298 LESSONS FEOM NATURE. [CHAP. IX. 



acquired, like all the other social instincts, through natural 

 selection&quot; (vol. i. p. 16-1); an&amp;gt;l &quot;the fundamental social 

 instincts were originally thus gained&quot; (vol. i. p. 173). 



He tells us (vol. i. p. 155) : &quot; The pollen-collecting appa 

 ratus, or the sting of the worker-bee, or the great jaws of 

 soldier-ants have been thus acquired,&quot; i.e., by natural 

 selection. 



It is rarely that Mr. Darwin fails in courtesy to his oppo 

 nents ; and one may well therefore be surprised at the tone 

 of the following passage (vol. ii. p. 38G) : &quot; He who is not 

 content to look like a savage, at the phenomena of nature as 

 disconnected, cannot any longer believe that man is the work 

 of a separate act of creation, lie will be forced to admit &quot; 

 the contrary. What justifies Mr. Darwin in taking this tone 

 of superiority, and in his assumption that to suppose the soul 

 of man to have been specially created, is to regard the 

 phenomena of nature as disconnected ? 



Secondly, as an instance of Mr. Darwin s too frequent 

 He begs the practice of begging the question at issue, the fol- 



question he * 



argues. lowing assertion may be quoted: &quot;Any animal 

 whatever, endowed with well-marked social instincts, would 

 inevitably acquire a moral sense or conscience, as soon as its 

 intellectual powers had become as well developed, or nearly 

 as well developed, as in man &quot; (vol. i. p. 71). This is either 

 a monstrous assumption or a mere truism ; it is a truism, for 

 of course, any creature with the intellect of a man would 

 perceive the qualities men s intellect is capable of perceiving, 

 and, amongst them moral worth. 



Mr. Darwin, in a passage before quoted (vol. i. p. 86) slips 

 in the whole of absolute morality, by employing the phrase 

 &quot; appreciation of justice.&quot; Again (vol. i. p. 168), when he 

 speaks of aiding the needy, he remarks: &quot;Nor could we 

 check our sympathy, if so urged by hard reason, without 

 deterioration in the noblest part of our nature.&quot; How noblest? 

 According to Mr. Darwin, a virtuous instinct is a strong and 

 permanent one. There can be, according to his views, no 

 other elements of quality than intensity and duration. Mr. 



