1881.] 



MICROSCOPICAL jouk:nal. 



137 



ter first live. As to the actual nature 

 of this wonderful change which oc- 

 curs, we are, and from a purely phy- 

 sical point of view must remain, in 

 darkness. For it is certain that the 

 new temporary living state is abso- 

 lutely distinct from the non-living 

 state in which the matter existed but 

 an instant before. Before long this 

 will, I doubt not, be generally ad- 

 mitted by those acquainted with the 

 facts, and not biassed by previous 

 confessions or beliefs. * * * * 



All living matter is, I repeat, struc- 

 tureless, and it is to the power rather 

 than to the mere matter we must look 

 for the explanation of the marvellous 

 differences in the beings evolved by 

 different kinds. The similarity of 

 various embryos of different animals 

 has often been alluded to, and it has 

 been said, for example, that at a cer- 

 tain period of development the em- 

 bryo of man could not be distin- 

 guished from that of the dog. That 

 there is a general rough resemblance 

 is perfectly true, but, on the other 

 hand, any one who examined the 

 minute structure of corresponding 

 tissues and organs, would not find 

 the likeness so great as is supposed, 

 while he would be struck with the 

 great number of points of difference. 

 Not one structure could be found in 

 any part of one embryo which did 

 not exhibit peculiarities by which it 

 could be distinguished. It would, 

 therefore, scientifically be more cor- 

 rect to say that the embryos were not 

 like one another, than that they were 

 like. But any argument based upon 

 the likeness, if it existed, would not 

 help the evolutionist, inasmuch as the 

 " likeness " is far greater at an earlier 

 stage of existence, before any form 

 or structure whatever has appeared. 

 Every living form comes from an 

 equally structureless material, and 

 the forms near one another in the 

 scale are not more like one another 

 than they are like forms far above or 

 far below them. If, for example, the 

 evolutionist would examine embry- 

 onic living matter at a very early 



period of development, he would dis- 

 cover not only that man and dog 

 were not to be distinguished, but 

 that not one form of living matter 

 could be distinguished from any 

 other form in nature ; nay, the living 

 matter which might become dog or 

 man could not be identified by any 

 means at our disposal, or distin- 

 guished from that which belonged to 

 amoeba or plant, and yet it is put for- 

 ward as a discovery of recent date 

 that certain properties manifested by 

 the tissues of animals also character- 

 ize some of those plants. 



But after all, the assumed likeness 

 is but a likeness in certain general 

 points, and those who wish us to 

 draw certain conclusions from their 

 statements, ought to be asked to point 

 out how it is that every cell, every tis- 

 sue of the embryos they regard as being 

 alike or identical, exhibits peculiari- 

 ties and individual characteristics of 

 its own as regards elementary arrange- 

 ment, rapidity of formation, rate of 

 growth, duration of existence, and a 

 number of other points. * * * 



The facts known to microscopical 

 observers in connection with the act 

 of living of the smallest particle of 

 the simplest forms of living matter, 

 are no more to be accounted for by 

 any of the extravagant crotchets lately 

 advanced as explanations of the facts, 

 than are the general broad phenom- 

 ena of nature which are under the 

 observation of all. Evolution is a 

 wholly satisfactory explanation only 

 to those whose minds have been 

 trained to submission to evolutional 

 authority, and who have brought 

 themselves to regard things as they 

 have been told they ought to regard 

 them, instead of venturing to use 

 their senses, and reasoning on the 

 facts presented to their observation 

 — and indeed see for themselves with 

 their own eyes, instead of accepting, 

 without ever seeing, what they are 

 told has been seen by eyes which are 

 supposed to be specially privileged 



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In conclusion, let me ask you as 



