Darwinism Verified. 25 



is born with the specific attributes of a mandril, 

 which are, however, further intensified as it 

 reaches maturity. Facts like these, which are 

 invariably found in the embryonic development 

 of organisms, tell just the same story as the facts 

 of classification. If they do not mean that the 

 various forms of organic life have arisen by grad- 

 ual divergence from a common original, one 

 might well be excused for doubting whether the 

 phenomena of nature have any rational meaning 

 whatever. Of like import are many of the more 

 special facts of embryology, such as the useless 

 rudiments of hind limbs in many snakes, the 

 presence of teeth in the beaks of sundry embry- 

 onic birds and in the jaws of foetal whales, and the 

 gill-like glands in the human throat. As if all 

 this were not enough, the study of morphology 

 discloses that all the diversified mechanical func- 

 tions performed by the various animals comprised 

 in any sub-kingdom are achieved by more or less 

 considerable modifications of a framework that in 

 its typical features is common to all. In embry- 

 onic development the fins of the fish correspond 

 with the legs of reptiles and mammals, and with 

 the legs and wings of birds. To enable the bat 

 to fly, no new mechanism is invented, but an 

 embryonal hand develops into a wing by the 



