204 THE LESSON OF EVOLUTION 



into another, so life kept renewing itself constant 

 decay and death with constant rejuvenescence. If 

 matter was indestructible, so also was mind. All 

 was eternal. All was made to go on for ever. No 

 controller was necessary. The Universe and its 

 maker were one. 



Thus the conclusions of science seemed to prove 

 that mind pervades all matter ; and this belief was 

 more acceptable to our reason than the opposite one, 

 that mind can exist outside of matter ; for of the 

 latter we have no experience. Thus a pantheistic, 

 or monistic, view of the Universe became prevalent, 

 especially in Germany. As the study of palaeon- 

 tology advanced, the succession of life on the earth 

 became a difficulty, and Darwin's theory of organic 

 development, by means of natural selection, was 

 hailed with delight as the explanation so long hoped 

 for. But, in truth, the pantheistic argument was 

 completely destroyed by the establishment of the 

 theory of evolution, which shewed that the Universe 

 was not eternal, and that progress, not repetition, 

 was the law under which it existed. 



The change thus brought about was sudden and 

 perplexing, and some very able men could not see 

 their way clearly. So they called themselves Agnos- 

 tics, thinking that no well-established beliefs on 

 theological questions were possible to the impartial 

 investigator. If this had been correct, it would have 

 been a fatal objection to the claim, which was at the 

 same time being made, that science should be in- 

 cluded in general education? Fortunately, broader 

 and more sensible views have prevailed, and it is no 



