nce appear in this form; neither
did it then become the manifestation of the words "Blessed, therefore, be
God, the most excellent of Makers."(139) Gradually it passed through
various conditions and different shapes, until it attained this form and
beauty, this perfection, grace and loveliness. Thus it is evident and
confirmed that the development and growth of man on this earth, until he
reached his present perfection, resembled the growth and development of
the embryo in the womb of the mother: by degrees it passed from condition
to condition, from form to form, from one shape to another, for this is
according to the requirement of the universal system and Divine Law.

That is to say, the embryo passes through different states and traverses
numerous degrees, until it reaches the form in which it manifests the
words "Praise be to God, the best of Creators," and until the signs of
reason and maturity appear. And in the same way, man's existence on this
earth, from the beginning until it reaches this state, form and condition,
necessarily lasts a long time, and goes through many degrees until it
reaches this condition. But from the beginning of man's existence he is a
distinct species. In the same way, the embryo of man in the womb of the
mother was at first in a strange form; then this body passes from shape to
shape, from state to state, from form to form, until it appears in utmost
beauty and perfection. But even when in the womb of the mother and in this
strange form, entirely different from his present form and figure, he is
the embryo of the superior species, and not of the animal; his species and
essence undergo no change. Now, admitting that the traces of organs which
have disappeared actually exist, this is not a proof of the impermanence
and the nonoriginality of the species. At the most it proves that the
form, and fashion, and the organs of man have progressed. Man was always a
distinct species, a man, not an animal. So, if the embryo of man in the
womb of the mother passes from one form to another so that the second form
in no way resembles the first, is this a proof that the species has
changed? that it was at first an animal, and that its organs progressed
and developed until it became a man? No, indeed! How puerile and unfounded
is this idea and this thought! For the proof of the originality of the
human species, and of the permanency of the nature of man, is clear and
evident.

48: THE DIFFERENCE E