Theoriginofspecies, likeallorigination, liketheinstitutionofanyothernaturalstateororder, ; wecanonlyframehypothesesastohowtheybegan.
Twohypothesesdividethescientificworld, veryunequally, ; theother, , thatallkindsoriginatedsupernaturallyanddirectlyassuch, andhavecontinuedunchangedintheorderofNature; theother, thatthepresentkindsappearedinsomesortofgenealogicalconnectionwithotherandearlierkinds,thattheybecamewhattheynowareinthecourseoftimeandintheorderofNature.
Or, bringinginthewordspecies, whichiswelldefinedas "theperennialsuccessionofindividuals,"commonlyofverylikeindividuals—asaclosecorporationofindividualsperpetuatedbygeneration,insteadofelection—andreducingthequestiontomathematicalsimplicityofstatement: speciesarelinesofindividualscomingdownfromthepastandrunningontothefuture; linesreceding, therefore,, asageneralthingneitherapproachingtonordivergingfromeachother.
