more attentively and you will discover the time and manner in which the experience was gained4 99 99 99 99 99 ,again1 he continually assumes that animals low down in the scale of life cannot know their own business because they show no sign of knowing ours4 ,see his remarks on ,saturnia pavonia minor 7page #ajg71 and elsewhere on cattle and gadflies4 ,the question is not what can they know1 but what does their action prove to us that they do know4 ,with each species of animal or plant there is one profession only1 and it is hereditary4 ,with us there are many professions1 and they are not hereditary2 so that they cannot become instinctive1 as they would otherwise tend to do4 99 99 99 99 99 ,he attempts #add;b to draw a distinction between the causes that have produced the weapons and working instruments of animals1 on the one hand1 and those that lead to the formation of hexagonal cells by bees1 c41 on the other4 ,no such distinction can be justly drawn4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ghost-stories which ,von ,hartmann accepts will hardly be accepted by people of sound judgment4 ,there is one well-marked distinctive feature between the knowledge manifested by animals when acting instinctively and the supposed knowledge of seers and clairvoyants4 ,in the first case1 the animal never exhibits knowledge except upon matters concerning which its race has been conversant for generations2 in the second1 the seer is supposed to do so4 ,in the first case1 a new feature is invariably attended with disturbance of the performance and the awakening of consciousness and deliberation1 unless the new matter is too small in proportion to the remaining features of the case to attract attention1 or unless1 though really new1 it appears so similar to an old feature as to be at first mistaken for it2 with the second1 it is not even professed that the seer's ancestors have had long experience upon the matter concerning which the seer is supposed to have special insight1 and ,i can imagine no more powerful priori argument against a belief in such stories4 99 99 99 99 99 ,close upon the end of his chapter ,von ,hartmann touches upon the one matter which requires consideration4 ,he refers the similarity of instinct that is observable among all species to the fact that like causes produce like effects2 and ,i gather1 though he does not expressly say so1 that he considers similarity of instinct in successive generations to be referable to the same cause as similarity of instinct between all the contemporary members of a species4 ,he thus raises the one objection against referring the phenomena of heredity to memory which ,i think need be gone into with any fulness4 ,i will1 however1 reserve this matter for my concluding chapters4 ,von ,hartmann concludes his chapter with a quotation from ,schelling1 to the effect that the phenomena of animal instinct are the true touchstone of a durable philosophy2 by which ,i suppose it is intended to say that if a system or theory deals satisfactorily with animal instinct1 it will stand1 but not otherwise4 ,i can wish nothing better than that the philosophy of the unconscious advanced by ,von ,hartmann be tested by this standard4 ,chapter ,x ,recapitulation and statement of an objection4 ,,the true theory of unconscious action1 then1 is that of ,professor ,hering1 from whose lecture it is no strained conclusion to gather that he holds the action of all living beings1 from the moment of their conception to that of their fullest development1 to be founded in volition and design1 though these have been so long lost sight of that the work is now carried on1 as it were1 departmentally and in due course according to an official routine which can hardly now be departed from4 ,this involves the older 8,darwinism0 and the theory of ,lamarck1 according to which the modification of living forms has been effected mainly through the needs of the living forms themselves1 which vary with varying conditions1 the survival of the fittest 7which1 as ,i see ,mr4 ,h4 ,b4 ,baildon has just said1 8sometimes comes to mean merely the survival of the survivors0 #adf7 being taken almost as a matter of course4 ,according to this view of evolution1 there is a remarkable analogy between the development of living organs or tools and that of those organs or tools external to the body which has been so rapid during the last few thousand years4 ,animals and plants1 according to ,professor ,hering1 are guided throughout their development1 and preserve the due order in each step which they take1 through memory of the course they took on past occasions when in the persons of their ancestors4 ,i am afraid ,i have already too often said that if this memory remains for long periods together latent and without effect1 it is because the undulations of the molecular substance of the body which are its supposed explanation are during these periods too feeble to generate action1 until they are augmented in force through an accession of suitable undulations issuing from exterior objects2 or1 in other words1 until recollection is stimulated by a return of the associated ideas4 ,on this the eternal agitation becomes so much enhanced1 that equilibrium is visibly disturbed1 and the action ensues which is proper to the vibration of the particular substance under the particular conditions4 ,this1 at least1 is what ,i suppose ,professor ,hering to intend4 ,leaving the explanation of memory on one side1 and confining ourselves to the fact of memory only1 a caterpillar on being just hatched is supposed1 according to this theory1 to lose its memory of the time it was in the egg1 and to be stimulated by an intense but unconscious recollection of the action taken by its ancestors when they were first hatched4 ,it is guided in the course it takes by the experience it can thus command4 ,each step it takes recalls a new recollection1 and thus it goes through its development as a performer performs a piece of music1 each bar leading his recollection to the bar that should next follow4 ,in 8,life and ,habit0 will be found examples of the manner in which this view solves a number of difficulties for the explanation of which the leading men of science express themselves at a loss4 ,the following from ,professor ,huxley's recent work upon the crayfish may serve for an example4 ,professor ,huxley writes3-- 8,it is a widely received notion that the energies of living matter have a tendency to decline and finally disappear1 and that the death of the body as a whole is a necessary correlate of its life4 ,that all living beings sooner or later perish needs no demonstration1 but it would be difficult to find satisfactory grounds for the belief that they needs must do so4 ,the analogy of a machine1 that sooner or later must be brought to a standstill by the wear and tear of its parts1 does not hold1 inasmuch as the animal mechanism is continually renewed and repaired2 and though it is true that individual components of the body are constantly dying1 yet their places are taken by vigorous successors4 ,a city remains notwithstanding the constant death-rate of its inhabitants2 and such an organism as a crayfish is only a corporate unity1 made up of innumerable partially independent individualities40--,the ,crayfish1 p4 #abg4 ,surely the theory which ,i have indicated above makes the reason plain why no organism can permanently outlive its experience of past lives4 ,the death of such a body corporate as the crayfish is due to the social condition becoming more complex than there is memory of past experience to deal with4 ,hence social disruption1 insubordination1 and decay4 ,the crayfish dies as a state dies1 and all states that we have heard of die sooner or later4 ,there are some savages who have not yet arrived at the conception that death is the necessary end of all living beings1 and who consider even the gentlest death from old age as violent and abnormal2 so ,professor ,huxley seems to find a difficulty in seeing that though a city commonly outlives many generations of its citizens1 yet cities and states are in the end no less mortal than individuals4 8,the city10 he says1 8remains40 ,yes1 but not for ever4 ,when ,professor ,huxley can find a city that will last for ever1 he may wonder that a crayfish does not last for ever4 ,i have already here and elsewhere said all that ,i can yet bring forward in support of ,professor ,hering's theory2 it now remains for me to meet the most troublesome objection to it that ,i have been able to think of--an objection which ,i had before me when ,i wrote 8,life and ,habit10 but which then as now ,i believe to be unsound4 ,seeing1 however1 as ,i have pointed out at the end of the preceding chapter1 that ,von ,hartmann has touched upon it1 and being aware that a plausible case can be made out for it1 ,i will state it and refute it here4 ,when ,i say refute it1 ,i do not mean that ,i shall have done with it--for it is plain that it opens up a vaster question in the relations between the so-called organic and inorganic worlds--but that ,i will refute the supposition that it any way militates against ,professor ,hering's theory4 ,why1 it may be asked1 should we go out of our way to invent unconscious memory--the existence of which must at the best remain an inference #adi--when the observed fact that like antecedents are invariably followed by like consequents should be sufficient for our purpose8 ,why should the fact that a given kind of chrysalis in a given condition will always become a butterfly within a certain time be connected with memory1 when it is not pretended that memory has anything to do with the invariableness with which oxygen and hydrogen when mixed in certain proportions make water8 ,we assume confidently that if a drop of water were decomposed into its component parts1 and if these were brought together again1 and again decomposed and again brought together any number of times over1 the results would be invariably the same1 whether decomposition or combination1 yet no one will refer the invariableness of the action during each repetition1 to recollection by the gaseous molecules of the course taken when the process was last repeated4 ,on the contrary1 we are assured that molecules in some distant part of the world1 which had never entered into such and such a known combination themselves1 nor held concert with other molecules that had been so combined1 and which1 therefore1 could have had no experience and no memory1 would none the less act upon one another in that one way in which other like combinations of atoms have acted under like circumstances1 as readily as though they had been combined and separated and recombined again a hundred or a hundred thousand times4 ,it is this assumption1 tacitly made by every man1 beast1 and plant in the universe1 throughout all time and in every action of their lives1 that has made any action possible1 lying1 as it does1 at the root of all experience4 ,as we admit of no doubt concerning the main result1 so we do not suppose an alternative to lie before any atom of any molecule at any moment during the process of their combination4 ,this process is1 in all probability1 an exceedingly complicated one1 involving a multitude of actions and subordinate processes1 which follow one upon the other1 and each one of which has a beginning1 a middle1 and an end1 though they all come to pass in what appears to be an instant of time4 ,yet at no point do we conceive of any atom as swerving ever such a little to right or left of a determined course1 but invest each one of them with so much of the divine attributes as that with it there shall be no variableness1 neither shadow of turning4 ,we attribute this regularity of action to what we call the necessity of things1 as determined by the nature of the atoms and the circumstances in which they are placed4 ,we say that only one proximate result can ever arise from any given combination4 ,if1 then1 so great uniformity of action as nothing can exceed is manifested by atoms to which no one will impute memory1 why this desire for memory1 as though it were the only way of accounting for regularity of action in living beings8 ,sameness of action may be seen abundantly where there is no room for anything that we can consistently call memory4 ,in these cases we say that it is due to sameness of substance in same circumstances4 ,the most cursory reflection upon our actions will show us that it is no more possible for living action to have more than one set of proximate consequents at any given time than for oxygen and hydrogen when mixed in the proportions proper for the formation of water4 ,why1 then1 not recognise this fact1 and ascribe repeated similarity of living action to the reproduction of the necessary antecedents1 with no more sense of connection between the steps in the action1 or memory of similar action taken before1 than we suppose on the part of oxygen and hydrogen