Origin of Species Variorum

Comparison with 1872

life, and yet retain throughout a vast period the same general characteristics. This is represented in the diagram by the letter F 14 .

All the many forms, extinct and recent, descended from A, make, as before remarked, one order; and this order, from the continued effects of extinction and divergence of character, has become divided into several sub-families and families, some of which are supposed to have perished at different periods, and some to have endured to the present day.

By looking at the diagram we can see that if many of the extinct forms supposed to be imbedded in the successive formations, were discovered at several points low down in the series, the three existing families on the uppermost line would be rendered less distinct from each other. If, for instance, the genera a 1 , a 5 , a 10 , f 8 , m 3 , m 6 , m 9 , were disinterred, these three families would be so closely linked together that they probably would have to be united into one great family, in nearly the same manner as has occurred with ruminants and certain pachyderms. Yet he who objected to consider as intermediate the extinct genera, which thus link together the living genera of three families, ... would be partly justified, for they are intermediate, not directly, but only by a long and circuitous course through many widely different forms. If many extinct forms were to be discovered above one of the middle horizontal lines or geological formations— for instance, above No. VI.— but none from beneath this line, then only .. two of the families (those on the left hand, .. a 14 , &c., and b 14 , &c.) would have to be united into one; .. and there would remain two families, which would be less distinct from each other than they were before the discovery of the fossils.

Text in this page (from paragraph 3000, sentence 410 to paragraph 3000, sentence 600, word 16) is not present in 1872

life, and yet retain throughout a vast period the same general characteristics. This is represented in the diagram by the letter F 14 .

All the many forms, extinct and recent, descended from (A), make, as before remarked, one order; and this order, from the continued effects of extinction and divergence of character, has become divided into several sub-families and families, some of which are supposed to have perished at different periods, and some to have endured to the present day.

By looking at the diagram we can see that if many of the extinct forms, supposed to be embedded in the successive formations, were discovered at several points low down in the series, the three existing families on the uppermost line would be rendered less distinct from each other. If, for instance, the genera a 1 , a 5 , a 10 , f 8 , m 3 , m 6 , m 9 , were disinterred, these three families would be so closely linked together that they probably would have to be united into one great family, in nearly the same manner as has occurred with ruminants and pachyderms. Yet he who objected to call the extinct genera, which thus linked the living genera of three families together, intermediate in character, would be justified, as they are intermediate, not directly, but only by a long and circuitous course through many widely different forms. If many extinct forms were to be discovered above one of the middle horizontal lines or geological formations— for instance, above No. VI.— but none from beneath this line, then only the two families on the left hand (namely, a 14 , &c., and b 14 , &c.) would have to be united into one family; and the two other families (namely, a 14 to f 14 now including five genera, and o 14 to m 14 ) would yet remain distinct. ↑ These two families, however, would be less distinct from each other than they were before the discovery of the fossils. If, for instance, we suppose the existing genera of the two families to differ from each