MODERN BIOLOGY 343 



persistently claimed in his favour. Cuvier, on the other hand, displaying 

 his somewhat narrow range of vision, claimed the object of science to be 

 an exact knowledge of natural phenomena. It is not worth while following 

 the discussion between these two any further; it developed into a repetition 

 of old arguments and a more and more stubborn adherence to statements 

 once uttered. 



The results of the dispute 

 Nevertheless, one more point in connexion with this dispute must be noted. 

 Among the assertions that Cuvier made and that Geoffroy at the very out- 

 set quotes with disapprobation, there is one which deserves attention, not 

 only because it shows up Cuvier's limitations, but mainly because it em- 

 phasizes the contrast between the origin-of-species theories of earlier times 

 and that of our own day. Cuvier says of the ink-fish: "They have not resulted 

 from the development of other animals, nor has their own development 

 produced any animal higher than themselves." In face of the modern theory 

 of evolution the former of these statements is undoubtedly untrue, whereas 

 the latter is correct. To Lamarck and Geoffroy both statements were equally 

 untrue and they became even more excited over the latter than over the for- 

 mer. For what they were particularly in search of was just that connecting 

 link between the highest form in each class and the lowest type in the next 

 one — ink-fish and fishes, tortoises and birds, to name two examples. On this 

 rock the earlier theories of origin regularly suffered shipwreck. The fact that 

 the modern historian of evolution has learnt instead to search backwards in 

 the evolutional series, in order to find among more primitive forms primary 

 types for the separate, highly specialized groups, has been rendered possible 

 owing to modern zoology's having accepted Cuvier's type theory, which 

 avoids direct comparison between highly developed life-forms of different 

 types — but thanks also to embryology, which Geoffroy endeavoured, though 

 without success, to make the basis of his theory of comparison between 

 organs of the same kind in different animal forms. It happens then, that both 

 the parties to the dispute of 1830 have contributed to the creation of the 

 modern view of natural evolution. 