molecules between the several occasions on which they may have been disunited and reunited8 ,a boy catches the measles not because he remembers having caught them in the persons of his father and mother1 but because he is a fit soil for a certain kind of seed to grow upon4 ,in like manner he should be said to grow his nose because he is a fit combination for a nose to spring from4 ,dr4 ,x--'s father died of angina pectoris at the age of forty-nine2 so did ,dr4 ,x--4 ,can it be pretended that ,dr4 ,x-- remembered having died of angina pectoris at the age of forty-nine when in the person of his father1 and accordingly1 when he came to be forty-nine years old himself1 died also8 ,for this to hold1 ,dr4 ,x--'s father must have begotten him after he was dead2 for the son could not remember the father's death before it happened4 ,as for the diseases of old age1 so very commonly inherited1 they are developed for the most part not only long after the average age of reproduction1 but at a time when no appreciable amount of memory of any previous existence can remain2 for a man will not have many male ancestors who become parents at over sixty years old1 nor female ancestors who did so at over forty4 ,by our own showing1 therefore1 recollection can have nothing to do with the matter4 ,yet who can doubt that gout is due to inheritance as much as eyes and noses8 ,in what respects do the two things differ so that we should refer the inheritance of eyes and noses to memory1 while denying any connection between memory and gout8 ,we may have a ghost of a pretence for saying that a man grew a nose by rote1 or even that he catches the measles or whooping-cough by rote during his boyhood2 but do we mean to say that he develops the gout by rote in his old age if he comes of a gouty family8 ,if1 then1 rote and red-tape have nothing to do with the one1 why should they with the other8 ,remember also the cases in which aged females develop male characteristics4 ,here are growths1 often of not inconsiderable extent1 which make their appearance during the decay of the body1 and grow with greater and greater vigour in the extreme of old age1 and even for days after death itself4 ,it can hardly be doubted that an especial tendency to develop these characteristics runs as an inheritance in certain families2 here then is perhaps the best case that can be found of a development strictly inherited1 but having clearly nothing whatever to do with memory4 ,why should not all development stand upon the same footing8 ,a friend who had been arguing with me for some time as above1 concluded with the following words3-- 8,if you cannot be content with the similar action of similar substances 7living or non-living7 under similar circumstances--if you cannot accept this as an ultimate fact1 but consider it necessary to connect repetition of similar action with memory before you can rest in it and be thankful--be consistent1 and introduce this memory which you find so necessary into the inorganic world also4 ,either say that a chrysalis becomes a butterfly because it is the thing that it is1 and1 being that kind of thing1 must act in such and such a manner and in such a manner only1 so that the act of one generation has no more to do with the act of the next than the fact of cream being churned into butter in a dairy one day has to do with other cream being churnable into butter in the following week--either say this1 or else develop some mental condition--which ,i have no doubt you will be very well able to do if you feel the want of it--in which you can make out a case for saying that oxygen and hydrogen on being brought together1 and cream on being churned1 are in some way acquainted with1 and mindful of1 action taken by other cream and other oxygen and hydrogen on past occasions40 ,i felt inclined to reply that my friend need not twit me with being able to develop a mental organism if ,i felt the need of it1 for his own ingenious attack on my position1 and indeed every action of his life was but an example of this omnipresent principle4 ,when he was gone1 however1 ,i thought over what he had been saying4 ,i endeavoured to see how far ,i could get on without volition and memory1 and reasoned as follows3--,a repetition of like antecedents will be certainly followed by a repetition of like consequents1 whether the agents be men and women or chemical substances4 8,if there be two cowards perfectly similar in every respect1 and if they be subjected in a perfectly similar way to two terrifying agents1 which are themselves perfectly similar1 there are few who will not expect a perfect similarity in the running away1 even though ten thousand years intervene between the original combination and its repetition40 #aec ,here certainly there is no coming into play of memory1 more than in the pan of cream on two successive churning days1 yet the action is similar4 ,a clerk in an office has an hour in the middle of the day for dinner4 ,about half-past twelve he begins to feel hungry2 at once he takes down his hat and leaves the office4 ,he does not yet know the neighbourhood1 and on getting down into the street asks a policeman at the corner which is the best eating-house within easy distance4 ,the policeman tells him of three houses1 one of which is a little farther off than the other two1 but is cheaper4 ,money being a greater object to him than time1 the clerk decides on going to the cheaper house4 ,he goes1 is satisfied1 and returns4 ,next day he wants his dinner at the same hour1 and--it will be said--remembering his satisfaction of yesterday1 will go to the same place as before4 ,but what has his memory to do with it8 ,suppose him to have entirely forgotten all the circumstances of the preceding day from the moment of his beginning to feel hungry onward1 though in other respects sound in mind and body1 and unchanged generally4 ,at half-past twelve he would begin to be hungry2 but his beginning to be hungry cannot be connected with his remembering having begun to be hungry yesterday4 ,he would begin to be hungry just as much whether he remembered or no4 ,at one o'clock he again takes down his hat and leaves the office1 not because he remembers having done so yesterday1 but because he wants his hat to go out with4 ,being again in the street1 and again ignorant of the neighbourhood 7for he remembers nothing of yesterday71 he sees the same policeman at the corner of the street1 and asks him the same question as before2 the policeman gives him the same answer1 and money being still an object to him1 the cheapest eating-house is again selected2 he goes there1 finds the same menu1 makes the same choice for the same reasons1 eats1 is satisfied1 and returns4 ,what similarity of action can be greater than this1 and at the same time more incontrovertible8 ,but it has nothing to do with memory2 on the contrary1 it is just because the clerk has no memory that his action of the second day so exactly resembles that of the first4 ,as long as he has no power of recollecting1 he will day after day repeat the same actions in exactly the same way1 until some external circumstances1 such as his being sent away1 modify the situation4 ,till this or some other modification occurs1 he will day after day go down into the street without knowing where to go2 day after day he will see the same policeman at the corner of the same street1 and 7for we may as well suppose that the policeman has no memory too7 he will ask and be answered1 and ask and be answered1 till he and the policeman die of old age4 ,this similarity of action is plainly due to that--whatever it is--which ensures that like persons or things when placed in like circumstances shall behave in like manner4 ,allow the clerk ever such a little memory1 and the similarity of action will disappear2 for the fact of remembering what happened to him on the first day he went out in search of dinner will be a modification in him in regard to his then condition when he next goes out to get his dinner4 ,he had no such memory on the first day1 and he has upon the second4 ,some modification of action must ensue upon this modification of the actor1 and this is immediately observable4 ,he wants his dinner1 indeed1 goes down into the street1 and sees the policeman as yesterday1 but he does not ask the policeman2 he remembers what the policeman told him and what he did1 and therefore goes straight to the eating-house without wasting time3 nor does he dine off the same dish two days running1 for he remembers what he had yesterday and likes variety4 ,if1 then1 similarity of action is rather hindered than promoted by memory1 why introduce it into such cases as the repetition of the embryonic processes by successive generations8 ,the embryos of a well-fixed breed1 such as the goose1 are almost as much alike as water is to water1 and by consequence one goose comes to be almost as like another as water to water4 ,why should it not be supposed to become so upon the same grounds--namely1 that it is made of the same stuffs1 and put together in like proportions in the same manner8 ,chapter ,,xi ,on ,cycles4 ,,the one faith on which all normal living beings consciously or unconsciously act1 is that like antecedents will be followed by like consequents4 ,this is the one true and catholic faith1 undemonstrable1 but except a living being believe which1 without doubt it shall perish everlastingly4 ,in the assurance of this all action is taken4 ,but if this fundamental article is admitted1 and it cannot be gainsaid1 it follows that if ever a complete cycle were formed1 so that the whole universe of one instant were to repeat itself absolutely in a subsequent one1 no matter after what interval of time1 then the course of the events between these two moments would go on repeating itself for ever and ever afterwards in due order1 down to the minutest detail1 in an endless series of cycles like a circulating decimal4 ,for the universe comprises everything2 there could therefore be no disturbance from without4 ,once a cycle1 always a cycle4 ,let us suppose the earth1 of given weight1 moving with given momentum in a given path1 and under given conditions in every respect1 to find itself at any one time conditioned in all these respects as it was conditioned at some past moment2 then it must move exactly in the same path as the one it took when at the beginning of the cycle it has just completed1 and must therefore in the course of time fulfil a second cycle1 and therefore a third1 and so on for ever and ever1 with no more chance of escape than a circulating decimal has1 if the circumstances have been reproduced with perfect accuracy4 ,we see something very like this actually happen in the yearly revolutions of the planets round the sun4 ,but the relations between1 we will say1 the earth and the sun are not reproduced absolutely4 ,these relations deal only with a small part of the universe1 and even in this small part the relation of the parts inter se has never yet been reproduced with the perfection of accuracy necessary for our argument4 ,they are liable1 moreover1 to disturbance from events which may or may not actually occur 7as1 for example1 our being struck by a comet1 or the sun's coming within a certain distance of another sun71 but of which1 if they do occur1 no one can foresee the effects4 ,nevertheless the conditions have been so nearly repeated that there is no appreciable difference in the relations between the earth and sun on one ,new ,year's ,day and on another1 nor is there reason for expecting such change within any reasonable time4 ,if there is to be an eternal series of cycles involving the whole universe1 it is plain that not one single atom must be excluded4 ,exclude a single molecule of hydrogen from the ring1 or vary the relative positions of two molecules only1 and the charm is broken2 an element of disturbance has been introduced1 of which the utmost that can be said is that it may not prevent the ensuing of a long series of very nearly perfect cycles before similarity in recurrence is destroyed1 but which must inevitably prevent absolute identity of repetition4 ,the movement of the series becomes no longer a cycle1 but spiral1 and convergent or divergent at a greater or less rate according to circumstances4 ,we cannot conceive of all the atoms in the universe standing twice over in absolutely the same relation each one of them to every other4 ,there are too many of them and they are too much mixed2 but1 as has been just said1 in the planets and their satellites we do see large groups of atoms whose movements recur with some approach to precision4 ,the same holds good also with certain comets and with the sun himself4 ,the result is that our days and nights and seasons follow one another with nearly perfect regularity from year to year1 and have done so for as long time as we know anything for certain4 ,a vast preponderance of all the action that takes place around us is cycular