236 THE ASCENT OF MAN 



only call spirituality. From the growl of a lion 

 we have passed to the whisper of a soul ; from 

 the motive fear, to the motive sympathy ; from the 

 icy physical barriers of space, to a nearness closer 

 than breathing ; from the torturing slowness of time 

 to time's obliteration. If Evolution reveals any- 

 thing, if science itself proves anything, it is that 

 Man is a spiritual being and that the direction of 

 his long career is towards an ever larger, richer, 

 and more exalted life. On the final problem of 

 Man's being the voice of science is supposed to be 

 dumb. But this gradual perfecting of instruments, 

 and, as each arrives, the further revelation of what 

 lies behind in Nature, this gradual refining of the 

 mind, this increasing triumph over matter, this 

 deeper knowledge, this efflorescence of the soul, are 

 facts which even Science must reckon with. Per- 

 haps, after all, Victor Hugo is right : " I am the 

 tadpole of an archangel." 



Before closing this outline two of the many 

 omitted points may be briefly referred to. In 

 thinking of Language as a " discovery," it is not 

 necessary to assume that that discovery involved 

 the pre-existence of very high mental powers. 

 These were probably developed pari passu with 

 Speech, but did not necessarily ante-date it to such 



