ssed through three main stages. The first of these was
the acceptance of a new illuminating and unifying idea, which led to
enthusiastic research in many directions for the purpose of proving and
amplifying it. Very rapidly new facts, or new interpretations of facts
already known, were shown to fall into line, and the evolution theory
became converted from a hypothesis into something approaching a dogma.
Not only the idea of organic evolution itself, but all the current
beliefs about the method of evolution, and the larger speculations to
which it gave rise, were widely regarded as almost indisputable, and
where difficulties and inconsistencies appeared, these were supposed to
be due solely to the insufficiency of our knowledge, which would soon be
remedied. Then, however, as detailed knowledge increased, the voice of
criticism and doubt was more frequently heard. The various branches of
Biology began once more to overlap, and to join hands with chemistry and
physics, and it became clear that the interpretation of life was very
far from being a simple problem. And so, as with the Atomic Theory in
chemistry, the present position is one of dissolution of the older ideas
and of hesitation to express a fixed belief, for while Biology has a
clearer vision of the problem before it than ever it had, its wider
knowledge reveals the fact that the problem is far from being solved.
Perhaps one of the chief results of the great increase of knowledge
during the past sixty years has been to show us the immensity of the
field still remaining to be explored.

FOR REFERENCE

Centenary volume on Darwin (Cambridge University Press).

X

ART

A. CLUTTON-BROCK

My subject is art and thought about art. I deal with aesthetics only so
far as they concern art, that is to say I shall not attempt any purely
philosophic speculations about the nature of art and I shall speak of
the speculations of others, such as Croce and Tolstoy, only so far as
they seem to me likely to have a practical effect upon art. My subject
is the art of to-day and our ideas about it. We are beginning at last to
connect aesthetics with our own experience of art and to see that our
beliefs about the nature and value of art will affect the art we
produce. Hence a new aesthetic is very slowly appearing; but I have to
confess it has not yet appeared.

Indeed there are at present two conflicting theories of art, one or
other of which is held consciously or un