Chap. XIV. CONCLUSION. 431 



belief that a multitude of reputed species in each genus arc 

 not real species ; but tliat othor species are real, that is, have 

 been independently created. This seems to me a strange con-- 

 elusion to arrive at. They admit tliat a multitude of forms, 

 which till lately they themselves thought were special crea- 

 tions, and which arc still thus looked at by the majority of 

 naturalists, and which consequently have all the external char- 

 acteristic 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 defuie, or even conjecture, 

 which are the created forms of life, and which arc those pro- 

 duced 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 blind- 

 ness 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 

 in the earth's history certain elemental atoms have been com- 

 manded suddenl}' to flash into living tissues ? Do they believe 

 that at each supposed act of creation one individual or many 

 were jiroduced ? Were all the infinitely-numerous kinds of 

 animals and plants created as eggs or seed, or as full grown ? 

 and, in the case of mammals, were they created bearing the 

 false marks of nourishment fron^ the mother's womb ? Un- 

 doubtedly these same questions cannot be answered by those 

 who believe in the appearance or creation of only a few forms 

 of life, or of some one form alone. It has been maintained by 

 several authors that it is as easy to believe in the creation of 

 a hundred million beings as of one ; but Maupertuis's philo- 

 sophical axiom " of least action" leads the mind more willing- 

 ly to admit the smaller number ; and certainly we ought not 

 to believe that innumerable l)eings within each great class 

 have been created with plain, but deceptive, marks of descent 

 from a single parent. 



It may be asked how far I extend the doctrine of the mod- 

 ification of species. The question is diiricult to answer, be- 

 cause the more distinct the forms are which we consider, by so 

 much the arguments fall away in force. But some arguments 

 of the greatest weight extend very far. All the memliers of 

 whole classes are connected together by a chain of affinities, 

 and all can be classified on the same principle, in groups subor- 



