Rev. S. Haughton on the Origin of Species. 421 



living at any given time ; and political economy, in furnishing, 

 from its mean and sordid motives, a Malthusian force, supposed 

 to be sufficient to supply the wants of previous theories. 



One of the earliest speculators on the origin of the diversified 

 forms of life we see around us, and class as varieties, species, 

 and genera, was Buffon, who published in 1766* his theory of 

 the derivation of all mammal forms by degradation, from fifteen 

 primary and perfect types, and nine special or isolated species. 



This theory of fiioyevecris by degradation, although now 

 superseded by the theory of progression, has much to be said 

 in its favour, and derives additional importance from the facts 

 of the history of life made known since Buffon' s time, by the 

 science of geology. The principal of these additional facts are, 

 the degradation of fishes from their first introduction in the Old 

 Red Sandstone period to the present day; the corresponding- 

 degradation of the Cephalopods, and, though in a somewhat 

 less degree, of the Reptiles. 



Some of the classes given by Buffon are as old as the time of 

 Moses, who defines with accuracy the class Ruminantia, distin- 

 guishing it from the Pachydermata and Rodentia, in his classifi- 

 cation of "clean" and "unclean" beastsf. 



"Whatever may be thought by the more enlightened moderns 

 of the merits of this classification of mammals, Buffon certainly 

 agrees with them in one -respect: he takes the non-reality of 

 species as the starting-point of his theory, and by a continued 

 degradation downwards, developes all the varieties of life we see 

 on the surface of the globe. 



To those who love to dwell upon the past, this theory of 

 degradation will afford solace and consolation in the troubles of 

 the present, as they can reflect upon how good and excellent 

 their ancestors were, and congratulate each other upon their 

 superiority to those that will come after them. Every system 

 of philosophy provides its followers with a " solatium doloris; " 

 the degradationists find it in the contemplation of the past, and 

 the progressionists in the prospect of the future ; to those who 

 are contented with the present, and deny our knowledge of the 

 past or future, both theories appear as the idle dreams of child- 

 hood, the awakening from which will disclose a reality totally 

 different from the troubled fancies of the nm-ht. 



Lamarck is the father of the progressionists ; and of the many 

 who quote his name as an authority in support of their systems, 

 or express their disapproval of his doctrine, few have taken the 

 trouble to understand his theory or trace it to its origin. It is 

 apparently founded on the confusion of species, like that of 

 Buffon ; but there is in reality an arriere-pensee, like an unseen 

 * Histoire Nature-lie, torn. xiv. t Leviticus, xi. 2-8. 



