315 
Now by the laws of earlier inheritance, supposing these 
individuals to leave a long line of progeny continuing for many 
generations, these features of old age would become features of 
immaturity, and then of infancy. In this case the two toothless 
periods—now infancy and old age—would be brought closer 
together ; and by the law of elimination of dissimilar stages 
(page 268), which works to obviate useless changes, the result 
can be appreciated. 
Perhaps, however, it is of little advantage to speculate on 
the future of the present quick-developing classes. Nature 
shews the same law everywhere—the quickly-developing forms 
die out—the slowly-developing forms live on; they propagate 
again and again series after series which go through the same 
quick-development and die out in turn; while still the slowly- 
developing forms live on, and, in time, very, very gradually pass 
through the same changes as the quick-developing forms 
did—ultimately perhaps to reach a higher stage of development. 
In time—a distant time truly, but none the less certain— 
the European, the quick-developing race, will disappear alto- 
gether.* The average physical strength of the race is 
diminishing. Life is certainly prolonged to a greater age, but 
only too frequently on the principle of the cracked cup often 
outlasting the sound one. Medical Science and Philanthropy, 
though admirable for the individual, absolutely necessary for a 
high degree of civilisation, and indispensable for the evolution 
of scientific thought are decidedly detrimental to the race. 
They keep alive and allow to multiply just those weakly 
members who would be so surely and summarily weeded out by 
that rotigh-and-ready process known as Natural Selection. In 
the distant future, when that over-population which they do so 
much to cherish, (teste India at the present day) precipitates 
a genuine struggle for existence, the races in which Natural 
Selection has been checked the most will assuredly go to the 
* Great fertility may accompany very considerable retrogression, as Ammon- 
ites often shew—the almost sudden disappearance of an extremely prolific stock 
being a well-known feature. As a whole the Ammonites were far more prolific 
than the Nautili; yet the former are long ago extinct, the latter still survive. 
