The great French zoologist Lamarck (1744-1829) was best known for his theory of evolution, called 'soft inheritance', whereby organisms pass down acquired characteristics to their offspring. Originally a soldier, Lamarck later studied medicine and biology, becoming particularly interested in botany. His distinguished career included admission to the French Academy of Sciences (1779), and appointments as Royal Botanist (1781) and as professor of zoology at the Musee Nationale d'Histoire Naturelle in 1793. Acknowledged as the premier authority on invertebrate zoology, he is credited with coining the term 'invertebrates'. In this two-volume work of 1809, he outlines his theory that under the pressure of different external circumstances, species can develop variations, and that new species and genera can eventually evolve as a result. Darwin paid tribute to Lamarck as the man who 'first did the eminent service of arousing attention to the probability of all change ...being the result of law'.
拉马克（Jean-Baptiste Lamarck，1744年8月1日—1829年12月18日）是法国博物学家，生物学伟大的奠基人之一。他最先提出生物进化的学说，是进化论的倡导者和先驱。他还是一个分类学家，林奈(Carl von linne' 1707～1778)的继承人。主要著作有《法国全境植物志》、《无脊椎动物的系统》、《动物学哲学》等。
译者
沐绍良（1912—1969），浙江宁波慈溪（今慈城）人。1933年9月，受春晖中学时期的老师夏丏尊之邀，至上海开明书店工作。在此期间，在《中国儿童时报》上连载发表《读和写》，深受小读者欢迎。后由开明书店出版叶圣陶作序的单行本，曾多次重版。同时在《中学生》、《新少年》等刊物上发表多篇文章。 1936年7月后，先后任上海商务印书馆编译员、《中美日报》科学副刊编辑、《大晚报》副刊编辑。曾用刘振汉、斯文等笔名在...
Networks of Faith and Profit
Parfit's Ethics
Negotiating Mughal Law
The History of the Arthaśāstra
A History of the Roman Equestrian Order
Jurist in Context