APPENDIX B. 



A CRITICISM ON PROF. OWEN'S THEORY OF THE 

 VERTEBRATE SKELETON. 



[From the BRITISH & FOREIGN MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL REVIEW FOR OCT., 1858.] 



I. On the Archetype and Homologies of the Vertebrate Skeleton. 

 By RICHARD OWEN, F.R.S. London, 1848. pp. 172. 



IT. Principes d j Osteologie Comparee, ou Recherches sur V Arche- 

 type et les Homologies du Squelette Vertebre. Par RICHARD 

 OWEN. Paris. 



Principles of Comparative Osteology ; or, Researches on the Arche- 

 type and the Homologies of the Vertebrate Skeleton. By RICHARD 

 OWEN. 



III. On the Nature of Limbs. A Discourse delivered on Friday, 

 February 9, at an Evening Meeting of the Royal Institution of 

 Great Britain. By RICHARD OWEN, F.R.S. London, 1849. 

 pp. 119. 



JUDGING whether another proves his position is a widely different 

 thing from proving your own. To establish a general law requires 

 an extensive knowledge of the phenomena to he generalized ; hut to 

 decide whether an alleged general law is established by the evidence 

 assigned, requires merely an adequate reasoning faculty. Especially 

 is such a decision easy where the premises do not warrant the con- 

 clusion. It may be dangerous for one who has but little previous 

 acquaintance with the facts, to say that a generalization is demon- 

 strated ; seeing that the argument may be one-sided : there may be 

 many facts unknown to him which disprove it. But it is not 

 dangerous to give a negative verdict when the alleged demonstra- 

 548 



