Page:Carroll Lane Fenton - A History of Evolution (1922).djvu/33

 30 of fact it is extremely convenient, just as in a directory or telephone book it is convenient to have the family name given first.

In the early editions of Linnaeus' great work, the "Systema Naturae" (System of Nature), published from 1735 to 1751, the great naturalist stated specifically that he believed in the absolute fixity of species from the time of their creation, according to the literal interpretation of Genesis. But Linnaeus was too close a student to hold this idea for long, and in his edition of 1762 we find him expressing the opinion that many new species arose from the interbreeding of those originally created. However, he maintained that only species originated in this manner, and attributed the more general resemblances of animals and plants to similarities of form implanted by the Creator. Plainly, therefore, Linnaeus was at heart a believer in special creation in a very slightly restricted sense, and was by no means as progressive in this respect as the old Greek philosopher Aristotle.

Foremost among the contemporaries of Linnaeus was George Buffon, (1707–1788), the Frenchman whom Osborn has called the "naturalist founder of the modern applied form of the evolutionary theory." During his early work Buffon held essentially the same views as his contemporary, Linnaeus, stating that the species of animals were separated by a gap which could not be bridged, and that everywhere were evidences of "the Creator, dictating his simple but beautiful laws and impress-