The foundations of The origin of species : a sketch written in 1842 / edited by Francis Darwin.
- Charles Darwin
- Date:
- 1909
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The foundations of The origin of species : a sketch written in 1842 / edited by Francis Darwin. Source: Wellcome Collection.
79/94 page 47
![hereditariness1. Because we can understand the origin of abortive organs in certain cases, it would be wrong to conclude absolutely that all must have had same origin, but the strongest analogy is in favour of it. And we can by our theory, for during infinite changes some organ, we might have anti¬ cipated, would have become useless. (We can) readily explain the fact, so astounding on any other view, namely that organs possibly useless have been formed often with the same exquisite care as when of vital importance. Our theory, I may remark would permit an organ (to) become abortive with respect to its primary use, to be turned to any other purpose, (as the buds in a cauliflower) thus we can see no difficulty in bones of male marsupials being used as fulcrum of muscles, or style of marygold2,—indeed in one point of view, the heads of [vertebrated] animal may be said to be abortive vertebrae turned into other use: legs of some Crustacea abortive jaws, &c., &c. De Candolle’s analogy of table covered with dishes3. (The following passage was possibly intended to be inserted here.) Degradation and complication see Lamarck: no tendency to perfection: if room, [even] high organism would have greater power in beating lower one, thought (?) to be selected for a degraded end. 1 The words vis medicatrix are inserted after “ useless,” apparently as a memorandum. 2 In the male florets of certain Composite the style functions merely as a piston for forcing out the pollen. 3 (On the back of the page is the following.) If abortive organs are a trace preserved by hereditary tendency, of organ in ancestor of use, we can at once see why important in natural classification, also why more plain in young animal because, as in last section, the selection has altered the old animal most. I repeat, these wondrous facts, of parts created for no use in past and present time, all can by my theory receive simple explanation ; or they receive none and we must be content with some such empty metaphor, as that of De Candolle, who compares creation to a well covered table, and says abortive organs may be compared to the dishes (some should be empty) placed symmetr ically!](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b31351761_0081.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
