material from the ,google ,print        
project47          ,a ,,theory ,,of     
,,creation4   ,a  ,,review  ,,of        
,,vestiges ,,of ,,the ,,natural         
,,history ,,of  ,,creation4   ,,from    
,,the ,,north ,,american ,,review ,,for 
,,april1 #ahde4   ,,boston3 ,,otis1     
,,broaders1 ,,and ,,company1 #abj       
,,washington ,,street4 #ahde4           
,,cambridge3 ,,metcalf ,,and ,,company1 
,,printers ,,to ,,the ,,university4     
,a  ,,theory ,,of ,,creation4           
,vestiges of the ,natural ,history of   
,creation4 ,new ,york3 ,wiley           
,putnam4 #ahde4 #abmo4 pp4 #bia4   ,this
 is one of the most striking and        
ingenious scientific romances that we   
have ever read4 ,the writer of it is a  
bold man2 he has undertaken to give a   
hypothetical history of creation1       
beginning1 as the title-pages say1 at   
the earliest period1 and coming down to 
the present day4 ,it is not quite so    
authentic as that of ,moses1 nor is it  
written with such an air of simplicity  

and confidence as the narrative of the  
,jewish historian2 but it is much       
longer1 and goes into a far greater     
variety of interesting particulars4 ,it 
contradicts the ,jewish cosmogony in a  
few particulars1 and is at variance with
 probability and the ordinary laws of   
human reasoning in many others4 ,but the
 rather liberal rules of interpretation1
 which it is now the fashion to apply to
 the first chapter of ,genesis1 will    
relieve the reader from any scruples on 
the former account2 and as to the       
latter1 in these days of scientific     
quackery1 it would be quite too harsh to
 make any great complaint about such    
peccadilloes4 ,the writer has taken up  
almost every questionable fact and      
startling hypothesis1 that have been    
promulgated by proficients or pretenders
 in science during the present century1 
except animal magnetism2 and for this   
omission we have reason to be thankful4 
,the nebular hypothesis1 ,laplace's or  
,compte's theory of planets shelled off 

from the sun1 spontaneous               
generation1--some of these vagaries1 we 
admit1 are of much older date than the  
year #ahjj1--the ,macleay system1 dogs  
playing dominoes1 negroes born of white 
parents1 materialism1 phrenology1--he   
adopts them all1 and makes them play an 
important part in his own magnificent   
theory1 to the exclusion1 in a great    
degree1 of the well-accredited facts and
 established doctrines of science4  ,we 
speak lightly of the author's plan1 as  
one can hardly fail to do of a scheme so
 magnificent1 and going apparently so   
far beyond the ordinary sources of      
information and the range of the human  
intellect4 ,but the execution of the    
work is of so high an order1 as fairly  
to challenge attention and respect4 ,the
 writer1 who has not chosen to give his 
name to the world1 is evidently a man of
 great ingenuity and correct taste1 a   
master of style1 a plausible1 though not
 a profound1 reasoner1 and having quite 
a general1 but superficial1 acquaintance

 with the sciences4 ,his materials are  
arranged with admirable method1 the     
illustrations are copious and           
interesting1 the transitions are        
skilfully managed1 and the several      
portions of the theory are so well      
fitted to each other1 and form such a   
round and perfect whole1 that it seems a
 pity to subject it to severe analysis  
and searching criticism4 ,it is a very  
pleasant hypothesis1 set forth in a most
 agreeable manner2 and though it        
contains many objectionable features1   
these are cautiously veiled and kept in 
the background1 and the reader is       
seduced into accepting most of the      
conclusions1 before he is aware of their
 true character and tendency4  ,before a
 just opinion can be formed of the      
correctness of the writer's views1 it is
 necessary to take to pieces this       
skilful fabric1 and to bring the parts  
together in a different connection and  
with greater succinctness1 following out
 each doctrine to its inevitable1 but   

most remote1 conclusions1 so as to      
obtain a just idea of the position in   
which we should be placed by the        
acceptance of the theory as a whole4    
,for obvious reasons1 the author has not
 chosen to give a general summary of his
 views1 or to mention explicitly all the
 inferences that may be drawn from them4
 ,he merely puts the reader upon the    
track1 indicating its general direction1
 and leaving it for him to find out what
 objects will be encountered by the way1
 and where the journey will end4 ,we    
propose to finish the work that is thus 
left incomplete1 and to set forth the   
doctrine in its plainest terms4 ,we     
would reduce the theory at once to its  
narrowest compass and simplest          
expression2 but at the same time1 would 
incorporate into it every doctrine which
 properly belongs to it1 and follow out 
each hypothesis to its remote1 though   
necessary1 inferences and conclusions4  
,to this end1 it is requisite to        
separate1 as far as possible1 the       

doctrines themselves from the evidence  
adduced in support of them2 and to      
consider the former as a whole1 before  
proceeding1 to discuss the cogency of   
the latter4 ,the following may be taken 
as the most concise abstract that we can
 form of the history of the creation1   
according to this author4  ,in the      
beginning--we use this word in a kind of
 preter-perfect sense--in the very      
beginning of things1 immense portions of
 infinite space were filled with finely 
diffused nebulous matter1 heated to an  
intensity that is altogether            
inconceivable4 ,the particles of this   
fire mist1 as it is appropriately       
called1 were the true primordia         
rerum1--the elements of the             
universe1--the principles of all the    
forms of inorganic matter and all       
organic things4 ,at the outset1 the     
,creator endowed these particles with   
certain qualities and capacities1 and   
then stood aside from his work1 as there
 was nothing farther for him to do4 ,the

 subsequent progress of creation is only
 the successive development1 upon       
mechanical and necessary principles1 and
 as fast as proper occasions were       
offered1 of these qualities thus made   
inherent in the primitive constitution  
of matter4 ,the atoms thus marvellously 
endowed have gone on1 without any       
further aid from ,almighty power1 to    
form suns1 and astral systems1 and      
planets with their satellites1 and      
worlds tenanted by successive           
generations and races of vegetable and  
animal things4 ,and this work of        
creation1 or rather of development1 is  
still in progress all around us1 and in 
all its various stages1 though in the   
portion most directly exposed to the    
observation of man it is far advanced   
towards perfection4 ,upon this earth1   
the unaided action of these atoms is    
still evolving all the phenomena of     
generation1 progress1 and decay1 of     
vegetable and animal life1 of instinct  
and of mind4 ,in the abyss of space1 it 

is also forming new suns1 and solar     
systems1 and worlds that are to pass    
through the same stages and wonderful   
transformations to which our own planet 
has already been subjected4 ,all that   
has occurred with respect to this earth1
 and the system of which it forms a     
part1 is but a type of what is          
constantly going on in the countless    
other systems of stars that people the  
firmament4  ,the first stage in the     
history of these fiery particles is the 
formation among them1 in some           
unaccountable way1 of nuclei1 or centres
 of aggregation1 like the bright points 
that are now visible in some of the     
nebulae of the heavens4 ,as soon as     
these centres are formed1 gravity1 one  
of the original principles of matter1   
begins to act1 and the atoms in all the 
neighbouring parts of space are         
attracted towards the nucleus and heaped
 upon it4 ,in this manner1 a central sun
 of vast dimensions is formed1 which    
soon assumes a motion of rotation upon  

its axis from the general law which     
gives a circular movement to all fluids 
that are drawn towards a common centre4 
,the centrifugal force thus generated   
tends to throw off matter from the      
equatorial regions of the great orb1 but
 is restrained by the attraction of     
gravitation1 which would prevent any    
separation of the parts1 if the sun     
itself did not now begin to cool down1  
and consequently to shrink in size4     
,under this cooling process1 a crust is 
formed upon the surface1 too rigid to   
yield to the force of gravity1 and the  
parts within1 continuing to shrink1     
separate from this envelope2 so that    
there is now a central orb1 revolving   
more rapidly from its greater density   
and smaller diameter1 and surrounded by 
an exterior shell1 or band1 like        
,saturn's ring1 rotating at its original
 speed4 ,as we cannot suppose that the  
ring would usually be of uniform        
thickness and strength1 it eventually   
breaks up into fragments1 the larger of 

which attracts the smaller into itself1 
and the whole is formed by its revolving
 motion into an oblate spheroid circling
 round the contracted sun in the centre4
 ,in this manner1 the planet ,uranus was
 shelled off from our sun1 which        
originally filled the whole of the vast 
sphere1 of which the distance from      
,uranus to the centre of the present sun
 is but the radius4 ,the planet itself1 
by the same process of cooling1         
shrinking1 and thus forming exterior    
rings1 threw off successively all its   
six satellites2 and the sun1 also1      
continuing to contract from the loss of 
heat1 formed another ring1 and thus     
constituted the planet ,saturn4 ,in this
 way were formed successively all the   
planets and satellites of the present   
solar system4 ,the original diameter of 
our earth was equal1 of course1 to the  
present diameter of the moon's orbit4   
,in the case of ,saturn1 the two rings  
formed around it happened to be of      
unusual homogeneity and equal thickness1

 so that they were not broken up1 but   
have preserved their primitive shape4 ,a
 ring was formed from the sun in the    
space between the present orbits of     
,mars and ,jupiter2 but when it was     
broken up1 the fragments did not        
congregate into one1 but spherified     
separately1 so as to form the four      
smaller planets which now revolve in    
that opening4       ,we have no means of
 judging of the seniority of systems2   
but it is      reasonable to suppose1   
that1 among the many1 some are older    
than      ours4 ,there is1 indeed1 one  
piece of evidence for the probability   
of the comparative youth of our system1 
altogether apart from human             
traditions and the geognostic           
appearances of the surface of our       
planet4 ,this consists in a thin        
nebulous matter1 which is diffused      
around the sun to nearly the orbit of   
,mercury1 of a very oblately            
spheroidal shape4 ,this matter1 which   
sometimes appears to our naked          

eyes1 at sunset1 in the form of a cone  
projecting upwards in the      line of  
the sun's path1 and which bears the name
 of ,zodiacal ,light1      has been     
thought a residuum or last remnant of   
the concentrating      matter of our    
system1 and thus may be supposed to     
indicate the      comparative recentness
 of the principal events of our         
cosmogony4      ,supposing the surmise  
and inference to be correct1 and they   
may be      held as so far supported by 
more familiar evidence1 we might with   
the more confidence speak of our system 
as not amongst the elder      born of   
,heaven1 but one whose various          
phenomena1 physical and      moral1 as  
yet lay undeveloped1 while myriads of   
others were fully      fashioned and in 
complete arrangement4 ,thus1 in the     
sublime      chronology to which we are 
directing our inquiries1 we first find  
ourselves called upon to consider the   
globe which we inhabit as a      child  
of the sun1 elder than ,venus and her   

younger brother ,mercury1      but      
posterior in date of birth to ,mars1    
,jupiter1 ,saturn1 and      ,uranus2    
next1 to regard our whole system as     
probably of recent      formation in    
comparison with many of the stars of our
 firmament4 ,we      must1 however1 be  
on our guard against supposing the earth
 as a      recent globe in our ordinary 
conceptions of time4 ,from evidence     
afterwards to be adduced1 it will be    
seen that it cannot be      presumed to 
be less than many hundreds of centuries 
old4--pp4 #bb1      #bc4  ,having thus  
explained the genesis of the solar      
system1 we come down to the history of  
our own earth1 since it shelled off the 
ring which formed our moon4 ,continuing 
to cool down and shrink1 a thin but     
rigid crust of primary rocks1 still     
bearing marks of the intense heat to    
which they have been subjected1 was     
formed upon its surface2 and then the   
vapors1 with which the atmosphere had   
been charged1 were condensed1 and formed

 seas1 which covered the whole1 or the  
greater part1 of the earth's rind4 ,the 
continual agitation of these waters1 and
 their high temperature1 as they were   
still nearly at the boiling point1      
disintegrated and wore down many of     
these rocks1 and1 in the lapse of ages1 
deposited their remains1 in thick layers
 of sand and mud1 at the bottom of the  
seas4 ,baked by the heat from beneath1  
and pressed by the weight of            
superincumbent waters1 these layers     
slowly hardened into stratified rocks4  
,forms of vegetable and animal life1    
though only of the lowest type1 the     
origin of which is to be explained      
hereafter1 now began to appear4 ,some   
sea-plants1 zooephytes1 infusory        
animalcules1 and a few of the molluscous
 tribe1 all low down in the order of    
being1 but important from their immense 
numbers and joint action1 commenced     
their work of absorbing the carbonic    
acid with which the air was overcharged1
 and building up vast piers and mounds  

of stone from their own remains4        
,meanwhile1 the internal fires of the   
earth occasionally broke through the    
rocky crust that imprisoned them1 threw 
up liquid primitive rock through the    
rents1 and distorted and tilted up the  
strata that had been formed above4  ,we 
may remark1 in passing1 that the        
chronology of the events of which we now
 speak is not very accurately           
determined2 the only thing certain about
 it is1 that a series of ages1 so       
protracted that the imagination cannot  
conceive their number1 elapsed between  
the successive epochs in the history of 
the earth's crust4 ,some of the         
convulsions caused by the fiery mass    
within threw up rock above the surface  
of the waters1 and thus the dry land    
began to appear4 ,islands were formed1  
and immediately land-plants made their  
appearance1 of excessive luxuriance1    
under the tropical temperature that     
still prevailed all over the globe1 and 
began their office of absorbing carbon1 

and storing it up for future use4       
,land-animals as yet were not1 for the  
excess of carbonic acid in the          
atmosphere rendered it incapable of     
supporting animal life4 ,but the        
richness of this island vegetation      
gradually purified the air2 while the   
decaying plants themselves1 being       
accumulated into vast beds and strata1  
and subjected1 through the changes of   
the earth's surface1 to the pressure of 
mighty waters1 gradually formed immense 
deposits of coal1 for the subsequent    
service of man4 ,animals of a higher    
grade were now formed2 fishes became    
abundant1 and amphibious monsters1 huge 
lizards and other reptiles1 with an     
imperfect apparatus of respiration1     
began to breathe an atmosphere not yet  
fitted for birds and mammifers4  ,it is 
not necessary to trace out the          
comparatively well known facts and      
theories of geological science1 that are
 incorporated into this history4 ,it is 
enough1 for the present purpose1 to     

point out a few of the general          
conclusions of the geologist respecting 
the several great changes that the      
earth's crust has undergone1 and the    
distinct races of vegetables and animals
 which have successively tenanted the   
earth's surface4 ,these changes and     
these races have borne a constant       
relation to each other2 as the scenes   
shifted1 the inhabitants also changed1  
the latter being always adapted to the  
circumstances in which they were placed4
 ,there has been a constant progress1   
the soil and the atmosphere becoming    
more and more fitted for the support of 
the higher forms of life2 and when all  
things were thus made ready for them1   
these higher forms have appeared1 and   
the lower orders of being1 which        
formerly occupied the scene1 have       
entirely died out1 so that their        
remains1 entombed in the solid rock1 are
 now the only indications of their past 
existence4 ,in the era of the primary   
rocks1 as we have seen1 there was no    

