iv EVOLUTION OF TO-DAY. 



evolutionists' answers ; and briefly to consider the 

 most important of the theories of evolution which 

 science has produced ; to give, in short, a summary 

 of the evolutionary thoughts of the past quarter of 

 a century. 



These pages are intended for those who, having 

 an interest in the question, have neither the time 

 nor the requisite knowledge of biology to read the 

 numerous special discussions upon the various 

 phases of the subject. The works of Darwin and 

 Spencer are too ponderous for any except special 

 students. Frequently, indeed, their abundance of 

 detail somewhat obscures the general line of argu- 

 ment. For this reason, readers who are not scien- 

 tists frequently fail to perceive the force of the 

 arguments, even after they have carefully read the 

 books of these authors. I shall therefore try to 

 free the arguments as much as possible from detail, 

 only mentioning special cases for the purpose of 

 illustration. It will be understood that the general- 

 ized statements made are supported by numerous 

 facts, even though in many cases only the bare 

 statement is given. 



The subject will be treated as a scientific ques- 

 tion, with only a word here and there regarding its 

 relation to other lines of thought. Evolution, if 

 true, is simply a law, and as such should be treated 

 as any other scientific law. It is true that the rela- 

 tion of this question to theology, philosophy, and 

 metaphysics is of the highest importance ; but no 

 more so than that of other laws. Science must first 

 decide upon the existence of the law and its work- 



