22 LIFE AS AN INCESSANT WARFARE. 



of the Wilderness" and has disputed with them for 

 possession of the land, the truth of the Darwinian 

 theory of "the survival of the fittest" has established 

 itself by the civilized man displacing the aboriginal 

 stock, whether of man or of animals, even down to 

 many of the original flora of the country. 



From the beginning of time this has been the universal 

 law. It is not that Nature is partial in her dealings 

 by no means. The smiles and frowns of fortune 

 are but a fiction of the poet's brain. If we interpret 

 the provisions of her statute's rightly, we shall find 

 that the unchangeable law of Nature has ordained that 

 " life is an incessant warfare " and in that fierce 

 struggle for existence there is no such thing as standing 

 aloof we must fight, or die. There is no such thing 

 as " quarter " to the vanquished. The strongest 

 and the fittest conquers and survives, while the 

 weaker falls and perishes for the same reason that 

 10 pounds will weigh down 5 pounds because it is 

 the heaviest. 



Is there then no other principle recognized in Nature 

 than the rule of brute force? 



Probably on this head all that can be safely said 

 is that if we would avoid the penalties inevitably 

 attached to a defiance of the laws of Nature, it can 

 only be by obedience to the precepts taught us 

 through the knowledge gained by means of her works. 



And herein lies the true secret of the power of 

 civilization. The light of science enables the civilized 

 man to come nearer to this standard than the un- 

 civilized man, and therefore he becomes the strongest 

 and the fittest, and thus in "the warfare of life" he sur- 

 vives while the other perishes. 



