394 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES 



surrounded by the results of life, and most of the 

 productions of art are derived from materials first 

 elaborated by organic bodies either animal or vege- 

 table, and in that state afterwards made available. 



Notwithstanding this vast and exuberant presence 

 of organic existence, it is yet true that we cannot 

 even imagine the nature of the broad line of demar- 

 cation, which seems, as it were, to form an impassable 

 gulf between that which we call living, and that 

 which is only dead matter. Life is no less a mystery 

 to us now, than it was when man first speculated on 

 its nature. We know not what it is, why it is, or 

 how it is ; we know only that it exists, and is every- 

 where present. The development of one form of life 

 from another may therefore well remain undeter- 

 mined, since we cannot even guess at the nature of 

 that first change which produces organization, and 

 which thus modifies and acts upon inorganic matter. 



From the investigations of naturalists concerning 

 various groups of animals of high organization, as 

 they are now distributed in different parts of the 

 world, there is therefore, I repeat, no support for 

 any theory of the progressive development of species ; 

 while the comparison of the species themselves, and 

 of the groups which they form, with those found fos- 

 sil, or which have been their representatives in for- 

 mer times in the same districts, is equally opposed to 

 any such view. It should be borne in mind also, that, 

 in taking the case of quadrupeds, we are acting with 

 perfect fairness, as they are the animals of which we 

 know most, while on the other hand the evidence they 

 offer is by no means the most favourable illustration 

 of the view advocated, since the reptiles offer matter 



