,time and ,life99  ,,mr4 ,,darwin',s    
8,,origin ,,of ,,species0  by ,thomas   
,h4 ,huxley     ,everyone knows that    
that superficial film of the earth's    
substance1 hardly ten miles thick1 which
 is accessible to human investigation1  
is composed for the most part of beds or
 strata of stone1 the consolidated muds 
and sands of former seas and lakes1     
which have been deposited one upon the  
other1 and hence are the older the      
deeper they lie4 ,these multitudinous   
strata present such resemblances and    
differences among themselves that they  
are capable of classification into      
groups or formations1 and these         
formations again are brigaded together  
into still larger assemblages1 called by
 the older geologists1 primary1         
secondary1 and tertiary2 by the moderns1
 palaeozoic1 mesozoic1 and cainozoic3   
the basis of the former nomenclature    
being the relative age of the groups of 
strata2 that of the latter1 the kinds of
 living forms contained in them4        

,though but a film if compared with the 
total diameter of our planet1 the total 
series of formations is vast indeed when
 measured by any human standard1 and1 as
 all action implies time1 so are we     
compelled to regard these mineral masses
 as a measure of the time which has     
elapsed during their accumulation4 ,the 
amount of the time which they represent 
is1 of course1 in the inverse proportion
 of the intensity of the forces which   
have been in operation4 ,if1 in the     
ancient world1 mud and sand accumulated 
on sea-bottoms at tenfold their present 
rate1 it is clear that a bed of mud or  
sand ten feet thick would have been     
formed then in the same time as a       
stratum of similar materials one foot   
thick would be formed now1 and vice     
versa4  ,at the outset of his studies1  
therefore1 the physical geologist had to
 choose between two hypotheses2 either1 
throughout the ages which are           
represented by the accumulated strata1  
and which we may call geologic time1 the

 forces of nature have operated with    
much the same average intensity as at   
present1 and hence the lapse of time    
which they represent must be something  
prodigious and inconceivable1 or1 in the
 primeval epochs1 the natural powers    
were infinitely more intense than now1  
and hence the time through which they   
acted to produce the effects we see was 
comparatively short4  ,the earlier      
geologists adopted the latter view      
almost with one consent4 ,for they had  
little knowledge of the present workings
 of nature1 and they read the records of
 geologic time as a child reads the     
history of ,rome or ,greece1 and fancies
 that antiquity was grand1 heroic1 and  
unlike the present because it is unlike 
his little experience of the present4   
,even so the earlier observers were     
moved with wonder at the seeming        
contrast between the ancient and the    
present order of nature4 ,the elemental 
forces seemed to have been grander and  
more energetic in primeval times4       

,upheaved and contorted1 rifted and     
fissured1 pierced by dykes of molten    
matter or worn away over vast areas by  
aqueous action1 the older rocks appeared
 to bear witness to a state of things   
far different from that exhibited by the
 peaceful epoch on which the lot of man 
has fallen4  ,but by degrees thoughtful 
students of geology have been led to    
perceive that the earliest efforts of   
nature have been by no means the        
grandest4 ,alps and ,andes are children 
of yesterday when compared with ,snowdon
 and the ,cumberland hills2 and the     
so-called glacial epoch--that in which  
perhaps the most extensive physical     
changes of which any record remaining   
occurred--is the last and the newest of 
the revolutions of the globe4 ,and in   
proportion as physical geography--which 
is the geology of our own epoch--has    
grown into a science1 and the present   
order of nature has been ransacked to   
find what1 hibernice1 we may call       
precedents for the phenomena of the     

