THE DA WN OF MIND 191 



only have been taken at the eleventh hour, but 

 that it took only an hour to do it — for compared 

 with the time when animals began their first 

 activities, the birth of Man is a thing of yesterday 

 — seems almost the denial of Evolution. What 

 was it in Man's case that gave his mental powers 

 their unprecedented start or facilitated a growth so 

 rapid and so vast? 



The factors in all Evolution, and above all in 

 this, are too subtle to encourage one to speculate 

 with final assurance on so fine a problem. Never 

 theless, when it is asked, What brought about this 

 sudden rise of intelligence in the case of Man ? 

 there is a wonderful unanimity among men of 

 science as to the answer. It came about, it is 

 supposed, in connection with the acquisition by Man 

 of the power to express his mind, that is to speak. 

 Evolution, up to this time, had only one way of 

 banking the gains it won — heredity. To hand on 

 any improvement physically was a slow and pre- 

 carious work. But with the discovery of language 

 there arose a new method of passing on a step in 

 progress. Instead of sowing the gain on the wind 

 of heredity, it was fastened on the wings of words. 

 The way to make money is not only to accumu- 

 late small gains steadily, but to put them out at a 

 good rate of interest. Animals did the first with 