action4 ,within the great cycle of the planetary revolution of our own earth1 and as a consequence thereof1 we have the minor cycle of the phenomena of the seasons2 these generate atmospheric cycles4 ,water is evaporated from the ocean and conveyed to mountain ranges1 where it is cooled1 and whence it returns again to the sea4 ,this cycle of events is being repeated again and again with little appreciable variation4 ,the tides and winds in certain latitudes go round and round the world with what amounts to continuous regularity4--,there are storms of wind and rain called cyclones4 ,in the case of these1 the cycle is not very complete1 the movement1 therefore1 is spiral1 and the tendency to recur is comparatively soon lost4 ,it is a common saying that history repeats itself1 so that anarchy will lead to despotism and despotism to anarchy2 every nation can point to instances of men's minds having gone round and round so nearly in a perfect cycle that many revolutions have occurred before the cessation of a tendency to recur4 ,lastly1 in the generation of plants and animals we have1 perhaps1 the most striking and common example of the inevitable tendency of all action to repeat itself when it has once proximately done so4 ,let only one living being have once succeeded in producing a being like itself1 and thus have returned1 so to speak1 upon itself1 and a series of generations must follow of necessity1 unless some matter interfere which had no part in the original combination1 and1 as it may happen1 kill the first reproductive creature or all its descendants within a few generations4 ,if no such mishap occurs as this1 and if the recurrence of the conditions is sufficiently perfect1 a series of generations follows with as much certainty as a series of seasons follows upon the cycle of the relations between the earth and sun4 ,let the first periodically recurring substance--we will say ,a--be able to recur or reproduce itself1 not once only1 but many times over1 as ,a#a1 ,a#b1 c42 let ,a also have consciousness and a sense of self-interest1 which qualities must1 ex hypothesi1 be reproduced in each one of its offspring2 let these get placed in circumstances which differ sufficiently to destroy the cycle in theory without doing so practically--that is to say1 to reduce the rotation to a spiral1 but to a spiral with so little deviation from perfect cycularity as for each revolution to appear practically a cycle1 though after many revolutions the deviation becomes perceptible2 then some such differentiations of animal and vegetable life as we actually see follow as matters of course4 ,a#a and ,a#b have a sense of self-interest as ,a had1 but they are not precisely in circumstances similar to ,a's1 nor1 it may be1 to each other's2 they will therefore act somewhat differently1 and every living being is modified by a change of action4 ,having become modified1 they follow the spirit of ,a's action more essentially in begetting a creature like themselves than in begetting one like ,a2 for the essence of ,a's act was not the reproduction of ,a1 but the reproduction of a creature like the one from which it sprung--that is to say1 a creature bearing traces in its body of the main influences that have worked upon its parent4 ,within the cycle of reproduction there are cycles upon cycles in the life of each individual1 whether animal or plant4 ,observe the action of our lungs and heart1 how regular it is1 and how a cycle having been once established1 it is repeated many millions of times in an individual of average health and longevity4 ,remember also that it is this periodicity--this inevitable tendency of all atoms in combination to repeat any combination which they have once repeated1 unless forcibly prevented from doing so--which alone renders nine-tenths of our mechanical inventions of practical use to us4 ,there is no internal periodicity about a hammer or a saw1 but there is in the steam-engine or watermill when once set in motion4 ,the actions of these machines recur in a regular series1 at regular intervals1 with the unerringness of circulating decimals4 ,when we bear in mind1 then1 the omnipresence of this tendency in the world around us1 the absolute freedom from exception which attends its action1 the manner in which it holds equally good upon the vastest and the smallest scale1 and the completeness of its accord with our ideas of what must inevitably happen when a like combination is placed in circumstances like those in which it was placed before--when we bear in mind all this1 is it possible not to connect the facts together1 and to refer cycles of living generations to the same unalterableness in the action of like matter under like circumstances which makes ,jupiter and ,saturn revolve round the sun1 or the piston of a steam-engine move up and down as long as the steam acts upon it8 ,but who will attribute memory to the hands of a clock1 to a piston-rod1 to air or water in a storm or in course of evaporation1 to the earth and planets in their circuits round the sun1 or to the atoms of the universe1 if they too be moving in a cycle vaster than we can take account of8 #afj ,and if not1 why introduce it into the embryonic development of living beings1 when there is not a particle of evidence in support of its actual presence1 when regularity of action can be ensured just as well without it as with it1 and when at the best it is considered as existing under circumstances which it baffles us to conceive1 inasmuch as it is supposed to be exercised without any conscious recollection8 ,surely a memory which is exercised without any consciousness of recollecting is only a periphrasis for the absence of any memory at all4 ,chapter ,,xii ,refutation--,memory at once a promoter and a disturber of uniformity of action and structure4 ,,to meet the objections in the two foregoing chapters1 ,i need do little more than show that the fact of certain often inherited diseases and developments1 whether of youth or old age1 being obviously not due to a memory on the part of offspring of like diseases and developments in the parents1 does not militate against supposing that embryonic and youthful development generally is due to memory4 ,this is the main part of the objection2 the rest resolves itself into an assertion that there is no evidence in support of instinct and embryonic development being due to memory1 and a contention that the necessity of each particular moment in each particular case is sufficient to account for the facts without the introduction of memory4 ,i will deal with these two last points briefly first4 ,as regards the evidence in support of the theory that instinct and growth are due to a rapid unconscious memory of past experiences and developments in the persons of the ancestors of the living form in which they appear1 ,i must refer my readers to 8,life and ,habit10 and to the translation of ,professor ,hering's lecture given in this volume4 ,i will only repeat here that a chrysalis1 we will say1 is as much one and the same person with the chrysalis of its preceding generation1 as this last is one and the same person with the egg or caterpillar from which it sprang4 ,you cannot deny personal identity between two successive generations without sooner or later denying it during the successive stages in the single life of what we call one individual2 nor can you admit personal identity through the stages of a long and varied life 7embryonic and postnatal7 without admitting it to endure through an endless series of generations4 ,the personal identity of successive generations being admitted1 the possibility of the second of two generations remembering what happened to it in the first is obvious4 ,the priori objection1 therefore1 is removed1 and the question becomes one of fact--does the offspring act as if it remembered8 ,the answer to this question is not only that it does so act1 but that it is not possible to account for either its development or its early instinctive actions upon any other hypothesis than that of its remembering1 and remembering exceedingly well4 ,the only alternative is to declare with ,von ,hartmann that a living being may display a vast and varied information concerning all manner of details1 and be able to perform most intricate operations1 independently of experience and practice4 ,once admit knowledge independent of experience1 and farewell to sober sense and reason from that moment4 ,firstly1 then1 we show that offspring has had every facility for remembering2 secondly1 that it shows every appearance of having remembered2 thirdly1 that no other hypothesis except memory can be brought forward1 so as to account for the phenomena of instinct and heredity generally1 which is not easily reducible to an absurdity4 ,beyond this we do not care to go1 and must allow those to differ from us who require further evidence4 ,as regards the argument that the necessity of each moment will account for likeness of result1 without there being any need for introducing memory1 ,i admit that likeness of consequents is due to likeness of antecedents1 and ,i grant this will hold as good with embryos as with oxygen and hydrogen gas2 what will cover the one will cover the other1 for time writs of the laws common to all matter run within the womb as freely as elsewhere2 but admitting that there are combinations into which living beings enter with a faculty called memory which has its effect upon their conduct1 and admitting that such combinations are from time to time repeated 7as we observe in the case of a practised performer playing a piece of music which he has committed to memory71 then ,i maintain that though1 indeed1 the likeness of one performance to its immediate predecessor is due to likeness of the combinations immediately preceding the two performances1 yet memory plays so important a part in both these combinations as to make it a distinguishing feature in them1 and therefore proper to be insisted upon4 ,we do not1 for example1 say that ,herr ,joachim played such and such a sonata without the music1 because he was such and such an arrangement of matter in such and such circumstances1 resembling those under which he played without music on some past occasion4 ,this goes without saying2 we say only that he played the music by heart or by memory1 as he had often played it before4 ,to the objector that a caterpillar becomes a chrysalis not because it remembers and takes the action taken by its fathers and mothers in due course before it1 but because when matter is in such a physical and mental state as to be called caterpillar1 it must perforce assume presently such another physical and mental state as to be called chrysalis1 and that therefore there is no memory in the case--to this objector ,i rejoin that the offspring caterpillar would not have become so like the parent as to make the next or chrysalis stage a matter of necessity1 unless both parent and offspring had been influenced by something that we usually call memory4 ,for it is this very possession of a common memory which has guided the offspring into the path taken by1 and hence to a virtually same condition with1 the parent1 and which guided the parent in its turn to a state virtually identical with a corresponding state in the existence of its own parent4 ,to memory1 therefore1 the most prominent place in the transaction is assigned rightly4 ,to deny that will guided by memory has anything to do with the development of embryos seems like denying that a desire to obstruct has anything to do with the recent conduct of certain members in the ,house of ,commons4 ,what should we think of one who said that the action of these gentlemen had nothing to do with a desire to embarrass the ,government1 but was simply the necessary outcome of the chemical and mechanical forces at work1 which being such and such1 the action which we see is inevitable1 and has therefore nothing to do with wilful obstruction8 ,we should answer that there was doubtless a great deal of chemical and mechanical action in the matter2 perhaps1 for aught we knew or cared1 it was all chemical and mechanical2 but if so1 then a desire to obstruct parliamentary business is involved in certain kinds of chemical and mechanical action1 and that the kinds involving this had preceded the recent proceedings of the members in question4 ,if asked to prove this1 we can get no further than that such action as has been taken has never yet been seen except as following after and in consequence of a desire to obstruct2 that this is our nomenclature1 and that we can no more be expected to change it than to change our mother tongue at the bidding of a foreigner4 ,a little reflection will convince the reader that he will be unable to deny will and memory to the embryo without at the same time denying their existence everywhere1 and maintaining that they have no place in the acquisition of a habit1 nor indeed in any human action4 ,he will