gained in ten thousand other flowers which do not possess them. Is it
not then an extraordinary idea, to imagine the Creator of the universe
contriving the various complicated parts of these flowers, as a mechanic
might contrive an ingenious toy or a difficult puzzle? Is it not a more
worthy conception, that they are the results of those general laws which
were so cooerdinated at the first introduction of life upon the earth as
to result necessarily in the utmost possible development of varied
forms." (p. 270) "I for one," he says, "cannot believe that the world
would come to chaos if left to law alone.... If any modification of
structure could be the result of law, why not all? If some
self-adaptations should arise, why not others? If any varieties of
color, why not all the varieties we see? No attempt is made to explain
this except by reference to the fact that 'purpose' and 'contrivance'
are everywhere visible, and by an illogical deduction they could only
have arisen by the direct action of some mind, because the direct action
of our minds produce similar 'contrivances;' but it is forgotten that
adaptation, however produced, must have the appearance of design." (p.
280)[17] After referring to the fact that florists and breeders can
produce varieties in plants and animals, so that, "whether they wanted a
bull-dog to torture another animal, a greyhound to catch a hare, or a
bloodhound to hunt down their oppressed fellow-creatures, the required
variations have always appeared," he adds: "To be consistent, our
opponents must maintain that every one of the variations that have
rendered possible the changes produced by man, have been determined at
the right time and place by the Creator. Every race produced by the
florist or breeder, the dog or the pigeon fancier, the rat-catcher, the
sporting man, or the slave-hunter, must have been provided for by
varieties occurring when wanted; and as these variations were never
withheld, it would prove that the sanction of an all-wise and all
powerful Being has been given to that which the highest human minds
consider to be trivial, mean, or debasing." (p. 290)[18]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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