THE SCHOOL OF THE SHORE 61 



A GREAT SCHOOL 



For a long time after the earth became a 

 home of life there were no animals on land at all. 

 As far as we can judge it was in the sea that 

 the first living creatures lived either in the 

 open sea or on the shore. Whether the shore 

 was the first haunt of life or the second it is 

 difficult to say, but it is likely that most of the 

 great races of animals sojourned for a long 

 time on the shore and, as it were, served their 

 apprenticeship there. Now on the shore there 

 are, as we have seen, many spurs to adventure 

 and many outside changes that provoke changes 

 in the structure and constitution of the animals. 

 The shore is a haunt where animals are 

 prompted to play all their cards, to make 

 experiments with all their possibilities, just as 

 we ourselves do when we are in a tight place. 

 The shore animals test all things and hold fast 

 that which is good. Or, to look at it from 

 another side, the shore has always been a place 

 of sifting, where those creatures that were not 

 fit to cope with the changeful, difficult, crowded 

 conditions have been rejected. It is in this 

 sense that we may speak of animals learning 

 lessons on the seashore : not learning lessons 



