126 DARWINIAN A. 



perfect in some of the lowest forms of life, becomes 

 evanescent in others ; and even the most absolute law 

 we know in the physiology of genuine reproduction 

 that of sexual cooperation has its exceptions in both 

 kingdoms in parthenogenesis, to which in the vege- 

 table kingdom a most curious and intimate series of 

 gradations leads. In plants, likewise, a long and fine- 

 ly-graduated series of transitions leads from bisexual 

 to unisexual blossoms ; and so in various other respects. 

 Everywhere we may perceive that Nature secures her 

 ends, and makes her distinctions on the whole mani- 

 fest and real, but everywhere without abrupt breaks. 

 "We need not wonder, therefore, that gradations be- 

 tween species and varieties should occur ; the more so, 

 since genera, tribes, and other groups into which the 

 naturalist collocates species, are far from being always 

 absolutely limited in Nature, though they are neces- 

 sarily represented to be so in systems. From the ne- 

 cessity of the case, the classifications of the naturalist 

 abruptly define where Nature more or less blends. 

 Our systems are nothing, if not definite. They ex- 

 press differences, and some of the coarser gradations. 

 But this evinces not their perfection, but their im- 

 perfection. Even the best of them are to the system 

 of Nature what consecutive patches of the seven col- 

 ors are to the rainbow. 



Now the principle of gradation throughout organic 

 Nature may, of course, be interpreted upon other as- 

 sumptions than those of Darwin's hypothesis cer- 

 tainly upon quite other than those of a materialistic 

 philosophy, with which we ourselves have no sym- 

 pathy. Still we conceive it not only possible, but 



