214 Scientific Sophisms. 



t 



of Nature. For Nature knows nothing of "a 

 group of animals having all the characters ex- 

 hibited by species " having " ever been origin- 

 ated by selection, whether artificial or natural," 1 



But although such groups are utterly unknown 

 to Nature they are absolutely necessary to the 

 theory of Ascensive Development. Since there- 

 fore they cannot be found, they must be 

 " conceived " ; and to conceive them is, in Mr. 

 Darwin's opinion, " not difficult " : (" Facilis 

 descensus " /) and Prof. Haeckel has conceived 

 them accordingly. Again and again he tells 

 us that Monera, worms, and fishes, were "our 

 ancestors." We are reminded that when we 

 speak of " poor worms," or " miserable worms," 

 we should remember that "WITHOUT ANY 

 DOUBT a long series of extinct worms were our 

 direct ancestors." 8 He recognizes twenty-two 

 distinct stages in our evolution ; eight of which 

 belong to the invertebrate, and fourteen to the 

 vertebrate sub-kingdom. 



Not however until he reaches the Sixth of 

 these imaginary stages does he arrive at the 

 earliest worms, the ArchelmintJies, now repre- 

 sented by the Turbellaria. In order to arrive 

 at these " earliest worms," he hypothecates as 



1 " Lay Sermons," p. 295. 

 * " Anthropogenic," p. 399, 



