VI. A reaction against modern Darwinism, with a demand for definite purpose and design as underlying variations. The best known writers who have taken this line are the Rev. J. J. Murphy and Professor Mivart, whose 'Habit and intelligence' and 'Genesis of Species' appeared in 1869 and 1871 respectively. In Germany Professor Hering has revived the idea of memory as explaining the phenomena of heredity satisfactorily, without probably having been more aware that it had been advanced already than I was myself when I put it forward recently in 'Life and Habit.' I have never seen the lecture in which Professor Hering has referred the phenomena of heredity to memory, but will give an extract from it which appeared in the 'Athenaeum,' as translated by Professor Ray Lankester.[31] The only new feature which I believe I may claim to have added to received ideas concerning evolution, is a perception of the fact that the unconsciousness with which we go through our embryonic and infantile stages, and with which we discharge the greater number and more important of our natural functions, is of a piece with what we observe concerning all habitual actions, as well as concerning memory; an explanation of the phenomena of old age; and of the main principle which underlies longevity. I may, perhaps, claim also to have more fully explained the passage of reason into instinct than I yet know of its having been explained elsewhere.[32] FOOTNOTES: [28] See ch. xviii. of this volume. [29] Vol. xlix. p. 125. [30] 'Origin of Species,' Hist. Sketch, xvii. [31] See page 199 of this volume. [32] Apropos of this, a friend has kindly sent me the following extract from Balzac:--"Historiquement, les paysans sont encore au lendemain de la Jacquerie, leur defaite est restee inscrite dans leur cervelle. _Ils ne se souviennent plus du fait, il est passe a l'etat d'idee instinctive._"--Balzac, 'Les Paysans,' v. CHAPTER VII. PRE-BUFFONIAN EVOLUTION, AND SOME GERMAN WRITERS. Let us now proceed to the fuller development of the foregoing sketch.