20 SYMBIOSIS 



mental and moral outlook with as fatally defective teachings 

 as were ever promulgated by obscurantists or the professors 

 of the " dismal " Science. 



Had Symbiosis been properly appreciated by the pioneers of 

 Evolution, a different view would have resulted. But, as Samuel 

 Butler tells us, in speaking of Buffon, the pioneers were too busy 

 with the fact that animals descended with modification at all, 

 to go beyond the development and illustration of this great 

 truth. 



The facts concerning Domestication were much the more 

 familiar and also the more conspicuous. They seemed to present 

 tangible and welcome " proofs " of Evolution in the sense at 

 least of mere modification. In the first flush of " Evolution " 

 it did not seem to be of much consequence if Nature's economic 

 character were somewhat blackened by the implication that 

 she had scarcely known better methods than those of the stock- 

 yard. Moreover, Physical Science was in the ascendant and 

 Economics with its adjuncts of morals and religion on the 

 descendant. Thus nature was painted red in claw and tooth, 

 and the natural order was proclaimed as such against which it 

 was right that man should rebel. As the force of this argu- 

 ment increased, creeds ascribing benevolence to Nature tended 

 to become discredited. Teachings such as Rousseau's evangel 

 of trust in Nature became submerged. Jean Jacques, indeed, 

 was now looked upon as a mere babbler. 



I fully admit that naturalists were not without merit for 

 having revealed to us what startling powers of discipline there 

 are inherent in the natural process. But it should not have 

 been overlooked that where there is a schoolmaster there is 

 also generally a " good mother," and one good mother, as is 

 well known, is worth more than a dozen schoolmasters. The 

 initial error of Naturalists consisted in mistaking the abuse for 

 the norm in Natural Economics, in making " guilty of our 

 disasters the sun, the moon and the stars," thus causing it to 

 appear as though organisms were " villains of necessity, fools by 

 heavenly compulsion ; " and the error bred prolifically. 



Granted that Nature has her own chapter of Pathology ; 

 but though it presents a veritable " corruption-gendered 

 swarm," this is only the reverse of the medal ; and ex ab^isu non 

 arguiiur ad usum. 



In Political Economy it needed all the powers of advocacy 



