22 DARWINISM. 



stunted, ineffectual, but ever-present tail in our noble 

 selves. 



On the old theory of creation, in face of these facts, 

 we cannot save the admired doctrine that nature does 

 nothing in vain; but on the Darwinian theory of 

 creation, that doctrine still holds good, and wisdom is 

 still justified by all her productions; for Natural Se- 

 lection works only for the good of a species ; it does 

 not work in vain, or waste its efforts in getting rid 

 of any organ simply because it is useless, so long as 

 it is not injurious ; it leaves it as it was and where it 

 was, a germ, a capacity, perhaps, in the future, to be 

 re-developed or fitted for a new purpose. 



Here we have incidentally touched upon what seems 

 to be morally the grandest part of the whole theory, an 

 even sublime explanation,, as far as it goes, of that small 

 fraction which we see in terrestrial life of the great and 

 manifold works of God. We noted above that it is to 

 death, a necessity much hated, much maligned, that we 

 owe the possibility of our own birth and standing-room 

 on the face of the globe ; but the theory of Natural 

 Selection makes it further clear that the causes of death 

 which we most dread and think evil of war and famine 

 and pestilence are tending continually to improve the 

 races of living creatures. On the whole, the wisest, the 

 strongest, the healthiest survive to propagate their 

 species. In the long ran, prudence, courage, and tem- 

 perance prevail, and their owners become the parents 

 of the later generations. 



When the competition for life becomes severe, as to 



