The alternative presented, therefore, is: either the forms of one and
the same type--say, _e.g._, that of the Horse tribe[13]--arose
successively, but independently of one another, at intervals, during
myriads of years; or, the later forms are modified descendants of the
earlier. And the latter supposition is so vastly more probable than
the former, that rational men will adopt it, unless satisfactory
evidence to the contrary can be produced. The objection sometimes put
forward, that no one yet professes to have seen one species pass into
another, comes oddly from those who believe that mankind are all
descended from Adam. Has any one then yet seen the production of
negroes from a white stock, or _vice versa_? Moreover, is it
absolutely necessary to have watched every step of the progress of a
planet, to be justified in concluding that it really does go round the
sun? If so, astronomy is in a bad way.
I do not, for a moment, presume to suggest that some one, far better
acquainted than I am with astronomy and physics; or that a master of
the new chemistry, with its extraordinary revelations; or that a
student of the development of human society, of language, and of
religions, may not find a sufficient foundation for the doctrine of
evolution in these several regions. On the contrary, I rejoice to see
that scientific investigation, in all directions, is tending to the
same result.
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