the
mother's mother's 1859 1860 1861 1866 1872 | mothers 1869 |
womb? Undoubtedly
these same these same 1861 1866 1869 |
some of these same 1872 |
questions cannot be answered by those
who, who, 1861 1866 | who 1869 1872 |
under the present state of science, under the present state of science, 1861 1866 |
OMIT 1869 1872 |
believe in the
creation of creation of 1861 1866 |
appearance or creation of only 1869 1872 |
a few
aboriginal aboriginal 1861 1866 | aboriginal 1869 1872 |
forms, forms, 1861 1866 | forms 1869 1872 |
or of or of 1861 1866 |
of life, or of 1869 1872 |
some one form
of life. of life. 1861 1866 | alone. 1869 1872 |
It has been
asserted asserted 1861 1866 | maintained 1869 1872 |
by several authors that it is as easy to believe in the creation of a
hundred hundred 1861 1866 1869 | hundred 1872 |
million beings as of one; but Maupertuis'
philosophical philosophical 1861 1866 1872 | philo- sophical 1869 |
axiom "of least action" leads the mind more willingly to admit the smaller number; and certainly we ought not to believe that innumerable beings within each great class have been created with plain, but deceptive, marks of descent from a single parent. ↑1 blocks not present in 1861 1866 1869 1872; present in 1859 1860 | Although naturalists very properly demand a full explanation of every difficulty from those who believe in the mutability of species, on their own side they ignore the whole subject of the first appearance of species in what they consider reverent silence.
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It may be asked how far I extend the doctrine of the modification of species. The question is difficult to answer, because the more distinct the forms are which we
may may 1859 1860 1861 1866 | may 1869 1872 |
consider, by so much the arguments
fall away fall away 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869 |
in favour of community of descent become fewer in number and less 1872 |
in force. But some arguments of the greatest weight extend very far. All the members of whole classes
can be can be 1859 1860 1861 1866 | are 1869 1872 |
connected together by
chains chains 1859 1860 1861 1866 | a chain 1869 1872 |
of affinities, and all can be
classified classified 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869 | classed 1872 |
on the same principle, in groups
subordinate subordinate 1859 1860 1866 1869 1872 | sub-ordinate 1861 |
to
groups. groups. 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869 |
groups. Fossil remains sometimes tend to fill up very wide intervals between existing orders.
1872 |
Fossil remains sometimes tend to fill up very wide intervals between existing orders. Organs in a rudimentary condition plainly show that an early progenitor had the organ in a fully developed
state; state; 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869 | condition; 1872 |
and this in some
instances necessarily instances necessarily 1859 1860 1861 1866 | instances 1869 | cases 1872 |
implies an enormous amount of modification in the descendants. Throughout whole classes various structures are formed on the same pattern, and at
an embryonic an embryonic 1859 1860 1861 1866 |
a very early 1869 1872 |
age the
species species 1859 1860 1861 1866 | embryos 1869 1872 |
closely resemble each other. Therefore I cannot doubt that the theory of descent with modification embraces all the members of the same
class. class. 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869 |
great class or kingdom. 1872 |
I believe that animals
have have 1859 1860 1861 1866 | are 1869 1872 |
descended from at most only four or five progenitors, and plants from an equal or lesser number. |
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Analogy would lead me one step
farther, farther, 1861 1866 1869 1872 | further, 1859 1860 |
namely, to the belief that all animals and plants
have have 1859 1860 1861 1866 | are 1869 1872 |
descended
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