feel that the actions1 and the relation of one action to another which he observes in embryos is such as is never seen except in association with and as a consequence of will and memory4 ,he will therefore say that it is due to will and memory4 ,to say that these are the necessary outcome of certain antecedents is not to destroy them3 granted that they are--a man does not cease to be a man when we reflect that he has had a father and mother1 nor do will and memory cease to be will and memory on the ground that they cannot come causeless4 ,they are manifest minute by minute to the perception of all sane people1 and this tribunal1 though not infallible1 is nevertheless our ultimate court of appeal--the final arbitrator in all disputed cases4 ,we must remember that there is no action1 however original or peculiar1 which is not in respect of far the greater number of its details founded upon memory4 ,if a desperate man blows his brains out--an action which he can do once in a lifetime only1 and which none of his ancestors can have done before leaving offspring--still nine hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of the movements necessary to achieve his end consist of habitual movements--movements1 that is to say1 which were once difficult1 but which have been practised and practised by the help of memory until they are now performed automatically4 ,we can no more have an action than a creative effort of the imagination cut off from memory4 ,ideas and actions seem almost to resemble matter and force in respect of the impossibility of originating or destroying them2 nearly all that are1 are memories of other ideas and actions1 transmitted but not created1 disappearing but not perishing4 ,it appears1 then1 that when in ,chapter ,x4 we supposed the clerk who wanted his dinner to forget on a second day the action he had taken the day before1 we still1 without perhaps perceiving it1 supposed him to be guided by memory in all the details of his action1 such as his taking down his hat and going out into the street4 ,we could not1 indeed1 deprive him of all memory without absolutely paralysing his action4 ,nevertheless new ideas1 new faiths1 and new actions do in the course of time come about1 the living expressions of which we may see in the new forms of life which from time to time have arisen and are still arising1 and in the increase of our own knowledge and mechanical inventions4 ,but it is only a very little new that is added at a time1 and that little is generally due to the desire to attain an end which cannot be attained by any of the means for which there exists a perceived precedent in the memory4 ,when this is the case1 either the memory is further ransacked for any forgotten shreds of details1 a combination of which may serve the desired purpose2 or action is taken in the dark1 which sometimes succeeds and becomes a fertile source of further combinations2 or we are brought to a dead stop4 ,all action is random in respect of any of the minute actions which compose it that are not done in consequence of memory1 real or supposed4 ,so that random1 or action taken in the dark1 or illusion1 lies at the very root of progress4 ,i will now consider the objection that the phenomena of instinct and embryonic development ought not to be ascribed to memory1 inasmuch as certain other phenomena of heredity1 such as gout1 cannot be ascribed to it4 ,those who object in this way forget that our actions fall into two main classes3 those which we have often repeated before by means of a regular series of subordinate actions beginning and ending at a certain tolerably well-defined point--as when ,herr ,joachim plays a sonata in public1 or when we dress or undress ourselves2 and actions the details of which are indeed guided by memory1 but which in their general scope and purpose are new--as when we are being married or presented at court4 ,at each point in any action of the first of the two kinds above referred to there is a memory 7conscious or unconscious according to the less or greater number of times the action has been repeated71 not only of the steps in the present and previous performances which have led up to the particular point that may be selected1 but also of the particular point itself2 there is1 therefore1 at each point in a habitual performance a memory at once of like antecedents and of a like present4 ,if the memory1 whether of the antecedent or the present1 were absolutely perfect2 if the vibration 7according to ,professor ,hering7 on each repetition existed in its full original strength and without having been interfered with by any other vibration2 and if1 again1 the new wave running into it from exterior objects on each repetition of the action were absolutely identical in character with the wave that ran in upon the last occasion1 then there would be no change in the action and no modification or improvement could take place4 ,for though indeed the latest performance would always have one memory more than the latest but one to guide it1 yet the memories being identical1 it would not matter how many or how few they were4 ,on any repetition1 however1 the circumstances1 external or internal1 or both1 never are absolutely identical3 there is some slight variation in each individual case1 and some part of this variation is remembered1 with approbation or disapprobation as the case may be4 ,the fact1 therefore1 that on each repetition of the action there is one memory more than on the last but one1 and that this memory is slightly different from its predecessor1 is seen to be an inherent and1 ex hypothesi1 necessarily disturbing factor in all habitual action--and the life of an organism should be regarded as the habitual action of a single individual1 namely1 of the organism itself1 and of its ancestors4 ,this is the key to accumulation of improvement1 whether in the arts which we assiduously practise during our single life1 or in the structures and instincts of successive generations4 ,the memory does not complete a true circle1 but is1 as it were1 a spiral slightly divergent therefrom4 ,it is no longer a perfectly circulating decimal4 ,where1 on the other hand1 there is no memory of a like present1 where1 in fact1 the memory is not1 so to speak1 spiral1 there is no accumulation of improvement4 ,the effect of any variation is not transmitted1 and is not thus pregnant of still further change4 ,as regards the second of the two classes of actions above referred to--those1 namely1 which are not recurrent or habitual1 and at no point of which is there a memory of a past present like the one which is present now--there will have been no accumulation of strong and well-knit memory as regards the action as a whole1 but action1 if taken at all1 will be taken upon disjointed fragments of individual actions 7our own and those of other people7 pieced together with a result more or less satisfactory according to circumstances4 ,but it does not follow that the action of two people who have had tolerably similar antecedents and are placed in tolerably similar circumstances should be more unlike each other in this second case than in the first4 ,on the contrary1 nothing is more common than to observe the same kind of people making the same kind of mistake when placed for the first time in the same kind of new circumstances4 ,i did not say that there would be no sameness of action without memory of a like present4 ,there may be sameness of action proceeding from a memory1 conscious or unconscious1 of like antecedents1 and a presence only of like presents without recollection of the same4 ,the sameness of action of like persons placed under like circumstances for the first time1 resembles the sameness of action of inorganic matter under the same combinations4 ,let us for the moment suppose what we call non-living substances to be capable of remembering their antecedents1 and that the changes they undergo are the expressions of their recollections4 ,then ,i admit1 of course1 that there is not memory in any cream1 we will say1 that is about to be churned of the cream of the preceding week1 but the common absence of such memory from each week's cream is an element of sameness between the two4 ,and though no cream can remember having been churned before1 yet all cream in all time has had nearly identical antecedents1 and has therefore nearly the same memories1 and nearly the same proclivities4 ,thus1 in fact1 the cream of one week is as truly the same as the cream of another week from the same cow1 pasture1 c41 as anything is ever the same with anything2 for the having been subjected to like antecedents engenders the closest similarity that we can conceive of1 if the substances were like to start with4 ,the manifest absence of any connecting memory 7or memory of like presents7 from certain of the phenomena of heredity1 such as1 for example1 the diseases of old age1 is now seen to be no valid reason for saying that such other and far more numerous and important phenomena as those of embryonic development are not phenomena of memory4 ,growth and the diseases of old age do indeed1 at first sight1 appear to stand on the same footing1 but reflection shows us that the question whether a certain result is due to memory or no must be settled not by showing that combinations into which memory does not certainly enter may yet generate like results1 and therefore considering the memory theory disposed of1 but by the evidence we may be able to adduce in support of the fact that the second agent has actually remembered the conduct of the first1 inasmuch as he cannot be supposed able to do what it is plain he can do1 except under the guidance of memory or experience1 and can also be shown to have had every opportunity of remembering4 ,when either of these tests fails1 similarity of action on the part of two agents need not be connected with memory of a like present as well as of like antecedents1 but must1 or at any rate may1 be referred to memory of like antecedents only4 ,returning to a parenthesis a few pages back1 in which ,i said that consciousness of memory would be less or greater according to the greater or fewer number of times that the act had been repeated1 it may be observed as a corollary to this1 that the less consciousness of memory the greater the uniformity of action1 and vice versa4 ,for the less consciousness involves the memory's being more perfect1 through a larger number 7generally7 of repetitions of the act that is remembered2 there is therefore a less proportionate difference in respect of the number of recollections of this particular act between the most recent actor and the most recent but one4 ,this is why very old civilisations1 as those of many insects1 and the greater number of now living organisms1 appear to the eye not to change at all4 ,for example1 if an action has been performed only ten times1 we will say by ,a1 ,b1 ,c1 c41 who are similar in all respects1 except that ,a acts without recollection1 ,b with recollection of ,a's action1 ,c with recollection of both ,b's and ,a's1 while ,j remembers the course taken by ,a1 ,b1 ,c1 ,d1 ,e1 ,f1 ,g1 ,h1 and ,i--the possession of a memory by ,b will indeed so change his action1 as compared with ,a's1 that it may well be hardly recognisable4 ,we saw this in our example of the clerk who asked the policeman the way to the eating-house on one day1 but did not ask him the next1 because he remembered2 but ,c's action will not be so different from ,b's as ,b's from ,a's1 for though ,c will act with a memory of two occasions on which the action has been performed1 while ,b recollects only the original performance by ,a1 yet ,b and ,c both act with the guidance of a memory and experience of some kind1 while ,a acted without any4 ,thus the clerk referred to in ,chapter ,x4 will act on the third day much as he acted on the second--that is to say1 he will see the policeman at the corner of the street1 but will not question him4 ,when the action is repeated by ,j for the tenth time1 the difference between ,j's repetition of it and ,i's will be due solely to the difference between a recollection of nine past performances by ,j against only eight by ,i1 and this is so much proportionately less than the difference between a recollection of two performances and of only one1 that a less modification of action should be expected4 ,at the same time consciousness concerning an action repeated for the tenth time should be less acute than on the first repetition4 ,memory1 therefore1 though tending to disturb similarity of action less and less continually1 must always cause some disturbance4 ,at the same time the possession of a memory on the successive repetitions of an action after the first1 and1 perhaps1 the first two or three1 during which the recollection may be supposed still imperfect1 will tend to ensure uniformity1 for it will be one of the elements of sameness in the agents--they both acting by the light