EVOLUTION AND SENTIMENT. 445 



is evidently more or less close if we comparatively examine 

 the relation of the Mammalian class to the remaining forty 

 classes of the animal kingdom. All Mammals, including 

 Man, are, at least, of common origin, and it is equally 

 certain that their common parent-forms gradually develcped 

 from a long series of lower Vertebrates. 



Feeling, evidently, rather than understanding, induces 

 most people to combat the theory of their "descent from 

 Apes." It is simply because the organism of the Ape appears 

 a caricature of Man, a distorted likeness of ourselves in a 

 not very attractive form, because the customary aesthetic 

 ideas and self-glorification of Man are touched by this in so 

 sensitive a point, that most men shrink from recognizing 

 their descent from Apes. It seems much pleasanter to be 

 descended from a more highly developed, divine being, 

 and hence, as is well known, human vanity has, from the 

 earliest times, flattered itself by assuming the original 

 descent of the race from gods or demi-gods. The church, 

 with that sophistical distortion of ideas of which she is 

 so great an adept, has managed to extol this ridiculous 

 pride as Christian humility ; and those people who 

 reject with haughty horror every suggestion of descent 

 from lower animals, and consider themselves children of 

 God, those very people are exceedingly fond of boasting 

 about their childlike humility of spirit. In most of the 

 sermons delivered against the progress of the doctrine 

 of evolution, human vanity and conceit play throughout 

 a prominent part; and, although we have inherited this 

 characteristic weakness from Apes, yet we must confess to 

 having developed it to a degree of perfection which 

 completely overthrows the unprejudiced judgment of the 



