Rev. S. Haughton on the Origin of Species. 421 



living at any given time ; and political economy, in furnishing, 

 from its mean and sordid motives, a ^lalthusiau force, supposed 

 to be sufficient to supply the wants of previous theories. 



One of the earliest speculators on the origin of the diversified 

 forms of life we see around us, and class as varieties, species, 

 and genera, was Buffon, who published in 1766* his theory of 

 the derivation of all mammal forms by degradation, from fifteen 

 primary and perfect types, and nine special or isolated species. 



This theory of ^i,oyeve(Tt<i by degradation, although now 

 superseded by the theory of progression, has much to l)e said 

 in its favour, and derives additional importance from the facts 

 of the history of life made known since Buffon's time, by the 

 science of geology. The principal of these additional facts are, 

 the degradation of fishes from their first introduction in the Old 

 Bed Sandstone period to the present day; the corresponding 

 degradation of the Cephalopods, and, though in a somewhat 

 less degree, of the Beptiles. 



Some of the classes given by Buffbn are as old as the time of 

 jMoses, who defines with accuracy the class Buminantia, distin- 

 guishing it from the Pachydermata and Bodentia, in his classifi- 

 cation of "clean" and "unclean" beastsf. 



"Whatever may be thought by the more enlightened moderns 

 of the merits of this classification of mammals, Bufibn certainly 

 agrees with them in one respect : he takes the non-reality of 

 species as the starting-point of his theoiy, and by a continued 

 degradation downwards, developes all the varieties of life we see 

 on the surface of the globe. 



To those who love to dwell upon the past, this theoiy of 

 degradation will aflford solace and consolation in the troubles of 

 the present, as they can reflect upon how good and excellent 

 their ancestors were, and congratulate each other upon their 

 superiority to those that will come after them. Every system 

 of philosophy provides its followers with a *' solatium doloris; " 

 the degradationists find it in the contemplation of the past, and 

 the progressionists in the prospect of the future ; to those who 

 are contented with the present, and deny our knowledge of the 

 past or future, both theories appear as the idle dreams of child- 

 hood, the awakening from which will disclose a reality totally 

 different from the troubled fancies of the night. 



Lamarck is the father of the progressionists ; and of the many 

 who quote his name as an authority in support of their systems, 

 or express their disapproval of his doctrine, few have taken the 

 trouble to understand his theory or trace it to its origin. It is 

 apparently founded on the confusion of species, like that of 

 Buffon ; but there is in reality an arriere-pensee, like an unseen 

 * Histoire Naturelle, torn. xiv. t Leviticus, jci. 2-8. 



