Hulsean Lectures; Four Sermons Preached Before the University of Cambridge (Being the Hulsean Lectures for 1867), to Which Are Added Two Sermons ... the British Association in 1866 and 1867 - Softcover

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1868. Excerpt: ... APPENDIX. Note A. ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY NATURAL SELECTION. I HAVE taken the liberty of expressing my admiration of Mr Grove's philosophical acumen in grouping together the plan and operations of nature under one felicitous term. He is, I am sure, far too candid--in his address to the British Association; he has travelled over far too wide a field, and he is too conscious of the difficulties attending physical researches, not to be prepared for objections to at least some of his remarks. He appears to have accepted the Darwinian Hypothesis as explaining the origin of that Continuity which undoubtedly exists in the natural world. I, for one, am unable to accept that Hypothesis in its length and breadth without great reserve. As an illustration of the general nature of the objections which I entertain, I will take an instance from that branch of physics with which it is my lot to be most familiar--the Optical Structure of the Human Eye. From the cornea to the retina the eye is an Optical Instrument. But what an Instrument! The computation of the curves and distances of the refracting surfaces in this instrument, and the assigning of the proper law of density for the several layers in its principal lens, would require the application of a mathematical analysis, such as I hesitate not to say was never yet possessed by a human geometer. The mechanism required for instantaneously changing the forms and distances, and in one instance the magnitude, of its component parts, would require a handicraft such as never yet was possessed by a human mechanic. I say nothing of the chemistry required for the composition of the several constituent media. I presume Mr Darwin would admit that this description is not exaggerated. Now let us attend to the process of "natur...