organization or life1 as there was      
nothing to support it4 ,in the          
succeeding period1 zooephytes and       
mollusca appeared2 these were followed  
by fishes1 and then land rose above the 
surface of the waters4 ,land-plants and 
animals came next1 though of a low type2
 continually advancing orders of beings1
 reptiles1 birds1 and mammifers1 suited 
to the improved condition of things1    
successively appeared1 until1 at the    
latest epoch1 man entered upon the      
scene1 the head of animated nature as at
 present constituted1 with powers and   
capacities well adapted for the full    
enjoyment of the augmented riches of the
 earth4 ,and the end is not yet4 ,the   
present race1 rude and impulsive as it  
is1 is perhaps the best adapted to the  
present state of things in the world2   
but the external world goes through slow
 and gradual changes1 which may leave it
 in time a much serener field of        
existence4 ,there may then be occasion  
for a nobler type of humanity1 which    

shall complete the zooelogical circle on
 this planet1 and realize some of the   
dreams of the purest spirits of the     
present race4  ,the question now occurs1
 ,how are we to account for the origin  
of life1 both in the vegetable and      
animal kingdoms8 ,the answer can readily
 be given1 if we follow out resolutely  
to their remotest consequences the      
principles that have already been       
established4 ,the evolution of natural  
laws1 the necessary action of the       
qualities with which atoms were at first
 endowed1 has sufficed to produce this  
complex system of mutually dependent    
worlds1 and all the successive          
transformations of the earth's rind1    
which have fitted it for the support of 
successive races of organic beings4 ,may
 not the same causes have produced the  
beings themselves8 ,the one process     
would seem to be not much more elaborate
 and intricate than the other4 ,if the  
inherent qualities of matter have built 
up a solar system1 they may have        

created1 also1 the first animalcule1 the
 first fish1 the first quadruped1 and   
the first man4 ,there has been a marked 
progress1 in either case1 from the      
chaotic1 the rude1 the imperfectly      
developed1 up to the orderly1 the       
complex1 the matured forms4 ,the first  
essays1 the rude efforts1 of nature have
 gradually been perfected4 ,the chaotic 
world that was first shelled off from   
the sun differed not less widely from   
the admirably furnished planet we now   
inhabit1 than does the zooephyte1 whose 
remains are not split out of the rock1  
from man1 the present head of the animal
 tribe4 ,at any rate1 geology informs   
us1 that the causes1 whatever they may  
be1 which produce life1 have been long  
and frequently in operation4 ,they were 
not exhausted in the first effort2 they 
are probably still at work throughout   
the universe4 ,not merely successive    
generations1 but successive races1 both 
of plants and animals1 widely           
distinguished from each other1 have1 at 

different periods1 tenanted the earth's 
surface4 ,those of which we possess the 
fossil remains belong1 almost without   
exception1 to extinct species4 ,they    
were crowded out of existence1 as it    
were1 by the new forms1 more perfectly  
organized1 which came to take their     
places in the improving condition of    
things4 ,this continuous agency of the  
life-producing causes1 effecting still  
higher results by each successive       
effort1 seems to point directly to the  
gradual expansion and development of the
 qualities with which matter was first  
endowed4  ,we actually see natural      
agents now at work around us1 producing 
results which counterfeit life1 if they 
do not constitute it4 ,many substances  
crystallize into shapes bearing a strong
 resemblance to vegetable forms1 as in  
the well known chemical experiment      
producing the arbor ,dianae4 ,the       
passage of the electric fluid leaves    
marks that are like the branches and    
foliage of a tree1 and the same fluid   

exerts a direct influence on the        
germination of plants4 ,some of the     
proximate principles of vegetable and   
animal bodies1 such as urea and         
alantoin1 are said to have been produced
 artificially by the chemist2 and in the
 combination of the simple elements1    
such as carbon and oxygen1 into these   
proximate principles1 it is now         
acknowledged that there is no violation 
of the ordinary laws of chemical        
affinity4 ,the origin of all vegetable  
and animal life1 so far as it can be    
traced1 is in germinal vesicles1 or     
little cells containing granules4 ,such 
are the ova of all animals2 and both    
vegetable and animal tissues are        
entirely formed from them4 ,when the    
parent cells come to maturity1 they     
burst and liberate the granules1 which  
immediately develope themselves into new
 cells1 thus repeating the life of their
 original4 ,now1 it has been asserted1  
that globules can be produced in albumen
 by electricity2 and if these globules  

are true germinal vesicles1 the         
difficult problem of producing life by  
artificial means is entirely solved4    
,but the burden of this part of the     
theory rests on the evidence that has   
been produced of late years to favor the
 doctrine of equivocal generation1 or   
the production of living beings without 
the agency1 either direct or indirect1  
of parents of the same species4 ,can    
such beings1 orphans in the strictest   
sense1 now be produced or discovered8   
,we have not space to repeat our        
author's argument on this difficult     
mooted question in science1 nor is it   
necessary2 he sums up the evidence on   
his own side1 and of course finds it    
satisfactory1 though the weight of      
authority is against him4 ,he adduces   
the experiments of ,mr4 ,crosse1        
repeated by ,mr4 ,weekes1 who claim to  
have produced animalcules in            
considerable numbers1 of a species      
before unknown1 by passing a voltaic    
current through silicate of potash1 and 

through nitrate of copper4 ,the         
existence of entozoa1 or parasitic      
animals1 found in the interior of the   
bodies of other animals1 and found      
nowhere else1 is thought to support the 
same doctrine4 ,the question is1 ,how   
came they there8 ,being too large1      
either in their perfect form1 or in the 
egg1 to have passed through the         
capillary blood-vessels1 how came they  
within the body of another              
animal1--itself but a few weeks or a few
 days old1 or even in the embryo        
stage1--unless they were created there  
without parentage of their own species8 
,these facts and reasonings1 it is true1
 only go to prove1 that animalcules1 or 
beings of very small size1 and low in   
the scale of animated existence1 can be 
produced in this way by the inherent    
qualities of matter4 ,no one will       
pretend1 that a dog1 a horse1 or a man  
can thus be created4 ,how can we account
 for the existence of these larger      
animals of a higher type1 admitted to   

have been denizens of the earth only    
since the latest geological epochs1 and 
therefore of comparatively recent       
origin8 ,here we come to another point  
in our author's theory1--the            
transmutation of species1 or the        
successive development of higher and    
higher orders of being out of the       
species immediately below them1 through 
the accidental or natural fulfilment of 
certain conditions1 in the course of a  
long period of years4  ,natural history 
teaches us1 that there is quite a       
regular gradation among the several     
tribes of vegetables and animals2 though
 we may not be able to range all the    
species1 as constantly advancing in a   
single line1 there is certainly the     
general appearance of a scale1 beginning
 with the most simple1 and going on to  
the most complex forms4 ,while the      
external characteristics are very       
different1 all are but variations of a  
single plan1 which exists as the basis  
of all1 and is varied in each individual

 only so as to accommodate it to the    
conditions under which the individual is
 to live4 ,the germ of a higher         
animal--a mammifer1 for instance--is the
 representative of a lower animal       
full-grown1 like the volvox globator2   
the latter remaining in this initial    
stage1 as an animalcule1 through its    
whole existence2 while the former is    
developed out of it1 by successive      
stages1 into a quadruped1 or even into a
 man4 ,similar functions are performed  
in different animals by very different  
organs1 the gills of fishes performing  
the same office as the lungs of the     
mammalia2 and these different organs    
sometimes exist1 at different periods1  
according to the degree of development1 
in the same animal4 ,thus1 the tadpole1 
so long as it continues to be a fish1   
breathes by gills1 which disappear and  
give place to lungs when it becomes a   
frog4 ,similar transformations of the   
insect tribe are familiar to all4       
,imperfect or rudimentary organs are    

found in certain animals1 as the mammae 
of a man2 a particular organ being here 
developed to a certain extent1 though it
 is not needed2 but being developed a   
little further1 it becomes useful in the
 next set of animals in the scale4 ,the 
same peculiarity is found among plants2 
the skilful gardener being able actually
 to develope these rudimentary organs by
 supplying the requisite conditions1 and
 thus1 as it were1 to raise the plant   
one step in the scale4       ,we have   
yet to advert to the most interesting   
class of facts      connected with the  
laws of organic development4 ,it is only
 in      recent times that physiologists
 have observed that each animal         
passes1 in the course of its germinal   
history1 through a series of            
changes resembling the permanent forms  
of the various orders of      animals   
inferior to it in the scale4 ,thus1 for 
instance1 an insect1      standing at   
the head of the articulated animals1 is1
 in the larva      state1 a true        

annelid1 or worm1 the annelida being the
 lowest in      the same class4 ,the    
embryo of a crab resembles the perfect  
animal      of the inferior order       
myriapoda1 and passes through all the   
forms      of transition which          
characterize the intermediate tribes of 
crustacea4 ,the frog1 for some time     
after its birth1 is a fish with         
external gills and other organs1 fitting
 it for an aquatic life1      all of    
which are changed as it advances to     
maturity1 and becomes a      land       
animal4 ,the mammifer only passes       
through still more stages1              
according to its higher place in the    
scale4 ,nor is man himself      exempt  
from this law4 ,his first form is that  
which is permanent in      the          
animalcule4 ,his organization gradually 
passes through      conditions generally
 resembling a fish1 a reptile1 a bird1  
and the      lower mammalia1 before it  
attains its specific maturity4 ,at one  
of      the last stages of his foetal   

career1 he exhibits an                  
intermaxillary bone1 which is           
characteristic of the perfect ape2      
this is suppressed1 and he may then be  
said to take leave of the      simial   
type1 and become a true human creature4 
,even1 as we shall      see1 the        
varieties of his race are represented in
 the progressive      development of an 
individual of the highest1 before we see
 the      adult ,caucasian1 the highest 
point yet attained in the animal        
scale4       ,to come to particular     
points of the organization4 ,the brain  
of      man1 which exceeds that of all  
other animals in complexity of          
organization and fulness of development1
 is1 at one early period1      only 'a  
simple fold of nervous matter1 with     
difficulty      distinguishable into    
three parts1 while a little tail-like   
prolongation towards the hinder parts1  
and which had been the first      to    
appear1 is the only representation of a 
spinal marrow4 ,now1 in      this state1

 it perfectly resembles the brain of an 
adult fish1 thus      assuming in       
transitu the form that in the fish is   
permanent4 ,in a      short time1       
however1 the structure is become more   
complex1 the      parts more distinct1  
the spinal marrow better marked2 it is  
now      the brain of a reptile4 ,the   
change continues2 by a singular motion1 
certain parts 7corpora quadragemina71   
which had hitherto appeared      on the 
upper surface1 now pass towards the     
lower2 the former is      their         
permanent situation in fishes and       
reptiles1 the latter in      birds and  
mammalia4 ,this is another advance in   
the scale1 but more      remains yet to 
be done4 ,the complication of the organ 
increases2      cavities1 termed        
ventricles1 are formed1 which do not    
exist in      fishes1 reptiles1 or      
birds2 curiously organized parts1 such  
as the      corpora striata1 are added2 
it is now the brain of the mammalia4    
,its last and final change alone seems  

wanting1--that which shall      render  
it the brain of man4'--pp4 #aej-aeb4    
,usually1 it is true1 each species      
produces only its like1--every creeping 
thing and beast of the earth bringing   
forth young after his kind4 ,but the    
development of a single animal1 under   
the ordinary law1 takes place in a few  
weeks or days2 while the development of 
distinct races and species is the work  
of a whole creation1 and is spread over 
countless ages4 ,it is reasonable to    
suppose1 that the latter is effected by 
means of a higher law1 manifesting      
itself only at long intervals4 ,its     
infrequent manifestation is no argument 
against the regularity and necessity of 
its occurrence1--against its being a law
 at all4 ,the comet that visits our     
system only once in five hundred years  
is controlled by the same inflexible    
principle which causes the return of    
another comet once in five years4 ,the  
conditions requisite for a development  
more perfect than usual1--that is1 for  

the production of a new                 
species1--instead of a new individual of
 the same species1 may be fulfilled only
 at long intervals2 but when they are   
fulfilled1 the result--the more perfect 
development--takes place as necessarily1
 as much by the virtue of law1 as the   
more ordinary phenomenon of the         
propagation of one race4 ,these         
conditions may be answered in the       
successive stages of improvement1       
through which the earth and its         
atmosphere pass1 during the vast periods
 of time contemplated in geology4 ,in   
the era of the old red sand-stone1 for  
instance1 there were no higher animals  
than fishes1 because the atmosphere was 
highly charged with carbonic acid1 and  
could not support respiration by lungs4 
,when the air became purer1 the gills   
were changed into the imperfect lungs of
 the amphibious tribes1 such as the huge
 saurians and the frogs4 ,deprive these 
latter animals1 in their lower stage1 of
 all access to the light1 and they will 

not advance to their higher stage4 ,put 
a tadpole into a perforated box1 and    
sink it to the bottom of a river1 and   
the animal will never be perfected into 
a frog2 he will grow to an enormous     
size1 but he will continue a tadpole4   
,we see1 then1 the process of an organic
 creation by law1 or by virtue of the   
inherent qualities of inorganic matter4 
,the ordinary chemical affinities of    
different substances may draw them      
together into such compounds as albumen 
and fibrin1 which are the proximate     
principles of organic tissues4 ,the     
action of electricity1 heat1 light1 or  
some other mysterious imponderable      
agent1 on these proximate principles1   
may produce globules1 or germinal       
vesicles4 ,these germs1 multiplying     
themselves by fissiparous generation1   
will constitute a stock of animals of a 
low type1 such as a tribe of infusory   
animalcules4 ,then this simplest and    
most primitive type1 under a law to     
which that of like production is        

subordinate1 gives birth to the type    
next above it1 this again produces the  
next higher1 and so on to the very      
highest1 the stages of advance being in 
all cases very small1--namely1 from one 
species only to another2 so that the    
phenomenon has always been of a simple  
and modest character4 ,thus1 the first  
reptile was born from a fish1 the first 
bird was generated by a reptile1 and the
 first mammifer had birds for its       
parents4 ,the transformations appear    
rather astounding1 as we pass from one  
class to another2 but the difference    
between the species1 even1 is often so  
great1 that the transition appears      
hardly less difficult4 ,in what         
quadruped1 for instance1 do we find the 
first ancestor of the huge and sagacious
 elephant8 ,what humble lizard gave     
birth to those monsters of the fossil   
world1 the plesiosaurus and             
megalosaurus1 thirty or forty feet in   
length8 ,man1 of course1 upon this      
theory1 is only a more perfectly        

developed monkey1 or chimpanzee4 ,with a
 nod of approbation to ,lord ,monboddo's
 theory1 our author observes1 that man  
has even the rudiments of a caudal      
extremity in the os coccygis4  ,that the
 instinct of animals and the mind of man
 are the results of nothing but material
 organization is an obvious corollary   
from this doctrine4 ,the difference1    
says this writer1 between mind in the   
lower animals and in man is a difference
 in degree only2 it is not a specific   
difference4 ,mental phenomena1          
apparently so various and unstable in   
the individual1 are reduced at once to  
regularity1 and become subject to       
calculation1 if considered in the mass4 
,this shows1 that1 like the phenomena of
 the weather1 they are under the        
presidency of natural laws4 ,the        
phrenologists are the only persons who  
have followed the order of nature in the
 study of mind2 they have even          
determined the functions of the         
different parts of the brain4 ,an       

