PHYSICAL EVOLUTION 



CHAPTER I 



It is a common opinion that, in consequence of 

 man's very extensive conquest over the forces of 

 nature, he is no longer under the operation of that law 

 which, in the vast majority of instances, bids species 

 change in adaption to a changing environment, or 

 perish, and that therefore his evolution has ceased. 

 Dr. Moxon expressed this opinion when he said, in the 

 passage quoted at the beginning of this work, that 

 " now the plan is so turned about by the arrival of man 

 on the scene, and by his civilization, that you cannot 

 watch Darwin and Huxley themselves without seeing 

 that the struggle that they and other good men wage 

 is no struggle for existence." It is true that civilized 

 man no longer contends against wild beasts, and that, 

 generally speaking, he is safe from cold and hunger and 

 thirst; no longer does he necessarily perish if he be 

 weak of limb or deficient in cunning, or because he 

 cannot endure prolonged exposure or privation. Never- 

 theless, it is also true that the strong in mind and body 

 are still the more successful in securing mates, and in 

 providing suitable food and shelter for them, and for 

 their offspring, who in the next generation likewise 

 wage a successful strife. 



That the evolution of physical and mental powers in 



199 



