The Descent of Maji 9 



These are liard words; and, even at the risk of being 

 accused of wilful blindness, we shall now proceed, with an 

 unbiassed and unprejudiced mind, to examine carefully the 

 arguments upon which Mr. Darwin's theory rests. Must we 

 acknowledge that ' man Avith all his noble qualities, with sym- 

 pathy which feels for the most debased, with benevolence 

 which extends not only to other men but to the humblest 

 living creature, with his god-like intellect which has pene- 

 trated into the movements and constitution of the solar 

 system,' must we acknowledge that man 'with all these 

 exalted powers ' is descended from an Ascidian ? Is this a 

 scientific truth resting on scientific evidence, or is it to be 

 classed with the speculations of a bygone age ? 



With regard to the Origin of Man, Mr. Darwin considers 

 that both ' natural selection ' and ' sexual selection ' have 

 acted. We need not on the present occasion discuss the 

 action of natural selection ; but it will be necessary to con- 

 sider that of 'sexual selection' at some length. It plays a 

 very important part in the 'descent of man,' according to 

 Mr. Darwin's views. He maintains that we owe to it our 

 power of song and our hairlessness of body, and that also to 

 it is due the formation and conservation of the various races 

 and varieties of the human species. In this matter then we 

 fear we shall have to make some demand upon our reader's 

 patience. 'Sexual selection' is the corner-stone of Mr. 

 Darwin's theory. It occupies three-fourths of his two 

 volumes ; and unless he has clearly established this point, the 

 whole fabric falls to the ground. It is impossible, therefore, to 

 review the book without entering fully into the subject, even 

 at the risk of touching upon some points which, for obvious 

 reasons, we should have preferred to pass over in silence. 



Under the head of ' sexual selection ' Mr. Darwin includes 

 two very distinct processes. One of these consists in the 

 action of superior strength or activity, by which one male 



