FREKE, Henry.

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On the Origin of Species by Means of Organic Affinity. First edition of this claim by the eccentric Irish physician that he had proposed ideas of evolution several years before the publication of Origin of Species in 1859.Although Freke theorized that all organisms were descended from a single "germ", his espousal of this idea in papers on the pathology of inflammation and fever ensured that it was unlikely to achieve much impact, irrespective of their cogency. His commitment to the Mosaic timescale of the history of the earth prevented him from recognizing, as Darwin did, that the principle of natural selection over vast periods of time explained the transition from basic to advanced life.In his "Historical Sketch" included in the sixth edition of Origin (1872), Darwin addressed Freke's theories, expressing evident relief that Freke's restatement of his ideas in the present publication removed any need to survey them in detail. Darwin did not deem Freke of much interest or worthy of much rebuke.

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