m CRITICISMS ON " THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES " 93 



stripes of dun horses, and the teeth of the foetal 

 Balcena, are not explained by the "existence of 

 general laws of Nature." Mr. Darwin endeavours 

 to explain the exact order of organic nature 

 which exists ; not the mere fact that there is 

 some order. 



And with regard to the existence of a natural 

 system of minerals ; the obvious reply is that 

 there may be a natural classification of any 

 objects of stones on a sea-beach, or of works of 

 art; a natural classification being simply an 

 assemblage of objects in groups, so as to express 

 their most important and fundamental resem- 

 blances and differences. No doubt Mr. Darwin 

 believes that those resemblances and differences 

 upon which our natural systems or classifications 

 of animals and plants are based, are resemblances 

 and differences which have been produced gene- 

 tically, but we can discover no reason for suppos- 

 ing that he denies the existence of natural classi- 

 fications of other kinds. 



And, after all, is it quite so certain that a 

 genetic relation may not underlie the classification 

 of minerals ? The inorganic world has not always 

 been what we see it. It has certainly had its 

 metamorphoses, and, very probably, a long 

 " Entwickelungsgeschichte " out of a nebular 

 blastema. Who knows how far that amount of 

 likeness among sets of minerals, in virtue of which 

 they are now grouped into families and orders, 



