106 CRITICISMS ON "THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES " m 



anything but absolute ignorance of some of the 

 best established facts, that we should have passed 

 it over in silence had it not appeared to afford 

 some clue to M. Flourens' unhesitating, a priori, 

 repudiation of all forms of the doctrine of pro- 

 gressive modification of living beings. He whose 

 mind remains uninfluenced by an acquaintance 

 with the phsenomena of development, must indeed 

 lack one of the chief motives towards the 

 endeavour to trace a genetic relation between 

 the different existing forms of life. Those who 

 are ignorant of Geology, find no difficulty in 

 believing that the world was made as it is ; and 

 the shepherd, untutored in history, sees no reason 

 to regard the green mounds which indicate the 

 site of a Roman camp, as aught but part and 

 parcel of the primaeval hill -side. So M. Flourens, 

 who believes that embryos are formed " tout d'un 

 coup," naturally finds no difficulty in conceiving 

 that species came into existence in the same 

 way. 