experiment is mentioned with a newly    
killed animal1 whose brain was taken out
 and its place filled with substances   
producing electric action1 when the     
process of digestion1 that had been     
interrupted1 was instantly resumed1 thus
 showing the absolute identity of the   
brain with a galvanic battery4 ,the     
experiment of inducing muscular action  
in a corpse1 by applying galvanism1 is  
sufficiently well known4 ,to borrow an  
illustration from ,sidney ,smith1 it    
would seem1 that1 if we only knew to    
what organs of the brain to direct an   
electric current1 an automaton1 or a    
dead man1 might be made to hold an      
argument1 at least as well as most      
country parsons4  ,a person who should  
hear for the first time this naked      
exposition of the writer's theory would 
be tempted at once to reject the whole1 
as too extravagant and absurd to deserve
 further notice4 ,but he would be much  
mistaken in this conclusion4 ,the theory
 is a very plausible one2 it is one of  

the best cosmogonies that the wit of man
 has ever framed4 ,it is a revival of   
the old atheistic hypothesis1--the      
,epicurean doctrine of the formation of 
the universe by a fortuitous concourse  
of atoms1--with all the modifications   
and improvements that were rendered     
necessary by the discoveries of modern  
science4 ,we call it an atheistic       
theory1 because1 though the writer      
supposes that primitive matter was first
 endowed by divine power with its       
mysterious qualities and capacities1    
this supposition is gratuitous and      
arbitrary1 and only mars the simplicity 
of the scheme1 and injures the          
consistency and coherence of the parts  
with each other4 ,we can more easily    
believe that these qualities are        
necessarily inherent in the constitution
 of matter1 forming a part of its very  
essence1 just like the properties of    
impenetrability and extension1 than that
 they subsequently developed themselves 
by forming myriads of intricate         

organizations1 without further aid from 
the divine architect4 ,if we can credit 
the hypothesis1 that bricks and mortar  
came together of their own accord1 and  
arranged themselves into the first house
 meet for the habitation of man1 we can 
very readily admit1 also1 that the      
bricks first assumed the proper shape1  
and mortar the proper tenacity and      
hardness1 without the intervention of   
human labor and skill4 ,if there is no  
need of a bricklayer1 we may discard    
also the brick-maker4  ,putting aside1  
therefore1 this gratuitous addition to  
the theory1 we come to examine the      
plausibility of the doctrine which      
assumes1 that material atoms1           
constituted as they now are1 are        
capable1 without oversight or direction1
 of forming a universe like our own1 and
 producing all the animated tribes which
 tenant it4 ,in all the atheistic       
reasoning upon this subject1 and        
especially in the work now before us1   
there is a constant confusion between   

what may be1 for aught we know to the   
contrary1 and what is1 so far as we are 
able positively to determine it from our
 present means of observation and       
experiment2 between the possibility that
 is measured only by human ignorance1   
and the probability that is fairly      
inferred by the legitimate exercise of  
the understanding4 ,effects have        
unquestionably been produced1 such as   
the formation of a solar system1 and the
 production of new and perfectly        
distinct orders of being1 which we are  
wholly unable to account for by the     
present and ordinary operation of what  
are called secondary causes4 ,if a      
theorist chooses to assume1 that these  
secondary causes1 under certain         
conditions1 which we never have seen1   
and never can see1 realized1 might      
produce very extraordinary results1     
might even fully account for the        
wonderful effects in question1 we have a
 right to say1 in reply1 that he is     
dealing in pure speculation and         

hypothesis2 that1 having had no         
experience under the conditions or      
postulates of his theory1 he is         
necessarily speaking from ignorance and 
appealing to ignorance2 that1 even if we
 could not point out a single           
difficulty1 a single false assumption1  
in his whole scheme and argument1 it    
would still remain a mere hypothesis1   
alike incapable of proof or disproof2   
and that1 at the best1 the arguments    
brought against it must be of nearly the
 same wiredrawn1 speculative1 and       
far-fetched character with those adduced
 in its support4 ,on a mere sandbank1   
unsupplied either with arms or tools1   
the only edifice that can be built is   
one of sand1 and sand affords the only  
means for its destruction4 ,the fallacy 
to which such speculatists constantly   
have resort is1 that the weakness or the
 entire absence of all considerations   
against their theory constitutes a      
positive argument in its support4 ,no   
such thing2 it affords only a fair      

presumption of the baseless character of
 the whole fabric4  ,this may be made   
more clear by examples4 ,if a child1 who
 has had little experience of the laws  
of nature1 and has learned nothing from 
books1 is gravely assured by his        
instructor1 that in a distant region of 
the ocean there is an island where      
stones fly upward instead of downward1  
and men walk on their heads instead of  
their feet1 the young philosopher1      
however acute and ingenious we may      
suppose him to be1 certainly could not  
offer one valid argument against the    
alleged fact4 ,he could only stare1 and 
wonder1 and say that it might be so for 
all that he knew to the contrary4 ,just 
so1 when the atheist tells us1 that far 
off in infinite space is a region1 of   
which we can see nothing1 even with our 
best telescopes1 except a faint glimmer 
of light1 floating like a cloudlet in   
the heavens1 where the primitive atoms  
of matter1 directed by gravity alone1   
are slowly congregating together1 and   

forming suns1 and planets1 and secondary
 satellites1 and giving birth to such   
intricate harmonies of mutually         
dependent and revolving worlds as those 
which have prevailed for ages in our own
 system2 or that1 thousands of years    
ago1 the same unassisted laws of matter1
 which we now see producing only such   
comparatively meagre and insufficient   
results1 actually caused animalcules to 
be produced from pure sand1 and fishes  
to be created out of oysters1 and birds 
to be generated by slimy and grovelling 
reptiles1 and men to be born from       
monkeys2--if he should tell us all this1
 certainly we could offer no direct     
confutation of the wonderful tale4 ,in  
regard to alleged facts of this         
character1 the wisest of men are1 and   
always must be1 mere children4 ,but it  
would be monstrous to say1 that this    
wild assertion derived any support from 
their admitted bewilderment and         
incapacity4 ,this would be to attempt to
 found knowledge upon ignorance4 ,the   

dim analogies resting on questionable   
facts1 the bold assumptions and slippery
 arguments on which such daring         
hypotheses must be based1 can be        
refuted1 for the most part1 only by     
reasoning in kind1--by arguments nearly 
as uncertain1 it may be1 as those which 
they are brought to answer4 ,we cannot  
prove a negative2 we can only show the  
insufficiency of the ground on which the
 opposite assumption is made to rest2   
and enough is done for this end1 when it
 is made to appear1 that the whole      
scheme is a mere hypothesis4  ,we make  
these general remarks only to relieve   
some readers of this volume from the    
doubt and perplexity which its perusal  
may have caused1 solely because they    
were unable to detect any one glaring   
fallacy or inconsistency in the writer's
 theory4 ,it appears plausible enough2  
for1 though there is very little in its 
favor1 it seems at first sight as if    
there was little or nothing to say      
against it4 ,on closer scrutiny1 it will

 be found1 perhaps1 that it is disproved
 by a multitude of considerations1 any  
one of which would be fatal to it2 as   
the hypothesis is of such a character1  
that1 when a single breach is made in   
it1 the whole edifice must tumble4 ,if  
the intervention of an extraneous cause 
be absolutely necessary at any one stage
 or process in the creation1 it may as  
well be admitted in all2 the principle  
must be given up1 and the whole purpose 
of the theist is answered4 ,we shall    
endeavour to show that this hypothetical
 history of creation is not only faulty 
in every point1 when viewed from the    
author's own ground1 but1 when examined 
in the proper direction1 is absolutely  
unintelligible1 or is in fact no history
 at all4  ,let us look first at the     
nebular hypothesis4 ,certain spots and  
tracts in the heavens1 of a whitish     
color1 appearing to the naked eye to be 
nebulae1 on being examined through a    
telescope1 instantly resolve themselves 
into a multitude of distinct and        

perfectly formed stars4 ,such is the    
greatest nebula of all1--the galaxy1 or 
milky way4 ,other spots of a like       
character1 if viewed through glasses of 
moderate power1 still appear as nebulae2
 but when seen through more perfect     
instruments1 they immediately seem1 like
 the others1 to be a mere crowd of      
stars4 ,others1 again1 are not separated
 or resolved by the best telescopes2 but
 what is the natural inference from this
 fact8 ,surely1 we infer that they are  
merely crowded collections of stars1    
just like the others1 except that they  
are too distant or too small to be seen 
as distinct bodies1 even with the most  
powerful instruments that we possess4   
,if telescopes of a greater range should
 hereafter be constructed1 there is     
every reason to believe that these also 
will be resolved to the eye into their  
component parts as stars2 and in fact1  
if newspaper accounts may be credited1  
when ,lord ,rosse's new and magnificent 
telescope was first turned towards some 

of these spots1 which had always        
preserved their nebulous appearance when
 examined by inferior instruments1 it   
was immediately apparent1 that they were
 composed of distinct stars4 ,yet the   
hypothesis we are now considering       
assumes1 that these remote and faintly  
seen nebulae are not crowds of stars1   
but primitive luminous matter1 the      
particles of which are slowly           
congregating together1 and forming one  
new star1 or several4 ,certainly1 never 
was a bold theory built upon a narrower 
basis4 ,it is due1 however1 to the two  
,herschels1 the chief supporters of this
 theory1 to say1 that they have always  
spoken of it only as a hypothesis1 and  
by no means as an established fact in   
astronomical science4 ,and1 as a        
hypothesis1 it labors under this        
peculiar difficulty1 that it evidently  
never can be verified4 ,it must ever    
remain a mere guess1 directly opposed by
 an obvious induction from those nebulae
 which are resolvable into perfect      

stars4  ,the fact1 that one or two      
bright points1 assumed to be centres of 
aggregation1 are seen in some of these  
nebulae1 is of no importance4 ,if a     
bright star be seen from this earth in  
the same line of vision with the nebula1
 it will be projected on the ground of  
that nebula1 and will appear as a part  
of it1 though it may be many millions of
 miles on this side1 and have no more   
connection with it than the planet      
,jupiter would have1 if it should happen
 to be in conjunction with the nebula1  
and thus appear for a short time to be  
projected upon its disc4  ,there is one 
consideration of some weight1 though we 
have never seen it adverted to1 which   
tends directly to confute the nebular   
hypothesis4 ,that faint radiance called 
the zodiacal light1 which is seen to    
stream up in the form of a cone from our
 sun1 is assumed by our author to be a  
residuum of the nebulous matter         
belonging to our system1 which has not  
yet been drawn into the sun1 though it  

is on its way thither4 ,others have     
supposed1 with far more probability1    
that it is the sun's atmosphere1 and    
therefore its present shape and size    
will never change1--as they never have  
changed1 during the period in which they
 have been observed by man4 ,but no     
matter2 we are now reasoning upon our   
author's hypothesis4 ,if the zodiacal   
light be composed of primitive nebulous 
matter1 it must now be comparatively    
thick and dense1 since the process of   
aggregation has been going on for       
countless ages1 and1 in our system1 is  
considered as nearly completed2 just as 
when a sediment is forming in a tumbler 
full of turbid water1 after the upper   
portion of the fluid has become entirely
 clear1 there will be a stratum of water
 next to the sediment more turbid than  
the whole was before the deposition     
began4 ,yet this light is very faint1   
when seen only from the distance of our 
earth2 and at the boundaries of our     
system1 from the orbit of ,uranus1 for  

instance1 we cannot believe that it is  
visible at all4 ,is it likely1 then1    
that a portion of this nebulous matter1 
in which the process of deposition has  
hardly begun1 and which is seen from a  
distance so vast1 that in comparison    
with it the whole diameter of our solar 
system is but a point1 would be visible 
from this earth8 ,in the case of the    
other nebulae1 a multitude of perfectly 
formed suns1 uniting their respective   
beams1 are seen only as a faint1 whitish
 speck on the blue arch4 ,and yet we are
 required to believe1 that the luminous 
matter which will ultimately form but   
one sun1 or perhaps two1 while still    
thinly diffused over an immense tract of
 space1 the process of aggregation      
having hardly commenced1 is yet visible 
to our eyes at this vast distance4      
,credat ,judaeus ,apella2     ,non ego4 
,we pass to the next chapter in the     
history1 which professes to explain the 
gradual formation of a solar system by a
 process of cooling and shrinking1 to   

which the central orb is exposed4 ,and  
here we are met by a difficulty at the  
outset2 for the existence of comets with
 their very eccentric orbits is wholly  
irreconcilable with the theory4 ,at     
their perihelion1 many of these bodies  
pass within the orbit of ,mercury1 while
 the aphelion of some lies without the  
path of ,uranus4 ,where were they1 when 
the body of the sun filled up the whole 
of the vast sphere circumscribed by the 
orbit of the remotest planet8 ,if we    
suppose that they are late comers1 after
 the rest of our system was             
perfected1--that they were generated by 
themselves in distant regions of space1 
and1 having strayed about1 orphan-like1 
for a while1 they accidentally crossed  
our track1 and were taken as adopted    
children into our family1 another       
question remains to be answered4 ,why   
did they not remain in their first      
position1 absorb their full share of    
nebulous matter1 beget a respectable    
family of planets1 and take rank as     

chiefs of their own clan8 ,these        
comparatively anomalous bodies are great
 stumbling-blocks for the soi-disant    
historians of creation4  ,again1 if an  
immense orb be formed1 the parts of     
which cohere strongly enough for the    
whole to turn upon its axis as one body1
 the process of cooling can go on only  
from the surface4 ,a crust may finally  
be formed there2 but we see not how the 
refrigeration and shrinking of the      
interior parts can then go on           
separately1 until the mass in the centre
 finally becomes detached from its      
envelope1 like a shrivelled nut from its
 shell4 ,our earth is cooling down at   
this moment1 unless the warmth which it 
receives from the sun exactly           
counterbalances the loss by radiation of
 internal heat4 ,but the exterior and   
interior do not cool by different       
radiations1 nor is there1 so far as we  
know1 the least tendency in the central 
mass to shrink separately1 so as to     
detach itself from the surrounding      

crust4 ,as deep as we can penetrate     
towards the centre1 we find the heat    
regularly increase1--just as we might   
expect1 if the only absolute loss of    
heat be from the surface4  ,if the      
matter now concentrated in the sun1 and 
that which forms the several planets    
with their secondaries1 were all moulded
 into one mass1 and then dilated so as  
to fill the vast sphere of which the    
orbit of ,uranus forms a circumference1 
the substance would evidently be in a   
state of extreme tenuity and diffusion4 
,immense as the mass of the sun now is1 
it is but a mere nut at the centre of   
the grand globe which we are now        
considering4 ,expanded to such vast     
dimensions1 we cannot conceive of it as 
a solid spheroid turning upon its axis1 
but only as a mass of fluid or vapor1 in
 which a circular motion would generate 
only vortices or whirlwinds4 ,in such an
 aggregation of subtile matter1 no crust
 could be solidified on the outer ring1 
and then detached from the mass within2 

indeed1 any separation of the parts     
under such circumstances is             
inconceivable4 ,even a rotary motion    
could not be established in it1 except  
by an impulse received from without2 for
 there is every reason to believe1 that 
the movement of a homogeneous fluid     
towards its centre1 if it could take    
place without disturbing causes1 would  
be in radial lines1 and not in a spiral4
  ,our author brings into view all the  
mathematical proportions and uniform    
relations which exist between the       
constituent bodies of the solar system1 
in order to indicate the probability of 
their formation from the constant       
working of one material cause4 ,thus he 
remarks1 that the primary planets all   
move nearly in one plane1 and show a    
progressive increase of bulk and        
diminution of density1 from the one     
nearest to the sun to that which is most
 distant4 ,but he passes over other     
characteristics of these bodies1 equally
 important1 which are quite irregular1  

