| ↑ 2 blocks not present in 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869; present in 1872 |
| It is a much more probable view that the rattlesnake uses its rattle, the cobra expands its frill, and the puff-adder swells whilst hissing so loudly and harshly, in order to alarm the many birds and beasts which are known to attack even the most venomous species.
Snakes act on the same principle which makes the hen ruffle her feathers and expand her wings when a dog approaches her chickens; but I have not space here to enlarge on the many ways by which animals endeavour to frighten away their enemies.
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| → anything injurious to itself, 1866 1869 |
| any structure more injurious than beneficial to that being, 1872 |
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| ↑ 1 blocks not present in 1869 1872; present in 1866 1859 1860 1861 |
| Natural selection will never produce in a being anything injurious to itself, for natural selection acts solely by and for the good of each.
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| → tends only to make each organic being as perfect as, or slightly more perfect than, the other inhabitants of the same country with which it has to struggle for existence. 1859 1860 1861 1869 |
| will not produce absolute perfection, nor do we always meet, as far as we can judge, with this high standard under nature. 1866 |
| tends only to make each organic being as perfect as, or slightly more perfect than, the other inhabitants of the same country with which it comes into competition. 1872 |
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| → by Müller 1866 1869 1872 |
| on high authority, 1859 1860 1861 |
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|
and for the destruction of its prey; but some authors suppose that at the same time
is furnished with a rattle for its own injury, namely, to warn its
I would almost as soon believe that the cat curls the end of its tail when preparing to spring, in order to warn the doomed mouse. ↑ But I have not space here to enter on this and other such cases. |
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| Natural selection will never produce in a being
→anything injurious to itself,
for natural selection acts solely by and for the good of each. No organ will be formed, as Paley has remarked, for the purpose of causing pain or for doing an injury to its possessor. If a fair balance be struck between the good and evil caused by each part, each will be found on the whole advantageous. After the lapse of time, under changing conditions of life, if any part comes to be injurious, it will be modified; or if it be not so, the being will become
as myriads have become extinct. ↑
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| Natural selection
→tends only to make each organic being as perfect as, or slightly more perfect than, the other inhabitants of the same country with which it has to struggle for existence. And we see that this is the
of perfection attained under nature. The endemic productions of New Zealand, for instance, are perfect one compared with another; but they are now rapidly yielding before the advancing legions of plants and animals introduced from Europe. Natural selection will not produce absolute perfection, nor do we always meet, as far as we can judge, with this high standard under nature. The correction for the aberration of light is
→by Müller
not to be perfect even in that most perfect organ, the
If our reason
us to admire with enthusiasm a multitude of inimitable contrivances in nature, this same reason tells us, though we may easily err on both sides, that some other
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