THE HISTORY OF GEOLOGY AT OXFORD. 51 



yet it is well we should bear in mind that Evolution does 

 not advance us far. It is a great generalisation, as was the 

 maxim that " Nature abhors a vacuum," but like this maxim 

 it stands itself in need of an explanation. 



Suppose by some ingenious cinematograph we could 

 recall in a continuous picture the succession of vanished 

 forms of life, and watch the transmutation of animals as 

 they passed from formless protoplasm to man ; the spectacle 

 would be interesting, but would the fact it displayed be one 

 whit less a miracle than that we witness every time we 

 plant the seed in the ground and watch the green shoot 

 spring forth, to produce in due time the secret buds which 

 unfold in leaf and flower ? 



Or even suppose we take the one step farther and admit 

 the Darwinian explanation, with its three factors of selec- 

 tion, variation and inheritance, are we much nearer to the 

 ultimate truth ? A certain Paley once considered a certain 

 watch ; the watch has grown so old-fashioned since Evolu- 

 tion attained its vogue that it is now rarely seen in polite 

 society, but it did great service in its time ; permit me on 

 this occasion to draw attention to another analogy, — to the 

 curious similarity that exists between the progress of human 

 invention and the evolution of organic species. From the 

 great kingdom of locomotive machines a lowly stirp arose 

 known as the "hobby horse"; it lingered on unregarded 

 for a while, and then was superseded by a new species 

 technically called the " bone-shaker". This gained a place 

 in the world, multiplied rapidly, and became represented by 

 a great number of individuals ; as it multiplied it gave rise 

 by a process called " variation " to a number of related 

 forms, such as the "ordinary bicycle," the "extraordinary," 

 and the "kangaroo"; many of these species of' machine 

 exhibited a decided advance in organisation upon their 

 ancestor ; a process of selection then set in, the fittest types 

 survived, the unfit became extinct ; the good qualities, 

 which had secured this success in life, were handed down 

 by a process of inheritance ; variation of these successful 

 types produced others still more successful, and selection, 

 always operative, continually weeded out the less fit, till 