past1 so the apparent necessity of      
supposing the past to be widely         
different from the present has          
diminished4  ,the transporting power of 
the greatest deluge which can be        
imagined sinks into insignificance      
beside that of the slowly floating1     
slowly melting iceberg1 or the glacier  
creeping along at its snail's pace of a 
yard a day4 ,the study of the deltas of 
the ,nile1 the ,ganges1 and the         
,mississippi has taught us how slow is  
the wearing action of water1 how vast   
its effects when time is allowed for its
 operation4 ,the reefs of the ,pacific1 
the deep-sea soundings of the ,atlantic1
 show that it is to the slow-growing    
coral and to the imperceptible          
animalcule1 which lives its brief space 
and then adds its tiny shell to the     
muddy cairn left by its brethren and    
ancestors1 that we must look as the     
agents in the formation of limestone and
 chalk1 and not to hypothetical oceans  
saturated with calcareous salts and     

suddenly depositing them4  ,and while   
the inquirer has thus learnt that       
existing forces--give them time--are    
competent to produce all the physical   
phenomena we meet with in the rocks1 so1
 on the other side1 the study of the    
marks left in the ancient strata by past
 physical actions shows that these were 
similar to those which now obtain4      
,ancient beaches are met with whose     
pebbles are like those found on modern  
shores2 the hardened sea-sands of the   
oldest epochs show ripple-marks1 such as
 may now be found on every sandy coast2 
nay1 more1 the pits left by ancient     
rain-drops prove that even in the very  
earliest ages1 the 8bow in the clouds0  
must have adorned the palaeozoic        
firmament4 ,so that if we could reverse 
the legend of the ,seven ,sleepers1--if 
we could sleep back through the past1   
and awake a million ages before our own 
epoch1 in the midst of the earliest     
geologic times1--there is no reason to  
believe that sea1 or sky1 or the aspect 

of the land would warn us of the        
marvellous retrospection4  ,such are the
 beliefs which modern physical          
geologists hold1 or1 at any rate1 tend  
towards holding4 ,but1 in so doing1 it  
is obvious that they by no means        
prejudge the question1 as to what the   
physical condition of the globe may have
 been before our chapters of its history
 begin1 in what may be called 7with that
 licence which is implied in the        
often-used term 8prehistoric epoch07    
8pre-geologic time40 ,the views         
indicated1 in fact1 are not only quite  
consistent with the hypothesis1 that1 in
 the still earlier period referred to1  
the condition of our world was very     
different2 but they may be held by some 
to necessitate that hypothesis4 ,the    
physical philosopher who is accurately  
acquainted with the velocity of a       
cannon-ball1 and the precise character  
of the line which it traverses for a    
yard of its course1 is necessitated by  
what he knows of the laws of nature to  

conclude that it came from a certain    
spot1 whence it was impelled by a       
certain force1 and that it has followed 
a certain trajectory4 ,in like manner1  
the student of physical geology1 who    
fully believes in the uniformity of the 
general condition of the earth through  
geologic time1 may feel compelled by    
what he knows of causation1 and by the  
general analogy of nature1 to suppose   
that our solar system was once a        
nebulous mass2 that it gradually        
condensed1 that it broke up into that   
wonderful group of harmoniously rolling 
balls we call planets and satellites1   
and that then each of these underwent   
its appointed metamorphosis1 until at   
last our own share of the cosmic vapour 
passed into that condition in which we  
first meet with definite records of its 
state1 and in which it has since1 with  
comparatively little change1 remained4  
,the doctrine of uniformity and the     
doctrine of progression are1 therefore1 
perfectly consistent2 perhaps1 indeed1  

they might be shown to be necessarily   
connected with one another4  ,if1       
however1 the condition of the world1    
which has obtained throughout geologic  
time1 is but the sequel to a vast series
 of changes which took place in         
pre-geologic time1 then it seems not    
unlikely that the duration of this      
latter is to that of the former as the  
vast extent of geologic time is to the  
length of the brief epoch we call the   
historical period2 and that even the    
oldest rocks are records of an epoch    
almost infinitely remote from that which
 could have witnessed the first shaping 
of our globe4  ,it is probable that no  
modern geologist would hesitate to admit
 the general validity of these          
reasonings when applied to the physics  
of his subject1 whence it is the more   
remarkable that the moment the question 
changes from one of physics and         
chemistry to one of natural history1    
scientific opinions and the popular     
prejudices1 which reflect them in a     