of experience and memory4 ,during the embryonic stages and in childhood we are almost entirely under the guidance of a practised and powerful memory of circumstances which have been often repeated1 not only in detail and piecemeal1 but as a whole1 and under many slightly varying conditions2 thus the performance has become well averaged and matured in its arrangements1 so as to meet all ordinary emergencies4 ,we therefore act with great unconsciousness and vary our performances little4 ,babies are much more alike than persons of middle age4 ,up to the average age at which our ancestors have had children during many generations1 we are still guided in great measure by memory2 but the variations in external circumstances begin to make themselves perceptible in our characters4 ,in middle life we live more and more continually upon the piecing together of details of memory drawn from our personal experience1 that is to say1 upon the memory of our own antecedents2 and this resembles the kind of memory we hypothetically attached to cream a little time ago4 ,it is not surprising1 then1 that a son who has inherited his father's tastes and constitution1 and who lives much as his father had done1 should make the same mistakes as his father did when he reaches his father's age--we will say of seventy--though he cannot possibly remember his father's having made the mistakes4 ,it were to be wished we could1 for then we might know better how to avoid gout1 cancer1 or what not4 ,and it is to be noticed that the developments of old age are generally things we should be glad enough to avoid if we knew how to do so4 ,chapter ,,xiii ,conclusion4 ,,if we observed the resemblance between successive generations to be as close as that between distilled water and distilled water through all time1 and if we observed that perfect unchangeableness in the action of living beings which we see in what we call chemical and mechanical combinations1 we might indeed suspect that memory had as little place among the causes of their action as it can have in anything1 and that each repetition1 whether of a habit or the practice of art1 or of an embryonic process in successive generations1 was an original performance1 for all that memory had to do with it4 ,i submit1 however1 that in the case of the reproductive forms of life we see just so much variety1 in spite of uniformity1 as is consistent with a repetition involving not only a nearly perfect similarity in the agents and their circumstances1 but also the little departure therefrom that is inevitably involved in the supposition that a memory of like presents as well as of like antecedents 7as distinguished from a memory of like antecedents only7 has played a part in their development--a cyclonic memory1 if the expression may be pardoned4 ,there is life infinitely lower and more minute than any which our most powerful microscopes reveal to us1 but let us leave this upon one side and begin with the amba4 ,let us suppose that this structureless morsel of protoplasm is1 for all its structurelessness1 composed of an infinite number of living molecules1 each one of them with hopes and fears of its own1 and all dwelling together like ,tekke ,turcomans1 of whom we read that they live for plunder only1 and that each man of them is entirely independent1 acknowledging no constituted authority1 but that some among them exercise a tacit and undefined influence over the others4 ,let us suppose these molecules capable of memory1 both in their capacity as individuals1 and as societies1 and able to transmit their memories to their descendants1 from the traditions of the dimmest past to the experiences of their own lifetime4 ,some of these societies will remain simple1 as having had no history1 but to the greater number unfamiliar1 and therefore striking1 incidents will from time to time occur1 which1 when they do not disturb memory so greatly as to kill1 will leave their impression upon it4 ,the body or society will remember these incidents1 and be modified by them in its conduct1 and therefore more or less in its internal arrangements1 which will tend inevitably to specialisation4 ,this memory of the most striking events of varied lifetimes ,i maintain1 with ,professor ,hering1 to be the differentiating cause1 which1 accumulated in countless generations1 has led up from the amba to man4 ,if there had been no such memory1 the amba of one generation would have exactly resembled time amba of the preceding1 and a perfect cycle would have been established2 the modifying effects of an additional memory in each generation have made the cycle into a spiral1 and into a spiral whose eccentricity1 in the outset hardly perceptible1 is becoming greater and greater with increasing longevity and more complex social and mechanical inventions4 ,we say that the chicken grows the horny tip to its beak with which it ultimately pecks its way out of its shell1 because it remembers having grown it before1 and the use it made of it4 ,we say that it made it on the same principles as a man makes a spade or a hammer1 that is to say1 as the joint result both of desire and experience4 ,when ,i say experience1 ,i mean experience not only of what will be wanted1 but also of the details of all the means that must be taken in order to effect this4 ,memory1 therefore1 is supposed to guide the chicken not only in respect of the main design1 but in respect also of every atomic action1 so to speak1 which goes to make up the execution of this design4 ,it is not only the suggestion of a plan which is due to memory1 but1 as ,professor ,hering has so well said1 it is the binding power of memory which alone renders any consolidation or coherence of action possible1 inasmuch as without this no action could have parts subordinate one to another1 yet bearing upon a common end2 no part of an action1 great or small1 could have reference to any other part1 much less to a combination of all the parts2 nothing1 in fact1 but ultimate atoms of actions could ever happen--these bearing the same relation to such an action1 we will say1 as a railway journey from ,london to ,edinburgh as a single molecule of hydrogen to a gallon of water4 ,if asked how it is that the chicken shows no sign of consciousness concerning this design1 nor yet of the steps it is taking to carry it out1 we reply that such unconsciousness is usual in all cases where an action1 and the design which prompts it1 have been repeated exceedingly often4 ,if1 again1 we are asked how we account for the regularity with which each step is taken in its due order1 we answer that this too is characteristic of actions that are done habitually--they being very rarely misplaced in respect of any part4 ,when ,i wrote 8,life and ,habit10 ,i had arrived at the conclusion that memory was the most essential characteristic of life1 and went so far as to say1 8,life is that property of matter whereby it can remember--matter which can remember is living40 ,i should perhaps have written1 8,life is the being possessed of a memory--the life of a thing at any moment is the memories which at that moment it retains02 and ,i would modify the words that immediately follow1 namely1 8,matter which cannot remember is dead02 for they imply that there is such a thing as matter which cannot remember anything at all1 and this on fuller consideration ,i do not believe to be the case2 ,i can conceive of no matter which is not able to remember a little1 and which is not living in respect of what it can remember4 ,i do not see how action of any kind is conceivable without the supposition that every atom retains a memory of certain antecedents4 ,i cannot1 however1 at this point1 enter upon the reasons which have compelled me to this conclusion4 ,whether these would be deemed sufficient or no1 at any rate we cannot believe that a system of self-reproducing associations should develop from the simplicity of the amba to the complexity of the human body without the presence of that memory which can alone account at once for the resemblances and the differences between successive generations1 for the arising and the accumulation of divergences--for the tendency to differ and the tendency not to differ4 ,at parting1 therefore1 ,i would recommend the reader to see every atom in the universe as living and able to feel and to remember1 but in a humble way4 ,he must have life eternal1 as well as matter eternal2 and the life and the matter must be joined together inseparably as body and soul to one another4 ,thus he will see ,god everywhere1 not as those who repeat phrases conventionally1 but as people who would have their words taken according to their most natural and legitimate meaning2 and he will feel that the main difference between him and many of those who oppose him lies in the fact that whereas both he and they use the same language1 his opponents only half mean what they say1 while he means it entirely4 ,the attempt to get a higher form of a life from a lower one is in accordance with our observation and experience4 ,it is therefore proper to be believed4 ,the attempt to get it from that which has absolutely no life is like trying to get something out of nothing4 ,the millionth part of a farthing put out to interest at ten per cent1 will in five hundred years become over a million pounds1 and so long as we have any millionth of a millionth of the farthing to start with1 our getting as many million pounds as we have a fancy for is only a question of time1 but without the initial millionth of a millionth of a millionth part1 we shall get no increment whatever4 ,a little leaven will leaven the whole lump1 but there must be some leaven4 ,i will here quote two passages from an article already quoted from on page #ee of this book4 ,they run3-- 8,we are growing conscious that our earnest and most determined efforts to make motion produce sensation and volition have proved a failure1 and now we want to rest a little in the opposite1 much less laborious conjecture1 and allow any kind of motion to start into existence1 or at least to receive its specific direction from psychical sources2 sensation and volition being for the purpose quietly insinuated into the constitution of the ultimately moving particles40 #agg;a ,and3-- 8,in this light it can remain no longer surprising that we actually find motility and sensibility so intimately interblended in nature40 #agg;b ,we should endeavour to see the so-called inorganic as living1 in respect of the qualities it has in common with the organic1 rather than the organic as non-living in respect of the qualities it has in common with the inorganic4 ,true1 it would be hard to place one's self on the same moral platform as a stone1 but this is not necessary2 it is enough that we should feel the stone to have a moral platform of its own1 though that platform embraces little more than a profound respect for the laws of gravitation1 chemical affinity1 c4 ,as for the difficulty of conceiving a body as living that has not got a reproductive system--we should remember that neuter insects are living but are believed to have no reproductive system4 ,again1 we should bear in mind that mere assimilation involves all the essentials of reproduction1 and that both air and water possess this power in a very high degree4 ,the essence of a reproductive system1 then1 is found low down in the scheme of nature4 ,at present our leading men of science are in this difficulty2 on the one hand their experiments and their theories alike teach them that spontaneous generation ought not to be accepted2 on the other1 they must have an origin for the life of the living forms1 which1 by their own theory1 have been evolved1 and they can at present get this origin in no other way than by the ,deus ex machin method1 which they reject as unproved1 or a spontaneous generation of living from non-living matter1 which is no less foreign to their experience4 ,as a general rule1 they prefer the latter alternative4 ,so ,professor ,tyndall1 in his celebrated article 7,nineteenth ,century1 ,november #ahgh71 wrote3-- 8,it is generally conceded 7and seems to be a necessary inference from the lessons of science7 that spontaneous generation must at one time have taken place0 7italics mine74 ,no inference can well be more unnecessary or unscientific4 ,i suppose spontaneous generation ceases to be objectionable if it was 8only a very little one10 and came off a long time ago in a foreign country4 ,the proper inference is1 that there is a low kind of livingness in every atom of matter4 ,life eternal is as inevitable a conclusion as matter eternal4 ,it should not be doubted that wherever there is vibration or motion there is life and memory1 and that there is vibration and motion at all times in all things4 ,the reader who takes the above position will find that he can explain the entry of what he calls death among what he calls the living1 whereas he could by no means introduce life into his system