48 



Of course every proposition that does not 

 involve an antinomy of thought is possible, and 

 Father Wasmann's "bold speculation" is no ex 

 ception, but for our part it is difficult to under 

 stand how this is at all an improvement on the 

 Mivartian hypothesis ; and we utterly fail to 

 see how Father Wasmann expects to reconcile 

 it with "the principles of Christian philosophy." 

 Its main object seems to be to discover a proper 

 salve for human pride, and for this it is indeed 

 well calculated, though the notion is purely fan 

 tastic. But whether the human soul was at 

 man's creation grafted on an ape or on this 

 man-in-preparation whether we regard the 

 preparation as homunculus, or an undeveloped 

 Caliban, or a soulless man seems to be of little 

 consequence as far as " Christian philosophy" 

 is concerned. Consequently whatever may be 

 the merits of the speculation from a scientific 

 point of view, from the standpoint of Christian 

 philosophy it is absolutely worthless. There 

 seems to be one fatal flaw in- all these specula 

 tions in which the human soul is supposed to 

 be grafted on beings already possessing an an 

 terior principle of life which seems to have 



