XV 
DARWINISM APPLIED TO MAN 
455 
which are functional in some of the mammalia; in the 
numerous variations of his muscles and other organs agreeing 
with characters which are constant in some apes; in his 
embryonic development, absolutely identical in character with 
that of mammalia in general, and closely resembling in its details 
that of the higher quadrumana; in the diseases which he has 
in common with other mammalia; and in the wonderful 
approximation of his skeleton to those of one or other of the 
anthropoid apes, we have an amount of evidence in this 
direction Avhich it seems impossible to explain away. And 
this evidence will appear more forcible if we consider for 
a moment what the rejection of it implies. For the only 
alternative supposition is, that man has been specially created— 
that is to say, has been produced in some quite different way 
from other animals and altogether independently of them. 
But in that case the rudimentary structures, the animal like 
variations, the identical course of development, and all the other 
animal characteristics he possesses are deceptive, and inevitably 
lead us, as thinking beings making use of the reason which is 
our noblest and most distinctive feature, into gross error. 
We cannot believe, however, that a careful study of the 
facts of nature leads to conclusions directly opposed to the 
truth ; and, as we seek in vain, in our physical structure and 
the course of its development, for any indication of an origin 
independent of the rest of the animal world, we are compelled 
to reject the idea of “ special creation ” for man, as being 
entirely unsupported by facts as well as in the highest degree 
improbable. 
The Geological Antiquity of Man. 
The evidence we now possess of the exact nature of the 
resemblance of man to the various species of anthropoid apes, 
shows us that he has little special affinity for any one rather 
than another species, while he differs from them all in several 
important characters in which they agree with each other. 
The conclusion to be drawn from these facts is, that his points 
of affinity connect him with the whole group, while his special 
peculiarities equally separate him from the whole group, and 
that he must, therefore, have diverged from the common 
ancestral form before the existing types of anthropoid apes 
