30 THE SKULL THEORY 



extinct animals. Hence, too, Virchow can have no 

 independent views as to the historical development of 

 the higher from the lower animals, because the abun- 

 dant living forms of the lower animals are almost 

 unknown to him, and because he has hardly any 

 conception of the marvellous strides which hundreds of 

 industrious, workers have made in this very depart- 

 ment within the last twenty years. But there can 

 be no doubt, indeed it is already universally acknow- 

 ledged, that it is precisely the comparative anatomy of 

 the lower nay, of the very lowest animals that has 

 solved the greatest riddles of life, and removed the 

 greatest obstacles from the path of the doctrine of 

 descent. He simply ignores the fact that true Monads 

 actually exist, and have been positively identified by 

 many different observers as structureless " organisms 

 without organs," and he turns out the poor Bathybius 

 with a kick. And yet I believe that in " Kosmos " l 

 I have conclusively proved that Monads must retain 

 their vast elementary importance whether the Bathy- 

 bius actually exists or not. 



But even as regards the higher animals nay, even 

 as to the comparative anatomy of the highest next to 

 man, the apes Virchow stands apart, not understand- 

 ing the views of modern morphology. 



We must here examine more closely into this, 

 1 Vol. i. p. 293. 