if he started without it4 ,death is deducible2 life is not deducible4 ,death is a change of memories2 it is not the destruction of all memory4 ,it is as the liquidation of one company1 each member of which will presently join a new one1 and retain a trifle even of the old cancelled memory1 by way of greater aptitude for working in concert with other molecules4 ,this is why animals feed on grass and on each other1 and cannot proselytise or convert the rude ground before it has been tutored in the first principles of the higher kinds of association4 ,again1 ,i would recommend the reader to beware of believing anything in this book unless he either likes it1 or feels angry at being told it4 ,if required belief in this or that makes a man angry1 ,i suppose he should1 as a general rule1 swallow it whole then and there upon the spot1 otherwise he may take it or leave it as he likes4 ,i have not gone far for my facts1 nor yet far from them2 all on which ,i rest are as open to the reader as to me4 ,if ,i have sometimes used hard terms1 the probability is that ,i have not understood them1 but have done so by a slip1 as one who has caught a bad habit from the company he has been lately keeping4 ,they should be skipped4 ,do not let him be too much cast down by the bad language with which professional scientists obscure the issue1 nor by their seeming to make it their business to fog us under the pretext of removing our difficulties4 ,it is not the ratcatcher's interest to catch all the rats2 and1 as ,handel observed so sensibly1 8,every professional gentleman must do his best for to live40 ,the art of some of our philosophers1 however1 is sufficiently transparent1 and consists too often in saying 8organism which must be classified among fishes10 instead of 8fish10 #agi;a and then proclaiming that they have 8an ineradicable tendency to try to make things clear40 #agi;b ,if another example is required1 here is the following from an article than which ,i have seen few with which ,i more completely agree1 or which have given me greater pleasure4 ,if our men of science would take to writing in this way1 we should be glad enough to follow them4 ,the passage ,i refer to runs thus3-- 8,professor ,huxley speaks of a #8verbal fog by which the question at issue may be hidden'2 is there no verbal fog in the statement that the tiology of crayfishes resolves itself into a gradual evolution in the course of the mesosoic and subsequent epochs of the world's history of these animals from a primitive astacomorphous form8 ,would it be fog or light that would envelop the history of man if we said that the existence of man was explained by the hypothesis of his gradual evolution from a primitive anthropomorphous form8 ,i should call this fog1 not light40 #ahj ,especially let him mistrust those who are holding forth about protoplasm1 and maintaining that this is the only living substance4 ,protoplasm may be1 and perhaps is1 the most living part of an organism1 as the most capable of retaining vibrations1 but this is the utmost that can be claimed for it4 ,having mentioned protoplasm1 ,i may ask the reader to note the breakdown of that school of philosophy which divided the ego from the non ego4 ,the protoplasmists1 on the one hand1 are whittling away at the ego1 till they have reduced it to a little jelly in certain parts of the body1 and they will whittle away this too presently1 if they go on as they are doing now4 ,others1 again1 are so unifying the ego and the non ego1 that with them there will soon be as little of the non ego left as there is of the ego with their opponents4 ,both1 however1 are so far agreed as that we know not where to draw the line between the two1 and this renders nugatory any system which is founded upon a distinction between them4 ,the truth is1 that all classification whatever1 when we examine its raison d'tre closely1 is found to be arbitrary--to depend on our sense of our own convenience1 and not on any inherent distinction in the nature of the things themselves4 ,strictly speaking1 there is only one thing and one action4 ,the universe1 or ,god1 and the action of the universe as a whole4 ,lastly1 ,i may predict with some certainty that before long we shall find the original ,darwinism of ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin 7with an infusion of ,professor ,hering into the bargain7 generally accepted instead of the neo-,darwinism of to-day1 and that the variations whose accumulation results in species will be recognised as due to the wants and endeavours of the living forms in which they appear1 instead of being ascribed to chance1 or1 in other words1 to unknown causes1 as by ,mr4 ,charles ,darwin's system4 ,we shall have some idyllic young naturalist bringing up ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin's note on ,trapa natans1 #aha;a and ,lamarck's kindred passage on the descent of ,ranunculus hederaceus from ,ranunculus aquatilis #aha;b as fresh discoveries1 and be told1 with much happy simplicity1 that those animals and plants which have felt the need of such or such a structure have developed it1 while those which have not wanted it have gone without it4 ,thus1 it will be declared1 every leaf we see around us1 every structure of the minutest insect1 will bear witness to the truth of the 8great guess0 of the greatest of naturalists concerning the memory of living matter4 ,i dare say the public will not object to this1 and am very sure that none of the admirers of ,mr4 ,charles ,darwin or ,mr4 ,wallace will protest against it2 but it may be as well to point out that this was not the view of the matter taken by ,mr4 ,wallace in #aheh when he and ,mr4 ,darwin first came forward as preachers of natural selection4 ,at that time ,mr4 ,wallace saw clearly enough the difference between the theory of 8natural selection0 and that of ,lamarck4 ,he wrote3-- 8,the hypothesis of ,lamarck--that progressive changes in species have been produced by the attempts of animals to increase the development of their own organs1 and thus modify their structure and habits--has been repeatedly and easily refuted by all writers on the subject of varieties and species1 4 4 4 but the view here developed tenders such an hypothesis quite unnecessary4 4 4 4 ,the powerful retractile talons of the falcon and the cat tribes have not been produced or increased by the volition of those animals1 neither did the giraffe acquire its long neck by desiring to reach the foliage of the more lofty shrubs1 and constantly stretching its neck for this purpose1 but because any varieties which occurred among its antitypes with a longer neck than usual at once secured a fresh range of pasture over the same ground as their shorter-necked companions1 and on the first scarcity of food were thereby enabled to outlive them0 7italics in original74 #ahb;a ,this is absolutely the neo-,darwinian doctrine1 and a denial of the mainly fortuitous character of the variations in animal and vegetable forms cuts at its root4 ,that ,mr4 ,wallace1 after years of reflection1 still adhered to this view1 is proved by his heading a reprint of the paragraph just quoted from #ahb;b with the words 8,lamarck's hypothesis very different from that now advanced02 nor do any of his more recent works show that he has modified his opinion4 ,it should be noted that ,mr4 ,wallace does not call his work 8,contributions to the ,theory of ,evolution10 but to that of 8,natural ,selection40 ,mr4 ,darwin1 with characteristic caution1 only commits himself to saying that ,mr4 ,wallace has arrived at almost 7italics mine7 the same general conclusions as he1 ,mr4 ,darwin1 has done2 #ahb;c but he still1 as in #ahei1 declares that it would be 8a serious error to suppose that the greater number of instincts have been acquired by habit in one generation1 and then transmitted by inheritance to succeeding generations10 #ahc;a and he still comprehensively condemns the 8well-known doctrine of inherited habit1 as advanced by ,lamarck40 #ahc;b ,as for the statement in the passage quoted from ,mr4 ,wallace1 to the effect that ,lamarck's hypothesis 8has been repeatedly and easily refuted by all writers on the subject of varieties and species10 it is a very surprising one4 ,i have searched ,evolution literature in vain for any refutation of the ,erasmus ,darwinian system 7for this is what ,lamarck's hypothesis really is7 which need make the defenders of that system at all uneasy4 ,the best attempt at an answer to ,erasmus ,darwin that has yet been made is 8,paley's ,natural ,theology10 which was throughout obviously written to meet ,buffon and the 8,zoonomia40 ,it is the manner of theologians to say that such and such an objection 8has been refuted over and over again10 without at the same time telling us when and where2 it is to be regretted that ,mr4 ,wallace has here taken a leaf out of the theologians' book4 ,his statement is one which will not pass muster with those whom public opinion is sure in the end to follow4 ,did ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 for example1 8repeatedly and easily refute0 ,lamarck's hypothesis in his brilliant article in the ,leader1 ,march #bj1 #aheb8 ,on the contrary1 that article is expressly directed against those 8who cavalierly reject the hypothesis of ,lamarck and his followers40 ,this article was written six years before the words last quoted from ,mr4 ,wallace2 how absolutely1 however1 does the word 8cavalierly0 apply to them6 ,does ,isidore ,geoffroy1 again1 bear ,mr4 ,wallace's assertion out better8 ,in #ahei--that is to say1 but a short time after ,mr4 ,wallace had written--he wrote as follows3-- 8,such was the language which ,lamarck heard during his protracted old age1 saddened alike by the weight of years and blindness2 this was what people did not hesitate to utter over his grave yet barely closed1 and what indeed they are still saying--commonly too without any knowledge of what ,lamarck maintained1 but merely repeating at secondhand bad caricatures of his teaching4 8,when will the time come when we may see ,lamarck's theory discussed--and1 ,i may as well at once say1 refuted in some important points #ahd;a--with at any rate the respect due to one of the most illustrious masters of our science8 ,and when will this theory1 the hardihood of which has been greatly exaggerated1 become freed from the interpretations and commentaries by the false light of which so many naturalists have formed their opinion concerning it8 ,if its author is to be condemned1 let it be1 at any rate1 not before he has been heard40 #ahd;b ,in #ahgc ,m4 ,martin published his edition of ,lamarck's 8,philosophie ,zoologique40 ,he was still able to say1 with1 ,i believe1 perfect truth1 that ,lamarck's theory has 8never yet had the honour of being discussed seriously40 #ahd;c ,professor ,huxley in his article on ,evolution is no less cavalier than ,mr4 ,wallace4 ,he writes3--#ahd;d 8,lamarck introduced the conception of the action of an animal on itself as a factor in producing modification40 ,lamarck did nothing of the kind4 ,it was ,buffon and ,dr4 ,darwin who introduced this1 but more especially ,dr4 ,darwin4 8,but a little consideration showed0 7italics mine7 8that though ,lamarck had seized what1 as far as it goes1 is a true cause of modification1 it is a cause the actual effects of which are wholly inadequate to account for any considerable modification in animals1 and which can have no influence whatever in the vegetable world1 c40 ,i should be very glad to come across some of the 8little consideration0 which will show this4 ,i have searched for it far and wide1 and have never been able to find it4 ,i think ,professor ,huxley has been exercising some of his ineradicable tendency to try to make things clear in the article on ,evolution1 already so often quoted from4 ,we find him 7p4 #gej7 pooh-poohing ,lamarck1 yet on the next page he says1 8,how far #8natural selection' suffices for the production of species remains to be seen40 ,and this when 8natural selection0 was already so nearly of age6 ,why1 to those who know how to read between a philosopher's lines1 the sentence comes to very nearly the same as a declaration that the writer has no great opinion of 8natural selection40 ,professor ,huxley continues1 8,few can doubt that1 if not the whole cause1 it is a very important factor in that operation40 ,a philosopher's words should be weighed carefully1 and when ,professor ,huxley says 8few can doubt10 we must remember that he may be including himself among the few whom he considers to have the power of doubting on this matter4 ,he does not say 8few will10 but 8few can0 doubt1 as though it were only the enlightened who would have the power of doing so4 ,certainly 8nature10--for this is what 8natural selection0 comes to1--is rather an important factor in the operation1 but we do not gain much by being told so4 ,if1 however1 ,professor ,huxley neither believes in the origin of species1 