72 NO STRUGGLE NO SELECTION 



for the principle of evolution, and as such may appear 

 to accord with and explain the general phenomena of 

 Nature. For example, Darwin uses the term Natural 

 Selection to express certain processes, which he has as- 

 sumed to be probably those of Nature in her evolutional 

 work. But, I ask, is it in his power to say with any 

 authority that such and such phenomena are the result 

 of Natural Selection, when he admits that Nature's 

 evolutional processes and action must ever remain be- 

 yond the sphere of human observation and of human 

 knowledge ? " We see nothing," he says, " of those slow 

 changes in progress until the hand of time has marked 

 the lapse of ages, and then so imperfect is our view 

 into geological ages, that we see only that the forms of 

 life are now different from what they formerly were." 



In other words, Nature's evolutional action has been 

 hidden from us by the long lapse of time, and still 

 more by the secular duration required for each 

 infinitesimal accumulation, so that we can never really 

 know anything beyond the fact that a principle of 

 evolution has been at work, producing those changes 

 which we see have taken place, when we compare the 

 present forms of life with those which we know 

 peopled the earth in past geological ages. When, 

 therefore, Darwin says that Natural Selection accords 

 with, and explains the general phenomena of Nature, 

 he can mean no more than that in his opinion he has 

 made a lucky guess, and discovered a hypothetical 

 principle of evolution which does so. But when we 

 study the factors which make up this principle, and 