and cannot be traced to the operation of
 one law4 ,compare the periods of       
rotation on their respective axes1 and  
we find no correspondence1 no indication
 that the revolving motion was imparted 
to all by one inflexible law4 ,the first
 four planets1 counting from the sun1   
perform their rotation in nearly the    
same time1 namely1 twenty-four hours4   
,but ,jupiter's period is a little less1
 and ,saturn's a little more1 than ten  
hours4 ,again1 ,jupiter's axis of       
rotation is nearly perpendicular to the 
plane of the ecliptic1 while that of    
,mars is inclined at an angle of        
fifty-nine degrees forty-two minutes4   
,another irregularity1 still more fatal 
to the theory1 is found in the number of
 satellites by which the respective     
planets are attended4 ,saturn has seven1
 beside the two rings2 ,jupiter has     
four1 ,mars has none1 and the earth has 
but one4 ,on the single hypothesis1 that
 our system was formed by rings         
successively thrown off from a central  

body by a process of refrigeration and  
contraction1 these irregularities are   
inexplicable4 ,mars1 it seems1 did not  
shrink at all1 while ,jupiter cast off  
four separate rings1 and the earth      
produced its single moon4 ,the distances
 of these bodies from their primaries   
are also quite irregular2 in the case of
 ,jupiter1 the outermost of the         
satellites revolves at a distance which 
is only twenty-seven times the radius of
 the primary1 and the innermost is      
distant but six times that radius4 ,this
 planet1 consequently1 has shrunk to one
 twenty-seventh part of its original    
diameter1 and in so doing1 has formed   
four moons2 the earth has shrunk to one 
sixtieth part of its first diameter1 and
 still has produced but one satellite4  
,if the same law had prevailed in the   
two cases1 we ought to have nine or ten 
moons4  ,we need not analyze with any   
great minuteness the geological facts   
and hypotheses incorporated into this   
magnificent history of creation4 ,as    

will be seen hereafter1 the violent and 
sweeping transformations and convulsions
 that the earth's crust has undergone   
directly conflict with our author's     
theory1 and afford the strongest        
presumption1 that an extraneous cause   
has frequently interfered1 at different 
periods1 to repair the desolation       
produced by the unassisted working of   
natural laws1 to bring order out of     
chaos1 and to people the desert earth   
anew with animated tribes4 ,the only    
general fact of much moment1 which our  
author has drawn from the discoveries of
 geologists1 for the confirmation of his
 own hypothesis1 is1 according to his   
own account1 one of the most            
questionable doctrines in the whole     
science1--one of a negative character1  
on which we can never rely with full    
assurance1 till the researches of man   
have probed every fold1 and examined    
every thread in the texture1 of the     
earth's garment1 and thus shown that no 
evidence can possibly be discovered to  

the contrary4 ,the alleged fact is that1
 in the early formations of rock--the   
first pages in the history of the       
earth's surface--are found the remains  
of animals and vegetables only of the   
lowest type and most imperfect          
development2 while1 in the later strata1
 forms more and more advanced are       
discovered2 so that there seems to have 
been a constant progress along the line 
leading to the higher forms of          
organization4 ,the testimony which goes 
to support this assertion is wholly     
negative4 ,the geologist reasons thus3  
,the more perfect organisms have not    
been discovered in the earlier strata2  
therefore1 they do not exist in them4   
,when1 in a different connection1 it    
suits our author's purpose to throw     
doubt on the very postulate which is    
here admitted1 he holds the following   
language4       ,these1 it must be      
owned1 are less strong traces of the    
birds than      we possess of the       
reptiles and other tribes2 but it must  

be      remembered1 that the evidence of
 fossils1 as to the absence of any      
class of animals from a certain period  
of the earth's history1 can      never  
be considered as more than negative4    
,animals1 of which we      find no      
remains in a particular formation1 may1 
nevertheless1 have      lived at the    
time1 and it may have only been from    
unfavorable      circumstances that     
their remains have not been preserved   
for our      inspection4 ,the single    
circumstance of their being little      
liable to      be carried down into seas
 might be the cause of their            
non-appearance in our quarries4--p4 #ie4
  ,in truth1 the researches of          
geologists are every day bringing to    
light new facts1 which compel them to   
modify or abandon many of the positions 
they formerly held2 so that a           
considerable portion of the science is a
 mere quicksand of shifting theories4   
,we need only allude to the various     
suppositions respecting the origin of   

drift1 and to the numerous modifications
 of the glacial theory4 ,important      
discoveries have been made within a     
short time1 showing that certain animal 
tribes had their origin much farther    
back than was at first supposed4 ,a few 
years ago1 reptiles were believed to be 
the highest type of life that existed   
during the era of the new red           
sand-stone4 ,but ,professor ,hitchcock's
 recent discovery in this stone of the  
footprints of gigantic birds has added a
 higher class to the zooelogy of the    
period2 and within a few months1 in the 
same red sand-stone of the ,connecticut 
valley1 tracks of two or three species  
of quadrupeds have been found1 some of  
them being probably mammifers of a lower
 grade4 ,it is true1 no fossil remains  
of these animals have been brought to   
light2 but this want only renders the   
discovery more significant for our      
present purpose4 ,it shows that certain 
animals must have lived at the period in
 question1 though their remains have not

 yet been found2 and from the greater   
age of the rocks then formed1 and the   
consequent greater number of convulsions
 of the earth's surface to which they   
have been subjected1 these remains may  
have entirely disappeared4 ,it is a     
curious fact1 also1 that the animal     
remains of that period1 which have come 
down to us1 belong to genera so         
constituted1 that their bodies might    
well survive1 if we may so speak1 the   
shocks which would have destroyed every 
trace of some more delicate1 or more    
finely organized1 beings4 ,we find      
remains of the flint-shielded           
animalcules1 the hard-shelled mollusca1 
and the cartilaginous fishes2 but the   
bodies of mammalia1 birds1 and even the 
higher species of fishes1 some of which 
we may suppose to have been more tender 
and corruptible1 have utterly perished4 
,here and there1 an individual of their 
number left the print of its foot on the
 sand1 which subsequently hardened into 
rock1 and brought down to our times a   

faint vestige of its past existence4    
,we are not attempting to impugn the    
credit of geological science in general1
 which would be a wholly futile task4   
,the multitude of facts respecting the  
present constitution of the earth's     
crust1 recently made known by laborers  
in this department1 are among the most  
curious and most pregnant discoveries of
 modern times4 ,but when we come to the 
formation of theories respecting the    
past history of the earth1 in order to  
account for the phenomena at present    
visible on its surface1 we are evidently
 afloat on a sea of conjecture1 each    
hypothesis being valid only till a more 
plausible one is proposed1--which       
happens very frequently1--or till it is 
effectually disproved by some new       
discovery in the rocky strata4 ,a       
fertile imagination and a bold face are 
among the most striking traits of our   
more daring geologists4 ,grant to one of
 this character a few modest            
postulates1--give him certain millions  

of years1 a sufficient number of        
earthquakes1 a whole battery of         
volcanoes1 a few ocean deluges1 and the 
rise and fall of half a dozen           
continents1--and he will frame a theory 
off-hand1 which will account for the    
most perplexing phenomena4 ,our author  
is certainly entitled to take his place 
at the very head of this class of       
speculatists4  ,in accounting for the   
work of creation by the natural and     
unassisted development of the inherent  
qualities of brute matter1 the great    
difficulty is found at the first link in
 the chain of animated being4 ,how can  
we explain the commencement of life8 ,we
 must have a clear idea of the whole    
scope of this problem1 before we can    
make any attempt at its solution4 ,life1
 then1 is not mere organization1 though 
most materialists1 philosophers1 like   
our author1 willingly confound the two  
things2 to hear them reason1 one would  
almost suppose that there was no        
difference between a dead man and a     

living one4 ,organization is subservient
 to life1 ministers to it1 manifests    
it1--supports it1 if you please1--but   
does not constitute it4 ,he must be a   
bolder man than we are1 who will        
undertake to say what it is2 but we can 
very safely declare what it is not2 and 
in any particular form or aggregation of
 matter1 whether organic or inorganic1  
we can give a shrewd guess as to its    
presence or absence4 ,it may be said1   
that we beg the question by assuming    
that organization is not life2 it may be
 so2 but it is quite too much to allow  
the materialist quietly to take the     
opposite doctrine for granted4 ,he must 
know the full extent of his task1--that 
it is necessary for him not only to     
construct the machine1 but actually to  
set it in motion1 so that it shall      
afterwards run on of its own accord4 ,it
 is very easy to frame a partial        
definition of life1 by merely describing
 one or two of its characteristic       
functions2 and then1 because some action

 can be detected between the particles  
of brute matter1 which resembles the    
exercise of these functions1 boldly to  
declare that the whole mystery is       
solved4 ,thus it is said1 that life is  
nothing but the accretion of similar    
substances1 or the addition of like unto
 like2 and as this occurs in            
crystallization1 which is confessedly a 
phenomenon of inorganic matter1         
therefore there is no fundamental       
difference between the properties of    
living and dead substances4 ,we deny the
 first proposition2 nutrition is not the
 only characteristic of life1 and the   
nutritive process1 whether in vegetables
 or animals1 is not mere accretion1 but 
assimilation4 ,it has been said1 though 
the assertion is by no means fully      
proved1 that assimilation is only a     
finer kind of chemistry1 the constituent
 principles being brought together only 
by their natural affinities4 ,even if   
this were true1 if the stomach and the  
digestive apparatus were only a well    

furnished chemical laboratory1 fit for  
conducting the most delicate            
experiments1 the great difficulty would 
still remain4 ,the question might yet be
 asked1 ,where is the chemist8 ,and this
 is the fundamental question1 which the 
materialists never attempt to answer1   
but quietly evade4  ,the difference     
between an inorganic and an organic body
 has been explained by ,coleridge       
clearly enough for our purpose4 ,in the 
former1--a sheaf of corn1 for           
instance1--the whole is nothing more    
than a collection of the individual     
parts2 in the latter1--an animal1--the  
whole is the effect of1 or results from1
 the parts4 ,in the latter case1 the    
whole is every thing1 and the parts are 
comparatively nothing4 ,one of the great
 effects of life is to keep the parts in
 subjection to the whole1 making them   
contribute to its support and growth1   
and thus maintaining the unity of the   
system4 ,the stomach digests1 the lungs 
inhale air1 the heart beats1 and the    

blood circulates2 and as the joint      
effect1 or as the common supporter1--it 
matters not which1--of these operations1
 life continues1 and the animated being 
is a unit2 it has not merely virtual1   
but essential unity4 ,the reciprocal    
action of the respiratory1 circulating1 
and nervous systems is absolutely       
necessary to life4 ,the animal dies1 and
 this unity1 this subservience of the   
parts to the whole1 immediately ceases4 
,in the functions of the living body1 it
 may be that the ordinary laws of       
chemistry are preserved1 and that the   
elements of carbon1 oxygen1 and hydrogen
 combine and separate according to their
 ordinary affinities1 and in no unusual 
proportions4 ,but after death1 at any   
rate1 quite a different set of chemical 
laws come into play1 and produce a      
result which is the very opposite of    
that before effected4 ,there is no      
longer any unanimity or cooeperation2   
instead of sustaining or building up the
 animal tissues1 the affinities now in  

operation tear down1 destroy1 and       
resolve them into their ultimate        
elements1--each part following out its  
own law of destruction or resolution1   
irrespectively of the others4           
,there is in living organic matter a    
principle constantly in      action1 the
 operations of which are in accordance  
with a rational      plan1 so that the  
individual parts which it creates in the
 body are      adapted to the design of 
the whole2 and this it is which         
distinguishes organism4 ,kant says1     
',the cause of the particular      mode 
of existence of each part of a living   
body resides in the      whole1 while in
 dead masses each part contains this    
cause within      itself4' ,this        
explains why a mere part separated from 
an organized      whole generally does  
not continue to live2 why1 in fact1 an  
organized body appears to be one and    
indivisible4 ,and since the             
different parts of an organized body are
 heterogeneous members of      one      

whole1 and essential to its perfect     
state1 the trunk cannot      live after 
the loss of one of these                
parts4--,mueller's ,physiology1         
,vol4 ,i41 p4 #ai4  ,the apparent       
exceptions to this statement--as in the 
case of the polypes1 which multiply by  
fissiparous generation1 or by           
spontaneous division of their bodies    
into parts1 each part becoming a perfect
 animal--are only apparent4 ,these      
creatures1 which are low down in the    
scale of being1 exemplify what ,mr4     
,owen calls the law of vegetative or    
irrelative repetition1 as they have many
 organs performing the same function1   
and not related to each other by        
combination for the performance of a    
higher function4 ,thus1 a ,polygastrian 
has many assimilative sacs1 each        
performing the office of a stomach      
irrespective of the rest4 ,in the insect
 tribe1 the respiratory function1       
instead of being performed by one set of
 lungs for the whole body1 is carried on

 through a series of minute and highly  
ramified tubes1 which traverse every    
part of the body1 and open to the air by
 a great number of orifices4 ,in some   
instances1 both respiration and         
digestion seem to take place over the   
whole surface of the body2 for ,trembley
 found at least one case1 in which the  
animal digested its food equally well1  
after it had been turned inside out4 ,a 
number of similar parts being repeated  
in each segment of the individual1 the  
body can be divided1 and the several    
portions1 each still containing some of 
all the organs essential to the whole1  
will continue to live separately4 ,the  
severed parts will even continue to     
grow1 and to develope other organs      
convenient for individual existence4    
,but most animals1 especially the more  
perfect1 do not constitute an aggregate 
of similar parts united by one trunk1   
and therefore propagation by division is
 in them impossible4 ,the ovum1 when    
separated from the parent1 is an entire 

animal only potentially2 during its     
development1 the essential parts which  
constitute the actual whole are         
produced4 ,in the case of the polyps1 we
 have only to suppose that the ovum     
remains connected with the parent being1
 till all1 or nearly all1 its essential 
parts are produced4 ,it is then shed not
 as a mere ovum1 but as an animal nearly
 or wholly complete4  ,now1 all the     
instances adduced by our author1 to show
 similarity of action in the organic and
 the inorganic world1 are irrelevant4   
,the analogies are not merely imperfect2
 they are no analogies at all4 ,crystals
 increase by the aggregation of new     
particles on the external surfaces of   
the parts already formed2 there is no   
consentaneous operation of the parts on 
the whole4 ,the molecules of crystals   
are homogeneous throughout1 and the     
several aggregates of these molecules   
are independent of each other2 while    
organized bodies are composed of parts  
perfectly dissimilar from each other1   

but all of which conspire to one end4   
,the growth of organized bodies1 says   
,mueller1 takes place in all particles  
of their substance at the same time1    
while the increase of the mass in       
inorganic bodies is produced by external
 apposition4 ,frostwork on the windows  
may resemble vegetable forms2 but it has
 no resemblance whatever to vegetable   
life4 ,electricity may counterfeit the  
action of life1 for a moment1 on a      
particular limb1 by causing the muscles 
to twitch2 but it does not counterfeit  
life itself1 by causing all the parts   
again to contribute to the sustentation 
of the whole4 ,a ,french chemist1 by    
electric action1 may have produced      
globules in albumen2 there is nothing   
very wonderful in that2 any one may blow
 bubbles in a viscid fluid4 ,the        
resemblance between these globules and  
proper germinal vesicles amounts to     
nothing more than similarity of outward 
shape2 there is no more real resemblance
 between them than between the oval lump

 of chalk which farmers sometimes put   
into a hen's nest1 in order to deceive  
poor ,dame ,partlet1 and the real egg   
which the hen deposits by the side of   
it4 ,certainly1 the imponderable agents1
 heat1 light1 and electricity1 are in   
some mysterious way connected with life1
 so as to contribute to its support2    
there is nothing more in this assertion 
than in the familiar proposition1 that a
 seed will germinate only under the     
proper conditions of soil and climate2  
but that these agents1 acting on        
inorganic matter1 ever create or        
commence life is a pure hypothesis1 not 
supported even by the shadow of a fact4 
,having thus shown how weak are the     
general considerations in favor of the  
theory1 that animated beings may be     
created out of inorganic matter by mere 
natural laws1 we should proceed to      
consider the direct evidence adduced to 
prove that life has actually been       
produced in this way4 ,here the whole   
question is opened respecting the       

alleged instances of equivocal          
generation1 and we have neither space   
nor ability to discuss them at length4  
,those who are curious respecting the   
question may find a brief summary of the
 evidence on both sides in a former     
number of this ,journal4#a ,we can      
mention only a few facts and arguments1 
which show the extreme improbability of 
the doctrine supported by our author and
 a few other theorists4  ,in the first  
place1 it is remarkable1 that all the   
races of animated beings1 which are     
entirely within the range of our powers 
of observation1--which have such a size 
and locality that we can study and      
accurately determine their organization 
and habits1--are unquestionably produced
 from parents of their own kind4 ,only  
the minute microscopic animals are now  
supposed to be generated spontaneously2 
and this alleged fact rests not on      
direct proof1 but only on our inability 
in certain cases to trace the process of
 their production in the ordinary way4  

