首页 >出版文学> First Principles>第35章

第35章

  Eachorganasitisdeveloped,serves,byitsactionsandreactionsonthe
  rest,toinitiatenewcomplexities。Thefirstpulsationsofthefoetalheart
  mustsimultaneouslyaidtheunfoldingofeverypart。Thegrowthofeachtissue,
  bytakingfromthebloodspecialproportionsofelements,mustmodifythe
  constitutionoftheblood;andsomustmodifythenutritionofalltheother
  tissues。Thedistributiveactions,implyingastheydoacertainwaste,necessitate
  anadditiontothebloodofeffetematters,whichmustinfluencetherest
  ofthesystem,andperhaps,assomethink,initiatetheformationofexcretory
  organs。Thenervousconnexionsestablishedamongthevisceramustfurther
  multiplytheirmutualinfluences。Andsoisitwitheverymodificationof
  structure——everyadditionalpartandeveryalterationintheratiosof
  parts。Proofofamoredirectkindisfurnishedbythefact,thatthesame
  germmaybeevolvedintodifferentformsaccordingtocircumstances。Thus,
  duringitsearlieststages,everygermissexless——originateseithermale
  orfemaleasthebalanceofforcesactingonitdetermines。Again,there
  isthefamiliartruththatthelarvaofaworking—beewilldevelopintoa
  queen—beeif,beforeacertainperiod,itisfedafteramannerlikethat
  inwhichthelarvaeofqueen—beesarefed。Thenthereisthestillmorestriking
  evidencefurnishedbyantsandtermites。Riley,Grassi,Haviland,andHart,
  haveshownthatdifferencesofnutritionnotonlyoriginatethedifferences
  betweenmalesandfemalesbutalsothedifferenttraitsofsolders,workers,
  andnurses。*Varying
  degreeofnutrition,afterinitiatingtheunlikenessofsex,thendetermines
  theunlikenessesofexternalorganspossessedbythevariousclassesofsexless
  individuals。Nextcomestheevidence,stillmoredirectlyrelevant,supplied
  bytheeffectsofcastration。Iftheremovalofcertainorganspreventsthe
  developmentofcertainotherorgansinremotepartsofthesystem——inman
  thevocalstructures,thebeard,sometraitsofgeneralform,someinstincts
  andothermentalcharacters——thenitisclearthatwheretheseorganshave
  notbeenremoved,thepresenceofthemdeterminestheoccurrenceofthese
  variouschangesofdevelopment,anddoubtlessmanyminoroneswhichareunobtrusive。
  Herethefactthatonecauseproducesmanyeffectsinthecourseoforganic
  evolutionisindisputable。Doubtlessweare,andmustevercontinue,unable
  toconceivethosemysteriouspropertieswhichmakethegermwhensubject
  tofitinfluencesundergothespecialchangesinitiating,andmainlyconstituting,
  thetransformationsofanunfoldingorganism;thoughwemayconsistently
  supposethattheyrepresentaninfiniteseriesofinheritedmodifications
  consequentontheinstabilityofthehomogeneous,themultiplicationofeffects,
  andonefurtherfactorstilltobesetforth。Allherecontendedisthat,
  givenagermpossessingthesemysteriousproperties,theevolutionofan
  organismfromitdepends,inpart,onthatmultiplicationofeffectswhich
  wehaveseentobeonecauseofevolutioningeneral,sofaraswehaveyettracedit。When,leavingthedevelopmentofsingleplantsandanimals,wepassto
  thatoftheEarth'sFloraandFauna,thecourseoftheargumentagainbecomes
  clearandsimple。Though,asbeforeadmitted,thefragmentaryfactsPalaeontology
  hasaccumulated,donotclearlywarrantusinsayingthat,inthelapseof
  geologictime,therehavebeenevolvedmoreheterogeneousorganisms,and
  moreheterogeneousassemblagesoforganisms;yetweshallnowseethatthere
  musteverhavebeenatendencytowardstheseresults。Weshallfindthat
  theproductionofmanyeffectsbyonecause,which,asalreadyshown,has
  beenallalongincreasingthephysicalheterogeneityoftheEarth,hasfurther
  necessitatedanincreasingheterogeneityofitsinhabitingorganisms,individuallyandcollectively。Anillustrationwillmakethisclear。Supposethatbyupheavals,occurring,astheyareknowntodo,atlong
  intervals,theEastIndianArchipelagowereraisedintoacontinent,and
  achainofmountainsformedalongtheaxisofelevation。Bythefirstof
  theseupheavals,theplantsandanimalsofBorneo,Sumatra,NewGuinea,and
  therest,wouldbesubjectedtoslightly—modifiedsetsofconditions。The
  climateofeachwouldbealteredintemperature,inhumidity,andinits
  periodicalvariations,whilethelocaldifferenceswouldbemultiplied。The
  modificationswouldeffect,perhapsinappreciably,theentireFloraandFauna
