Thetwoviewsveryunequallydividethescientificworld; sothatbelieversin "thedivinerightofmajorities" neednothesitatewhichsidetotake,, : theemissiontheoryhasgoneout;theundulatoryorwavetheory, aftersomefluctuation,hasreachedhightide, andisnowthepervading, .
Theadoptionoftheundulatorytheoryoflightcalledfortheextensionofthesametheorytoheat, andthispromptlysuggestedthehypothesisofacorrelation,materialconnection, andtransmutabilityofheat,light, electricity, magnetism, etc.; whichhypothesisthephysicistsheldinabsolutesuspenseuntilverylately, , , itisgenerallyreceivedasatenableandprobablytruehypothesis.
Paralleltothis, howeverlesscogentthereasons,Darwinandothers, havingshownitlikelythatsomevarietiesofplantsoranimalshavedivergedintimeintocognatespecies, orintoformsasdifferentasspecies, areledtoinferthatallspeciesofagenusmayhavethusdivergedfromacommonstock, andthencetosupposeahighercommunityoforigininagesstillfartherback, , andacknowledgingthefactofthediversificationofaoncehomogeneousspeciesintovarieties, wemayreceivethetheoryoftheevolutionoftheseintospecies, -sightedpeopleareapttobepreternaturallyclear-sighted, andtofindtheirwayveryplaintopositiveconclusionsupononesideortheotherofeverymootedquestion.
Infact, mostpeople, andsomephilosophers, refusetoholdquestionsinabeyance, , curiouslyenough,themoredifficult, recondite, andperplexing, thequestionsorhypothesesare—such, forinstance, asthoseaboutorganicNature—, andevidentlyinthepresentcase, , thoughperhapsneedless, and, ifso, unwise.
