58 



most beautiful and complex organs of animals — the heart and 

 veins, the nervous system, the human hand, the eye, the mind 

 itself, with all its faculties — have been constructed, not by the 

 infinite wisdom of an Almighty Creator, adapting every part, 

 organ, and faculty, with requisite skill, to the office it was 

 designed to fill, but from a medley of blind chance, countless 

 blunders, and innumerable minute accidental modifications, 

 which occurred in the struggle for existence during myriads 

 of past ages. The fish was not designed for the water ; the 

 bird was not designed to fly; the ear was not designed for 

 hearing ; the eye was not designed for seeing ; all these, says 

 Darwin, are just the fortuitous products of organised matter 

 pushing its way at random, and after incalculable instances of 

 trial and failure, during incalculable ages, at last hitting on 

 what was best.* 



And what is the scientific proof of this most wonderful con- 

 ception ? Nothing short of actual observation of the whole 

 alleged process would make such a theory even credible. 

 There has, of course, been no such observation. There could 

 be none, for an "almost infinite series of generations'' is 

 postulated; and that lies outside the domain of Science. 

 ''By the theory of natural selection," says Darwin, ''all living 

 species have been connected with the parent species of each 

 genus, by differences not greater than we see between the 

 varieties of the same species in the present day.^f Here, as 

 it seems to me, lies the fundamental logical fallacy. He argues 

 from the existence of slight varieties in the same species to 

 the entire transmutation of species. The former is admitted 

 on all hands ; the latter has no logical connexion with it, and 

 has no basis in scientific investigation. Yet Huxley records 

 his conviction that this theory of Darwin, which traces all 

 organisms and species to fortuitous trials and combinations, 

 has given a death-blow to Teleology, that is, to the doctrine 

 of design in nature, and of final causes. 



Huxley's argument on this point deserves special attention. 

 It is one of the most remarkable specimens of scientific reason- 

 ing it has ever been my good or evil fortune to read. It is aa 

 follows : — " The teleological argument runs thus : an organ or 

 organism is precisely fitted to perform a functioii or purpose ; 

 therefore it was specially constructed to perform that function. 

 In Paley'« famous illustration, the adaptation of all the parts 

 of the watch to the function or purpose of showing the time. 



* See The Darwinian Theory Examined, p. 28G. 

 t Or it/ 1 II of tSpcries, p. 281, 