  oftheregion。Thechangeoflevelwouldentailadditionalmodifications,
  varyingindifferentspecies,andalsoindifferentmembersofthesamespecies,
  accordingtotheirdistancefromtheaxisofelevation。Plantsgrowingonly
  onthesea—shoreinspeciallocalities,mightbecomeextinct。Others,living
  onlyinswampsofacertainhumidity,would,iftheysurvivedatall,probably
  undergovisiblechangesofappearance。Whilemoremarkedalterationswould
  occurinsomeoftheplantsthatspreadoverthelandsnewlyraisedoutof
  thewater。Theanimalsandinsectslivingonthesemodifiedplants,would
  themselvesbeinsomedegreemodifiedbychangesoffood,aswellasbychanges
  ofclimate;andthemodificationswouldbemoremarkedwhere,fromthedwindling
  ordisappearanceofonekindofplant,analliedkindwaseaten。Inthelapse
  ofthemanygenerationsarisingbeforethenextupheaval,thesensibleor
  insensiblealterationsthusproducedineachspecies,wouldbecomeorganized
  ——inalltheraceswhichsurvivedtherewouldbemoreorlessadaptation
  tothenewconditions。Thenextupheavalwouldsuperinducefurtherorganic
  changes,implyingwiderdivergencesfromtheprimaryforms;andsorepeatedly。
  Now,however,observethatthisrevolutionwouldnotbeasubstitutionof
  athousandmodifiedspeciesforthethousandoriginalspecies;butinplace
  ofthethousandoriginalspeciestherewouldariseseveralthousandspecies,
  orvarieties,orchangedforms。Eachspeciesbeingdistributedoveranarea
  ofsomeextent,andtendingcontinuallytocolonizethenewareaexposed,
  itsdifferentmemberswouldbesubjecttodifferentsetsofchanges。Plants
  andanimalsmigratingtowardstheequatorwouldnotbeaffectedinthesame
  waywithothersmigratingfromit。Thosewhichspreadtowardsthenewshores,
  wouldundergochangesunlikethechangesundergonebythosewhichspread
  intothemountains。Thus,eachoriginalraceoforganismswouldbecomethe
  rootfromwhichdivergedseveralraces,differingmoreorlessfromitand
  fromoneanother;andwhilesomeofthesemightsubsequentlydisappear,probably
  morethanonewouldsurviveintothenextgeologicperiod。Notonlywould
  certainmodificationsbethuscausedbychangesofphysicalconditionsand
  food,butalso,insomecases,othermodificationscausedbychangesofhabit。
  Thefaunaofeachisland,peopling,stepbystep,thenewly—raisedtracts,
  wouldeventuallycomeincontactwiththefaunasofotherislands;andsome
  membersoftheseotherfaunaswouldbeunlikeanycreaturesbeforeseen。
  Herbivoresmeetingwithnewbeastsofpreywould,insomecases,beledinto
  modesofdefenceorescapedifferingfromthosepreviouslyused;andsimultaneously
  thebeastsofpreywouldmodifytheirmodesofpursuitandattack。Weknow
  thatwhencircumstancesdemandit,suchchangesofhabitdotakeplacein
  animals;andweknowthatifthenewhabitsbecomethedominantones,they
  musteventuallyinsomedegreealtertheorganization。Note,now,afurther
  consequence。Theremustarisenotsimplyatendencytowardsthedifferentiation
  ofeachraceoforganismsintoseveralraces;butalsoatendencytothe
  occasionalproductionofasomewhathigherorganism。Takeninthemass,these
  divergentvarieties,whichhavebeencausedbyfreshphysicalconditions
  andhabitsoflife,willexhibitalterationsquiteindefiniteinkindand
  degree,andalterationsthatdonotnecessarilyconstituteanadvance。Probably
  inmostcasesthemodifiedtypewillbenotappreciablymoreheterogeneous
  thantheoriginalone。Butitmustnowandthenoccurthatsomedivision
  ofaspecies,fallingintocircumstanceswhichgiveitrathermorecomplex
  experiences,anddemandactionssomewhatmoreinvolved,willhavecertain
  ofitsorgansfurtherdifferentiatedinproportionatelysmalldegrees——
  willbecomeslightlymoreheterogeneous。Hence,therewillfromtimetotime
  ariseanincreasedheterogeneitybothoftheEarth'sfloraandfauna,and
  ofindividualracesincludedinthem。Omittingdetailedexplanations,and
  allowingforqualificationswhichcannotherebespecified,itissufficiently
  clearthatgeologicalmutationshaveallalongtendedtocomplicatetheforms
  oflife,whetherregardedseparatelyorcollectivelyThatmultiplication
  ofeffectswhichhasbeenapart—causeofthetransformationoftheEarth's
  crustfromthesimpleintothecomplex,hassimultaneouslyledtoaparallel
  transformationoftheLifeuponitssurface。(*)