THE ORIGIN OF MAN 57 



I have recently read of a pathetic case in point. In 

 the Encyclopaedia Americana you will find a 

 sketch of the life of George John Romanes, from 

 which the following extract is taken: " Romanes, 

 George John, English scientist. In 1879 he was 

 elected fellow of the Royal Society and in 1S7S pub- 

 lished, under the pseudonym * Physicus/ a work en- 

 titled, *A Candid Examination of Theism,' in which 

 he took up a somewhat defiant atheistic position. Sul> 

 sequently his views underwent considerable change ; he 

 revised the * Candid Examination,' and, toward the 

 close of his life, was engaged on *A Candid Examina- 

 tion of Religion,' in which he returned to theistic be- 

 liefs. His notes for this work were published after his 

 death, under the title * Thoughts on Religion,* edited 

 by Canon Gore. Romanes was an ardent supporter of 

 Darwin and the evolutionists and in various works 

 sought to extend evolutionary principles to mind, both 

 m the lower animals and in the man. He wrote very 

 extensively on modem biological theories." 



Let me use Romanes' own language to describe the 

 disappointing experiences of this intellectual '* prodigal 

 son." On page 180 of "Thoughts on Religion" 

 (written, as above stated, just before his death but not 

 published until after his demise) he says, " The views 

 that I entertained on this subject (Plan in Revelation) 

 when an undergraduate (/. e., the ordinary orthodox 

 views) were abandoned in the presence of the tlieory 

 of Evolution." 



It was the doctrine of Evolution that led him astray. 

 He attempted to employ reason to the exclusion of 



