CHAPTER VI. 



THE SIMIAN ORIGIN OF MAN. 

 The Missing Link. 



ANOTHER question in connection with Evolution 

 which has attracted even greater attention than 

 spontaneous generation, is that respecting the animal 

 origin of man. If it be true that living has evolved 

 from not-living matter ; if it be admitted that the 

 higher are genetically related to the lower forms of 

 life, then, we are told, the only logical inference is 

 that man is descended from some form of animal. 

 With the majority of contemporary non-Catholic 

 evolutionists, the conviction of the truth of man's 

 animal origin is so strong, that it is accepted as a fact 

 which no longer admits of doubt. According to 

 their view, all that remains is to trace man's relation- 

 ship with his dumb predecessor, to discover the 

 "missing link" which connects him with the beasts 

 of the field, and the controversy is closed forever. 



Here again, as in the case of spontaneous gener- 

 ation, we must carefully discriminate between fact 

 and theory ; between positive evidence for man's 

 simian genealogy, and the various assumptions which 

 so many evolutionists are ever too ready to ask us to 

 accept. 



I can do no better than reproduce here the tes- 

 timony of one who will not be accused of bias 

 (340) 



