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Ch. XXXV.] 



THE 'VESTIGES OF CEEATION.' 



275 



in time. He availed himself of tlie generalisations of paleon- 

 tologists on tlie changes observable in tlie fossil fauna and 



showing that the 



flora of successive epochs of the past, 

 structural affinity was greatest in those which 

 each other in position when the strata were 

 chronological order, and that there had been a gradual 

 approximation of the animate world as it changed from 



arranged in 



period to period to the state of things now represented by 



the living creation. 



The embryological investigations of Tiedemann and others 

 were referred to as being in harmony with the doctrine of 

 transmutation ; the various phases of development throuo-h 



m ammif er 



in succession the likeness of a fish, reptile and bird, and lastly 

 putting on the characters proper to the highest class of 

 vertebrata. It was also suggested that these metamorphoses 



were com 



to the creative 



made in like 



ao^es as 



o 



em 



chronological order to the organic world of past 

 revealed to us by the fossil remains preserved in the 'rocks. 

 The arguments which Lamarck and others had derived from 

 rudimentary organs in favour of their views were re-stated 



)hatically insisted upon. The unity of 

 plan exhibited by the whole organic creation fossil and 

 recent, and the mutual affinities of all the different classes of 

 the animal and vegetable kingdoms, were declared to be in 

 harmony with the idea of new forms having proceeded 

 from older ones by generation, species having been gradually 

 modified by the influence of external conditions. 



Lamarck had rendered his hypothesis very complete by 

 embracing without any essential change the notions of 

 Aristotle as to spontaneous generation. The simplest rudi- 

 ments or germs of life were assumed to be always coming into 

 bemg. This would account for the present abundance of 



animal 



time 



more Berfect stats. In his eao-er- 



ness to supply the evidence which was wanting to confirm 

 the reality of the working of this part of the plan of na- 

 ture, the author of the 'Yestiges' displayed an extraordinary 



T 2 