distorted form1 undergo a sudden        
metamorphosis4 ,geologists and          
palaeontologists write about the        
8beginning of life0 and the             
8first-created forms of living beings10 
as if they were the most familiar things
 in the world2 and even cautious writers
 seem to be on quite friendly terms with
 the 8archetype0 whereby the ,creator   
was guided 8amidst the crash of falling 
worlds40 ,just as it used to be imagined
 that the ancient world was physically  
opposed to the present1 so it is still  
widely assumed that the living          
population of our globe1 whether animal 
or vegetable1 in the older epochs1      
exhibited forms so strikingly contrasted
 with those which we see around us1 that
 there is hardly anything in common     
between the two4 ,it is constantly      
tacitly assumed that we have before us  
all the forms of life which have ever   
existed2 and though the progress of     
knowledge1 yearly and almost monthly1   
drives the defenders of that position   

from their ground1 they entrench        
themselves in the new line of defences  
as if nothing had happened1 and proclaim
 that the new beginning is the real     
beginning4  ,without for an instant     
denying or endeavouring to soften down  
the considerable positive differences   
7the negative ones are met by another   
line of argument7 which undoubtedly     
obtain between the ancient and the      
modern worlds of life1 we believe they  
have been vastly overstated and         
exaggerated1 and this belief is based   
upon certain facts whose value does not 
seem to have been fully appreciated1    
though they have long been more or less 
completely known4  ,the multitudinous   
kinds of animals and plants1 both recent
 and fossil1 are1 as is well known1     
arranged by zoologists and botanists1 in
 accordance with their natural          
relations1 into groups which receive the
 names of sub-kingdoms1 classes1 orders1
 families1 genera and species4 ,now it  
is a most remarkable circumstance that1 

viewed on the great scale1 living beings
 have differed so little throughout all 
geologic time that there is no          
sub-kingdom and no class wholly extinct 
or without living representatives4  ,if 
we descend to the smaller groups1 we    
find that the number of orders of plants
 is about two hundred2 and ,i have it on
 the best authority that not one of     
these is exclusively fossil2 so that    
there is absolutely not a single extinct
 ordinal type of vegetable life2 and it 
is not until we descend to the next     
group1 or the families1 that we find    
types which are wholly extinct4 ,the    
number of orders of animals1 on the     
other hand1 may be reckoned at a hundred
 and twenty1 or thereabouts1 and of     
these1 eight or nine have no living     
representatives4 ,the proportion of     
extinct ordinal types of animals to the 
existing types1 therefore1 does not     
exceed seven per cent4--a marvellously  
small proportion when we consider the   
vastness of geologic time4  ,another    

class of considerations--of a different 
kind1 it is true1 but tending in the    
same direction--seems to have been      
overlooked4 ,not only is it true that   
the general plan of construction of     
animals and plants has been the same in 
all recorded time as at present1 but    
there are particular kinds of animals   
and plants which have existed throughout
 vast epochs1 sometimes through the     
whole range of recorded time1 with very 
little change4 ,by reason of this       
persistency1 the typical form of such a 
kind might be called a 8persistent      
type10 in contradistinction to those    
types which have appeared for but a     
short time in the course of the world's 
history4 ,examples of these persistent  
types are abundant enough in both the   
vegetable and the animal kingdoms4 ,the 
oldest group of plants with which we are
 well acquainted is that of whose       
remains coal is constituted2 and as far 
as they can be identified1 the          
carboniferous plants are ferns1 or      

club-mosses1 or ,coniferae1 in many     
cases generically identical with those  
now living6  ,among animals1 instances  
of the same kind may be found in every  
sub-kingdom4 ,the ,globigerina of the   
,atlantic soundings is identical with   
that which occurs in the chalk2 and the 
casts of lower silurian ,foraminifera1  
which ,ehrenberg has recently described1
 seem to indicate the existence at that 
remote period of forms singularly like  
those which now exist4 ,among the       
corals1 the palaeozoic ,tabulata are    
constructed on precisely the same type  
as the modern millepores2 and if we turn
 to molluscs1 the most competent        
malacologists fail to discover any      
generic distinction between the         
,craniae1 ,lingulae and ,discinae of the
 silurian rocks and those which now     
live4 ,our existing ,nautilus has its   
representative species in every great   
formation1 from the oldest to the       
newest2 and ,loligo1 the squid of modern
 seas1 appears in the lias1 or at the   

