CONCLUSION 351 



itself felt? Through the survival of those who know 

 best how to make use of their aptitude for social life, 

 which, in the universal struggle, becomes one of the 

 most efficient weapons. 



We may add that two Russian zoologists, Pro- 

 fessors Menzbir and Brandt, confirmed Kropotkin's 

 general thesis at the time when it was published in 

 various magazine articles (anonymously, for the Rus- 

 sian censure did not allow him to sign them) and 

 brought forth many facts they had observed person- 

 ally in support of his contention. 8 



The conclusions to be drawn from the foregoing are 

 much too broad to be confined within the limits of bio- 

 logical problems; in Kropotkin's book two chapters 

 only are devoted to mutual aid among animals ; the rest 

 of the book treats of the application of this doctrine 

 to human society among the wild races, the barbarians, 

 in the mediaeval cities, and in modern communities. 



This novel application of biological ideas to social 

 questions is well worth mentioning. Besides, i* r in- 

 stitutes an important contribution to t\„ study of 

 the great problem of evolution. It points to a con- 

 nection, to a phylogenetic transition between the vari- 

 ous manifestations of human life (even those which 

 metaphysicians considered as admitting only of a spir- 

 itualist interpretation) and the phenomena of animal 

 life from which they are derived. This materialistic 



s Mexzbib. Darwinism in Biology (in Russian). 



