support of his position, as to prepare the minds of his readers for the easy acceptance of the doctrine of transmutation of species, for unless this doctrine be admitted, all his other facts would be unavailable. He therefore lays great stress on the similarity which the human ovum bears to that of the dog, and still more, to that of the ape, to prove what he calls the structural "unity" of man and brutes, and that the physical processes of development are "identical." While we object to the use of the terms "unity" and "identical," as being deceptious, when all he can pretend to claim is similarity, yet we have no difficulty in admitting the facts which he adduces. Nobody doubts the fact, that the physical organization of man has great affinity to that of all animals belonging to the same great structural type, and particularly to those who are nearest to him in rank. What then? This similarity of structure is no evidence of identity of nature or origin. Nobody doubts that man belongs to the Animal Kingdom,—to the class of Mammalia,—and it matters little in regard to the question propounded by Mr. Huxley, whether he is placed in the same Order with the Apes, or in a separate one. We admit that the ova of a snake, fish, bird, dog, ape, and man, are all, in a certain stage of their existence, undistinguishable. What then? This does not prove that the ova of these animals are identical. On the contrary, the diversity of their future development proves that each has been impressed with a different law of being. Mr. Huxley cannot deny, nor does he pretend to, that these different ova are all invariably developed into animals of entirely separate and distinct species. What he is driving at, however, by this indirect argument, is the identity of origin and gradual transmutation of species. But this is a question of fact, in regard to which there is not a particle of evidence. What logical or philosophical connection is there between the similarity in appearance of ova which are invariably developed into distinct species of animals,—and the idea that a man may have been derived from an ape, and that an ape was once a dog? When has such a change ever taken place, in a single instance, to warrant us in assuming its possibility? Invariability in development presupposes immutability of be ing. Similarity in the appearance or in the processes of development of the ova of two distinct animals, is no more evidence that these animals can change the invariable law of their being, than similarity in the appearance or the revolution of two planets, is evidence that they may mutually change their fixed orbits and relations. Scientific facts in regard to the similarity of ova, of fetal development, and affinity of structure adduced to support, inferentially, the doctrine of transmutation of animals, furnish at best but a specious and sophistical argument in favor of identity of origin. They are calculated to mislead the unlearned into the belief that such a process is natural and feasible; but they have not the slightest scientific weight in deciding the question at issue. The question of transmutation is one of fact, and can only be determined by positive evidence. Preparatory to his grand conclusion that the Gorilla is the parent of Man, Mr. Huxley first seeks, with great labor and ingenuity, to place him in the same natural Order. Most of his subsequent facts are adduced with this intention; and he argues for this point, as if this change of classification would establish the necessary consanguinity. This position might be safely granted to him, so far as it has any true bearing on the great question under consideration. Man would be no less distinctively human, by proving, as Mr. Huxley aims to do, that the Gorilla is also a bimanous biped, and should, accordingly, be ranked in the same Order of "Primates." The true position to be established is identity of nature, from which identity of origin might be properly inferred,—not anatomical similarity, which determines only the ordinal rank which we may deem proper to assign to an animal, in our varying systems of classification. The argument by which our author attempts to prove this position, in order to deduce from it his preposterous corollary of Gorilla parentage, is precisely the same which he repeats in proof of every other point, and is founded solely on the proposition, "that the differences between Man and the Gorilla are of smaller value than those between the Gorilla and some other Apes." He argues that Man differs "less from them (the Apes) than they from one another, and hence must take his place in the same Order with them." Such an argument would be admissible, if the only point at issue were the correctness or consistency of an arbitrary scientific classification,-but applied, as it is by Mr. Huxley, to establish Man's unity of nature with the brutes and his descent from the Gorilla, it is certainly very illegitimate, if not absurd. Having secured, in the Quadrumana,* a very extensive field of comparison, he proceeds to enumerate, consecutively and with great minuteness, the differences in the proportions of the arms, legs, hands, feet, vertebra, ribs, pelvis, skulls and teeth of men and gorillas, to show that the lower Quadrumana differ as much from the Gorilla in these respects, as the last does from Man. He argues that these facts seem to him "to leave us no choice," but to place Man and the Gorilla in the same Order; and the conclusion which he deduces from this argument, by way of corollary, is, that Man is descended from the Gorilla! Such It must be borne in mind, that Mr. Huxley does not attempt to show a gradational elevation, in respect to the several parts enumerated, from the