PREFACE HE first two of these lectures were given to THE the members of the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, New Zealand, on the 12th September, 1887, and the 21st September, 1898, respectively. Of the first a small edition was printed for private circulation, and is now republished with only a few verbal alterations, as, by the nature of the subject, it is not necessary to keep it up-todate. On the contrary, it appears to me to be preferable that it should reflect the ideas of naturalists at the time it was written. The second lecture is printed for the first time. The third was given to the students of Canterbury College, University of New Zealand, as the opening address of the session on the 20th March, 1882, and was subsequently printed in the New Zealand Journal of Science, under the title of "Biology in an Arts Curriculum." I have omitted the opening and closing paragraphs; but the rest is substantially the same as when given. The fourth and con cluding lecture, on "The New Lamarckism," was written to make my treatment of the subject more complete. My excuse for adding to the already voluminous literature on Darwinism is that the subject is always advancing, and that the interest attached to it is not confined to naturalists, but enters into everyday life. It is, indeed, intimately connected with our systems of theology, for it forms one of the foundations-perhaps the corner-stone-of Natural Religion; by which I mean the religious ideas and beliefs we receive from a study of nature. It is therefore important that a knowledge of the theory should be widely spread; and any attempt to convey that knowledge in simple language can hardly fail to do good, provided it be sufficiently clear to be understood at the first reading, and sufficiently short to discourage skipping. This has been my aim; and as all the first three lectures were addressed to mixed audiences, and were intended to be popular expositions of the Darwinian doctrine, they may perhaps find favour with those who have no time to study more elaborate works. CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND, F. W. H. January, 1899. |