1845 WHEWELL ON 'VESTIGES 5 253 



way, so many, in different natural series, being on 

 a par ; much less can they be so arranged as that 

 the more perfect in their fcetal condition pass 

 through the successive stages of the less perfect, 

 the characters being taken from the brain to the 

 heart' He gives no definite reply to Whewell's 

 last question, 



Whewell wrote to Owen again on February 

 13, thanking him for his letter, and stating that his 

 reason for asking his opinion was, that ' though 

 the author is very decorous in his language [the 

 book] has been felt by many persons to have a 

 tendency adverse to Natural Theology ; and I 

 have been importuned to answer it. This I 

 cannot undertake to do.' He intends, he says, to 

 issue some selections from his ' Philosophy' bearing 

 on Theology, ' and in the preface (without naming 

 the " Vestiges " ) I shall notice one or two points 

 which have some apparent novelty in the book.' 

 He wishes to quote Owen's authority for various 

 statements ; but from a later letter of Whewell's 

 (February 15) we gather that Owen had objected 

 to this, for Whewell says : ' So far as you are con- 

 cerned, I will submit anything which I write, and 

 you shall see and decide for yourself, as is rea- 

 sonable.' 



Murchison and Sedgwick wrote on the same 

 subject. 



