294 Ifojr j&erm0ns, (Sssags, mtb lUfaiefos. [xn. 



the deductive method, and consists of three operations : the first, one 

 of direct induction; the second, of ratiocination; and the third, of 

 verification." 



Now, the conditions which have determined the ex- 

 istence of species are not only exceedingly complex, 

 but, so far as the great majority of them are concerned, 

 are necessarily beyond our cognizance. But what Mr. 

 Darwin has attempted to do is in exact accordance with 

 the rule laid down by Mr. Mill ; he has endeavoured to 

 determine certain great facts inductively, by observation 

 and experiment ; he has then reasoned from the data 

 thus furnished ; and lastly, he has tested the validity of 

 his ratiocination by comparing his deductions with the 

 observed facts of Nature. Inductively, Mr. Darwin en- 

 deavours to prove that species arise in a given way. 

 Deductively, he desires to show that, if they arise in that 

 way, the facts of distribution, development, classification, 

 &c., may be accounted for, i.e. may be deduced from 

 their mode of origin, combined with admitted changes in 

 physical geography and climate, during an indefinite 

 period. And this explanation, or coincidence of observed 

 with deduced facts, is, so far as it extends, a verification 

 of the Darwinian view. 



There is no fault to be found with Mr. Darwin's 

 method, then ; but it is another question whether he has 

 fulfilled all the conditions imposed by that method. Is 

 it satisfactorily proved, in fact, that species may be 

 originated by selection? that there is such a thing as 

 natural selection ? that none of the phsenomena exhibited 

 by species are inconsistent with the origin of species in this 

 way ? If these questions can be answered in the affirm- 

 ative, Mr. Darwin's view steps out of the ranks of hypo- 

 theses into those of proved theories ; but, so long as the 

 evidence at present adduced falls short of enforcing that 



