A REPLY TO HAECKEL 121 



life of mankind, as in that of plants and ani- 

 mals, it is always and everywhere a small and 

 privileged minority alone which succeeds in 

 living and developing itself; the immense ma- 

 jority, on the contrary suffer and succumb 

 more or less prematurely. Countless are the 

 seeds and eggs of every species of plants and 

 animals, and the young individuals who issue 

 from them. But the number of those who 

 have the good fortune to reach fully devel- 

 oped maturity and to attain the goal of their 

 existence is relatively insignificant. 



"The cruel and pitiless 'struggle for exist- 

 ence' which rages everywhere through ani- 

 mated nature, and which in the nature of 

 things must rage, this eternal and inexorable 

 competition between all living beings is an 

 undeniable fact. Only a small picked number 

 of the strongest or fittest is able to come forth 

 victoriously from this battle of competition. 

 The great majority of their unfortunate com- 

 petitors are inevitably destined to perish. It 

 is well enough to deplore this tragic fatality, 

 but one cannot deny or change it. 'Many are 

 called, but few are chosen!' 



"The selection, the 'election' of these 'elect' 

 is by absolute necessity bound up with the 

 rejection or destruction of the vast multitude 

 of beings whom they survived. And so an- 



