1 1 S Species; or, Darwinism. 



teeth, yet the teeth are reabsorbed, and -the whale 

 does without them. So too with rudimentary wings 

 in the ostrich, etc. Now, says Mr. Darwin, in order 

 to understand the presence of such organs, we have 

 only to suppose that some remote ancestor possessed 

 in a perfect state the parts which are at present re- 

 duced to this condition. Such a supposition coin- 

 cides with the descent of species. Hence the ex- 

 istence of rudiments corroborates that theory. 



130. This argument merits a remark or two, as to 

 its matter and form. Could anything show more 

 The Matter of clearly that true Darwinism is not a sys- 

 this Argu- tern of progressive evolution in any sense 

 whatever? It is only a plan of adapta- 

 tions, of self-adjustment to circumstances, in any 

 direction, whether towards better or worse, or 

 neither way; a blind, mechanical variability, hav- 

 ing within itself no principle of development to- 

 wards a higher life and higher species. In fact, 

 such is really the Darwinism of Darwin. Taking 

 this instance of rudiments on Darwin's own presen- 

 tation of them, we find that a locomotive apparatus, 

 which no one will fail to recognize as very useful 

 to a whale if stranded on a sand-bank, is lost to 

 the monster, one knows not why — a case apparently 

 of mere degeneracy; and yet that unexplained loss 

 fits in perfectly well with Darwinism. Certainly 

 there is no progressive evolution here. Nor is the 

 locomotive apparatus lost totally; so it appears 

 doubly useless, as well in what is gone, as in what 



