EAMARCKS THEORY OF DESCENT 345 
during the process, we are naturally led to believe 
that things have always been as we see them, and not 
as they have progressively been brought about. 
‘“Among the changes which nature everywhere 
incessantly produces in her exsemble, and her laws re- 
main always the same, such of these changes as, to 
bring about, do not need much more time than the 
duration of human life, are easily understood by the 
man who observes them; but he cannot perceive 
those which are accomplished at the end of a con- 
siderable time. 
“Tf the duration of human life only extended to 
the length of a second, and if there existed one of 
our actual clocks mounted and in movement, each 
individual of our species who should look at the 
hour-hand of this clock would never see it change its 
place in the course of his life, although this hand 
would really not be stationary. The observations 
of thirty generations would never learn anything 
very evident as to the displacement of this hand, 
because its movement, only being that made during 
half a minute, would be too slight to make an impres- 
sion; and if observations much more ancient should 
show that this same hand had really moved, those 
who should see the statement would not believe it, and 
would suppose there was some error, each one having 
always seen the hand on the same point of the dial- 
plate. 
“T leave to my readers all the applications to be 
made regarding this supposition. 
“ Nature, that immense totality of different beings 
and bodies, in every part of which exists an eternal 
circle of movements and changes regulated by law; 
totality alone unchangeable, so long as it pleases its 
SUBLIME AUTHOR to make it exist, should be re- 
garded as a whole constituted by its parts, for a 
purpose which its Author alone knows, and not exclu- 
sively for any one of them. 
