34 
PROOFS OF EVOLUTION. 
VII. 
PROOFS FROM METAMORPHOSIS. 
Metamorphosis is closely allied to embryolog- 
ical development. In the latter the changes are 
all pre-natal; in the former, they continue after 
birth,—the transformations taking place before 
our very eyes. All are familiar with the common 
examples. The frog begins life as a fish; limbs 
grow, and lungs displace gills, as he passes on to 
the condition of a tail-less croaker. Butterflies, 
bees and beetles start out as grubs, and undergo 
what wondrous transformations ! The star-fish is 
first a swimming worm; the crab is born a tail¬ 
like shrimp. 
Metamorphosis is simply a term to describe the 
transformations which take place under our own 
eyes, but the pre-natal development is equally 
metamorphic. All living creatures pass through 
all the stages common to the race below them, 
finally branching off: to their own special class. 
This is the most mysterious and deeply-seated 
principle of life-growth. The stepping-stones of 
