THE DOGMA OF EVOLUTION 



ing an author credit for consistency, I, without think- 

 ing much about the matter, take it for granted that 

 if the fundamental principles are wrong the rest can- 

 not be right; and thereupon cease reading — being, I 

 suspect, rather glad of an excuse for doing so."^ Both 

 religion and poetry bored him because of their appeal 

 to the imagination. Homer and Dante inspired in 

 him only disgust because of their triviality and mo- 

 notony. The most striking instance of this aridity of 

 character is shown by the action of his intimate friend 



E. A. B who wrote him that painful as it was 



they must break their friendship and become as 

 strangers to each other; for "I should feel that I was 

 bound to leave no means untried to endeavour to 

 bring you to a true view of the truths of religion, but 

 I know so well that no argument on such a subject 

 ever yet convinced one who has closed his ears to 

 everything but human reason^^ 



To Spencer, the philosopher, should be added Dar- 

 win on account of his dominance in the biological 

 sciences, and Buckle, who first attempted to reduce 

 the history of the genus Jiofno to the laws of a science. 

 Before discussing the effect of the doctrine of evolu- 

 tion, by means of natural selection, on social and re- 

 ligious life let us briefly recapitulate the conclusions 

 of the previous chapters. The doctrine has been pre- 

 sented to us under four different aspects. 



'^Autobiography, Appleton and Co., vol. I, p. 289. 

 "^Ibid., vol. I, p. 316. 



C 302 3 



