254 DARWINIANISM. 



Agassiz did not succeed in writing something better 

 How absurd that logical quibble, ' If species do not exist, 

 how can they vary?' As if any one doubted their 

 temporary existence." 



I assume that Agassiz meant, on his part, precisely 

 what the phrase, as above, means on our part, about 

 " species already to the fore." Vary variation ! we may 

 fancy Agassiz to cry. Variation of what ? Variation alone 

 is a non-ens. To be an ens, it must be in or of something. 

 Insects vary, birds vary, dogs vary ; but the insects were, 

 the birds were, the dogs were. The variation was of them ; 

 they were not of it. One can hardly believe, if this was 

 Agassiz's meaning, and if it were understood so, that Mr. 

 Darwin could have called it only " a logical quibble." " As 

 if any one doubted their temporary existence," he says ! 

 Now, shall we assume that as a veritable homologation 

 on Mr. Darwin's part of every word of ours that has 

 characterised his process for the origin of species, as no 

 origin, but a mere middle ? Perhaps he has really no 

 desire on the whole, and in the main, to prove more than 

 this, the modification or transition of one species into 

 another species. So it may be that, mistaking what is 

 the point with Agassiz, he says, of course, species tempor- 

 arily exist for so long there are a species and a species ; 

 but the one only grows out of the other. To Mr. Darwin 

 perhaps it would seem that this is origin. In fact, with 

 him, it all comes to this, modification by selection ! Give 

 Mr. Darwin but Modification against Creation, and Mr. 

 Darwin is satisfied. Now, modification as modification is 

 never a First, it is always process, movement between 

 movement of something into something. It actually 

 seems as though Mr. Darwin will give you the " some- 

 thing," if you will but give him the " movement. " 



Of course, if Mr. Darwin is going to mould or modify 

 a material, however primary the moulding or modifying 