,as many of these animals1 in their     
perfect state1 are not more than the    
twelve thousandth part of an inch in    
diameter1 it is not much to be wondered 
at1 that we should not be able in all   
cases to discover their ova1 or to      
follow these ova through all their      
stages of development into the complete 
being4 ,it is farther remarkable1 that  
these animalcules1 when once produced1  
whether by spontaneous or natural       
generation1 are all found to be provided
 with the organs or requisite means for 
continuing their species1 and1 in fact1 
for multiplying their number from       
themselves with astonishing rapidity4   
,as they certainly have children1 it    
seems reasonable to suppose1 according  
to the analogy of all the higher        
animated tribes1 that they also had     
parents4 ,the ancients supposed1 that   
the worms and insects which appear in   
decaying organic matter were generated  
there by the decomposition of the       
substance1 without the previous agency  

of individuals of the same stock4 ,every
 schoolboy is acquainted with ,virgil's 
mode of obtaining a new swarm of bees   
from the decaying carcass of a heifer4  
,subsequent researches1 made with more  
care1 and perhaps with better           
instruments of observation1 have        
entirely disproved the hypothesis1 and  
show that the maggots were produced in  
every case from eggs deposited by flies 
or other insects1 and were afterwards   
themselves developed into the state of  
perfect insects4 ,then it seems         
reasonable to believe1 that the improved
 observations of future times will clear
 up the only remaining difficulty1 and  
show how the infusory animalcules also  
are generated from beings of their own  
kind4  ,these minute creatures are      
prolific to a degree that transcends all
 calculation2 and they exist1 either in 
the egg or maturely developed1 in       
inconceivable numbers4 ,a single        
wheel-animalcule1 ,hydatina senta1 which
 was watched for more than eighteen     

days1 and which lives still longer1 is  
capable of a fourfold increase in       
twenty-four or thirty hours2 a rate of  
propagation which would afford in ten   
days a million of beings4 ,from their   
tenacity of life1 extraordinary powers  
of reproduction1 and incalculable       
numbers1 their united influence may be  
said to be far more important1 in all   
the great operations of nature1 than    
that of the larger and more perfectly   
developed organisms4 ,they swarm in all 
the seas1 and play an important part in 
choking up harbours and forming great   
deposits at the mouths of rivers4 ,the  
remains of those which have perished    
form great beds and strata in the crust 
of the earth4 ,the silicious stone1     
called ,tripoli1 is entirely composed of
 such remains2 at ,bilin1 in ,bohemia1  
there is one stratum of this substance1 
fourteen feet thick1 one cubic inch of  
which is estimated to contain forty-one 
thousand millions of individuals4 ,their
 extreme tenacity of life is evinced by 

the fact1 that many of them may be      
entirely desiccated1 and preserved in   
pure sand for several years1 after      
which1 on the application of a drop of  
water1 they may be restored to life4 ,in
 this dried state1 ,m4 ,doyere exposed  
some of them to a heat equal to that of 
boiling water1 and afterwards revived   
them2 though1 in an active state1 if    
subjected to a much lower temperature1  
they perish4 ,if1 then1 the fully       
developed and mature can resist such    
powerful extraneous causes of           
destruction1 how much more must the ova 
possess the power of enduring them      
without losing their latent life6 ,the  
following extract from ,professor       
,owen's ,lectures shows the bearing of  
these facts upon the question of        
equivocal generation4       ,the act of 
oviparous generation1 that sending forth
 of countless      ova through the fatal
 laceration or dissolution of the       
parent's      body1 is most commonly    
observed in the well-fed ,polygastria1  

which crowd together as their little    
ocean evaporates2 and thus      each    
leaves1 by the last act of its life1 the
 means of perpetuating      and         
diffusing its species by thousands of   
fertile germs4 ,when the      once      
thickly tenanted pool is dried up1 and  
its bottom converted      into a layer  
of dust1 these inconceivably minute and 
light ova will      be raised with the  
dust by the first puff of wind1 diffused
 through      the atmosphere1 and may   
there remain long suspended2 forming1   
perhaps1 their share of the particles   
which we see flickering in      the     
sunbeam1 ready to fall into any         
collection of water1 beaten      down by
 every summer shower into the streams or
 pools which receive      or may be     
formed by such showers1 and1 by virtue  
of their tenacity      of life1 ready to
 develope themselves wherever they may  
find the      requisite conditions for  
their existence4       ,the possibility1
 or1 rather1 the high probability1 that 

such is      the design of the oviparous
 generation of the ,infusoria1 and such 
the common mode of the diffusion of     
their ova1 renders the      hypothesis  
of equivocal generation1 which has been 
so frequently      invoked to explain   
their origin in new-formed natural or   
artificial      infusions1 quite        
gratuitous4 ,if organs of generation    
might1 at      first sight1 seem        
superfluous in creatures propagating    
their kind      by gemmation and        
spontaneous fission1 equivocal          
generation is      surely still less    
required to explain the origin of beings
 so      richly provided with the       
ordinary and recognized modes of        
propagation4--pp4 #ca1 #cb4  ,recent    
accounts show1 that the dust collected  
from the atmosphere at sea1 many miles  
from land1 generally contains some of   
these dried animalcules and their ova4  
,many of these germs can be developed   
only in particular localities1 or under 
certain conditions which are rarely     

fulfilled4 ,consequently1 if there were 
but few of them1 the species might      
perish1 because those few might not find
 their appropriate home4 ,but such an   
accident is guarded against by the vast 
multiplication of these germs and their 
wide dispersion2 for1 unlike all the    
higher tribes of beings except man1 the 
same species is often found in all      
regions of the globe4 ,very few1 in     
comparison with the whole number1 may   
find a proper nidus2 but these few then 
propagate with such marvellous rapidity1
 as fully to replenish1 if not to       
increase1 the original stock4 ,thus they
 have been enabled1 as species1 to      
survive even those destroying causes    
which exterminated all the higher forms 
of animals4 ,several species still      
exist1 which were in being at the time  
of the cretaceous formation1 though all 
the other animated races belonging to   
that period have perished4 ,these       
animalcules1 says ,ehrenberg1 constitute
 a chain1 which1 though in the          

individual it be microscopic1 yet in the
 mass is a mighty one1 connecting the   
organic life of distant ages of the     
earth4  ,in view of facts like these1 we
 may surely say1 that the existence of  
the infusory animalcules1 and even of   
the entozoa1 is conceivable1 supposing  
they could only have been produced by   
parents of their own kind1 and without  
having recourse to the anomalous and    
hypothetical doctrine of equivocal      
generation4 ,we may not be able to trace
 their line of parentage1 for our       
imperfect vision cannot follow the motes
 which play in the sunbeam1 nor track   
them from their birth-place to their    
final home4 ,but we know that they must 
be deposited in every layer of dust that
 falls from the atmosphere1 that they   
must be inhaled with every breath which 
an animal draws1 and be swallowed with  
every morsel and drop of its food4 ,the 
experiments which seem to prove that    
living beings may be produced from pure 
inorganic matter are all explicable on  

the supposition1 that adequate          
precautions were not taken to exclude   
every animal and germ capable of        
development from the substances         
experimented upon1 and from the air     
which was admitted into the apparatus4  
,on this ground1 the experiments of     
,crosse and ,weekes1 cited by our       
author1 have been quite generally       
rejected by scientific men1 as hardly   
deserving of notice4 ,we learn that the 
former was discouraged by the reception 
of his experiments1 and soon            
discontinued them2--with good reason1   
for it does not appear from our author's
 account1 that he adopted any           
precautions at all4 ,mr4 ,weekes seems  
to have been a little more cautious1 and
 the consequence was1 that he did not   
observe any appearance of life among the
 substances experimented upon for eleven
 months1 at the end of which time we may
 reasonably suppose1 that his           
precautions ceased to have perfect      
effect4 ,the only experiment1 in which  

adequate means to guard against causes  
of error were taken1 was that of        
,professor ,schulze1 of ,berlin1 which  
had a contrary result4 ,we extract ,mr4 
,owen's account of it4       ,he filled 
a glass flask half full of distilled    
water1 in which      were various animal
 and vegetable substances3 he then      
closed it      with a good cork1 through
 which were passed two glass tubes1 bent
      at right angles1 the whole being  
air-tight3 it was next placed in a      
sand bath1 and heated until the water   
boiled violently4 ,while the      watery
 vapor was escaping by the glass tubes1 
the ,professor      fastened at each end
 an apparatus which chemists employ for 
collecting carbonic acid3 that at the   
one end was filled with                 
concentrated sulphuric acid1 and the    
other with a solution of      potash4   
,by means of the boiling heat1 it is to 
be presumed that      every thing       
living1 and all germs in the flask or in
 the tubes were      destroyed2 whilst  

all access was cut off by the sulphuric 
acid on      the one side1 and by the   
potash on the other4 ,the apparatus was 
then exposed to the influence of summer 
light and heat2 at the same      time1  
there was placed near it an open vessel1
 with the same      substances that had 
been introduced into the flask1 and also
 after      having subjected them to a  
boiling temperature4 ,in order to renew 
constantly the air within the flask1 the
 experimenter sucked with      his mouth
 several times a day the open end of the
 apparatus1 filled      with the        
solution of potash1 by which process the
 air entered his      mouth from the    
flask through the caustic liquid1 and   
the      atmospheric air from without   
entered the flask through the           
sulphuric acid4 ,the air was of course  
not at all altered in its               
composition by passing through the      
sulphuric acid in the flask2 but        
all the portions of living matter1 or of
 matter capable of becoming             

animated1 were taken up by the sulphuric
 acid and destroyed4 ,from      the     
#bhth of ,may until the beginning of    
,august1 ,professor ,schulze            
continued uninterruptedly the renewal of
 the air in the flask1      without     
being able1 by the aid of the           
microscope1 to discover any      living 
animal or vegetable substance2 although1
 during the whole of      the time1     
observations were made almost daily on  
the edge of the      liquid2 and when1  
at last1 the ,professor separated the   
different      parts of the apparatus1  
he could not find in the whole liquid   
the      slightest trace of ,infusoria  
or ,confervae1 or of mould2 but all     
three presented themselves in great     
abundance a few days after he      had  
left the flask standing open4 ,the      
vessel which he placed near      the    
apparatus contained on the following day
 ,vibriones and      ,monads1 to which  
were soon added larger ,polygastric     
,infusoria1      and afterwards         

,rotifera4--pp4 #cb1 #cc4  ,for readers 
who are not familiar with these         
subjects1 it may be well to mention1    
that the weight of authority is         
decidedly against this doctrine of      
spontaneous generation4 ,it is rejected 
by ,mueller1 who ranks among the first  
physiologists of ,germany2 by           
,ehrenberg1 one of the most             
distinguished microscopists in the      
world2 and by ,owen1 who stands at the  
head of the school of comparative       
anatomy in ,england1 if not in ,europe4 
,the remark made by ,cuvier1 more than  
thirty years ago1 is still true at the  
present day1 that1 although the         
impossibility of spontaneous generation 
cannot be absolutely demonstrated1 yet  
all the efforts of those physiologists  
who believe in the possibility of it    
have not succeeded in showing us a      
single instance4  ,passing over1 then1  
our author's theory of the origination  
of life from inorganic matter as utterly
 untenable1 we come to the next point in

 his system1--the most chimerical of    
all1--the gradual development of the    
higher orders of being out of those next
 beneath them in the scale4 ,it is not  
pretended1 that there is any known      
instance of the transmutation of        
species1 or of the evolution1 in the    
ordinary way1 of any being specifically 
different from its parents4 ,the same   
animal1 indeed1 may pass through        
different grades of development2 but    
these changes affect only the           
individual1 not the race4 ,the progeny  
of this animal must begin at the same   
point where its parent did1 and run     
precisely the same cycle4 ,the tadpole  
becomes a frog1 but the young of that   
frog are tadpoles2 the worm becomes a   
winged insect1 but the eggs of that     
insect are hatched into nothing but     
worms4 ,these changes in the life of the
 individual1 like the successive periods
 of the embryotic state1 of infancy1 and
 manhood in the human being1 are        
perfectly consistent with persistence of

 type in the race1 and do not indicate  
even the possibility that a new species 
may be developed out of an old one4 ,on 
the contrary1 the germ must be          
considered as potentially equivalent to 
the whole future being1 for it is       
invariably developed into that being4   
,if there be any one fact unquestionably
 established by observation1 it is that 
each species invariably produces its    
like4 ,all the phenomena1 says ,mueller1
 at present observed in the animal      
kingdom1 seem to prove that the species 
were originally created distinct1 and   
independent of each other4 ,there is no 
remote possibility of one species being 
produced from another4  ,the doctrine of
 our author1 then1 is confessedly a pure
 hypothesis1 and1 as such1 it might be  
summarily dismissed into the region of  
cloud-land and dreams1 where it had its 
origin4 ,the burden of proof is upon    
him1 and as he has failed to produce a  
single instance in which his theory is  
exemplified1 he may be rightfully       

debarred the privilege of discussion4   
,but waiving this point1 if we look into
 the grounds of his conjecture1 we find 
bold assumptions more than once         
substituted for the plain statement of  
facts1 which would destroy every shade  
of credibility in his doctrine4 ,true1  
there is an appearance1 both in the     
animal and vegetable kingdoms1 of an    
ascending scale of being1 from simply   
organized forms and imperfect           
developments up to the complex          
arrangements and nice adaptations of the
 advanced tribes4 ,but the progress is  
not regular1 nor are the intervals of   
constant length4 ,the line is often     
broken and doubled1 and1 in fact1 the   
individuals are far more naturally      
arranged in a number of parallel lines1 
beginning successively at a somewhat    
lower point1 than in a single series4   
,man1 of course1 is placed at the head  
of the animal tribes2 but the interval  
which separates him from the chimpanzee 
cannot easily be cleared at one bound4  

