Origin of Species… • 15. Recapitulation and conclusion (44)

≣  •  D a r w i n  (1 8 5 9,  1 8 7 2⁶)  •  15.  R e c a p i t u l a t i o n  a n d  c o n c l u s i o n  •  √it

---

As a record of a former state of things, I have retained in the foregoing paragraphs, and elsewhere, several sentences which imply that naturalists believe in the separate creation of each species; and I have been much censured for having thus expressed myself. But undoubtedly this was the general belief when the first edition of the present work appeared. I formerly spoke to very many naturalists on the subject of evolution, and never once met with any sympathetic agreement. It is probable that some did then believe in evolution, but they were either silent, or expressed themselves so ambiguously that it was not easy to understand their meaning. Now things are wholly changed, and almost every naturalist admits the great principle of evolution. There are, however, some who still think that species have suddenly given birth, through quite unexplained means, to new and totally different forms: but, as I have attempted to show, weighty evidence can be opposed to the admission of great and abrupt modifications. Under a scientific point of view, and as leading to further investigation, but little advantage is gained by believing that new forms are suddenly developed in an inexplicable manner from old and widely different forms, over the old belief in the creation of species from the dust of the earth.

_____________
K E Y W O R D S
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

◊ authp_C_h_a_r_l_e_s_D_a_r_w_i_n
◊ authp_C_h_D_a_r_w_i_n
◊ authp_D_a_r_w_i_n
◊ cover_O_r_i_g_i_n_o_f_S_p_e_c_i_e_s
◊ edit_J_o_h_n_M_u_r_r_a_y
◊ edit_J_M_u_r_r_a_y
◊ edit_M_u_r_r_a_y
◊ yauth_1_8_5_9, yauth_1_8_7_2, yedit_1_8_7_2
◊ book_quote, lantxt_en, hdr_v2

• keywords_da_inserire

_____
[]  C h.  D a r w i n,  ‹T h e  O r i g i n  o f  S p e c i e s›,  J o h n  M u r r a y,  1 8 7 2⁶.
¯¯¯¯¯