10 THE HISTORY OF CREATION. 
unscientific idea of a creator existing outside of matter, and 
changing it, may easily creep in, it will perhaps be better in 
future to substitute for it the more accurate term, develop- 
ment. 
The great value which the History of Development pos- 
sesses for the scientific understanding of animal and vege- 
table forms, has now been generally acknowledged for many 
years, and without it it would be impossible to make any 
sure progress in organic morphology, or the theory of forms. 
But by the history of development, only one part of this 
science has generally been understood, namely, that of 
organic individuals, usually called Embryology, but more 
correctly and comprehensively, Ontogeny. But, besides this, 
there is another history of development of organic species, 
genera, and tribes (phyla), which has the most important 
relations to the former. 
The subject of this is furnished to us by the science of 
petrifactions, or paleeontology, which shows us that each 
tribe of animals and plants, during different periods of the 
earth’s history, has been represented by a series of entirely 
different genera and species. Thus, for example, the tribe 
of vertebrated animals was represented by classes of fish, 
amphibious animals, reptiles, birds, and mammals, and each 
of these groups, at different periods, by quite different kinds. 
This paleontological history of the development of organ- 
isms, which we may term Phylogeny, stands in the most 
important and remarkable relation to the other branch of 
organic history of development, I mean that of individuals, 
or Ontogeny. On the whole, the one runs parallel to the 
other. In fact, the history of individual development, or 
Ontogeny, is a short and quick recapitulation of palzeonto- 