bottom of the mesozoic series1 in a     
form1 at most1 specifically different   
from its living congeners4 ,in the great
 assemblage of annulose animals1 the two
 highest classes1 the insects and spider
 tribe1 exhibit a wonderful persistency 
of type4 ,the cockroaches of the        
carboniferous epoch are exceedingly     
similar to those which now run about our
 coal-cellars2 and its locusts1 termites
 and dragon-flies are closely allied to 
the members of the same groups which now
 chirrup about our fields1 undermine our
 houses1 or sail with swift grace about 
the banks of our sedgy pools4 ,and1 in  
like manner1 the palaeozoic scorpions   
can only be distinguished by the eye of 
a naturalist from the modern ones4      
,finally1 with respect to the           
,vertebrata1 the same law holds good3   
certain types1 such as those of the     
ganoid and placoid fishes1 having       
persisted from the palaeozoic epoch to  
the present time without a greater      
amount of deviation from the normal     

standard than that which is seen within 
the limits of the group as it now       
exists4 ,even among the ,reptilia--the  
class which exhibits the largest        
proportion of entirely extinct forms of 
any one type1--that of the ,crocodilia1 
has persisted from at least the         
commencement of the mesozoic epoch up to
 the present time with so much          
constancy1 that the amount of change    
which it exhibits may fairly1 in        
relation to the time which has elapsed1 
be called insignificant4 ,and the       
imperfect knowledge we have of the      
ancient mammalian population of our     
earth leads to the belief that certain  
of its types1 such as that of the       
,marsupialia1 have persisted with       
correspondingly little change through a 
similar range of time4  ,thus it would  
appear to be demonstrable1 that1        
notwithstanding the great change which  
is exhibited by the animal population of
 the world as a whole1 certain types    
have persisted comparatively without    

alteration1 and the question arises1    
,what bearing have such facts as these  
on our notions of the history of life   
through geological time8 ,the answer to 
this question would seem to depend on   
the view we take respecting the origin  
of species in general4 ,if we assume    
that every species of animal and of     
plant was formed by a distinct act of   
creative power1 and if the species which
 have incessantly succeeded one another 
were placed upon the globe by these     
separate acts1 then the existence of    
persistent types is simply an           
unintelligible irregularity4 ,such      
assumption1 however1 is as unsupported  
by tradition or by ,revelation as it is 
opposed by the analogy of the rest of   
the operations of nature2 and those who 
imagine that1 by adopting any such      
hypothesis1 they are strengthening the  
hands of the advocates of the letter of 
the ,mosaic account1 are simply         
mistaken4 ,if1 on the other hand1 we    
adopt that hypothesis to which alone the

 study of physiology lends any          
support--that hypothesis which1 having  
struggled beyond the reach of those     
fatal supporters1 the ,telliameds and   
,vestigiarians1 who so nearly caused its
 suffocation by wind in early infancy1  
is now winning at least the provisional 
assent of all the best thinkers of the  
day--the hypothesis that the forms or   
species of living beings1 as we know    
them1 have been produced by the gradual 
modification of pre-existing            
species--then the existence of          
persistent types seems to teach us much4
 ,just as a small portion of a great    
curve appears straight1 the apparent    
absence of change in direction of the   
line being the exponent of the vast     
extent of the whole1 in proportion to   
the part we see2 so1 if it be true that 
all living species are the result of the
 modification of other and simpler      
forms1 the existence of these little    
altered persistent types1 ranging       
through all geological time1 must       

