THE ISSUES OF LIFE 301 



rabbit in the scamper towards the warren is caught by the 

 fox, his elimination is not the result of there being others 

 of his kind who are more alert and agile. The barbarous 

 proverb Lupus lupo lupus was invented by Man as an excuse 

 for his own unnatural behaviour, and there is much better 

 biology in Kipling's Jungle Books. 



§ 4. Correction of Some Misconceptions of the Struggle 



for Existence. 



A number of attempts have been made to correct the idea 

 w^hich has taken such firm hold of men's minds that Nature 

 is in a state of ceaseless warfare and that there is especially 

 frightful competition for food and foothold among the mem- 

 bers of the same species. Thus Herbert Spencer was clearly 

 of opinion that the purely self-seeking animal is a fiction. 

 " Self-sacrifice is no less primordial than self-preservation." 

 " From the dawn of life, altruism has been no less essential 

 than egoism." 



Darwin himself in The Descent of Man showed that in 

 many animal societies the struggle between individuals dis- 

 appears, being replaced by co-operation. Survival is not 

 restricted to the strongest, but may reward those that give 

 the best send-ofP to their offspring or excel in self-subordina- 

 tion and mutual support. '^ Those communities," he wrote 

 (Descent of Man, 2nd Ed., p. 163), 'Svhich included the 

 greatest number of the most sympathetic members would 

 flourish best, and rear the greatest number of offspring." 

 It should be remembered, too, that one of the tasks which 

 Darwin proposed for himself, but did not accomplish, was 

 an inquiry into the natural checks to over-multiplication. 



Kessler, a Russian zoologist, brought forward evidence 

 in support of the thesis that " in the evolution of the organic 



