184 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
THE OMPHALOS CONTROVERSY. 
We are bound to close the “ Omphalos” controversy in the present Number 
of the Review; and in doing so we cannot regret that it has taken place, 
although it has certainly assumed a form we had not contemplated. Mr. 
Gosse has not performed his duty as a controversialist, but has written 
a supplement to his book, introducing additional and doubtful princi¬ 
ples, and departing from the safe ground he occupied in “ Omphalos.” In 
doing so he has left us to feel the full force of Mr. Jukes’s geological 
hammer, which has descended upon us with as little compunction as if 
we were a block of syenite; indeed, we found some difficulty in avoiding 
a second blow, as Mr. Gosse had given Mr. Jukes some reason for dis¬ 
pleasure, by not noticing his letter, except in an incidental manner. 
We shall now endeavour to state as briefly as possible our reasons 
for dissenting from the letters of both the combatants; and in doing so 
we ask their indulgence in case we fail to seize their meaning fully. 
The following are the vicious syllogisms attributed by Mr. Jukes to 
Mr. Gosse; and inasmuch as we expressed the opinion, which we still 
hold, that the logic of “ Omphalos” is exact, we feel bound to undertake 
the task, which properly belonged to Mr. Gosse, of showing that the 
defects of these syllogisms do not vitiate the reasoning of his book. 
First Syllogism:— 
Major. All organic beings bear in their structure evidences of previous 
stages of existence, or of a pre-existent parent, &c. &c. 
Minor. The earth bears in its structure evidences of previous stages 
of existence. 
Ergo. The earth is an organic being. 
In this syllogism the middle term is taken twice particularly, being 
in both premises the predicate of an affirmative proposition; and there¬ 
fore the syllogism is vicious. 
We do not see how this reasoning affects the logic of u Omphalos.” 
Mr. G’osse has not attempted to show that the earth is an organic being, 
and it is quite unnecessary to his argument to do so; of course, if he 
could show that it was so, his argument would be strengthened, as he 
would gain the probability of the earth’s resembling other organic 
beings; but Mr. Gosse only seeks a possibility, which he can establish 
without entering into the question of the earth’s being or not being 
organic. 
We may observe, en passant, that the famous Kepler believed that 
the earth and planets were intelligent animals, swimming round the 
sun, and delighting to move so as to keep up the exact law of equable 
description of areas, and that they would be grieved beyond measure at 
the slightest deviation of the sun from the focus of their orbits. 
The second vicious mode of reasoning attributed to “ Omphalos” by 
Mr. Jukes is the following:— 
Second Syllogism:— 
Major. Every individual of an organic species bears within itself 
evidences of previous stages of existence, or of a pre-existent parent. 
