| → and their intermediate states 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869 |
| OMIT 1872 |
|
| → in part or in whole specialised 1866 1869 1872 |
| specialised 1859 1860 1861 |
|
| → appearing 1866 1869 |
| in external appearance 1872 |
|
| → In almost every case we 1866 1869 |
| We 1859 1860 1861 |
| In many cases we 1872 |
|
| → OMIT 1866 1869 1872 |
| in almost every case, 1859 1860 1861 |
|
|
eye could have been formed by natural selection, is
enough to stagger any one; yet in the case of any organ, if we know of a long series of
in complexity, each good for its possessor, then, under changing conditions of
there is no logical impossibility in the acquirement of any conceivable degree of perfection through natural selection. In the cases in which we know of no intermediate or transitional states, we should be
cautious in concluding that none
have existed, for the
of many organs
→and their intermediate states
show
wonderful
in function are at least possible. For instance, a
has apparently been converted into an air-breathing lung. The same organ having performed simultaneously very different functions, and then having been
→in part or in whole specialised
for one function; and two
distinct organs having performed at the same time the same function, the one having been perfected whilst aided by the other, must often have largely facilitated transitions. |
|
| We have seen
two beings widely remote from each other in the natural scale,
serving
for the same purpose and
→appearing
closely similar may have been separately and independently formed; but when such organs are closely examined, essential differences in their structure can almost always be detected; and this naturally follows from the principle of natural selection. On the other hand, the common rule throughout nature is infinite diversity of structure for gaining the same end; and this again naturally follows
the same great principle. |
|
|
→In almost every case we
are far too
→OMIT
to be enabled to assert that
part or organ is so unimportant for the welfare of a species, that modifications in its structure could not have been slowly accumulated
|
