1848-49 HIS VIEWS ON THE ARCHETYPE 311 



British Association," 1841, pp. 196-202). And I 

 have no objection to your adding, as my reply to 

 your inquiry of my present sentiments on the 

 subject, that if the Creator has been pleased to 

 employ in the production of organised species 

 any secondary influences or causes — of which no 

 satisfactory proof has been adduced — present evi- 

 dence, from anatomy and physiology, is against the 

 hypothesis of the existence and operation in any 

 living species of self-developing energies adequate 

 to a change and exaltation of specific characters ; 

 but that the actual state of anatomical and physio- 

 logical science is suggestive of other secondary 

 causes, which seem to me to be more probable 

 as operative in the production of species than 

 " transmutation and development," as advocated 

 by De Maillet and Lamarck ; but that these other 

 " secondary causes" are hypothetical, and require 

 much additional observation and experimental 

 testing before they can merit public attention.' 



In 1848 his work 'On the Archetype and 

 Homologies of the Vertebrate Skeleton ' ap- 

 peared. As early as 1846, at the British Associa- 

 tion meeting held at Southampton, Owen put for- 

 ward the views which he extended and explained in 

 this book. These views were further illustrated 

 in his work on the ' Anatomy of Fishes,' and more 

 especially in his book ' On the Nature of Limbs.' 

 Owen's ideas were based upon the observations 

 of Lorenz Oken, and were designed to show 



