The Difficulties of Natural Selection

Abstract

I AM forcibly reminded of Pope's lines, A little knowledge is a dangerous thing: Drink deep, or taste not, the Pierian spring, by the argument used by Mr. Bennett in the P.S. to his letter in NATURE, of the 24th November, in which he says, after quoting a passage from a paper by Mr. Jenner Weir: “Here at least it would seem as if imperfect mimicry was anything but beneficial to the individual; how can the principle of natural selection account for its propagation in these instances?” He considers that a little mimicry is a dangerous thing. I would rather agree with Lord Brougham in his remark on the above lines, that as a little knowledge is better than great ignorance, so a little mimicry is better than great dissemblance.