THE WONDERS OF LIFE 



resemblances can be traced to natural selection, and how 

 important they are in the formation of the species. But 

 many customs and usages in human life arise in just the 

 same way, partly by conscious and partly by unconscious 

 imitation. Of these the varying external forms which 

 we call "fashions" have a most important influence in 

 practical life. The phrase "fashion-ape," when used in 

 a scientific sense, is not merely an expression of con- 

 tempt, but has also a profound meaning; it correctly 

 indicates the origin of fashions by imitation, and also 

 the peculiar resemblance we find in this respect between 

 man and his cousins, the apes. Sexual selection among 

 the primates has a good deal to do with this. 



The great importance which Darwin ascribes in his 

 Descent of Man to the aesthetic selection of the respective 

 sexes is equally true of man and of all the higher verte- 

 brates that have a feeling of beauty, especially the 

 amniotes (mammals, birds, and reptiles). The beauti- 

 ful coloring and marking and ornamentation which dis- 

 tinguish the males from the females are due entirely 

 to the careful individual selection of the former by the 

 latter. Thus the various kinds of ornamental hair 

 (beard, hair of head, etc.), the tint of the face, the 

 peculiar form of the lips, nose, ears, etc., are to be ex- 

 plained, as we find them in man and the male ape; 

 also the brilliant plumage of the humming-bird, the 

 bird of paradise, pheasant, etc. I have dealt fully with 

 these interesting facts in the eleventh chapter of the 

 History of Creation, and must refer the reader thereto. 

 I will only point out here how valuable the whole of 

 this chapter of Darwinism is for the understanding of 

 the foundation of species on the one hand and men's 

 fashions and customs on the other. It is most closely 

 connected with ethical problems. 



The growth of fashion in civilized life is very impor- 

 tant, not only for the development of the sense of beauty 



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