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"I maintain, therefore, that we cannot accept 

 the biogenetic principle in its entirety, nor can we 

 sanction its application to man in order to prove 

 his descent from beasts." Nevertheless, we find 

 him telling us : " It is an undeniable fact that, 

 both among the higher and lower animals, in 

 stances occur of stages of individual develop 

 ment, which can be explained only by regard 

 ing them as temporary traces of a previous 

 stage of development, which was permanently 

 impressed on their ancestors." This sounds 

 somewhat strange coming from a man who re 

 jects the biogenetic principle ; but more follows. 

 Father Wasmann thinks that he has discovered 

 instances of this rejected principle in his own 

 special department; but we shall let him speak 

 for himself. He says: " Something similar 

 occurs in the case of the Termitoxenia, a very 

 small fly that lives with the white ants. You 

 saw a diagram of it during my first lecture. 

 It presents the peculiar feature of having for a 

 short time, whilst it is passing through the 

 stenogastric stage as a full-grown insect, gen 

 uine veined wings in the still cuticular appen 

 dices to the thorax ;" and he adds in wonder- 



