[page] 4

MR DARWIN'S RECANTATION.

Mr. Darwin, in his new book ("The Descent of Man"), has partially modified, or rather limited, the theories which have made his name famous in the annals of natural science. With candour as admirable as it is rare, he states precisely in what direction his views have altered: - "Thus a very large, yet undefined extension, may safely be given to the direct and indirect results of natural selection, but I now admit -after reading the essay by Professor Nageli on plants, and the remarks by various authors with respect to animals, more especially those recently made by Professor Brocca -that in the earlier editions of my 'Origin of Species,' I probably attributed too much to the action of natural selection or the survival of the fittest. I have altered the fifth edition of my 'Origin of Species,' so as to confine my remarks to adaptive changes of structure. I had not formerly sufficiently considered the existence of many structures which appear to be, as far as we can judge, neither beneficial nor injurious, and this, I believe, to be one of the greatest oversight as yet detected in my work."