e-flesh" (caro fossilis) brought into existence, on the
dead rocks by the "fertilising air" (aura seminalis), and so forth.

But I am wrong! for with regard to petrifactions, Virchow is in the
highest degree speculative, and accepts without any hesitation the
rash hypothesis that fossils are actually the remains of extinct
organisms, although no "certain proof" whatever can be offered in its
favour, and although experiment, the "highest means of proof," has
never yet produced a single fossil. According to him these are actual
"objective, material evidences," only here we must go no further than
certain experience teaches us, and base no subjective conclusions on
these objective facts. Thus, for instance, in the long series of the
mesozoic formations, in the different strata of the Trias, Jurassic,
and Chalk formations, for the deposition of which a lapse of many
millions of years has been required, we find absolutely no remains of
fossil mammalia beyond lower jaws; seek where we will, nothing is
anywhere to be found but lower jaws, and no other bones whatever. The
simple reasons of this striking imperfection of the palaeontological
record have been clearly expounded by Lyell, Huxley, and others.
(Comp. my "History of Creation," vol. ii. p. 32.) These great
investigators, in accordance with all other palaeontologists, have
demonstrated that these jaw-bones of the mesozoic period are the
remains of mammalia, accurately speaking of marsupials, on the simple
ground that the nether jaws of the extant recent marsupials show a
similar characteristic form with the fossil ones. They therefore
unhesitatingly assume that the rest of the bones in the bodies of
these extinct animals corresponded to those of living mammals. But
this is a quite inadmissible hypothesis devoid of any "certain proof!"
Where, then, are the other bones? Let us see them! till then we
decline to believe in them. According to Virchow, we ought rather to
assume that the lower jaw was the only bone in the body of these
extraordinary beasts. Are there not, in fact, snails, in which an
upper jaw is the only representation of a skeleton.

We cannot omit taking this opportunity of casting a side glance at the
very hazardous position which Virchow, in total opposition to his
boasted cool scepticism, has taken up in anthropology as it is called,
now his favourite branch of science. In his Munich address he tells us
that he is pursuing the study of anthropology with