THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 247 



caught from the falling of a bough, or a blow from 

 a branch waving in the wind, is of no consequence. 

 This broken branch became the first weapon. It 

 was the father of all clubs. The day this discovery 

 was made, the Struggle for Life took a new 

 departure. Hitherto animals fought with some 

 specialized part of their own bodies — tooth, limb, 

 claw. Now they took possession of the armoury of 

 material Nature. 



This invention of the club was soon followed by 

 another change. To use a club effectively, or to 

 keep a good look-out for enemies or for food, a 

 man must stand erect. This alters the centre of 

 gravity of the body, and as the act becomes a 

 habit, subsidiary changes slowly take place in other 

 parts. In time the erect position becomes con- 

 firmed. Man owes what Burns calls his " heaven- 

 erected face" to the Struggle for Life. How 

 recent this change is, how new the attitude still 

 is to him, is seen from the simple fact that even 

 yet he has not attained the power of retaining 

 the erect position long. Most men sit down when 

 they can, and so unnatural is the standing position, 

 so unstable the equilibrium, that when slightly sick 

 or faint, Man cannot stand at all. 



Possibly both the erect position and the Club 

 had another origin, but the detail is immaterial. 



