106 EVOLUTION AND DOGMA. 



demonstrative evidence of Evolution," and is well 

 worthy of our most serious consideration. 



Of course it will be understood that I can give 

 only the baldest outline of the arguments ad- 

 vanced in favor of the theory of Evolution as applied 

 to plants and animals. Space precludes my doing 

 more than this ; besides it is unnecessary, as count- 

 less treatises by specialists have been written, in 

 which the various arguments in favor of Evolution 

 are given in extenso, and to these is referred the 

 reader who is desirous of more detailed information. 



The argument from classification has been inci- 

 dentally touched upon in what precedes. We have 

 noted the differences of views entertained by divers 

 naturalists respecting the classification of certain 

 plants and animals, and how difficulties of classifica- 

 tion increase as we descend from higher to lower 

 types of animated nature. On the theory that all 

 the manifold forms of animal and vegetable life are 

 descended from one primitive form, these difficul- 

 ties, which on the special creation theory are simply 

 inexplicable, find a ready and simple explanation. 

 Assuming that all forms of life are originally de- 

 rived from simple monera or undifferentiated parti- 

 cles of protoplasm, and that all are but more or less 

 modified descendants of the same humble ancestor, 

 we can understand why there are such striking re- 

 semblances in some instances, and such wide diver- 

 gencies in others. 



A Philological Illustration. 



An illustration taken from philology will make 

 this statement clearer. In the Romance languages, 



