276 THE LESSON OF EVOLUTION 



We must, however, be on our guard against analo- 

 gies. Their real use is to give us hints as to where 

 new evidence may possibly be found, and they must 

 not be taken as evidence themselves. Much harm 

 has been done by comparing a living organism to a 

 machine; forgetting that, as the living organism 

 formed itself, the real resemblance is to a machine 

 plus the men who designed it, made it, and kept it 

 in order. Analogies are not proofs, and are only 

 brought forward to prop up hypotheses for which no 

 proofs can be found. 



Thus we see that the prime mover in organic evo- 

 lution is mind ; which , whether under guidance or 

 not, has shaped out the human body and made its 

 headquarters the human brain. Mind is an active 

 force, and it is this which makes the differences be- 

 tween the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms. 

 Minerals shew no activity because they have no 

 mind. Vegetables shew slow movements only, be- 

 cause mind in the vegetable cell is cramped and 

 isolated by the cell-wall ; consequently it is of a very 

 low order. Animals are active and intelligent ; and 

 this is due to the development of mind. The origi- 

 nal mind must have had in it the rudiments of all 

 the qualities we find in man. And we may suppose 

 that intelligence, even in the earliest organisms, was 

 constantly trying experiments, some of which were 

 successful. The body of the animal or plant was 

 built up by itself in the same way that we invent 

 machinery, one improvement suggesting another. 

 Then in time admiration and sympathy emerged ; 

 and at last came free-will and with it morality. 



