Darwinism in Ethics. 119 



has originated and developed to its present stage 

 through the preservation and accumulation of a 

 number of useful modifications which, whether 

 of individual or social benefit, gave our semi- 

 human, semi-brutal ancestors an advantage over 

 other animals in the struggle for life. Of these 

 modifications, one of the most obvious is an erect 

 attitude. This peculiarity, which the orang, the 

 gorilla, and the gibbon seem now on the way to 

 acquiring, has manifest advantages. It enabled 

 simian man, not only to hurl missiles at his 

 enemies without forfeiting the power of simul 

 taneous locomotion, but also to break and dress 

 stones for definite purposes, thus beginning the 

 career of that tool-using animal whose skill and 

 ingenuity have changed the face of his physical 

 environment. 



But this career, even in its commencement, 

 would have been impossible without the emer 

 gence of a still more important factor in the de 

 velopment. Mind is infinitely more useful than 

 mere bodily structure ; and it is not necessary to 

 deny intelligence to the lower animals when we 

 assert that the human mind is the most colossal 

 and revolutionary of all the modifications any 

 species has undergone. Such an enormous ad 

 vantage would be preserved and perpetuated by 



