Origin of Species Variorum

→ these same 1861 1866 1869

some of these same 1872

→ under the present state of science, 1861 1866

OMIT 1869 1872

→ creation of 1861 1866

appearance or creation of only 1869 1872

→ or of 1861 1866

of life, or of 1869 1872

They admit that a multitude of forms, which till lately they themselves thought were special creations, and which are still thus looked at by the majority of naturalists, and which consequently have

all the

every

external characteristic

features

feature

of true species,— they admit that these have been produced by variation, but they refuse to extend the same view to other and

~~very~~

very

slightly different forms. Nevertheless they do not pretend that they can define, or even conjecture, which are the created forms of life, and which are those produced by secondary laws. They admit variation as a vera causa in one case, they arbitrarily reject it in another, without assigning any distinction in the two cases. The day will come when this will be given as a curious illustration of the blindness of preconceived opinion. These authors seem no more startled at a miraculous act of creation than at an ordinary birth. But do they really believe that at innumerable periods in the

earths

earth's

history certain elemental atoms have been commanded suddenly to flash into living tissues? Do they believe that at each supposed act of creation one individual or many were produced? Were all the infinitely numerous kinds of animals and plants created as eggs or seed, or as full grown? and in the case of mammals, were they created bearing the false marks of nourishment from the

mothers

mother's

womb? Undoubtedly →these same questions cannot be answered by those

who

who,

→under the present state of science, believe in the →creation of a few

~~aboriginal~~

aboriginal

forms

forms,

→or of some one form

alone.