INTRODUCTION 



shortest and the quickest road to reach it. Hence 

 the Ascent of Man is not only the noblest prob- 

 lem which science can ever study, but the prac- 

 tical bearings of this theme are great beyond any 

 other on the roll of knowledge. 



Now that the first rash rush of the evolutionary 

 invasion is past, and the sins of its youth atoned 

 for by sober concession. Evolution is seen to be 

 neither more nor less than the story of creation 

 as told by those who know it best. " Evolution," 

 says Mr. Huxley, " or development is at present 

 employed in biology as a general name for the 

 history of the steps by which any living being 

 has acquired the morphological and the physio- 

 logical characters which distinguish it." Though 

 applied specifically to plants and animals this 

 definition expresses the chief sense in which Evolu- 

 tion is to be used scientifically at present. We 

 shall use the word, no doubt, in others of its 

 many senses ; but after all the blood spilt, Evolu- 

 tion is simply "history," a "history of steps," a 

 "general name" for the history of the steps by 

 which the world has come to be what it is. Ac- 

 cording to this general definition, the story of 

 Evolution is narrative. It may be wrongly told; 

 it may be coloured, exaggerated, over- or under- 

 * Encyclopedia Britannica^ 9th Ed. 



