The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-05-23

auts o! common ancestor, and that the 20.
culiarities acquired at each step of devotion
ment have been inherited by the offspring
long afterwards, we can not only compre.
hened the facts, but we can see that they
sreJust what, from the conditions OF deri.
Walton, VIC might naturally expect. For,
! resemblances when inherited, strongly
tend to appear In the progeny Of the same
ageas that in which the parent exhibited
them. We cannot, for instance, tell
whether an infant will, when 1t reaches
maturity BIO tall or short, be stout or
spare, but persons who remember will
otten say, that child Is very much
IKE lis parent when the latter was Of
thesAme age. Moreover, II tho various
embryonic stages are the rapid reproduc.
ton OF resemblances inherited from an.
Gent forms, we should expect 10
lind "A harmony with the sue
cession OF organisms as recorded in the
rocks. Observation shows the agreement
to be perfect, and in fact seems to leave
us no alternative to the acceptance of the
derivation theory, unless VIC conclude
that the whole thing was intended to de.
Jude ogr tntellects and entrap our beliefs,
which Is preposterous proposition. Tho
existence Of rudimentary organs NAV be
explained In the same way. If we sup
pose aspCCles 10 be descended from type
In which dlsuse and correlation Of
growth had gradually induced the atrophy
Of o previously serviceable part, we can
sec how the. inherited popularity Of the
earlier ancestor should exhibit itself be-
fore the characteristics of later ancestor
would make their appearance. These
rudimcntary organs are frequently Of great
advantage to the naturalist in enabling
him to determine the proper classification
OF species. AS Mr.. Darwin expresses
It: "Rudimentary organs may be CON-
pared with the letters IN word, still re-
tanned in the spelling, but become useless
IN the pronunciation, but which serve as q
clue for It's derivation" II, now, on the
other hand, We attempt to accountIor tho
succession Of phenomena presented BY en-.
theological development, by referring 1t
to special creation, and to the anthropo-
morphic conception Of infinite design
which special. creation implies, We shall
find ourselves involved in q multitude Of
Inconsistencies. For why this circuitous
method Of etfecting what might obviously
have been done in q much shorter way,
and with.iRr more economy Of energy
None Of these phases have any adaptation
10 the future state Of tho animal, and most
OF them arc of not the slightest service
during its embryonic existence. How,
upon theological grounds, can this round.
about way OF doing things DO explained
what" inquiries Mr.. Lewes, SHOULD we
say to an architect who was unable, or,
being able was obsllnately unwilling, to
erect q palace except by first using his
materials in the shape Of hut, then pull.
ing 1t down and rebuilding them as cot.
tsge; then adding story to story, and room
to room, not with any reference to the
ultimate purposes Of the palace, but Who'll
ly with reference to the way In which
houses were constructed in ancient
times? What should we soy 10 the archi.
tect who could not directly form mu-
scum out Of bricks and mortar, but was
forced to begin as II going TO build o
mansion, and after proceeding some way
in this direction altered his plan into a
palace, and that sgain into a museum ?
Yet this Is the sort Of succession on which
organisms are constructed It Is out Of
this very tight corner that metaphysical
naturalists have sometimes attempted 10
crawl, by gravely asserting that Nature
Is obliged to work tentatively Thus we
see that the habit Of perSonifying Nature
may sometimes be made to serve an ar
gumentative purpose. When theologians
Of certain school are molested by I'm
comfortable questions concerning the ex.
istence OF phenomena which seem incom.
patlble with the perfect wisdom of an an.
thropomurphic Deity, they are wont to
ascribe them to the devil. 1t must be
acknowledged that metaphysical thinkers
practice more graceful, though not q
more candid, method Of evasion, when
they erect Nature (spelled with capitaD
into person distinct from phenomena,
and coolly ascribe to her the shortcom-
ings which they dare not lay to the &C.
count OF personal Deity" A great step
In progress, however, has been made by
many OF that class which Is perversely
blind to the perfectly obvious teachings
Of facts, and to illustrate the advance
which has been made, I will allude 10 the
ideas entertained upon the subject Of en-
bryology by those who proLessed 10 be
acquainted with the subject, only q hun.
bred years ago. ..ET
THE IDEAS OF A CENTURY AGO.
Mr.. G. b. Lewes has called attention to
the fact that "thoSe who still profess 10
and II Incredible that complex organism
should have been developed through long
ages and through countless intermediate
forms from unicellular creature like the
> dnlos5a, nevertheless find nothing incred-
|, ible in the demonstrated fact that COM
: plex organisms are developed In few
!, weeks or months from minute homo
geneous germ. cells. Now It isinstructiyt
= 10 note that 10 the physiologists Of cen
fury ago the latter process oil development
seemed quito as Incredible as the former
The process by which . struoturelesl
e germ, assimilattng nutriment from TIL
3, blood Of the parent orgsnism, become
y gradually differentiated into such al
Is amazingly complex creature as man o
b an elephant, was not at that time under
/. stood. II seemed utterly incredible tina
8. human infant could have 90 recent,
a heen n simple globule OF protonlasm. /