THREE HYPOTHESES 



world, quite different from that of the currently 

 accepted creed. 



The general system we shall leave out in the course 

 of these lectures ; that which concerns us here is 

 its application to the organic kingdom. 



How did animals and plants come to life, and how 

 are we to explain the present state of nature ? 



As Professor Huxley clearly states in his American 

 Addresses, there are only three hypotheses concerning 

 this matter. 



The one is that the present state of things has 

 always existed, -and, I presume, never began. This 

 is one of the propositions which Herbert Spencer 

 terms unthinkable. There must have been a begin- 

 ning, because we know there is an end of all things ; 

 but in fact, it would be perfectly Quixotic to argue 

 against this windmill, as no one works it. I am not 

 aware that any scientists maintain this position. 



The second hypothesis is that the present world 

 of animals and plants began suddenly in some past 

 epoch, in the course of the days or periods of crea- 

 tion : this is the theory of the book of Genesis, 

 of Milton's Paradise Lost, the orthodox theory of 

 the greater part f the civilized millions. 



This hypothesis is a more rational one, and no 

 objection could be raised against it, in my opinion, if 

 the facts we are acquainted with were not in direct 



