FOURTH DAY'S SITTING. 81 



Homo. Possibly, my Lord, but then there would have 

 been other kinds of brutes, quite as terrible to a poor 

 rheumatic ape, whose hind-hands were stiffening into 

 human feet, and which was, therefore, unable to run up a 

 tree for security. 



Darwin. "No country in the world," my Lord, "abounds 

 in a greater degree with dangerous beasts than Southern 

 Africa. ... but it is quite conceivable that they (the early 

 progenitors of man) mighfc have existed, or even flourished, 

 if, whilst they gradually lost their brute-like powers, such 

 as climbing trees, &c., they at the same time advanced in 

 intellect." (Vol. i. p. 157.) 



Homo. I should say, my Lord, that it is quite ^con- 

 ceivable that the ape-like progenitors of man should have 

 " lost their brute-like powers," especially that of climbing 

 trees, in so dangerous a country as Southern Africa. Natural 

 Selection would have proved a harder nurse to them than 

 she has done even to the gorilla, had she so treated them. 

 Then, why should she not their circumstances being the 

 same have treateJ all the monkey tribes alike ? 



Darwin. " Granting," my Lord, " that the progenitors 

 of man were far more helpless and defenceless than any 

 existing savages, if they had inhabited some warm con- 

 tinent or large island, such as Australia or New Guinea, or 

 Borneo . . . they would not have been exposed to any 

 special danger." (Vol. i. p. 157.) 



Homo. How can Mr. Darwin make such a supposition, 

 my Lord, when he says elsewhere, " the fact that they 

 (man's progenitors) belonged to this (the Catarhine) stock, 

 clearly shows that they inhabited the Old World ; but not 

 Australia, nor any oceanic island, as we may infer from the 

 laws of geographical distribution" ? (Vol. i. p. 199.) This 

 fcee-saw mode of reasoning might have suited 



