specific Genesis 119 



neck was a quarter of an inch longer, he would necessarily 

 and inevitably be heavier, less strong, and requiring more 

 food, minute though the differences in these respects might be. 

 In considering criticisms on Mr. Darwin's theory drawn 

 from animal structures, we must not forget how very great an 

 advantage Mr. Darwin has. He has devised a theory accord- 

 ing to which any possible utility in any organ is enough to 

 account for its formation. It is amazing, then, that anything 

 whatever should be found for which his theory does not 

 readily account. Much wonder and admiration with regard 

 to that theory has been expressed, because of the way it 

 accounts for so many phenomena, forgetting that this is the 

 necessary consequence of the standpoint he has taken up. 

 Let us suppose, for argument's sake, that the theory is utterly 

 wrong; nevertheless, let but the world be preponderatingly 

 governed by intelligence and beneficence, and then the 

 results of that very intelligence and beneficence exhibited in 

 organisms can be made use of to destroy the conception of 

 those qualities in their supreme cause, and to substantiate 

 a theory which, by our supposition, is utterly devoid of truth. 

 It is on this account that Natural Selection can never be 

 completely proved or disproved by physical science in a 

 posteriori investigation ; for it will be always open to one side 

 to say, the utility not yet shown in any given structure will 

 be shown later, and to the other side to say, whatever utility 

 you show, though existing in an organ, was not the cause of 

 that organ. 



This was no doubt felt by the earlier opponents of Mr. 

 Darwin, who naturally opposed him on a priori grounds, and 

 the same feeling has led his supporters to desiderate criticism 

 from the physical-science standpoint, which can never be 

 quite conclusive, and can only be approximatively so by 

 going into great detail. And this, when done, they in turn 

 affect to sneer at as ' minute! 



