ORGANIC EVOLUTION. 63 



V. 



THE ARGUMENT FROM EMBRYOLOGY. 



There is still another important line of evidence 

 which we cannot afford to overlook ; I mean 

 the argument from embryology. To economise 

 space, I shall not explain the considerations 

 which obviously lead to the anticipation that, 

 if the theory of descent by inheritance is true, 

 the life history of the individual ought to 

 constitute a sort of condensed epitome of the 

 whole history of its descent. But taking this 

 anticipation for granted, as it is fully realised 

 by the facts of embryology, it follows that the 



