﻿THE 
  ISSUES 
  OF 
  LIFE 
  301 
  

  

  rabbit 
  in 
  the 
  scamper 
  towards 
  the 
  warren 
  is 
  caught 
  by 
  the 
  

   fox, 
  his 
  elimination 
  is 
  not 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  there 
  being 
  others 
  

   of 
  his 
  kind 
  who 
  are 
  more 
  alert 
  and 
  agile. 
  The 
  barbarous 
  

   proverb 
  Lupus 
  lupo 
  lupus 
  was 
  invented 
  by 
  Man 
  as 
  an 
  excuse 
  

   for 
  his 
  own 
  unnatural 
  behaviour, 
  and 
  there 
  is 
  much 
  better 
  

   biology 
  in 
  Kipling's 
  Jungle 
  Books. 
  

  

  4. 
  Correction 
  of 
  Some 
  Misconceptions 
  of 
  the 
  Struggle 
  

  

  for 
  Existence. 
  

  

  A 
  number 
  of 
  attempts 
  have 
  been 
  made 
  to 
  correct 
  the 
  idea 
  

   which 
  has 
  taken 
  such 
  firm 
  hold 
  of 
  men's 
  minds 
  that 
  Nature 
  

   is 
  in 
  a 
  state 
  of 
  ceaseless 
  warfare 
  and 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  especially 
  

   frightful 
  competition 
  for 
  food 
  and 
  foothold 
  among 
  the 
  mem- 
  

   bers 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  species. 
  Thus 
  Herbert 
  Spencer 
  was 
  clearly 
  

   of 
  opinion 
  that 
  the 
  purely 
  self-seeking 
  animal 
  is 
  a 
  fiction. 
  

   " 
  Self-sacrifice 
  is 
  no 
  less 
  primordial 
  than 
  self-preservation." 
  

   " 
  From 
  the 
  dawn 
  of 
  life, 
  altruism 
  has 
  been 
  no 
  less 
  essential 
  

   than 
  egoism." 
  

  

  Darwin 
  himself 
  in 
  The 
  Descent 
  of 
  Man 
  showed 
  that 
  in 
  

   many 
  animal 
  societies 
  the 
  struggle 
  between 
  individuals 
  dis- 
  

   appears, 
  being 
  replaced 
  by 
  co-operation. 
  Survival 
  is 
  not 
  

   restricted 
  to 
  the 
  strongest, 
  but 
  may 
  reward 
  those 
  that 
  give 
  

   the 
  best 
  send-off 
  to 
  their 
  offspring 
  or 
  excel 
  in 
  self-subordina- 
  

   tion 
  and 
  mutual 
  support. 
  " 
  Those 
  communities," 
  he 
  wrote 
  

   (Descent 
  of 
  Man, 
  2nd 
  Ed., 
  p. 
  163), 
  "which 
  included 
  the 
  

   greatest 
  number 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  sympathetic 
  members 
  would 
  

   flourish 
  best, 
  and 
  rear 
  the 
  greatest 
  number 
  of 
  offspring." 
  

   It 
  should 
  be 
  remembered, 
  too, 
  that 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  tasks 
  which 
  

   Darwin 
  proposed 
  for 
  himself, 
  but 
  did 
  not 
  accomplish, 
  was 
  

   an 
  inquiry 
  into 
  the 
  natural 
  checks 
  to 
  over-multiplication. 
  

  

  Kessler, 
  a 
  Russian 
  zoologist, 
  brought 
  forward 
  evidence 
  

   in 
  support 
  of 
  the 
  thesis 
  that 
  " 
  in 
  the 
  evolution 
  of 
  the 
  organic 
  

  

  