The present unsettled and unsatisfactory state of the moral code in this respect is at the bottom of the supposed antagonism between religion and science.  These two are not, or never ought to be, antagonistic.  They should never want what is spoken of as reconciliation, for in reality they are one.  Religion is the quintessence of science, and science the raw material of religion; when people talk about reconciling religion and science they do not mean what they say; they mean reconciling the statements made by one set of professional men with those made by another set whose interests lie in the opposite direction—­and with no recognised president of the court to keep them within due bounds this is not always easy.

Mr. Allen says:-

“At the same time it must be steadily remembered that there are many naturalists at the present day, especially among those of the lower order of intelligence, who, while accepting evolutionism in a general way, and therefore always describing themselves as Darwinians, do not believe, and often cannot even understand, the distinctive Darwinian addition to the evolutionary doctrine—­namely, the principle of natural selection.  Such hazy and indistinct thinkers as these are still really at the prior stage of Lamarckian evolution” (p. 199).

Considering that Mr. Allen was at that stage himself so recently, he might deal more tenderly with others who still find “the distinctive Darwinian adjunct” “unthinkable.”  It is perhaps, however, because he remembers his difficulties that Mr. Allen goes on as follows:-

“It is probable that in the future, while a formal acceptance of Darwinism becomes general, the special theory of natural selection will be thoroughly understood and assimilated only by the more abstract and philosophical minds.”

By the kind of people, in fact, who read the Spectator and are called thoughtful; and in point of fact less than a twelvemonth after this passage was written, natural selection was publicly abjured as “a theory of the origin of species” by Mr. Romanes himself, with the implied approval of the Times.

“Thus,” continues Mr. Allen, “the name of Darwin will often no doubt be tacked on to what are in reality the principles of Lamarck.”

It requires no great power of prophecy to foretell this, considering that it is done daily by nine out of ten who call themselves Darwinians.  Ask ten people of ordinary intelligence how Mr. Darwin explains the fact that giraffes have long necks, and nine of them will answer “through continually stretching them to reach higher and higher boughs.”  They do not understand that this is the Lamarckian view of evolution, not the Darwinian; nor will Mr. Allen’s book greatly help the ordinary reader to catch the difference between the two theories, in spite of his frequent reference to Mr. Darwin’s “distinctive feature,” and to his “master-key.”  No doubt the British public will get to understand