396 FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE, 



that we could say, " Thus it is " from that moment we 

 could not dare to feel any scruple about introducing it 

 into our actual life, so as not only to communicate it to 

 every educated man, but to impart it to every child, to 

 make it the foundation of our whole ideas of the world, 

 of society, and the State, and to base upon it our whole 

 system of education. This I hold to be a necessity.' 



It would be interesting to know the persons desig- 

 nated by the pronoun 'we' in the first sentence of the 

 foregoing quotation. No doubt Professor Haeckel 

 would accept this canon in all its fulness, and found 

 on it his justification. He would say without hesita- 

 tion : ' I am convinced that the theory of evolution is a 

 perfectly established doctrine, and hence on your own 

 showing I am justified in urging its introduction into 

 our schools.' It is plain, however, that Professor 

 Virchow would not accept this retort as valid. His 

 * we ' must cover something more than Professor 

 Haeckel. It would probably cover more even than the 

 audience he addressed ; for he would hardly affirm, 

 even if every one of his hearers accepted the theory of 

 evolution, that that would be a sufficient warrant for 

 forcing it upon the public at large. His 'we,' I 

 submit, needs definition. If he means that the theory 

 of evolution ought to be introduced into our schools, 

 not when experts are agreed as to its truth, but when 

 the community is prepared for its introduction, then, I 

 think, he is right, and that, as a matter of social 

 policy, Dr. Haeckel would be wrong in seeking to 

 antedate the period of its introduction. In dealing 

 with the community great changes must have timeli- 

 ness as well as truth upon their side. But if the 

 mouths of thinkers be stopped, the necessary social 

 preparation will be impossible ; an unwholesome divorce 

 will be established between the expert and the public, 



