EVOLUTIONARY TELEOLOGY. 385 



rounding agencies (which is not in a just sense true); 

 they are legitimately inferred to be led on by natural 

 selection, wholly new structures or organs appear, no 

 one can say how, certainly no one can show that they 

 are necessary outcomes of what preceded ; and these 

 two are through natural selection kept in harmony 

 with the surroundings, adapted to different ones, 

 diversified, and perfected ; purposes are all along sub- 

 served through exquisite adaptations; and yet the 

 whole is thought to be undesigned, not because of 

 any assigned reason why this or that must have been 

 thus or so, but simply because they all occurred in 

 Nature ! The Darwinian theory implies that the 

 birth and development of a species are as natural as 

 those of an individual, are facts of the same kind in a 

 higher order. The alleged proof of the absence of 

 design from it amounts to a simple reiteration of the 

 statement, with particulars. Now, the marks of con- 

 trivance in the structure of animals. used not to be 

 questioned because of their coming in the way of 

 birth and development. It is curious that a further 

 extension of this birth and development should be 

 held to disprove them. It appears to us that all this 

 is begging the question against design in Nature, in- 

 stead of proving that it may be dispensed with. 



Two things have helped on this confusion. One 

 is the notion of the direct and independent creation 

 of species, with only an ideal connection between 

 them, to question which was thought to question the 

 principle of design. The other is a wrong idea of 

 the nature and province of natural selection. In 

 former papers we have over and over explained the 



