THE WAY OF THE WILD 



67 



this fruitless struggle of millions as they stem the tide with diffi- 

 culty for a moment, then join the inevitable stream of death, and 

 the apparent heartlessness of it all, lead us sometimes to question 

 the plan and to wonder if, after all, life is worth the living. 



This is a gloomy view, however, to take of life, whether 

 animal, plant, or human. There is another and a brighter picture, 

 if only we will clear our vision to its perception. 



Existence is a great mystery. The individual is but a unit in 

 a gigantic plan — a never-ending, always-changing panorama 

 of life. As Shakespeare says, "All the world 's a stage, and all 

 the men and women merely players." Each acts his part and 

 says his lines, then passes off, giving place to another, that the 

 great drama may proceed and the whole picture be presented. 

 The individual, therefore, is fleeting, but his race goes on forever, 

 or as long as the balance of life is in its favor ; and one of the 

 duties of the individual is to help preserve that balance, which 

 he often does by surrendering his life. 1 



Among the lower species the grade of intelligence does not 

 enable the individual to see the plan or even to know the issues, 

 much less to anticipate its fate. 2 Accordingly it derives its en- 

 joyment day by day in living its life, seeking its food, and 

 rearing its young as if it were to live forever, and when the un- 

 consciously approaching end comes — a brief struggle, lasting 

 but a moment, and all is over. So nature is, after all, happy, for 

 the tragedies of life are mostly unknown in advance, they pass 

 quickly when they come, and are soon softened if not forgotten. 



If only the fittest survive, then will the next generation be 

 born of highly selected parents, and so will the race progress. 

 This is evolution ; and whatever the place of the individual in 

 the scheme, the race as a whole is bound to advance. Though 



1 In the time of war men do not count their lives in the struggle to preserve 

 the nation or to repel invaders, any more than they have counted the cost of 

 human liberty. 



2 As has been remarked already, the animal has no knowledge of death or 

 of the meaning of life. Man is probably the only one that has the slightest 

 intimation that life is limited. 



