A G AES S I Z 



intellectual power in the diversity which obtains 

 in nature, under the plea that such an ad- 

 mission implies distinct creative acts for every 

 species. What of it, if it were true? Have 

 those who object to repeated acts of creation 

 ever considered that no progress can be made 

 in knowledge without repeated acts of thinking? 

 And what are thoughts but specific acts of 

 the mind? Why should it then be unscientific 

 to infer that the facts of nature are the result 

 of a similar process, since there is no evidence 

 of any other cause? The world has arisen in 

 some way or other. How it originated is the 

 great question, and Darwin's theory, like all 

 other attempts to explain the origin of life, is 

 thus far merely conjectural. I believe he has 

 not even made the best conjecture possible in 

 the present state of our knowledge. 

 • The more I look at the great complex of the 

 animal world, the more sure do I feel that we 

 have not yet reached its hidden meaning, and 

 the more do I regret that the young and ardent 

 spirits of our day give themselves to speculation 

 rather than to close and accurate investigation. 3 



• Atlantic Monthly 33. 101. 

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