Evolution: The Quest of Truth 147 



" And upon enlarging the field of investiga- 

 tion the evolutionist is confronted with still 

 more serious grounds for embarrassment, for 

 there is not only no universal law of improve- 

 ment, or elaboration, on which his theory 

 largely depends, but on the other hand in 

 scores of instances, there is among things 

 having life a pronounced deterioration of parts 

 and functions. 



" When, therefore, the evolutionist in support 

 of his theory says there is in the kingdom of 

 living things a universal law of constant develop- 

 ment and improvement, he most certainly is 

 not telling the truth ; and for one to build 

 theories upon such false assumptions is clearly 

 a gross violation of the scientific spirit and 

 method." 



What the evolutionist means by progress 

 is not necessarily an increasing complexity and 

 an addition of new parts or attributes in every 

 organism, but rather a progressing or continu- 

 ing modification. The loss of characters is 

 just as much a process of evolution as the 

 acquiring of characters, for it may just as 



