such islands, he chiefly expresses that he knows not how the Red Grouse came to be there, and there exclusively; signifying
also also 1861 1866 | also, 1869 1872 |
by this mode of expressing such
ignorance ignorance 1861 1866 | ignorance, 1869 1872 |
his
belief, belief, 1861 1866 | belief 1869 1872 |
that both the bird and the islands owed their origin to a great first Creative Cause." If we interpret these sentences given in the same Address, one by the other, it appears that this eminent philosopher felt in 1858 his confidence shaken that the Apteryx and the Red Grouse first appeared in their respective homes, 'he
knew not how,'
or by some process 'he
knew not what.'
↑1 blocks not present in 1861 1866 1869 1872; present in |
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It is surprising that this admission should not have been made earlier, as Professor Owen now believes that he promulgated the theory of natural selection in a passage read before the Zoological Society in February, 1850 ('Transact.' vol. iv. p. 15); for in a letter to the 'London Review' (May 5, 1866, p. 516), commenting on some of the reviewer's criticisms, he says, "No naturalist can dissent from the truth of your perception of the essential identity of the passage cited with the basis of that (the so-called Darwinian) theory, the power, viz., of species to accommodate themselves, or bow to the influences of surrounding circumstances." Further on in the same letter he speaks of himself as "the author of the same theory at the earlier date of 1850." This belief in Professor Owen that he then gave to the world the theory of natural selection will surprise all those who are acquainted with the several passages in his works, reviews, and lectures, published since the 'Origin,' in which he strenuously opposes the theory; and it will please all those who are interested on this side of the question, as it may be presumed that his opposition will now cease. It should, however, be stated that the passage above referred to in the 'Zoological Transactions,' as I find on consulting it, applies exclusively to the extermination and preservation of animals, and in no way to their gradual modification, origination, or natural selection. So far is this from being the case that Professor Owen actually begins the first of the two paragraphs (vol. iv. p. 15) with the following words:—"We have not a particle of evidence that any species of bird or beast that lived during the pliocene period has had its characters modified in any respect by the influence of time or of change of external circumstances."
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M. Isidore Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, in
his
Lectures delivered in 1850 (of which a Résumé appeared in the 'Revue et Mag. de Zoolog.,' Jan. 1851), briefly gives his reason for believing that specific characters "sont fixes,
pour chaque espèce, tant qu'elle se perpétue au milieu des mêmes circonstances: ils se modifient, si les circonstances
ambiantes ambiantes 1861 1866 1872 | am- biantes 1869 |
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