10 Evolution and Religion 



communities. This is apparently part of the evolution 

 of our race. Evolution means development; not alone 

 development of the individual but of aggregates of 

 individuals. It is many-sided. It is correlated, inter- 

 related. Its ramifications extend here, there, every- 

 where. At first, the struggle for existence would seem 

 logically to have been purely personal, or for the family 

 at best. Then, gregariousness would be forced upon 

 these families by the conditions of life, the need of 

 mutual help, when the tribal idea would arise. Later, 

 similar but more extended conditions would compel 

 the national idea. To-day, the so-called "race" idea 

 is beginning. But you will understand that this, while 

 representing the apparently logical sequence of the 

 development of human society, does not of necessity 

 denote its true historical order. That would be to 

 repeat the error of Drummond and other theorists, 

 who assume such to be the case. As a matter of fact, 

 so far as direct evidence goes, the tribal instincts may 

 be older than the family instincts. Really, however, 

 all seem to have developed more or less together. 



Fact Versus Theory 



The evolutionary scene now changes abruptly. We 

 come from the realm of theory to the domain of fact. 

 According to our theory hitherto, man has been acting 

 as we should expect a thoroughly rational, selfish crea- 

 ture to act. Were he a simple algebraic quantity, an 

 unknown x, he could not answer more beautifully. 