indicate that they are but the final    
terms of an enormous series of          
modifications1 which had their being in 
the great lapse of pregeologic time1 and
 are now perhaps for ever lost4  ,in    
other words1 when rightly studied1 the  
teachings of palaeontology are at one   
with those of physical geology4 ,our    
farthest explorations carry us back but 
a little way above the mouth of the     
great river of ,life3 where it arose1   
and by what channels the noble tide has 
reached the point when it first breaks  
upon our view1 is hidden from us4   ,the
 foregoing pages contain the substance  
of a lecture delivered before the ,royal
 ,institution of ,great ,britain many   
months ago1 and of course long before   
the appearance of the remarkable work on
 the 8,origin of ,species0 just         
published by ,mr4 ,darwin1 who arrives  
at very similar conclusions4 ,although1 
in one sense1 ,i might fairly say that  
my own views have been arrived at       
independently1 ,i do not know that ,i   

can claim any equitable right to        
property in them2 for it has long been  
my privilege to enjoy ,mr4 ,darwin's    
friendship1 and to profit by            
corresponding with him1 and by1 to some 
extent1 becoming acquainted with the    
workings of his singularly original and 
well-stored mind4 ,it was in consequence
 of my knowledge of the general tenor of
 the researches in which ,mr4 ,darwin   
had been so long engaged2 because ,i had
 the most complete confidence in his    
perseverance1 his knowledge1 and1 above 
all things1 his high-minded love of     
truth2 and1 moreover1 because ,i found  
that the better ,i became acquainted    
with the opinions of the best           
naturalists regarding the vexed question
 of species1 the less fixed they seemed 
to be1 and the more inclined they were  
to the hypothesis of gradual            
modification1 that ,i ventured to speak 
as strongly as ,i have done in the final
 paragraphs of my discourse4  ,thus1 my 
daw having so many borrowed plumes1 ,i  

see no impropriety in making a tail to  
this brief paper by taking another      
handful of feathers from ,mr4 ,darwin2  
endeavouring to point out in a few      
words1 in fact1 what1 as ,i gather from 
the perusal of his book1 his doctrines  
really are1 and on what sort of basis   
they rest4 ,and ,i do this the more     
willingly1 as ,i observe that already   
the hastier sort of critics have begun1 
not to review my friend's book1 but to  
howl over it in a manner which must tend
 greatly to distract the public mind4   
,no one will be better satisfied than ,i
 to see ,mr4 ,darwin's book refuted1 if 
any person be competent to perform that 
feat2 but ,i would suggest that         
refutation is retarded1 not aided1 by   
mere sarcastic misrepresentation4 ,every
 one who has studied cattle-breeding1 or
 turned pigeon-fancier1 or 8pomologist10
 must have been struck by the extreme   
modifiability or plasticity of those    
kinds of animals and plants which have  
been subjected to such artificial       

conditions as are imposed by            
domestication4 ,breeds of dogs are more 
different from one another than are the 
dog and the wolf2 and the purely        
artificial races of pigeons1 if their   
origin were unknown1 would most         
assuredly be reckoned by naturalists as 
distinct species and even genera4       
,these breeds are always produced in the
 same way4 ,the breeder selects a pair1 
one or other1 or both1 of which present 
an indication of the peculiarity he     
wishes to perpetuate1 and then selects  
from the offspring of them those which  
are most characteristic1 rejecting the  
others4 ,from the selected offspring he 
breeds again1 and1 taking the same      
precautions as before1 repeats the      
process until he has obtained the       
precise degree of divergence from the   
primitive type at which he aimed4  ,if  
he now breeds from the variety thus     
established for some generations1 taking
 care always to keep the stock pure1 the
 tendency to produce this particular    

variety becomes more and more strongly  
hereditary2 and it does not appear that 
there is any limit to the persistency of
 the race thus developed4  ,men like    
,lamarck1 apprehending these facts1 and 
knowing that varieties comparable to    
those produced by the breeder are       
abundantly found in nature1 and finding 
it impossible to discriminate in some   
cases between varieties and true        
species1 could hardly fail to divine the
 possibility that species even the most 
distinct were1 after all1 only          
exceedingly persistent varieties1 and   
that they had arisen by the modification
 of some common stock1 just as it is    
with good reason believed that turnspits
 and greyhounds1 carrier and tumbler    
pigeons1 have arisen4  ,but there was a 
link wanting to complete the parallel4  
,where in nature was the analogue of the
 breeder to be found8 ,how could that   
operation of selection1 which is his    
essential function1 be carried out by   
mere natural agencies8 ,lamarck did not 

