242 From Matter to Man. 



speculation. At present the human ovule grows into 

 a babe in only nine months, but the embryo under 

 present conditions of generation is developed in the 

 best of circumstances, in a regular man - making 

 machine, which works automatically, with only one 

 thing to do, everything to hand, and the risk of 

 modification by untoward environments reduced to 

 a minimum. 



Primordial man-evolution by metamorphosis, on 

 the other hand, was bound to occupy immense time, 

 for we could hardly expect a human ovule spontane- 

 ously developed in a pond of water, to metamorphose 

 month by month through amoeba, gastrula, fish, frog, 

 mammal, and monkey phases, and eventually appear 

 as a man-child in the ninth month, because the 

 conditions were not suitable. Instead of being fed 

 automatically, as a child is in the womb, the meta- 

 morphosing ovule would require to feed itself at 

 every stage, but a new-born child is helpless, and un- 

 fit even for years afterwards to provide for itself 

 under the best of circumstances ; hence, we must infer 

 that human evolution by metamorphosis was a slow 

 process, that ages were consumed in development, 

 and that a comparatively adult age was reached be- 

 fore the final moult scaled off, and man in his finished 

 form and complete reproductive functions recognised 

 his superiority to his brother, the ape. 



6. Genital Centres and Causes of Variation. — On 

 the hypothesis of animals originating in and dispersing 

 from one genital centre, a seeming difficulty (in higher 



