14 Teachings of Thomas ETuxlet 



sco morphological differences between animals 

 and plants n«>w existing and those of, Bay, the 

 Pliocene or Eocene periods. This suggests that 

 each species has had only a temporary dura- 

 tion and has diverged from the preceding and 

 following species SO radically that the doctrine 

 of the identity of things terrestrial since their 

 origin heroines a doubtful quantity. Pursued 

 still further we can trace this evidence down 

 through the lowest stratified rocks till we lose 

 the indications of any kind of life altogether. 

 Therefore the eternity hypothesis must be com- 

 pletely ruled out in so far as Organic .Nature 

 i-; concerned. 



2. The present state of things has had only 

 a limited duration; at some past period a con- 

 dition of the world similar to its present condi- 

 tion caine into existence ami was not evolved 

 out of n previous state. This may be spoken 

 of as .Milton's Hypothesis, testimonial evidence 

 for which is likewise unavailable, hence we 

 must again rely «»n evidence of the circum- 

 stantial type. According to this hypothesis 

 aquatic animals and birds appeared on the fifth 

 day of the week of creation and no life existed 

 before the fifth day. But life existed according 

 to geologists in the carboniferous period in the 

 form of insects of various type — spiders, 



rpions, etc- and aquatic animals and birds 



did not appear until the Jurassic period, there- 

 fore the Jurassic period must have preceded 



