306 THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES 



and who have alreacrj begim to doubt the immutability 

 of species, may be influenced by this volume; but I look 

 with confidence to the future — to young and rising 

 naturalists, who will bo able to view both sides of the 

 question with impartiality. Whoever is led to believe 

 that species are mutable will do good service by con- 

 scientiously expressing his conviction; for thus only can 

 the load of prejudice by which this subject is over- 

 wbolmed be removed. 



Several eminent naturalists have of late published 

 their belief that a multitude of reputed species in each 

 genus are not real species; but that other species are 

 real, that is, have been independently created. This seems 

 to me a strange conclusion to arrive at. They admit that 

 a multitude of forms, which till lately they themselves 

 thoiight were special creations, and which are still thus 

 looked at by the majority of naturalists, and which con- 

 sequently have all the external characteristic features of 

 true species — they admit that these have been produced 

 by variation, but they refuse to extend the same view to 

 other and slightly different forms. Nevertheless they 

 do not pretend that they can define, or even conjecture, 

 which are the created forms of life, and which are those 

 produced by secondary laws. They admit variation as a 

 vera causa in one case, they arbitrarily reject it in 

 another, without assigning any distinction in the two 

 cases. 



The day will come when this will be given as a 

 curious illustration of the blindness of preconceived 

 opinion. These authors seem no more startled at a 

 miraculous act of creation than at an ordinary birth. 

 But do they really believe that at innumerable periods 



