The advocates of the law of evolution had assuredly done much in preparing the way for Darwin, as they had insisted that certain advances in detail were undeniable and built up theories from the chaotic material provided by special research—especially seeing that some of the ablest naturalists of the time were amongst them, who determined to retain speculation in zoology and botany. But, on the other hand, it cannot be questioned that the confused nature of their fundamental idea, which, in fact, was not far removed from the theological notion of the vital force, gave the rigid and “exact” academic workers an apparent right to reject _all_ speculation on the possibility of an evolution of species as an unscientific dream. The aged Bronn was in 1860 one of the most prudent and sober of the advocates of the inner principle of evolution. He candidly acknowledged that Darwin had struck a severe blow at the great idea of his life, on one side at least. Darwin’s work not merely dismissed God to the wings as a personality, but even left no room for the finger of God, for his spiritual writing on the walls of the living world. It found evidence of natural laws alone. From them came, if not life itself, at all events selection, adaptation, and evolution by virtue of this increasing adaptation—the higher advance that converted the fish into a lizard and the lizard into a mammal. The fine old worker, with an age of indefatigable labour behind him, though he had not got beyond the idea of a “law of evolution,” looked on Darwin with a mixture of fear and admiration as he cut into the very heart of these problems. He added amiable notes to the work to the effect that one would like to go so far, but the distance was intimidating. In fact, he omitted altogether from his translation the very important phrase that “light would be thrown on the origin of man.” It would be a terrible affair, he thought, if the discussion were at once turned on this. Man himself owing his origin neither to God nor the finger of God, but to natural selection in the ordinary course of natural laws! It was not to be thought of. Hence the phrase was struck out, as quite too extravagant, in his otherwise admirable work.