64 EELIGION. [Ch. IIL 



there is then necessarily any purpose. Would there be 

 purpose if the lowest organisms alone, destitute of conscious- 

 ness, existed in the moon? But I have had no practice in 

 abstract reasoning, and I may be all astray. Nevertheless 

 you have expressed my inward conviction, though far more 

 vividly and clearly than I could have done, that the Universe 

 is not the result of chance.* But then with me the horrid 

 doubt always arises whether the convictions of man's mind, 

 . 1 which has been developed from the mind of the lower animals, 

 are of any value or at all trustworthy. Would any one trust 

 in the convictions of a monkey's mind, if there are any con- 

 victions in such a mind ? Secondly, I think that I could 

 make somewhat of a case against the enormous importance 

 which you attribute to our greatest men ; I have been 

 accustomed to think second, third, and fourth-rate men of 

 very high importance, at least in the case of Science. Lastly, 

 I could show fight on natural selection having done and 

 doing more for the progress of civilisation than you seem 

 inclined to admit. Remember what risk the nations of Europe 

 ran, not so many centuries ago, of being overwhelmed by the 

 Turks, and how ridiculous such an idea now is ! The more 

 civilised so-called Caucasian races have beaten the Turkish 

 hollow in the struggle for existence. Looking to the world 

 at no very distant date, what an endless number of the lower 

 races will have been eliminated by the higher civilised races 

 throughout the world. But I will write no more, and not 

 even mention the many points in your work which have 

 much interested me. I have indeed cause to apologise for 

 troubling you with my impressions, and my sole excuse is 

 the excitement in my mind which your book has aroused. 

 I beg leave to remain, dear sir, 



Yours faithfully and obliged. 



Darwin spoke little on these subjects, and I can contribute 

 nothing from my own recollection of his conversation which 



* The Duke of Argyll (Good Words, April 1885, p. 244) has recorded a 

 few words on this subject, spoken by my father in the last year of his 

 life. ". . . in the course of that conversation I said to Mr. Darwin, with 

 reference to some of his own remarkable works on the Fertilisation of 

 Orchids, and upon The Earthicorms, and various other observations lie 

 made of the wonderful contrivances for certain purposes in nature — I said 

 it was impossible to look at these without seeing that they were the eifect 

 and the expression of mind. I shall never forget Mr. Darwin's answer. 

 He looked at me very hard and said, ' Well, that often comes over me 

 with overwhelming force ; but at other times,' and he shook his head 

 vaguely, adding, ■ it seems to go away.' " 