,he forms but one genus1 and that genus 
is the only one of its order4 ,but even 
if the line of gradation were single and
 perfect1 the fact would be of no       
service to the hypothesis we are now    
considering2 for the interval between   
two species most nearly allied to each  
other seems to be quite as impassable as
 the broadest gulf of separation4  ,the 
point chiefly relied upon to show the   
credibility of this doctrine is the     
fact1 according to our author1 that the 
higher animals pass through a series of 
changes resembling the permanent forms  
of the lower tribes4 ,the first form of 
man himself is that which is permanent  
in the animalcule2 and thence he comes  
to resemble successively a fish1 a      
reptile1 a bird1 and the lower          
mammifers1 before he attains his        
specific maturity4 ,it is held1 then1   
that a premature birth from an animal of
 a higher kind might have instituted a  
new race of a lower type2 and that a    
birth unusually delayed1 permitting an  

embryo to be still farther advanced in  
the line of organization1 might have    
created a new species of a higher order 
than the parent4 ,here1 every thing     
depends on the absolute identity of the 
germs of all animals1 in the lower      
stages of their growth4 ,general        
resemblances and analogies are of no    
weight whatever2 the essential internal 
organization of the ova of different    
species must be the same2 otherwise1    
however ripened into a mature being1    
whether the birth be advanced or        
postponed1 the individual must still    
belong to its parents' species1 of which
 it possesses the distinctive           
peculiarity4 ,now1 this point of the    
identity of germs is a mere assumption2 
not only is it destitute of proof1--the 
whole evidence is against it4 ,there is 
a degree of outward resemblance1 but    
there is no sameness4 ,when we trace the
 origin of life back to the remotest    
point to which our powers of observation
 extend1 when we come to microscopic    

vesicles that can be discerned only by  
the highest magnifiers1 general         
similarity of outward shape is all that 
can be predicated of them4 ,the specific
 differences lie below this general     
resemblance of outward form2 we cannot  
discern them1 but we know that they must
 exist1 and that they are essential     
differences1 for each one of these      
vesicles is invariably developed1 if at 
all1 into an individual of the species  
to which its parent belongs4 ,the       
germinal vesicles of a tree and a       
quadruped are somewhat alike1 outwardly2
 so1 to the hen's eyes1 there is no     
difference between her own eggs and the 
duck's eggs which the farmer's wife has 
put into her nest4 ,but when she has    
hatched her brood1 part of them are     
found to be web-footed1 and these1 to   
her great astonishment and distress1    
immediately take to the water4 ,our     
author commits the same blunder as the  
poor hen4 ,this want of consciousness   
that he has got to the end of his       

tether1 this inability to believe that  
any difference can exist where he is not
 able to see it1 though it is invariably
 indicated by future consequent         
differences of the most striking nature1
 is perfectly characteristic of the rash
 theorist in science4  ,the assertion1  
that man's first form is that which is  
permanent in the animalcule1--even if we
 do not look to the potentiality of     
development into a higher being1 which  
experience shows to exist in the human  
germ1 but not in the infusorial1--is a  
positive misstatement4 ,the lowest monad
 has a mouth and means for propagating  
its kind1 which do not belong to the    
primitive ovum of any higher animal4    
,about the succeeding stages in the     
growth of the embryo our author's       
language is more cautious4 ,he only     
says1 that they resemble1 or typify1    
some of the lower orders of being2 and  
this is virtually admitting a specific  
difference1 and giving up his own theory
 for all the conditions posterior to    

that of the germ4 ,the brain and heart  
of the embryo successively resemble the 
corresponding organs in a fish1 a       
reptile1 a bird1 and a quadruped2 but   
they are not identical1 even in outward 
appearance1 with those organs4 ,of      
course1 if arrested at any stage of its 
growth1 and prematurely born1 the embryo
 would not be one of the lower animals1 
but only something resembling it in     
outward shape2 and conversely1 if it    
were possible for the birth of a bird to
 be delayed till it had reached a higher
 stage of development in the same line  
in which it was proceeding1 it would not
 become a quadruped1 but it would be an 
anomalous creature somewhat like one4   
,consequently1 no one species now on the
 earth can have been evolved out of any 
other existing race2 because the germs  
of any two1 at a very early stage in    
their history1 according to our author's
 own confession1 are specifically       
unlike4  ,to avoid this difficulty1 he  
is driven to a further supposition1     

still more gratuitous and improbable2   
namely1 that the germ destined to become
 one of a different race from its       
parents1 having advanced along its usual
 line of development so far as that line
 coincides with the one belonging to the
 new species1 there diverges1 and       
follows a different path up to the      
period of its birth into a new creature2
 that is1 the embryo of a reptile1      
having grown for a certain time as if it
 were to be a reptile1 suddenly turns   
aside1 like a young man changing his    
mind about the choice of a profession1  
and for the rest of its foetal life     
follows the proper line of progress in  
order to be developed into a bird4 ,this
 is mere dreaming1 and reminds one only 
of the wonderful transformations        
effected by enchantment in an ,arabian  
tale4 ,we might just as plausibly       
suppose1 that the reptile1 after it     
became mature1 was suddenly transformed 
into a bird1 as that it underwent this  
change before it was hatched4 ,all the  

evidence attainable goes to show1 that  
the law of development is as immutable  
before as after birth1 the several      
stages of progress succeeding each other
 in a constant order1 and affecting the 
individual only1 not the race4 ,a young 
monkey is no more likely to be          
transmuted into a man than an old one2  
nor is such a metamorphosis at all more 
probable in the course of its foetal    
life4  ,the view we have now obtained of
 the specific differences between       
distinct races of being at separate     
periods of their existence is precisely 
what might have been anticipated from   
the law of gradual development1 which   
holds throughout the organic kingdoms4  
,between two mature animals1 these      
differences are perfectly obvious and   
well marked4 ,as we go a step back in   
their history1 the distinction becomes a
 little more obscure2 two worms may     
resemble each other very closely1 though
 the two winged insects subsequently    
produced from them may be very unlike4  

,receding still farther1 some of these  
specific differences may entirely       
disappear1 the organs or parts which    
should exhibit them being not yet       
developed4 ,and when we come to the     
primitive germs1 so minute as to be     
visible only through the microscope1 no 
outward distinction1 perhaps1 is any    
longer perceptible1 and the radical     
difference of their internal            
organization is indicated only by the   
fact1 to be verified by subsequent      
observation1 that the two are invariably
 developed into perfectly distinct      
animals1 belonging respectively to the  
same races with their parents4 ,a       
theorist1 whose whole system is based   
upon the invariable operation of natural
 agencies1 cannot reasonably object to  
this conclusion4  ,that our statements  
in the course of this argument may not  
appear of the same questionable         
character as those advanced by our      
author1 we will fortify them with a few 
brief citations from a work of such     

unquestionable authority as the         
,lectures of ,professor ,owen4       ,no
 doubt the minute infusoria1 which seem 
to have their      development arrested 
at the first or nearest stage from the  
primitive cell formation1 offer close   
and striking analogies to the           
primitive cells out of which the higher 
animals and all their      tissues are  
developed2 but the very first step which
 the      infusoria take beyond the     
primitive cell stage invests them with a
      specific character as independent 
and distinct in its nature as      that 
of the highest and most complicated     
organisms4 ,no mere organic      cell1  
destined for ulterior changes in a      
living organization1 has a      mouth   
armed with teeth1 or provided with long 
tentacula2 ,i will not      lay stress  
on the alimentary canal and appended    
stomachs1 which      many still regard  
as 'sub judice'2 but the endowment of   
distinct      organs of generation1 for 
propagating their kind by fertile ova1  

raises the polygastric infusoria much   
above the mere organic      cell4--pp4  
#be1 #bf4       ,in comparing the       
several stages in the very interesting  
development of the cyanaea aurita to the
 infusoria and polypes1 it      must be 
understood that such comparisons are    
warranted only by a      similarity of  
outward form1 and of the instruments of 
locomotion      and prehension4 ,the    
essential internal organization of the  
persistent lower forms of the zooephyta 
is entirely wanting in the              
transitory states of the higher ones4 ,a
 progress through the      inferior     
groups is sketched out1 but no actual   
transmutation of      species is        
effected4 ,the young medusa1 before it  
attains its      destined condition of  
maturity1 successively resembles1 but   
never      becomes1 a polygastrian1 a   
rotifer1 and a bryozoon4--p4 #aab4      
,thus every animal in the course of its 
development typifies or      represents 
some of the permanent forms of animals  

inferior to      itself2 but it does not
 represent all the inferior forms1 nor  
acquire the organization of any of the  
forms which it transitorily             
represents4 ,had the animal kingdom     
formed1 as was once supposed1 a         
single and continuous chain of being1   
progressively ascending from      the   
monad to the man1 unity of organization 
might then have been      demonstrated  
to the extent in which the theory has   
been maintained      by the disciples of
 the ,geoffroyan school4--p4 #cgj4  ,if 
these similarities of structure in the  
germ had any bearing on the subject1    
they would indicate the possibility only
 of retrogression in the scale4 ,of     
course1 the immature ovum1 arrested in  
its development1 could not form a more  
perfect being than its parent4 ,there is
 no pretence that the embryo1 at any    
stage of its progress1 images an animal 
of a higher grade than its own family4  
,then what aid do these similarities of 
structure afford to the theory1 that all

 the higher organisms have been evolved 
by successive steps out of the lowest   
monad8 ,at the best1 you have only      
shown1 that a retreat is possible2 you  
have still to point out any likelihood1 
even the remotest1 of an advance in the 
scale of being4 ,there is no fact       
whatever to confirm the supposition1    
that birth may possibly be delayed till 
the animal be developed into one of a   
higher species2 and the law of immature 
births seems to be1 that1 if the        
offspring escapes at all--for there is  
great risk consequent on such an        
accident1--it becomes as perfect as its 
progenitors4 ,nature seems to guard the 
distinctions between the several races  
with peculiar care2 so far as we know1  
monsters either do not survive their    
birth1 or are incapable of continuing   
their kind1 or in the course of a single
 generation are reunited to the original
 family4  ,to say that these laws1      
distinct and invariable as far as the   
observation of man has extended1 may    

possibly have been superseded in the    
lapse of ages by a higher principle1    
manifesting itself only at long         
intervals1 is again to have recourse to 
a blank hypothesis1 incapable alike of  
proof or disproof1 and unsupported by   
the faintest intimations from the world 
of experience4 ,to build up a theory in 
this way is not to account for the work 
of creation by the natural agencies and 
inherent qualities of matter1 as at     
present observable1 but to fly off to   
the wild supposition1 that matter and   
life were more richly endowed ages ago  
than they are in our own day4 ,you      
affirm1 that this higher principle of   
development did not override the        
inferior laws at the earlier periods in 
time's history1 because1 in the infancy 
of the universe1 the conditions were    
wanting which are requisite for its     
manifestation1--because the earth was   
not ready1 the atmosphere was not       
purified1 for the nobler races of being4
 ,very well2 but these conditions are   

answered now4 ,all things are ready at  
the present day for the innate energies 
of matter to put forth their utmost     
strength4 ,why do not fishes generate   
reptiles1 and birds produce mammifers1  
now8 ,ah6 but the earth being now       
supplied with both kinds of tenants in  
great abundance1 we could only expect to
 find the life-originating power at work
 in some very special and extraordinary 
circumstances4 ,it seems1 then1 that    
these inherent qualities of matter1 once
 supposed to be blind1 absolute1 and    
invariable in their operation1 are      
really very judicious and reasonable2   
they suit the supply to the demand1 and 
actually cease working when the market  
is likely to be overstocked4 ,the       
results of such natural agencies as     
these are very like the effects produced
 by the volitions of a wise and thinking
 being4  ,it happens that we are not    
obliged to grant to our author an       
indefinite lapse of ages for the sake of
 bringing all his higher principles into

 action4 ,one of the latest events in   
the geological history of the earth was 
a great submersion of the land1 by which
 terrestrial animal life was            
extensively1 if not universally1        
destroyed2 so that the creation of the  
species now in being--at least1 all the 
higher species--was a comparatively     
recent event1 and one posterior1        
generally speaking1 to all the great    
natural transactions chronicled by      
geology4 ,science does not contradict1  
it rather confirms1 that voice of       
revelation or tradition1 which assigns  
about six thousand years as the period  
of man's residence upon the earth4 ,the 
action of the drama1 then1 is restricted
 within moderate limits as to time1 and 
the natural agencies and higher         
principles must work fast in order to   
accomplish their task within the        
prescribed period4 ,one condition for   
the creation of a new and permanent     
species1 belonging to any of the higher 
orders1 seems to have escaped our       

author's notice2 at least two           
individuals1 a male and a female1 must  
have been evolved out of the next lower 
race1 before the new species could      
continue its kind4 ,apply these         
considerations to the creation of man1  
who1 according to our author's          
,scripture1 was born of a monkey4 ,to   
suppose1 that1 at the first trial1 an   
,adam and an ,eve were born near each   
other1 so that they might have a chance 
of meeting in the course of their lives1
 would look too much like the operation 
of intelligence and design4 ,on the     
theory of an organic creation by law1 as
 the monkey race is spread over large   
regions of the globe1 we must suppose   
that many of each sex were produced1 and
 died childless1 before any ,adam was   
happy enough to find an ,eve4 ,then1 at 
no very distant period1 within a few    
thousand years1 the birth of a man from 
an animal of a lower type was no very   
strange event4 ,probably it occurred so 
often1 that the monkeys themselves      

ceased to be astonished at it4 ,and yet1
 this tribe of animals1 with all the    
benefit of large experience1 with       
increased numbers1 and with all the     
requisite conditions fulfilled at least 
as perfectly as they were at the earlier
 period of their history1 have not      
succeeded1 in the three or four thousand
 years during which they have been      
subject to the observation of           
intelligent beings1 in producing even a 
decent semblance of a man4  ,with the   
exposure of this crowning absurdity1 we 
must close our direct examination of    
this ,history of ,creation4 ,we have not
 room to consider some of the appendages
 to the theory1 such as the assertion of
 the essential unity of the human and   
the brute intellect1 the denial of the  
immaterial nature of mind1 and the      
advocacy of the system of phrenology4   
,these absurd and degrading doctrines   
are naturally connected with the        
atheistic hypothesis we have been       
considering4 ,they are its legitimate   

children4 ,but they have already been   
refuted so often and so conclusively1   
that any revival of them at the present 
day is hardly deserving of notice4 ,if  
we should stop here1 then1 it may fairly
 be left to the judgment of our readers1
 whether we have not fulfilled the      
pledge given at the outset1 by showing  
that this theory is faulty at every     
point1 even when viewed from the        
author's own ground4 ,the proposal of it
 is no new thing4 ,in one or another    
form1 varying in particulars1 but       
agreeing in substance1 it has been      
before the world ever since the days of 
,democritus1 and more especially of his 
follower1 ,epicurus4 ,lucretius clothed 
it in sonorous and majestic verse1 for  
it is a theme fitted above all others to
 excite the fancy1 and to receive the   
richest embellishments from the         
imagination4 ,modern authors have       
promulgated it again and again1 with    
little other change than what was       
requisite to adapt it to recent         

improvements in science1 and to engraft 
upon it some of their own favorite      
hypotheses and fancies4 ,the version of 
it by the ,french naturalist ,lamarck   
was the latest and the most in vogue1   
till the appearance of the present      
volume4 ,so frequently has it been      
confuted1 that the revival of it at this
 late period seems little more than a   
harmless exercise of ingenuity1 a       
poetical and scientific dream1 and one  
need hardly take the pains to expose its
 assumptions and fallacies4 ,the violent
 suppositions which it involves only    
remind one of the remark quoted from    
,pascal on a former page1 that          
unbelievers are the most credulous      
persons in the world4 ,if set forth only
 as a novel and pleasing fancy1 it may  
be classed with other ingenious         
fictions1 that are published without a  
thought of deception4 ,but if seriously 
proposed1 it can be fitly characterized 
only by borrowing the homely but        
energetic language of ,dr4 ,bentley4    

