426 OUTLINES OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY 



gave place to the establishment of written records, and methods 

 were invented for the indefinite multiplication of these, the 

 accumulation of knowledge took place at a much more rapid rate 

 and it became possible for every human being, at any rate in 

 civilized communities, to benefit from the experience of all his 

 fellow men. The acceleration of intellectual and moral progress 

 which has been brought about in this way has led to results 

 which may well have deluded man into the belief that he is the 

 centre of the universe and that between himself and the lower 

 animals there is a great gulf fixed. 



Man has indeed acquired a degree of control over his environ- 

 ment and over his own destiny which distinguishes him from any 

 of the lower animals, but at the same time the conditions of his 

 life have become far more complex and the young, at any rate in 

 civilized communities, have to go through a long course of 

 education before they are fit to enter upon the struggle for 

 existence on their own account. Amongst the lower animals all, 

 or almost all, the faculties necessary for existence are directly 

 inherited from the parents, incorporated in the organism itself, 

 but man inherits in this way only a relatively small proportion 

 of the powers which he requires to carry on his life. The greater 

 part of human experience is of too recent origin to have become 

 heritable ; it has to be acquired afresh by education in every 

 generation, and in this respect is strikingly contrasted with the 

 instincts of the lower animals. 



The immense advance which civilized man has made since he 

 parted company with his ape-like progenitors is shown, not only 

 by the fact that he has already to a large extent subjugated the 

 remainder of the organic world and directed the forces of inanimate 

 nature into new channels to serve his own purposes, but also by 

 the intelligent forethought which he exercises for the future 

 welfare of his own race. At the present time this forethought 

 is being exercised in new directions, and a determined effort is 

 being made to apply our knowledge of the principles of organic 

 evolution to the furtherance of human progress. In spite 

 of many differences of opinion, such as that which still 

 prevails with regard to the relative importance of breeding 

 and education, we have undoubtedly arrived already at many 

 results which are of vital significance in this connection, 

 and the intelligent application of scientific principles must 

 here, as always, lead to further progress. We cannot, however, 