through sense of need on the part of animals themselves1 nor yet in 8natural selection10 we should be glad to know what he does believe in4 ,the battle is one of greater importance than appears at first sight4 ,it is a battle between teleology and non-teleology1 between the purposiveness and the non-purposiveness of the organs in animal and vegetable bodies4 ,according to ,erasmus ,darwin1 ,lamarck1 and ,paley1 organs are purposive2 according to ,mr4 ,darwin and his followers1 they are not purposive4 ,but the main arguments against the system of ,dr4 ,erasmus ,darwin are arguments which1 so far as they have any weight1 tell against evolution generally4 ,now that these have been disposed of1 and the prejudice against evolution has been overcome1 it will be seen that there is nothing to be said against the system of ,dr4 ,darwin and ,lamarck which does not tell with far greater force against that of ,mr4 ,charles ,darwin and ,mr4 ,wallace4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,end4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,william ,,brendon ,,and ,,son1 ,,ltd4 ,,printers1 ,,plymouth ,footnotes #j;a ,this is the date on the title-page4 ,the preface is dated ,october #ae1 #ahhf1 and the first copy was issued in ,november of the same year4 ,all the dates are taken from the ,bibliography by ,mr4 ,h4 ,festing ,jones prefixed to the 8,extracts0 in the ,new ,quarterly ,review 7#aiji74 #j;b ,i4e4 after p4 #bhe3 it bears no number of its own6 #j;c ,the distinction was merely implicit in his published writings1 but has been printed since his death from his 8,notebooks10 ,new ,quarterly ,review1 ,april1 #aijh4 ,i had developed this thesis1 without knowing of ,butler's explicit anticipation in an article then in the press3 8,mechanism and ,life10 ,contemporary ,review1 ,may1 #aijh4 #j;d ,the term has recently been revived by ,prof4 ,hubrecht and by myself 7,contemporary ,review1 ,november #aijh74 #j;e ,see ,fortnightly ,review1 ,february #aijh1 and ,contemporary ,review1 ,september and ,november #aiji4 ,since these publications the hypnosis seems to have somewhat weakened4 #j;f ,a 8hormone0 is a chemical substance which1 formed in one part of the body1 alters the reactions of another part1 normally for the good of the organism4 #j;g ,mr4 ,h4 ,festing ,jones first directed my attention to these passages and their bearing on the ,mutation ,theory4 #j;i ,he says in a note1 8,this general type of reaction was described and illustrated in a different connection by ,pfluger in #8,pfluger's ,archiv4 f4d4 ges4 ,physiologie1' ,bd4 ,,xv40 ,the essay bears the significant title 8,die teleologische ,mechanik der lebendigen ,natur10 and is a very remarkable one1 as coming from an official physiologist in #ahgg1 when the chemico-physical school was nearly at its zenith4 #j;j 8,contributions to the ,study of the ,lower ,animals0 7#aijd71 8,modifiability in ,behaviour0 and 8,method of ,regulability in ,behaviour and in other ,fields10 in ,journ4 ,experimental ,zoology1 vol4 ii4 7#aije74 #j;h ,see 8,the ,hereditary ,transmission of ,acquired ,characters0 in ,contemporary ,review1 ,september and ,november #aijh1 in which references are given to earlier statements4 #jk ,semon's technical terms are exclusively taken from the ,greek1 but as experience tells that plain men in ,england have a special dread of suchlike1 ,i have substituted 8imprint0 for 8engram10 8outcome0 for 8ecphoria02 for the latter term ,i had thought of 8efference10 8manifestation10 etc41 but decided on what looked more homely1 and at the same time was quite distinctive enough to avoid that confusion which ,semon has dodged with his ,grcisms4 #jl 8,between the #8me' of to-day and the #8me' of yesterday lie night and sleep1 abysses of unconsciousness2 nor is there any bridge but memory with which to span them40--,unconscious ,memory1 p4 #ga4 #jm ,preface by ,mr4 ,charles ,darwin to 8,erasmus ,darwin40 ,the ,museum has copies of a ,kosmos that was published #aheg-fj and then discontinued2 but this is clearly not the ,kosmos referred to by ,mr4 ,darwin1 which began to appear in #ahgh4 #jn ,preface to 8,erasmus ,darwin40 #b ,may #ahhj4 #c ,kosmos1 ,february #ahgi1 ,leipsic4 #d ,origin of ,species1 ed4 i41 p4 #dei4 #h;a ,origin of ,species1 ed4 i41 p4 #a4 #h;b ,kosmos1 ,february #ahgi1 p4 #cig4 #h;c ,erasmus ,darwin1 by ,ernest ,krause1 pp4 #acb1 #acc4 #i;a ,origin of ,species1 ed4 i41 p4 #bdb4 #i;b ,ibid41 p4 #dbg4 #aj;a ,nineteenth ,century1 ,november #ahgh2 ,evolution1 ,old and ,new1 pp4 #cfj4 #cfa4 #aj;b ,encyclopdia ,britannica1 ed4 ix41 art4 8,evolution10 p4 #gdh4 #aa ,ibid4 #ag ,encycl4 ,brit41 ed4 ix41 art4 8,evolution10 p4 #gej4 #bc;a ,origin of ,species1 #fth ed41 #ahgf1 p4 #bjf4 #bc;b ,ibid41 p4 #bcc4 #bd;a ,origin of ,species1 #fth ed41 p4 #aga1 #ahgf4 #bd;b ,pp4 #beh-bfj4 #bf ,zoonomia1 vol4 i4 p4 #dhd2 ,evolution1 ,old and ,new1 p4 #bad4 #bg 8,erasmus ,darwin10 by ,ernest ,krause1 p4 #baa1 ,london1 #ahgi4 #bh;a ,see 8,evolution1 ,old and ,new10 p4 #ia1 and ,buffon1 tom4 iv4 p4 #chc1 ed4 #agec4 #bh;b ,evolution1 ,old and ,new1 p4 #ajd4 #bi;a ,encycl4 ,brit41 #ith ed41 art4 8,evolution10 p4 #gdh4 #bi;b ,palingnsie ,philosophique1 part x4 chap4 ii4 7quoted from ,professor ,huxley's article on 8,evolution10 ,encycl4 ,brit41 #ith ed41 p4 #gde74 #ca ,the note began thus3 8,i have taken the date of the first publication of ,lamarck from ,isidore ,geoffroy ,st4 ,hilaire's 7,hist4 ,nat4 ,gnrale tom4 ii4 p4 #dje1 #ahei7 excellent history of opinion upon this subject4 ,in this work a full account is given of ,buffon's fluctuating conclusions upon the same subject40--,origin of ,species1 #c;d ed41 #ahfa1 p4 xiv4 #cc;a ,life of ,erasmus ,darwin1 pp4 #hd1 #he4 #cc;b ,see ,life and ,habit1 p4 #bfd and pp4 #bgf1 #bgg4 #cc;c ,see ,evolution1 ,old and ,new1 pp4 #aei-afe4 #cc;d ,ibid41 p4 #abb4 #cd ,see ,evolution1 ,old and ,new1 pp4 #bdg1 #bdh4 #ce;a ,vestiges of ,creation1 ed4 #ahfj1 8,proofs1 ,illustrations1 c410 p4 lxiv4 #ce;b ,the first announcement was in the ,examiner1 ,february #bb1 #ahgi4 #cf ,saturday ,review1 ,may #ca1 #ahgi4 #cg;a ,may #bf1 #ahgi4 #cg;b ,may #ca1 #ahgi4 #cg;c ,july #bf1 #ahgi4 #cg;d ,july #ahgi4 #cg;e ,july #ahgi4 #cg;f ,july #bi1 #ahgi4 #cg;g ,january #ahhj4 #ci ,how far ,kosmos was 8a well-known0 journal1 ,i cannot determine4 ,it had just entered upon its second year4 #da ,evolution1 ,old and ,new1 p4 #abj1 line #e4 #dc ,kosmos1 ,february #ahgi1 p4 #cig4 #dd;a ,kosmos1 ,february #ahgi1 p4 #djd4 #dd;b ,page #ci of this volume4 #ej ,see ,appendix ,a4 #eb ,since published as 8,god the ,known and ,god the ,unknown40 ,fifield1 #as4 #f;d4 net4 #aiji4 #ed;a 8,contemplation of ,nature10 ,engl4 trans41 ,lond4 #aggf4 ,preface1 p4 xxxvi4 #ed;b ,ibid41 p4 xxxviii4 #ee ,life and ,habit1 p4 #ig4 #ef 8,the ,unity of the ,organic ,individual10 by ,edward ,montgomery1 ,mind1 ,october #ahhj1 p4 #dff4 #eh ,life and ,habit1 p4 #bcg4 #ei;a ,discourse on the ,study of ,natural ,philosophy4 ,lardner's ,cab4 ,cyclo41 vol4 xcix4 p4 #bd4 #ei;b ,young's ,lectures on ,natural ,philosophy1 ii4 #fbg4 ,see also ,phil4 ,trans41 #ahja-b4 #fc ,the lecture is published by ,karl ,gerold's ,sohn1 ,vienna4 #fi ,see quotation from ,bonnet1 p4 #ed of this volume4 #gj ,professor ,hering is not clear here4 ,vibrations 7if ,i understand his theory rightly7 should not be set up by faint stimuli from within4 ,whence and what are these stimuli8 ,the vibrations within are already existing1 and it is they which are the stimuli to action4 ,on having been once set up1 they either continue in sufficient force to maintain action1 or they die down1 and become too weak to cause further action1 and perhaps even to be perceived within the mind1 until they receive an accession of vibration from without4 ,the only 8stimulus from within0 that should be able to generate action is that which may follow when a vibration already established in the body runs into another similar vibration already so established4 ,on this consciousness1 and even action1 might be supposed to follow without the presence of an external stimulus4 #ga ,this expression seems hardly applicable to the overtaking of an internal by an external vibration1 but it is not inconsistent with it4 ,here1 however1 as frequently elsewhere1 ,i doubt how far ,professor ,hering has fully realised his conception1 beyond being1 like myself1 convinced that the phenomena of memory and of heredity have a common source4 #gb ,see quotation from ,bonnet1 p4 #ed of this volume4 ,by 8preserving the memory of habitual actions0 ,professor ,hering probably means1 retains for a long while and repeats motion of a certain character when such motion has been once communicated to it4 #gd;a ,it should not be 8if the central nerve system were not able to reproduce whole series of vibrations10 but 8if whole series of vibrations do not persist though unperceived10 if ,professor ,hering intends what ,i suppose him to intend4 #gd;b ,memory was in full operation for so long a time before anything like what we call a nervous system can be detected1 that ,professor ,hering must not be supposed to be intending to confine memory to a motor nerve system4 ,his words do not even imply that he does1 but it is as well to be on one's guard4 #gg ,it is from such passages as this1 and those that follow on the next few pages1 that ,i collect the impression of ,professor ,hering's meaning which ,i have endeavoured to convey in the preceding chapter4 #gh ,that is to say1 8an infinitely small change in the kind of vibration communicated from the parent to the germ40 #gi ,it may be asked what is meant by responding4 ,i may repeat that ,i understand ,professor ,hering to mean that there exists in the offspring certain vibrations1 which are many of them too faint to upset equilibrium and thus generate action1 until they receive an accession of force from without by the running into them of vibrations of similar characteristics to their own1 which last vibrations have been set up by exterior objects4 ,on this they become strong enough to generate that corporeal earthquake which we call action4 ,this may be true or not1 but it is at any rate intelligible2 whereas much that is written about 8fraying channels0 raises no definite ideas in the mind4 #hj;a ,i interpret this1 8,we cannot wonder if often-repeated vibrations gather strength1 and become at once more lasting and requiring less accession of vibration from without1 in order to become strong enough to generate action40 #hj;b 8,characteristics0 must1 ,i imagine1 according to ,professor ,hering1 resolve themselves ultimately into 8vibrations10 for the characteristics depend upon the character of the vibrations4 #ha ,professor ,hartog tells me that this probably refers to ,fritz ,mller's formulation of the 8recapitulation process0 in 8,facts for ,darwin10 ,english edition 7#ahfi71 p4 #aad4--,r4,a4,s4 #hb ,this is the passage which makes me suppose ,professor ,hering to mean that vibrations from exterior objects run into vibrations already existing within the living body1 and that the accession to power thus derived is his key to an explanation of the physical basis of action4 #hd ,i interpret this3 8,there are fewer vibrations persistent within the bodies of the lower animals2 those that there are1 therefore1 are stronger and more capable of generating action or upsetting the status in quo4 ,hence also they require less accession of vibration from without4 ,man is agitated by more and more varied vibrations2 these1 interfering1 as to some extent they must1 with one another1 are weaker1 and therefore require more accession from without before they can set the mechanical adjustments of the body in motion40 #hi ,i am obliged to ,mr4 ,sully for this excellent translation of 8,hellsehen40 #ij;a ,westminster ,review1 ,new ,series1 vol4 xlix4 p4 #adc4 #ij;b ,ibid41 p4 #ade4 #ij;c ,ibid41 p4 #aea4 #ib;a 8,instinct ist zweckmssiges ,handeln ohne ,bewusstsein des ,zwecks40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 ,berlin1 #ahga1 p4 #gj4 #ib;b 8#a4 ,eine blosse ,folge der krperlichen ,organisation4 8#b4 ,ein von der ,natur eingerichteter ,gehirn-oder ,geistesmechanismus4 8#c4 ,eine ,folge unbewusster ,geistesthiitigkeit40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #gj4 #ig 8,hiermit ist der ,annahme das ,urtheil gesprochen1 welche die unbewusste ,vorstellung des ,zwecks in jedem einzelnen ,falle vorwiegt2 denn wollte man nun noch die ,vorstellung des ,geistesmechanismus festhalten so msste fr jede ,variation und ,modification des ,instincts1 nach den usseren ,umstnden1 eine besondere constante ,vorrichtung 4 4 4 eingefgt sein40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious #c;d ed41 p4 #gd4 #ii 8,indessen glaube ich1 dass die angefhrten ,beispiele zur ,genge beweisen1 dass es auch viele ,flle giebt1 wo ohne jede ,complication mit der bewussten ,ueberlegung die gewhnliche und aussergewhnliche ,handlung aus derselben ,quelle stammen1 dass sie entweder