2 THE LIVING WORLD. 



indefiniteness and complexity of this sort of evi- 

 dence make the problem a very difficult one, and it 

 is not to be wondered at if as yet the complete 

 history cannot be told. But if the record is dis- 

 jointed, there is, on the other hand, one advantage 

 which history drawn from such a source presents. 

 Recorded history is frequently intentionally falsified, 

 and more often written so as to give personal im- 

 pressions of the historian by incorrectly stating the 

 facts, and thus making it impossible to determine 

 the truths of which detailed record is written. 

 There is no such falsifying possible to the record 

 given of the history of life written in nature. We 

 must believe nature is true, or give up all hope of 

 knowledge. While, then, the complexity of the 

 record makes the interpretation difficult, the impos- 

 sibility of nature making a false record gives to the 

 conclusions that are reached a certain security, of 

 which the biologist is proud and which is the justi- 

 fication of his claim that he deals only with facts. 



There are several distinct sources in the realm of 

 scientific facts from which the student endeavors to 

 read the history of life. Recorded history of any 

 sort, of course, tells us almost nothing. A few facts 

 concerning the stability of recent species we do 

 succeed in learning from the monumental records 

 of Egypt, and a few facts in the history of man are 

 written, but this is all. 



Evidence from Fossils. 



The most valuable source of evidence from which 

 we can trace the history of life of past ages is that 