lowest to the highest Apes, culminating in the Gorilla, and the same gradational elevation continued in Man, with no greater difference between him and the Gorilla, than exists between the latter and the next highest Ape. a showing, if it could be made, would furnish a pertinent argument; but Mr. Huxley attempts nothing of the kind, though he gives to the unlearned reader the impression that such is his line of argument. But to understand the scientific value of the argument, as presented by Mr. Huxley, the reader must be informed that he takes for his field of comparison the whole Order of the Quadrumana, including even the Cheiromys, (Rat with hands,) which Cuvier classes with the Squirrels, and the Galeopithecus, (Flying Cat,) which Cuvier places among the Bats. This Order comprises over a hundred species of animals, widely differing from one another in form and structure, many of them approaching, in their characteristics, to carni *Quadrumana, (four-handed:) an Order comprising apes, monkeys, and many animals very diverse in form, but classed together (with some hesitancy) by Cuvier, from the fact that they all have prehensile feet or hand-like claws. vora, insectivora, and rodentia, resembling dogs, cats, foxes, squirrels, and even bats, in general appearance, more than the highest Apes, but all classed together in one Order, from the fact that all have four prehensile or hand-like paws. Now, Mr. Huxley, in comparing the differences between a man and the Gorilla, picks out some one of these hundred species, to show that it exhibits just as much or more difference. makes no matter with Mr. Huxley, whether the particular difference under consideration be found in the lower animal in excess or defect,-in the ascending or descending scale, in reference to man as the standard,-it is sufficient for his argument, that the particular difference be as great or greater, than the same existing between Man and the Gorilla. He might use precisely the same argument, and cite precisely the same particulars, to prove that Man is next of kin to the Bear, which stands in Cuvier's next Order of carnivora. This Order is still larger than the first, and is composed of denizens of the air, water, land, and under the land; comprising bats, sea-cows, kangaroos and moles, besides the numerous tribes of carnivorous quadrupeds inhabiting the surface of the earth. Now, in whatever respect a Bear differs from a man, it would be easy for him to find some animal in this miscellaneous category, differing still more widely from the Bear, and therefore, according to his argument, Bear and Man must be placed in the same Order. Appending his corollary with as much propriety in this case as in the other, he would come very satisfactorily to the conclusion, that Man is descended from the Bear. This would be rather an improvement upon his friend and tutor, Darwin, who can see no difficulty in a bear becoming the progenitor of whales. In closing his citations of one set of examples, Mr. Huxley makes a very pertinent remark, which we underscore. "These examples (he says) might be greatly multiplied, but they suffice to show, that in whatever proportion of its limbs the Gorilla differs from Man, the other Apes depart still more widely from the Gorilla, and that, consequently, such differences of proportion can have no ordinal value." This is exactly the truth, and is, as we think, inconsistent with his argument. These, as well as all other differences enu merated by him, can have no ordinal value, either to advance the Gorilla into the same Order as Man, or to degrade Man into the same Order as the gorilla. It is not our intention, at present, to combat the opinion of Mr. Huxley, that Man and the Quadrumana ought to be placed in the same Order of Primates. Nor is there any necessity for doing so. This, or any other classification of Man's body in the Animal Kingdom, can have no proper bearing on the momentous question propounded by Mr. Huxley, nor has it any logical connection with his argument,-neither does it lend any support to the preposterous conclusion at which he arrives. We wish, at present, simply to expose the scientific invalidity of his argument, and show how his specious and deceptious presentation of it is calculated to mislead the unlearned reader, for whom this book, as the author informs us, is chiefly prepared. Mr. Huxley reserves, for separate and special consideration, the Foot, Hand, and Brain, upon which, he says, so much stress has been laid for establishing supposed structural distinctions between Man and the Apes. He accordingly gives to each a careful examination, and derives from them his strongest reasous for placing Man and the Gorilla in the same Örder, which, with him, is tantamount to establishing unity of origin and community of nature. Mr. Huxley seems to think that if he can show that the foot, hand, and brain of the gorilla are similar in structure to the corresponding organs in man, and do not present any greater differences than those which occur among animals which are classified in the same Order as the gorilla-that he will then have proved man's consanguinity with this brute. He forgets that if he were able to show not only the similarity, but the absolute identity of structure of these organs-yet, if man possess distinctive attributes and characteristics which the gorilla does not possess, such differences would render nugatory all points of similarity which might be adduced to show unity of origin or identity of nature. Such differences, Mr. Huxley admits to exist, as we shall have occasion to point out in the sequel. Waiving all physiological, intellectual and moral differences the argument that structural differences are not essen |