their belief that a multitude of reputed species in each genus are not real species;
but that other species are real, that is, have been independently created. but that other species are real, that is, have been independently created. 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869 |
but that other species are real, that is, have been independently created. This seems to me a strange conclusion to arrive at. 1872 |
This seems to me a strange conclusion to arrive at. 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 all the 1869 1872 | every 1859 1860 1861 1866 |
external characteristic
features features 1869 1872 | feature 1859 1860 1861 1866 |
of true species,— they admit that these have been produced by variation, but they refuse to extend the same view to other and
....... 1869 1872 | very 1859 1860 1861 1866 |
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 earths 1869 | earth's 1859 1860 1861 1866 1872 |
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 mothers 1869 | mother's 1859 1860 1861 1866 1872 |
womb? Undoubtedly
these same these same 1861 1866 1869 |
some of these same 1872 |
questions cannot be answered by those
who who 1869 1872 | who, 1861 1866 |
...OMIT 1869 1872 |
under the present state of science, 1861 1866 |
believe in the
appearance or creation of only appearance or creation of only 1869 1872 |
creation of 1861 1866 |
a few
....... 1869 1872 | aboriginal 1861 1866 |
forms forms 1869 1872 | forms, 1861 1866 |
of life, or of of life, or of 1869 1872 |
or of 1861 1866 |
some one form
alone. alone. 1869 1872 | of life. 1861 1866 |
It has been
maintained maintained 1869 1872 | asserted 1861 1866 |
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'
philo- sophical philo- sophical 1869 | philosophical 1861 1866 1872 |
|