““{ On to contributions to evolutionary biology of 18th century French scientist, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon } He was not an evolutionary biologist, yet he was the father of evolutionism. He was the first person to discuss a large number of evolutionary problems, problems that before Buffon had not been raised by anybody… he brought them to the attention of the scientific world. Except for Aristotle and Darwin , no other student of organisms [whole animals and plants] has had as far-reaching an influence. He brought the idea of evolution into the realm of science. He developed a concept of the "unity of type", a precursor of comparative anatomy. More than anyone else, he was responsible for the acceptance of a long-time scale for the history of the earth. He was one of the first to imply that you get inheritance from your parents, in a description based on similarities between elephants and mammoths. And yet, he hindered evolution by his frequent endorsement of the immutability of species. He provided a criterion of species, fertility among members of a species, that was thought impregnable.””
![“In the beginning of the eighteenth century, De Maillet made the first serious attempt to apply the doctrine [ of evolution ] to the living world. In the latter part of it, Erasmus Darwin , Goethe , and Lamarck took up the work more vigorously and with better qualifications. The question of special…” quote by Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d37/thomas-henry-huxley-14414_benoit-de-maillet_in-the-beginning-of-the-eighteenth-centu_2375328.jpg)
![“Today, almost half a century after the publication of the Encyclical [of Pius IX], new knowledge has led to the recognition in the theory of evolution of more than a hypothesis. It is indeed remarkable that this theory has been progressively accepted by researchers, following a series of…” quote by Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fc8/pope-john-paul-ii-485_accepted_today-almost-half-a-century-after-the-pu_1568710.jpg)
