To those who regard the "plan of
creation" as the "free conception of an Almighty intellect, matured in
the thoughts of the latter before it is manifested in palpable, external
forms," it will appear to be a mere caprice of the Creator, as it is
inexplicable either from the point of view of practical adaptation, or
from the "typical plan of structure." From the side of Darwin's theory,
on the contrary, this fact acquires meaning and significance, and it
appears in return to be fitted to throw light upon a question in which
Bronn saw "the first and most material objection against the new
theory," namely, how it is possible that from the accumulation in
various directions of the smallest variations running out of one
another, varieties and species are produced, which stand out from the
primary form clearly and sharply like the petiolated leaf of a
Dicotyledon, and are not amalgamated with the primary form and with each
other like the irregular curled lobes of a foliaceous Lichen.
Let us suppose that the males of our Tanais, hitherto identical in
structure, begin to vary, in all directions as Bronn thinks, for aught I
care. If the species was adapted to its conditions of existence, if the
BEST in this respect had been attained and secured by natural selection,
fresh variations affecting the species as a species would be
retrogressions, and thus could have no prospect of prevailing.
Pages:
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36