130 PREADAMITE MAN. 



the latter in profusion. The discovery of these lake-dwellings, 

 then, has proved the existence of man in times belonging to 

 the present geological period : that is to say, since our planet 

 has assumed its present consolidation and outline; yet, so far 

 as relates to the Danish peat records, and the Swiss lake vil- 

 lages, at times before the earliest historical notice. The dis- 

 covery has proved, moreover, that human beings living at 

 periods which, though historically remote, are geologically 

 recent, died and decomposed, leaving no personal remnants : 

 which demonstrated, a cause is shown for not expecting to 

 discover human personal remnants in geological formations of 

 date immeasurably earlier. 



The new phase of thought which has dawned in respect to 

 the antiquity of man upon the earth a phase dating from 

 the last half-century, and especially since the exploration of 

 the Torquay caves naturally associates itself with another 

 topic of speculation, that, though not now, has been of late 

 much discussed namely, the theory of development in regard 

 to animal species. It starts naturally from the question 

 whether animal species are fixed and immutable, or whether 

 subject to change I The first impression likely to be conveyed 

 would be in favour of the fixity of species. Thus, appealing 

 each to his own individual experience, we find that horses 

 beget horses, dogs beget dogs, and so on for other animals ; 

 but slight consideration suffices to suggest the doubt that the 

 experience acquired in the space of any one human life may 

 not be conclusive. The question is not, what happens during 

 the short period of sixty, seventy, or eighty years ; not what 

 has happened during the whole span of history; but wh&tmay 

 have happened during the countless ages of geological mutation. 

 The theory of development does not assume that in the al- 

 most infinitesimally small space of time of which history is 

 made up, far less that in the life of any one human being, 

 any complete mutation of species shall have been observed. 

 It will be enough to give countenance to the hypothesis if 



