136 EXAMINATION OF 



Nature with greater facility than we could pof- 

 fibly imagine. 



Befides, they aflced, are there not frequent 

 examples of the transformation of infedis ? Do 

 we not daily fee fmall aquatic worms, by fim- 

 ply throwing off their fkin or covering, from 

 which they received their external figure, tranf- 

 formed into winged animals ? May not fper- 

 matic animalcules, by a fimilar transformation, 

 become perfed: animals ? Every thing, there- 

 fore, they conclude, concurs in eftablifhing this 

 fyf]:em of generation, and in overturning that 

 which is founded on the notion of eggs ; and, 

 though eggs really exiilcd in viviparous a- 

 nimals, as vyell as in the oviparous, thefe eggs 

 would only be the matter neceffary for the 

 growth and expanfion of the fpermatic worm, 

 which enters by the pedicle which attaches the 

 egg tp the ovarium, where it finds abundance 

 of nourifhment. All the worms which are 

 fo unfortunate as to mifs this pafiage through 

 the pedicle into the egg, perifli, and ihat one 

 alone which finds the proper road is tranf- 

 formed into a perfed animal. The difficulty of 

 fmding this pafiage is iufiicient to account for 

 the great number and apparent profufion of the 

 fpermatic animals. It is a million to one againft 

 any individual vvorm's finding this paffage; but, 

 ^o compenfate this diificuity, there are more than 

 a million of worms. Wlien a worm has once 

 got poflefTion of an egg, no other can enter into 



It; 



