360 THE LIMITS OF NATURAL SELECTION 



time I must confess, that this theory has the disadvan- 

 tage of requiring the intervention of some distinct indi- 

 vidual intelligence, to aid in the production of what we 

 can hardly avoid considering as the ultimate aim and 

 outcome of all organized existence intellectual, ever- 

 advancing, spiritual man. It therefore implies, that 

 the great laws which govern the material universe were 

 insufficient for his production, unless we consider (as 

 we may fairly do) that the controlling action of such 

 higher intelligences is a necessary part of those laws, 

 just as the action of all surrounding organisms is one of 

 the agencies in organic development. But even if my 

 particular view should not be the true one, the difficul- 

 ties I have put forward remain, and I think prove, that 

 some more general and more fundamental law under- 

 lies that of " natural selection." The law of u uncon- 

 scious intelligence" pervading all organic nature, put 

 forth by Dr. Laycock and adopted by Mr. Murphy, is 

 such a law ; but to my mind it has the double disad- 

 vantage of being both unintelligible and incapable of 

 any kind of proof. It is more probable, that the true 

 law lies too deep for us to discover it ; but there seems 

 to me, to be ample indications that such a law does 

 exist, and is probably connected with the absolute ori- 

 gin of life and organization. 



TJie Origin of Consciousness. 



The question of the origin of sensation and of thought 

 can be but briefly discussed in this place, since it is a 

 subject wide enough to require a separate volume for 