beide wirklicher ,instinct1 oder beide ,resultate bewusster ,ueberlegung sind40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #gf4 #ajj 8,dagegen haben wir nunmehr unseren ,blick noch einmal schrfer auf den ,begriff eines psychischen ,mechanismus zu richten1 und da zeigt sich1 dass derselbe1 abgesehen davon1 wie viel er erklrt1 so dunke list1 dass man sich kaum etwas dabei denken kann40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #gf4 #aja 8,das ,endglied tritt als bewusster ,wille zu irgend einer ,handlung auf2 beide sind aber ganz ungleichartig und haben mit der gewhnlichen ,motivation nichts zu thun1 welche ausschliesslich darin besteht1 dass die ,vorstellung einer ,lust oder einer ,unlust das ,begehren erzeugr1 erstere zu erlangen1 letztere sich fern zu halten40--,ibid41 p4 #gf4 #ajb;a 8,diese causale ,verbindung fllt erfahrungsmssig1 wie wir von unsern menschlichen ,instincten wissen1 nicht in's ,bewussisein2 folglich kann dieselbe1 wenn sie ein ,mechanismus sein soll1 nur entweder ein nicht in's ,bewusstsein fallende mechanische ,leitung und ,umwandlung der ,schwingungen des vorgestellten ,motivs in die ,schwingungen der gewollten ,handlung im ,gehirn1 oder ein unbewusster geistiger ,mechanismus sein40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious #c;d ed41 p4 #gg4 #ajb;b 8,man hat sich also zwischen dem bewussten ,motiv1 und dem ,willen zur ,insticthandlung eine causale ,verbindung durch unbewusstes ,vorstellen und ,wollen zu denken1 und ich weiss nicht1 wie diese ,verbindung einfacher gedacht werden knnte1 als durch den vorgestellten und gewollten ,zweck4 ,damit sind wir aber bei dem allen ,geistern eigenthmlichen und immanenten ,mechanismus der ,logik angelangt1 und haben die unbewusster ,zweckvorstellung bei jeder einzelnen ,instincthandlung als unentbehrliches ,glied gefunden2 hiermit hat also der ,begrift des todten1 usserlich prdestinirten ,geistesmechanismus sich selbst aufgehoben und in das immanente ,geistesleben der ,logik umgewandelt1 und wir sind bei der letzten ,mglichkeit angekommen1 welche fr die ,auffassung eines wirklichen ,instincts brig bleibt3 der ,instinct ist bewusstes ,wollen des ,mittels zu einem unbewusst gewollten ,zweck40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #gh4 #aje;a 8,also der ,instinct ohne ,hlfsmechanismus die ,ursache der ,entstehung des ,hlfsmechanismus ist40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #gi4 #aje;b 8,dass auch der fertige ,hlfsmechanismus das ,unbewusste nicht etwa zu dieser bestimmten ,instincthandlung necessirt1 sondern blosse prdisponirt40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #gi4 #aje;c 8,giebt es einen wirklichen ,instinct1 oder sind die sogenannten ,instincthandlungen nur ,resultate bewusster ,ueberlegung80--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #gi4 #aaa 8,dieser ,beweis ist dadurch zu fhren2 erstens dass die betreffenden ,thatsachen in2 der ,zukunft liegen1 und dem ,verstande die ,anhaltepunkte fehlen1 um ihr zuknftiges ,eintreten aus den gegenwrtigen ,verhltnissen zu erschliessen2 zweitens1 dass die betreffenden ,thatsachen augenscheinlich der sinnlichen ,wahrnehmung verschlossen liegen1 weil nur die ,erfahrung frherer ,flle ber sie belehren kann1 und diese laut der ,beobachtung ausgeschlossen ist4 ,es wrde fr unsere ,interessen keinen ,unterschied machen1 wenn1 was ich wahrscheinlich halte1 bei fortschreitender physiologischer ,erkenntniss alle jetzt fr den ersten ,fall anzufhrenden ,beispiele sich als solche des zweiten ,falls ausweisen sollten1 wie dies unleugbar bei vielen frher gebrauchten ,beispielen schon geschehen ist2 denn ein apriorisches ,wissen ohne jeden sinnlichen ,anstoss ist wohl kaum wunderbarer zu nennen1 als ein ,wissen1 welches zwar bei ,gelegenheit gewisser sinnlicher ,wahrnehmung zu ,tage tritt1 aber mit diesen nur durch eine solche ,kette von ,schlssen und angewandten ,kenntnissen in ,verbindung stehend gedacht werden knnte1 dass deren ,mglichkeit bei dem ,zustande der ,fhigkeiten und ,bildung der betreffenden ,thiere entschieden geleugnet werden muss40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #he4 #aac 8,man hat dieselbe jederzeit anerkannt und mit den ,worten ,vorgefhl oder ,ahnung bezeichnet2 indess beziehen sich diese ,wrte einerseits nur auf zuknftiges1 nicht auf gegenwrtiges1 rumlich getrenntes ,unwahmehrnbares1 anderseits bezeichnen sie nur die leise1 dumpfe1 unbestimmte ,resonanz des ,bewusstseins mit dem unfehlbar bestimmten ,zustande der unbewussten ,erkenntniss4 ,daher das ,wort ,vorgefhl in ,rcksicht auf die ,dumpfheit und ,unbestimmtheit1 whrend doch leicht zu sehen ist1 dass das von allen1 auch den unbewussten ,vorstellungen entblsste ,gefhl fr das ,resultat gar keinen ,einfluss haben kann1 sondern nur eine ,vorstellung1 weil diese allein ,erkenntniss enthlt4 ,die in ,bewusstsein mitklingende ,ahnung kann allerdings unter ,umstnden ziemlich deutlich sein1 so dass sie sich beim ,menschen in ,gedanken und ,wort fixiren lsst2 doch ist dies auch im ,menschen erfahrungsmssig bei den eigenthmlichen ,instincten nicht der ,fall1 vielmehr ist bei diesen die ,resonanz der unbewussten ,erkenntniss im ,bewusstsein meistens so schwach1 dass sie sich wirklich nur in begleitenden ,gefhlen oder der ,stimmung ussert1 dass sie einen unendlich kleinen ,bruchtheil des ,gemeingefhls bildet40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #hf4 #aae;a 8,in der ,bestimmung des ,willens durch einen im ,unbewussten liegenden ,process 4 4 4 fr welchen sich dieser ,character der zweifellosen ,selbstgewissheit in allen folgenden ,untersuchungen bewhren wird40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 p4 #hg4 #aae;b 8,sondern als unmittelbarer ,besitz vorgefunden wird40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 p4 #hg4 #aae;c 8,hellsehen40 #aai;a 8,das ,hellsehon des ,unbewussten hat sie den rechten ,weg ahnen lassen40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 p4 #ij1 #c;d ed41 #ahga4 #aai;b 8,man wird doch wahrlich nicht den ,thieren zumuthen wollen1 durch meteorologische ,schlsse das ,wetter auf ,monate im ,voraus zu berechnen1 ja sogar ,ueberschwemmungen vorauszusehen4 ,vielmehr ist eine solche ,gefhlswahrnehmung gegenwrtiger atmosphrischer ,einflsse nichts weiter als die sinnliche ,wahrnehmung1 welche als ,motiv wirkt1 und ein ,motiv muss ja doch immer vorhanden sein1 wenn ein ,instinct functioniren soll4 ,es bleibt also trotzdem bestehen dass das ,voraussehen der ,witterung ein unbewusstes ,hellsehen ist1 von dem der ,storch1 der vier ,wochen frher nach ,sden aufbricht1 so wenig etwas weiss1 als der ,hirsch1 der sich vor einem kalten ,winter einen dickeren ,pelz als gewhnlich wachsen lsst4 ,die ,thiere haben eben einerseits das gegenwrtige ,witterungsgefhl im ,bewusstsein1 daraus folgt andererseits ihr ,handeln gerade so1 als ob sie die ,vorstellung der zuknftigen ,witterung htten2 im ,bewusstsein haben sie dieselbe aber nicht1 also bietet sich als einzig natrliches ,mittelglied die unbewusste ,vorstellung1 die nun aber immer ein ,hellsehen ist1 weil sie etwas enthlt1 was dem ,thier weder dutch sinnliche ,wahrnehmung direct gegeben ist1 noch durch seine ,verstandesmittel aus der ,wahrnehmung geschlossen werden kann40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 p4 #ia1 #c;d ed41 #ahga4 #abd 8,meistentheils tritt aber hier der hheren ,bewusstseinstufe der ,menschen entsprechend eine strkete ,resonanz des ,bewusstseins mit dem bewussten ,hellsehen hervor1 die sich also mehr odor minder deutliche ,ahnung darstellt4 ,ausserdem entspricht es der grsseren ,selbststndigkeit des menschlichen ,intellects1 dass diese ,ahnung nicht ausschliesslich ,behufs der unmittelbaren ,ausfhrung einer ,handlung eintritt1 sondern bisweilen auch unabngig von der ,bedingung einer momentan zu leistenden ,that als blosse ,vorstellung ohne bewussten ,willen sich zeigte1 wenn nur die ,bedingung erfllt ist1 dass der ,gegenstand dieses ,ahnens den ,willen des ,ahnenden im ,allgemeinen in hohem ,grade interessirt40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #id4 #abf 8,hufig sind die ,ahnungen1 in denen das ,hellsehen des ,unbewussten sich dem ,bewusstsein offenbart1 dunkel1 unverstndlich und symbolisch1 weil sie im ,gehirn sinnliche ,form annehmen mssen1 whrend die unbewusste ,vorstellung an der ,form der ,sinnlichkeit kein ,theil haben kann40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #if4 #abh 8,ebenso weil es diese ,reihe nur in gesteigerter ,bewusstseinresonanz fortsetzt1 sttzt es jene ,aussagen der ,instincthandlungen her ihr eigenes ,wesen ebenso sehr10 c4--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #ig4 #abi 8,wir werden trotzdem diese gomeinsame ,wirkung eines ,masseninstincts in der ,entstehung der ,sprache und den grossen politischen und socialen ,bewegungen in der ,woltgeschichte deutlich wieder erkennen2 hier handelt es sich um mglichst einfache und deutliche ,beispiele1 und darum greifen wir zu niederen ,thieren1 wo die ,mittel der ,gedankenmittheilung bei fehlender ,stimme1 ,mimik und ,physiognomie so unvollkommen sind1 dass die ,uebereinstimmung und das ,ineinandergreifen der einzelnen ,leistungen in den ,hauptsachen unmglich der bewussten ,verstndigung durch ,sprache zugeschrieben werden darf40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #ih4 #aca;a 8,und wie durch ,instinct dot ,plan des ganzen ,stocks in unbewusstem ,hellsehen jeder einzelnen ,biene einwohnt40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #ii4 #aca;b 8,indem jedes ,individuum den ,plan des ,ganzen und ,smmtliche gegenwartig zu ergreifende ,mittel im unbewussten ,hellsehen hat1 wovon aber nut das ,eine1 was ihm zu thun obliegt1 in sein ,bewusstsein fllt40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #ii4 #acb 8,der ,instinct ist nicht ,resultat bewusster ,ueberlegung1 nicht ,folge der krperlichen ,organisation1 nicht blosses ,resultat eines in der ,organisation des ,gehirns gelegenen ,mechanismus1 nicht ,wirkung eines dem ,geiste von aussen angeklebten todten1 seinem innersten ,wesen fremden ,mechanismus1 sondern selbsteigene ,leistung des ,individuum aus seinem innersten ,wesen und ,character entspringend40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #ajj4 #acc 8,hufig ist die ,kenntniss des ,zwecks der bewussten ,erkenntniss durch sinnliche ,wahrnehmung gar nicht zugnglich2 dann documentirt sich die ,eigenthmlichkeit des ,unbewussten im ,hellsehen1 von welchem das ,bewusstsein theils nar eine verschwindend dumpfe1 theils auch namentlich beim ,menschen mehr oder minder deutliche ,resonanz als ,ahnung versptt40--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #ajj4 #ace 8,und eine so dmonische ,gewalt sollte durch etwas ausgebt werden knnon1 was als ein dem inneren ,wesen fremder ,mechanismus dem ,geiste aufgepfropft ist1 oder gar durch eine bewusste ,ueberlegung1 welche doch stets nur im kahlen ,egoismus stecken bleibt10 c4--,philosophy of the ,unconscious1 #c;d ed41 p4 #aja4 #aci;a ,page #ajj of this vol4 #aci;b ,pp4 #ajf1 #ajg of this vol4 #adj ,page #ajj of this vol4 #ada ,page #ii of this vol4 #add;a ,see page #aae of this volume4 #add;b ,page #ajd of this vol4 #adf ,the ,spirit of ,nature4 ,j4 ,a4 ,churchill ,co41 #ahhj1 p4 #ci4 #adi ,i have put these words into the mouth of my supposed objector1 and shall put others like them1 because they are characteristic2 but nothing can become so well known as to escape being an inference4 #aec ,erewhon1 chap4 xxiii4 #afj ,it must be remembered that this passage is put as if in the mouth of an objector4 #agg;a 8,the ,unity of the ,organic ,individual10 by ,edward ,montgomery4 ,mind1 ,october #ahhj1 p4 #dgg4 #agg;b ,ibid41 p4 #dhc4 #agi;a ,professor ,huxley1 ,encycl4 ,brit41 #ith ed41 art4 ,evolution1 p4 #gej4 #agi;b 8,hume10 by ,professor ,huxley1 p4 #de4 #ahj 8,the ,philosophy of ,crayfishes10 by the ,right ,rev4 the ,lord ,bishop of ,carlisle4 ,nineteenth ,century for ,october #ahhj1 p4 #fcf4 #aha;a ,les ,amours des ,plantes1 p4 #cfj4 ,paris1 #ahjj4 #aha;b ,philosophie ,zoologique1 tom4 i4 p4 #bca4 ,ed4 ,m4 ,martin4 ,paris1 #ahgc4 #ahb;a ,journal of the ,proceedings of the ,linnean ,society4 ,williams ,norgate1 #aheh1 p4 #fa4 #ahb;b ,contributions to the ,theory of ,natural ,selection1 #b;d ed41 #ahga1 p4 #da4 #ahb;c ,origin of ,species1 p4 #a1 ed4 #ahgb4 #ahc;a ,origin of ,species1 #fth ed41 p4 #bjf4 ,i ought in fairness to ,mr4 ,darwin to say that he does not hold the error to be quite as serious as he once did4 ,it is now 8a serious error0 only2 in #ahei it was 8the most serious error40--,origin of ,species1 #ast ed41 p4 #bji4 #ahc;b ,origin of ,species1 #ast ed41 p4 #bdb2 #fth ed41 p4 #bcc4 #ahd;a ,i never could find what these particular points were4 #ahd;b ,isidore ,geoffroy1 ,hist4 ,nat4 ,gen41 tom4 ii4 p4 #djg1 #ahei4 #ahd;c ,m4 ,martin's edition of the 8,philosophie ,zoologique0 7,paris1 #ahgc71 ,introduction1 p4 vi4 #ahd;d ,encyclopdia ,britannica1 #ith ed41 p4 #gej4