,and now that ,i have finished all the  
parts which ,i proposed to              
discourse of1 ,i will conclude all with 
a short application to the              
atheists4 ,and ,i would advise them1 as 
a friend1 to leave off this             
dabbling and smattering in philosophy1  
this shuffling and cutting      with    
atoms4 ,it never succeeded well with    
them1 and they always come      off with
 the loss4 ,their old master1 ,epicurus1
 seems to have had      his brains so   
muddled and confounded with them1 that  
he scarce ever      kept in the right   
way2 though the main maxim of his       
philosophy was      to trust to his     
senses1 and follow his nose4 ,i will not
 take notice      of his doting conceit1
 that the sun and moon are no bigger    
than      they appear to the eye1 a foot
 or half a yard over2 and that the      
stars are no larger than so many        
glow-worms4 ,but let us see how he      
manages his atoms1 those almighty tools 
that do every thing of      themselves1 

without the help of a workman4 ,when the
 atoms1 says he1      descend in        
infinite space 7very ingeniously spoken1
 to make high      and low in infinity71
 they do not fall plumb down1 but       
decline a      little from the          
perpendicular1 either obliquely or in a 
curve2 and      this declination1 says  
he1 from the direct line is the cause of
 our      liberty of will4 ,but1 ,i say1
 this declination of atoms in their     
descent was itself either necessary or  
voluntary4 ,if it was      necessary1   
how then could that necessity ever beget
 liberty8 ,if it      was voluntary1    
then atoms had that power of volition   
before2 and      what becomes then of   
the ,epicurean doctrine of the          
fortuitous      productions of worlds8  
,the whole business is contradiction and
      ridiculous nonsense4--,bentley's  
,works1 ,vol4 ,,iii41 pp4 #dg1 #dh4     
,custom and convenience lead us to speak
 of the laws of nature1 and of the      
powers and forces of brute matter2 and  

few persons1 in adopting these phrases1 
are aware that they are using a figure  
of speech4 ,yet nothing is more certain 
than that all the researches of science 
have not been able to point out with    
certainty a single active cause apart   
from the operation of mind4 ,we discern 
nothing but regularity and similarity of
 sequences2 and the attribution of these
 effects to some occult qualities in the
 atoms or molecules in which they are   
manifested is wholly hypothetical1 and  
even1 when closely examined1 is         
inconceivable4 ,for this reason we      
affirm1 that the theory of our author1  
professing to account for the whole work
 of creation by the operation of law1 is
 not only unsound and baseless in its   
particulars1 but1 when scrutinized as a 
whole1 is absolutely unintelligible4 ,he
 attempts to account for a string of    
hypothetical effects1 such as           
spontaneous generation and the          
transmutation of species1 by a series of
 hypothetical and inconceivable causes1 

such as the energies of lifeless matter4
 ,let any one conceive1 if he can1 of   
any power1 energy1 or force inherent in 
a lump of matter1--a stone1 for         
instance1--except this merely negative  
one1 that it always and necessarily     
remains in its present state1 whether   
this be of rest or motion4 ,let him     
point out1 if he can1 the nexus between 
what are usually denominated cause and  
effect in matter1--as when two bodies   
are drawn towards each other1 if they   
are in opposite states of electricity4  
,when he says that it is the nature1 or 
law1 of bodies thus electrified to      
attract each other1 he offers no        
explanation of the phenomenon2 he only  
refers it to a class of other results1  
of a similar character1 previously      
observed4 ,it is not pretended1 that all
 or any of these results1 formerly      
known1 are more intelligible or         
explicable than the one in question4    
,but the latter is classed with them1   
because1 from their general similarity1 

from their taking place under the same  
outward circumstances1 it is reasonably 
supposed that one cause1 whatever it may
 be1 is common to them all4 ,and this is
 the whole business of the student of   
nature1 to place together results which 
are so similar1 that we may attribute   
them to a common cause1 without assuming
 to know what that cause is4 ,the sole  
office of science is the theory1 not of 
causation1 but of classification4 ,it is
 all reducible to natural history1 the  
essence of which consists in            
arrangement4  ,we are not attempting to 
perplex a plain matter of science by    
introducing into its discussion a       
metaphysical subtilty4 ,the principle   
here contended for is one of the first  
dictates of the inductive philosophy1   
and as such it has been frankly         
acknowledged and acted upon by all the  
great improvers of science in modern    
days4 ,when ,newton discovered that the 
planets circle round the sun in the same
 manner in which a stone thrown by the  

hand describes a curve before reaching  
the earth1 he may be said to have       
explained the former phenomenon by      
bringing it into the same class with    
certain results which have long been    
familiar to us4 ,but the explanation was
 only relative1 not absolute4 ,the      
latter phenomenon is1 in reality1 no    
more explicable than the former2 he did 
not pretend to know the cause of the    
stone's falling to the ground1 any more 
than of the revolution of the planets4  
,it was something to be able to arrange 
these apparently heterogeneous results  
in the same class1 and gravity was a    
convenient name to apply to the whole4  
,but the supposition1 that gravity was  
an occult cause1 inherent in matter1 he 
earnestly repelled1 and declared that it
 was inconceivable4#b ,franklin showed1 
that a thunder-cloud and the charged    
conductor of an electrical machine      
manifested the same phenomena1 and might
 therefore be classed together2 sparks  
were obtained from both1 ,leyden jars   

were charged from them1 other bodies    
were attracted and repelled in a similar
 way1 so that it was reasonable to      
believe that the same agency was acting 
in both cases4 ,what this agency was he 
did not even guess4 ,the cause of       
electric action1 whether in the excited 
cloud1 or the excited tube1 was just as 
obscure as ever4 ,chemists observed1    
that different substances1 when brought 
into close contact1 sometimes remained  
distinct1 and sometimes united with each
 other in various but regular           
proportions2 and these capacities of    
coalescing with one class of bodies1 and
 of remaining unaffected by another1 are
 called chemical affinities4 ,this is a 
convenient generalization1 and has      
properly received a specific name2      
though the common appellation throws no 
light on the cause of the phenomena1    
which remains an impenetrable secret4   
,to say that certain action is caused by
 the operation of chemical affinities is
 only to arrange it with a large class  

of other observed appearances1 equally  
obscure as to their origin and essential
 character4  ,let us go a step further1 
and suppose that the progress of        
discovery has made known certain facts  
lying behind the phenomena in question1 
to which they may all be referred4 ,let 
us suppose1 that all bodies which       
gravitate towards each other are found  
to be embosomed in a subtile1 ambient   
fluid1 which connects them1 as it were1 
into one system2 that the positive and  
negative states of electricity are      
resolvable into the presence of two     
fluids standing in certain relations to 
each other2 and that substances show    
chemical affinity for each other only   
when they are in opposite electrical    
conditions4 ,still1 we have only        
advanced a step in the generalization1  
and the real1 efficient cause of the    
appearances is still hidden from us by  
an impenetrable veil4 ,gravitation is   
now referred to the communication of    
motion by impulse2 electricity1 to the  

combination and separation of different 
fluids2 affinity1 to the attraction or  
repulsion of these fluids4 ,the latter  
classes of phenomena are more general1  
but not a whit more explicable1 than the
 former4 ,we have now fewer causes to   
seek for1 but not one of these few has  
been discovered4 ,when we have resolved 
electricity or gravitation into the     
presence of an elastic medium1 it is a  
mere figure of speech to say1 that we   
have discovered the cause of the        
electric phenomena or of gravity4 ,that 
is just as far off as ever2 for we have 
yet to discover the principle whence    
flow necessarily all the phenomena      
observable in fluids4 ,it is the sole   
end and the highest ambition of science 
to discover as many as possible of the  
relationships which bind facts together1
 and thus to carry the generalization to
 the farthest point4 ,its office is not 
to discover causes1 but to generalize   
effects4 ,the investigation of real     
causes is quite given up1 as a hopeless 

undertaking4  ,observe1 now1 how all the
 phraseology employed in speaking of    
these successive generalizations of     
science is borrowed from the action of  
mind4 ,the word action itself has no    
real significance1 except when applied  
to the doings of an intelligent agent2  
we cannot speak of the doings of matter1
 as we could if the word action were    
applicable to it in any other than a    
figurative sense4 ,again1 in speaking of
 the similarity of facts and the        
regularity of sequences1 we refer them  
to a law of nature1 just as if they were
 sentient beings acting under the will  
of a sovereign4 ,parts of pure          
matter--the chemical elements1 for      
instance--do not act at all2 being brute
 and inert1 it is only by a strong      
metaphor that they are said to be       
subject to law4 ,again1 we attribute    
force1 power1 c41 to the primitive      
particles of matter1 and speak of their 
natural agencies4 ,just so1 we talk of  
tone in coloring1 and of a heavy or     

light sound2 though1 of course1 in their
 proper significance1 tone belongs only 
to sound1 and heaviness to gravitating  
bodies4 ,these modes of speech are      
proper enough1 if their figurative      
character be kept in view2 but it is a  
little too bad1 when a whole scientific 
theory is made to rest upon a metaphor  
as its sole support4 ,agency is the     
employment of one intelligent being to  
act for another2 force and power are    
applicable only to will2 they are       
characteristic of volition4 ,it is a    
violent trope to apply either of these  
words to senseless matter4 ,chemical    
affinities are spoken of1 as if material
 elements were united by family ties1   
and manifested choice1 and affection or 
aversion4  ,an obvious corollary from   
these remarks is1 that all causation is 
an exertion of mind1 and is only        
figuratively applied to matter4 ,it     
necessarily implies power1 will1 and    
action4 ,an efficient cause--we are not 
speaking now of a mere antecedent--is   

that which is necessarily followed by   
the effect1 so that1 if it were known1  
the effect might be predicted           
antecedently to all experience4 ,cicero 
describes it with philosophical         
accuracy4 ,causa ea est1 quae id        
efficit1 cujus est causa4 ,non sic causa
 intelligi debet1 ut quod cuique        
antecedat1 id ei causa sit2 sed quod    
cuique ,,efficienter antecedat4 ,causis 
enim efficientibus quamque rem cognitis1
 posse denique sciri quid futurum esset4
 ,now1 in the world of matter1 we       
discover nothing but antecedents and    
consequents2 the former are the mere    
signs1 not the causes1 of the latter2 no
 necessary connection--no connection at 
all1 except sequence in time--can be    
discerned between them4 ,consequently1  
from an examination of the former1 we   
could not determine a priori1 that they 
must be followed by the latter1 or by   
any other result whatever4 ,our         
knowledge here1 if knowledge it can be  
called1 is wholly empirical1 or founded 

on experience4 ,as we have seen1 it is  
absurd to say1 that one atom of matter  
literally acts on another4 ,on the other
 hand1 in the world of mind1 we are     
directly conscious of action1 and even  
of causation4 ,all mental exertion is   
true action2 every determination of the 
will implies effort1 or the direction   
and use of power4 ,the result to be     
accomplished is preconsidered1 or       
meditated1 and therefore is known a     
priori1 or before experience2 the       
volition succeeds1 which is a true      
effort1 or a power in action2 and this1 
if the power be sufficient1 is          
necessarily followed by the effect4     
,volition is a true cause2 but in a     
finite mind it is not always an adequate
 cause4 ,if ,i will to shut my eyes1 the
 effect immediately follows as a        
necessary consequence4 ,but if ,i will  
to stop the beating of my heart1 or to  
move a paralyzed limb1 the effect does  
not follow1 because the power exerted is
 inadequate to the end proposed4 ,the   

action of the will is still causative1  
but it is insufficient4  ,it was from   
overlooking the distinction here made1  
that ,hume1 ,kant1 and other            
metaphysicians were led to deny all     
knowledge of causation even in the      
action of mind4 ,they confounded        
sufficiency with efficiency1 and        
supposed1 because the power did not     
always accomplish the end proposed1 that
 it did not tend towards it1 or exert   
any effect upon it4 ,as the sufficiency 
of the volition can only be known a     
posteriori1 or after experience1 they   
imagined that there could be no cause   
but that which is infinite1 or one which
 is invariably followed by the whole    
effect contemplated4 ,they overlooked   
the fact1 that1 in the consciousness of 
effort1--as in the attempt to control   
the action of mind1 to command the      
attention1 c41--we have direct and full 
evidence of power in action1 which is   
necessarily causal in its nature4 ,the  
mental nisus is true force1 exerted with

 a foreknowledge of the effect to be    
produced1 and necessarily followed by a 
result1--a partial one it may be1--but  
one which is a true effect1 whether it  
answers the whole intention1 or not4    
,here1 then1 we discern that necessary  
connection between two events1 that     
absolute efficient agency1 which was    
vainly sought in the world of matter4   
,if these considerations are well       
founded1 the whole framework of what are
 called secondary causes falls to       
pieces4 ,the laws of nature are only a  
figure of speech2 the powers and active 
inherent properties of material atoms   
are mere fictions4 ,mind alone is       
active2 matter is wholly passive and    
inert4 ,there is no such thing as what  
we usually call the course of nature2 it
 is nothing but the will of ,god        
producing certain effects in a constant 
and uniform manner2 which mode of       
action1 however1 being perfectly        
arbitrary1 is as easy to be altered at  
any time as to be preserved4 ,all       

events1 all changes1 in the external    
world1 from the least even unto the     
greatest1 are attributable to his will  
and power1 which1 being infinite1 is    
always and necessarily adequate to the  
end proposed4 ,the laws of motion1      
gravitation1 affinity1 and the like1 are
 only expressions of the regularity and 
continuity of one infinite cause4 ,the  
order of nature is the effect of divine 
wisdom1 its stability is the result of  
divine beneficence4      ,estne ,dei    
sedes nisi terra1 et pontus1 et aer1    
,et coelum1 et virtus8 ,superos quid    
quaerimus ultra8     ,jupiter est       
quodcunque vides1 quocunque moveris4    
,it may be asked1 if divine power1      
instead of operating immediately        
throughout the universe1 might not have 
endowed material atoms at the outset    
with certain properties and energies1   
the gradual evolution of which in after 
ages would produce all the phenomena of 
nature1 without the necessity of his    
incessant presence1 agency1 and control4

