10 THE WHENCE AND THE WHITHER OF MAN 



the truth of materialism and pantheism, and vastly 

 more than they, and it avoids their errors and omis- 

 sions. 



To the old metaphysical hypothesis of evolution 

 Mr. Darwin gave a scientific basis. It had always 

 been admitted that species were capable of slight vari- 

 ation and that this divergence might become heredi- 

 tary and thus perhaps give rise to a variety of the 

 parent species. But it was denied that the variation 

 could go on increasing indefinitely, it seemed soon to 

 reach a limit and stop. Early in the present century 

 Lamarck had attempted to prove that by the use and 

 disuse of organs through a series of generations a great 

 divergence might arise resulting in new species. But 

 the .theory was crude, capable at best of but limited 

 application, and fell before the arguments and authority 

 of Cuvier. The times were not ripe for such a theory. 

 Some fifty years later, Mr. Darwin called attention to 

 the struggle for existence as a means of aggregating 

 these slight modifications in a divergence sufficient to 

 produce new species, genera, or families. His argu- 

 ment may be very briefly stated as follows : 



1. There is in Nature a law of heredity ; like begets 

 like. 



2. The offspring is never exactly like the parent; 

 and the members of the second generation differ more 

 or less from one another. This is especially noticeable 

 in domesticated plants and animals, but no less true of 

 wild forms. If the parent is not exactly like the 

 other members of the species, some of its descendants 

 will inherit its peculiarities enhanced, others dimin- 

 ished. 



3. Every species tends to increase in geometrical 