value this problem2 neither did he admit
 his impotence to solve it2 but he      
guessed a solution4 ,now1 guessing in   
science is a very hazardous proceeding1 
and ,lamarck's reputation has suffered  
woefully for the absurdities into which 
his baseless suppositions led him4      
,lamarck's conjectures1 equipped with a 
new hat and stick1 as ,sir ,walter      
,scott was wont to say of an old story  
renovated1 formed the foundation of the 
biological speculations of the          
8,vestiges10 a work which has done more 
harm to the progress of sound thought on
 these matters than any that could be   
named2 and1 indeed1 ,i mention it here  
simply for the purpose of denying that  
it has anything in common with what     
essentially characterises ,mr4 ,darwin's
 work4  ,the peculiar feature of the    
latter is1 in fact1 that it professes to
 tell us what in nature takes the place 
of the breeder2 what it is that favours 
the development of one variety into     
which a species may run1 and checks that

 of another2 and1 finally1 shows how    
this natural selection1 as it is termed1
 may be the physical cause of the       
production of species by modification4  
,that which takes the place of the      
breeder and selector in nature is       
,death4 ,in a most remarkable chapter1  
8,on the ,struggle for ,existence10 ,mr4
 ,darwin draws attention to the         
marvellous destruction of life which is 
constantly going on in nature4 ,for     
every species of living thing1 as for   
man1 8,eine ,bresche ist ein jeder      
,tag40--,every species has its enemies2 
every species has to compete with others
 for the necessaries of existence2 the  
weakest goes to the wall1 and death is  
the penalty inflicted on all laggards   
and stragglers4 ,every variety to which 
a species may give rise is either worse 
or better adapted to surrounding        
circumstances than its parent4 ,if      
worse1 it cannot maintain itself against
 death1 and speedily vanishes again4    
,but if better adapted1 it must1 sooner 

or later1 8improve0 its progenitor from 
the face of the earth1 and take its     
place4 ,if circumstances change1 the    
victor will be similarly supplanted by  
its own progeny2 and thus1 by the       
operation of natural causes1 unlimited  
modification may in the lapse of long   
ages occur4  ,for an explanation of what
 ,i have here called vaguely            
8surrounding circumstances10 and of why 
they continually change--for ample proof
 that the 8struggle for existence0 is a 
very great reality1 and assuredly tends 
to exert the influence ascribed to      
it--,i must refer to ,mr4 ,darwin's     
book4 ,i believe ,i have stated fairly  
the position upon which his whole theory
 must stand or fall2 and it is not my   
purpose to anticipate a full review of  
his work4 ,if it can be proved that the 
process of natural selection1 operating 
upon any species1 can give rise to      
varieties of species so different from  
one another that none of our tests will 
distinguish them from true species1 ,mr4

 ,darwin's hypothesis of the origin of  
species will take its place among the   
established theories of science1 be its 
consequences whatever they may4 ,if1 on 
the other hand1 ,mr4 ,darwin has erred1 
either in fact or in reasoning1 his     
fellow-workers will soon find out the   
weak points in his doctrines1 and their 
extinction by some nearer approximation 
to the truth will exemplify his own     
principle of natural selection4  ,in    
either case the question is one to be   
settled only by the painstaking1        
truth-loving investigation of skilled   
naturalists4 ,it is the duty of the     
general public to await the result in   
patience2 and1 above all things1 to     
discourage1 as they would any other     
crimes1 the attempt to enlist the       
prejudices of the ignorant1 or the      
uncharitableness of the bigoted1 on     
either side of the controversy4    99   
8,macmillan's ,magazine10 ,december     
#ahei4