 ,certainly1 we may not put bounds to   
omnipotence2 though we may assert of a  
given hypothesis respecting its         
exercise1 that it is inconceivable1 or  
involves wholly incongruous ideas4 ,the 
necessary attributes of matter1         
according to our conception of it1 are  
extension1 figure1 impenetrability1 and 
inertness2 the properties of mind are   
thought1 sensation1 activity1 and will4 
,these attributes are essential1 not    
arbitrary or contingent2 for they make  
up our whole idea of the substances in  
which they inhere4 ,we can no more      
suppose them to be interchangeable1 than
 we can literally attribute dimensions  
to an odor1 or capacity to a sound4 ,to 
speak of an extended thought1 an        
impenetrable sensation1 an inert        
activity1 is to talk nonsense2 it is    
equally absurd to attribute thought to  
extension1 sensation to figure1 activity
 to inertness1#c or causal agency to    
matter4 ,true1 mind may be superadded to
 matter1 without being confounded with  

it1 and without any exchange of         
properties4 ,and in fact1 this is the   
only conceivable form of the hypothesis 
now before us2 namely1 the theory of the
 ancient metaphysicians1 that every     
particle of matter and every aggregate  
of it is accompanied1 or animated1 by a 
distinct mind4 ,ea quoque sidera        
rectissime et animantia esse1 et sentire
 atque intelligere1 dicantur4 ,if this  
be a more intelligible and plausible    
supposition than that of one infinite   
mind1 pervading the universe1 and       
producing all physical changes by its   
irresistible power1 the materialist is  
welcome to the benefit of it4  ,as      
respects the manner in which all        
physical effects are produced by the    
direct action of the ,deity1 we are not 
bound to offer any explanation1 as the  
subject confessedly transcends the limit
 of the human faculties4 ,it is enough  
for us1 that the supposition is the only
 conceivable one1 the only mode of      
accounting for the phenomena of the     

material world4 ,but as man is made in  
the image of his ,creator1 in the union 
for a time of his spirit with his       
corporeal frame we may find at least an 
intelligible illustration of the        
connection of ,god with the universe4   
,discarding the word mind1 as the       
fruitful source of vague speculation and
 error1 let us look for a moment at that
 of which it is a mere synonyme1--at the
 man himself4 ,the sentient1 thinking   
being1 which ,i call self1 is an        
absolute unit4 ,duality or complexity   
cannot be predicated of it in any       
intelligible sense4 ,personality is     
indivisible2 ,i am one4 ,this being is  
capable of acting in different ways2 and
 for convenience of speech and          
classification1 these modes of action   
have been arranged as the results of    
different faculties2 though1 in truth1  
it is no more proper to attribute to the
 person distinct powers and organs for  
comparison1 memory1 and judgment1 than  
to give to the body separately a walking

 faculty1 a lifting faculty1 a jumping  
faculty1 and so on4 ,in the one case1   
these faculties are but different       
aspects of mental power2 in the other1  
but different applications of muscular  
strength4 ,of course1 the complex       
material frame1 with its numberless     
adaptations and arrangements1 in which  
this being is lodged1 is truly foreign  
from the man himself1 having a kind of  
connection with him1 in reality1 but one
 degree more intimate than that of his  
clothes4 ,the body is the curiously     
contrived machine through which the man 
communicates with the material world4   
,the eye is but his instrument to see   
with1 the ear is his trumpet for        
communicating sound to him1 the leg is  
his steed1 and the arm his soldier4     
,many of these instruments and parts may
 be removed1 or become unfit for use1   
without impairing1 in the slightest     
degree1 his distinct personality and    
intelligence4 ,the particles of all of  
them are in a state of constant flux and

 renovation1 so that man changes his    
body only a little more frequently than 
he does his coat4 ,his whole corporeal  
frame is connected with him but for a   
while1 and is then thrown aside1 like an
 old garment1 for which he has no       
farther use4  ,but during the period of 
its existence1 how close and intimate in
 appearance is this union with the body6
 ,sensation extends to every part of it1
 every fibre is instinct with life1 and 
the direction of the will is absolute   
and immediate over every muscle and     
joint1 as if the whole fabric and its   
tenant were one homogeneous system4 ,the
 will tires not of its supremacy1 and is
 not wearied with the number of         
volitions required of it to keep every  
joint in action1 and every organ        
performing its proper function4 ,it     
would not delegate the control of the   
fingers to an inferior power1 nor       
contrive mechanical or automatic means  
for moving the extremities4 ,within its 
sphere1 it is sole sovereign1 and is not

 perplexed with the variety and constant
 succession of its duties1 extending to 
every part of the complex structure of  
which it is the animating and directing 
spirit4 ,sensation is not cumbered with 
the multitude of impressions it         
receives1 nor is the fineness of        
perception dulled by repeated exercise4 
,the sharpness of its edge rather       
improves by use1 and we become more     
heedful of its lightest intimations4 ,is
 it irreverent1 then1 to suppose that   
this union of body and soul shadows     
forth the connection between the        
material universe and the ,infinite     
,one8 ,how else1 indeed1 can we attach  
any meaning to the attributes of        
omnipresence and omnipotence8 ,the unity
 of action1 the regularity of           
antecedence and consequence in outward  
events1 which we commonly designate by  
the lame metaphor of law1 then become   
the fitting expression of the consistent
 doings of an all-wise ,being1 in whom  
there is no variableness1 neither shadow

 of turning4 ,the ,creator1 then1 is no 
longer banished from his creation1 nor  
is the latter an orphan1 or a deserted  
child4 ,it is not a great machine1 that 
was wound up at the beginning1 and has  
continued to run on ever since1 without 
aid or direction from its artificer4 ,as
 well might we conceive of the body of a
 man moving about1 and performing all   
its appropriate functions1 without the  
principle of life1 or the indwelling of 
an immortal soul4 ,the universe is not  
lifeless or soulless4 ,it is informed by
 ,god's spirit1 pervaded by his power1  
moved by his wisdom1 directed by his    
beneficence1 controlled by his justice4 
,spiritus intus alit1 totamque infusa   
per artus     ,mens agitat molem1 et    
magno se corpore miscet4  ,the harmony  
of physical and moral laws is not a mere
 fancy1 nor a forced analogy2 they are  
both expressions of the same will1      
manifestations of the same spirit4  ,the
 objection1 that it is beneath the      
dignity of the ,almighty--,greek3       

autourgein hapanta--to put his hand to  
every thing--is founded on a false      
analogy1 as is seen by the form in which
 ,aristotle states it4 ,if it befit not 
the state and majesty of ,xerxes1 the   
great king of ,persia1 that he should   
stoop to do all the meanest offices     
himself1 much less can this be thought  
suitable for ,god4 ,the two cases do not
 correspond in the very feature         
essential to the argument4 ,an earthly  
potentate1 unable to execute with his   
own hand all the affairs of which he has
 control1 is obliged to delegate the    
larger portion of them to his servants2 
selecting the lightest part for himself1
 he gratifies his pride by calling it   
also the noblest1 though the distinction
 is factitious1 there being no real     
difference1 in point of honor or        
dignity1 between them4 ,omnipotence     
needs no minister1 and is not exhausted 
or wearied by the cares of a universe4  
,power in action is more truly sublime  
than power in repose2 and surely it is  

not derogatory to divine energy to      
sustain and continue that which it was  
certainly not beneath divine wisdom to  
create and appoint4 ,rightly considered1
 to guide the falling of a leaf from a  
tree is an office as worthy of          
omnipotence1 as the creation of a world4
 ,are not two sparrows sold for a       
farthing8 and one of them shall not fall
 on the ground without your ,father4    
,but the very hairs of your head are all
 numbered4  ,equally lame is the        
oft-repeated comparison of the universe 
to a machine of man's device1 which is  
considered the more perfect the less    
mending or interposition it requires4 ,a
 machine is a labor-saving contrivance1 
fitted to supply the weakness and       
deficiencies of him who uses it4 ,where 
the want does not exist1 it is absurd to
 suppose the creation of the remedy4    
,human conceptions of the ,deity are for
 ever at fault in imputing to him the   
errors and deficiencies which belong to 
our own limited faculties and dependent 

condition4 ,hence the idea of the       
,epicureans1 that sublime indifference  
and unbroken repose are the only states 
of being worthy of the gods4 ,viewed in 
the light of true philosophy1 no less   
than of ,christianity1 how base and     
grovelling does this conception appear6 
,the sublime description of the pagan   
poet becomes the fitting expression and 
defence of the very theory it was       
designed to controvert3--      ,nam     
7proh sancta ,deum tranquilla pectora   
pace1     ,quae placidum degunt aevum1  
vitamque serenam67     ,quis regere     
immensi summam1 quis habere profundi    
,indu manu validas potis est moderanter 
habenas8     ,quis pariter coelos omneis
 convertere8 et omneis     ,ignibus     
aetheriis terras suffire feraceis8      
,omnibus inque locis esse omni tempore  
presto8     ,nubibus ut tenebras faciat1
 coelique serena     ,concutiat sonitu8 
tum fulmina mittat1 et aedeis     ,saepe
 suas disturbet8  ,returning to the     
theory of our author1 may we not now    

characterize it as at once unfounded in 
its details1 inconceivable in its       
operation1 and vulgar and mechanical in 
its design8 ,considered in their proper 
aspect1 and by the light of a sound     
philosophy1 whatever well accredited    
facts or legitimate deductions he has   
gleaned from the whole field of modern  
science afford the most striking        
evidence and illustration of that view  
of creation which is directly at        
variance with his own hypothesis4 ,he   
has1 in fact1 exposed the insufficiency 
of what are called organic or mechanical
 laws to supply the losses1 and bridge  
over the interruptions1 that have       
occurred in the world's history4        
,geology has rendered at least one      
signal service to the cause of natural  
religion1 by effectually doing away with
 the old atheistic objection1 that1 for 
aught we know1 the present constitution 
of things never had a beginning1 but has
 gone on for ever renewing itself in an 
endless series of generations4 ,science 

now tells us distinctly1 that time was  
when the earth was without form and     
void1 no animated thing appearing upon  
the face of the deep2 that afterwards1  
the waters were gathered together unto  
one place1 and the dry land appeared4   
,then the earth brought forth grass1 and
 herb yielding seed after his kind1 and 
the tree yielding fruit1 whose seed was 
in itself1 after his kind4 ,next was    
fulfilled the command1 ,let the waters  
bring forth abundantly the moving       
creature that hath life1 and fowl that  
may fly above the earth in the open     
firmament of heaven4 ,then appeared the 
beast of the earth after his kind1 and  
cattle after their kind1 and every thing
 that creepeth upon the earth after his 
kind4 ,last of all1 ,god created man in 
his own image1 male and female created  
he them4 ,we are not merely quoting     
,scripture2 we are repeating the facts  
positively affirmed by the geologists1  
and incorporated by our author into his 
history--as authentic leaves taken from 

the stone book--in the same order in    
which they are narrated in the first    
chapter of ,genesis4 ,the coincidence in
 the order of succession is certainly   
remarkable4  ,geology farther informs   
us1 that1 at different times1 all the   
animated tribes which had peopled the   
earth's surface passed away1 or became  
extinct1 and were replaced by new       
species of different organization and   
characteristics2 and probably at many   
other periods1 as well as on occasions  
of some great catastrophe in the earth's
 crust1 races wholly unlike any that had
 preceded them were introduced1 from    
time to time1 as new inhabitants of the 
globe4 ,here1 then1 was an absolute     
necessity for the continuous operation  
of an intelligent creative power1 apart 
from the blind mechanical laws1 which1  
at the utmost1 could only allow each    
species1 once introduced1 to continue   
its kind4 ,the marvellous adaptations of
 these new races to the altered         
conditions of the earth's surface when  

they appeared1 then1 become additional  
proofs of the wisdom and constant       
oversight of a designing ,creator4 ,they
 came not till all things were ready2   
they appeared when the extinction of    
former tribes had left a gap for them in
 the scale of being4 ,the gradual       
development of what are called the      
powers of nature1--or1 to speak more    
intelligibly1 the successive            
improvements in the habitations intended
 for higher and higher races of animated
 life1--and the similarity of plan on   
which these races were organized1 the   
scheme being preserved in all its       
essential features through countless    
generations1 show unity of design1 and  
prove that the works of creation1       
however separated in time1 must be      
attributed to one intelligent author4   
,the same conclusion follows almost     
irresistibly from the gradations at     
present observable both in the animal   
and vegetable kingdoms1 so that all the 
races may be arranged1 not indeed in a  

linear series1 but in families or       
groups1 bearing analogous relations to  
each other1 and showing a general       
progress from the more simple to the    
more complex forms4 ,surely1 these      
facts1 so clearly explained by our      
author1 instead of sustaining the       
corpuscular philosophy1 directly        
militate with it1 and afford the most   
satisfactory proof of the doctrine of   
the theist1 and the theory of continuous
 divine agency4 ,we have hardly ever met
 with a book that furnished more        
complete materials for its own          
refutation4  ,after all1 the question is
 a very simple one4 ,we have only to    
decide whether it is more likely1 that  
the complex system of things in the     
midst of which we live1--the beautiful  
harmonies between the organic and       
inorganic world1 the nice arrangements  
and curious adaptations that obtain in  
each1 the simplicity and uniformity of  
the general plan to which the vast      
multitude of details may be             

reduced1--was built up1 and is now      
sustained1 by one all-wise and          
all-powerful ,being1 or by particles of 
brute matter1 acting of themselves1     
without direction1 interference1 or     
control4 ,we cannot now say1 that       
possibly the system never had a         
beginning1 but has always existed under 
the form in which it now appears to us2 
geology has disproved that supposition  
most effectually4 ,choose ye1 then1     
between mind and matter1 between an     
intelligent being and a stone1 for the  
parentage and support of this wonderful 
system4 ,for our own part1 we will adopt
 the conclusion of one of the most      
eloquent of those old pagan             
philosophers1 on whose eyes the light of
 immediate revelation never             
dawned3--,hic ego non mirer esse        
quemquam1 qui sibi persuadeat1 corpora  
quaedam solida atque individua vi et    
gravitate ferri1 mundumque effici       
ornatissimum et pulcherrimum ex corum   
corporum concursione fortuita8 ,quod si 

mundum efficere potest concursus        
atomorum1 cur porticum1 cur templum1 cur
 domum1 cur urbem non potest1 quae sunt 
minus operosa1 et multo quidem          
faciliora8 ,certe ita temere de mundo   
effutiunt1 ut mihi quidem nunquam hunc  
admirabilem coeli ornatum1 qui locus est
 proximus1 suspexisse videantur4        
,,footnotes3  ,footnote #a3 ,n4 ,a4     
,review1 ,vol4 ,,lvi41 pp4 #cci-cea4    
,footnote #b3 ,it is inconceivable1 that
 inanimate brute matter should1 without 
the mediation of something else1 which  
is not material1 operate upon and affect
 other matter without mutual contact1 as
 it must1 if gravitation1 in the sense  
of ,epicurus1 be essential and inherent 
in it4 ,and this is one reason why ,i   
desired you would not ascribe innate    
gravity to me4 ,that gravity should be  
innate1 inherent1 and essential to      
matter1 so that one body may act upon   
another at a distance through a vacuum1 
without the mediation of any thing else1
 by and through which their action and  

force may be conveyed from one to       
another1 is to me so great an absurdity1
 that ,i believe no man1 who has in     
philosophical matters a competent       
faculty of thinking1 can ever fall into 
it4 ,gravity must be caused by an agent 
acting constantly according to certain  
laws4--,newton's letter in ,bentley's   
,works1 ,vol4 ,,iii41 pp4 #baa1 #bab4   
,footnote #c3 ,and yet1 so strong is the
 propensity to metaphor1 that scientific
 men talk of the vis inertiae as a true 
force1 though the ideas expressed by the
 two ,latin words are certainly         
incongruous4 ,the mistake here arises   
from confounding inertness1 or          
resistance to force1--a merely negative 
idea1--with the true force which is     
necessary to overcome it2 or rather1    
since force can only be measured by its 
results1 and must always be adequate to 
the effect produced1 inquirers have     
adopted the convenient hypothesis of two
 antagonistic forces1 not always        
recollecting that one of them is merely 

passive4