26o THE ASCENT OF MAN 



rate struggle, to conceive of battle, or even a series 

 of battles, is misleading, where all is struggle and 

 where all is battle. Especially must we beware 

 of reading into it our personal ideas with regard 

 to accompaniments of pain. The probabilities are 

 that the Struggle for Life in the lower creation is, 

 to say the least, less painful than it looks. Whether 

 we regard the dulness of the states of consciousness 

 among lower animals, or the fact that the condition 

 of danger must become habitual, or that death when 

 it comes is sudden, and unaccompanied by that 

 anticipation which gives it its chief dread to Man, 

 we must assume that whatever the Struggle for 

 Life subjectively means to the lower animals, it can 

 never approach in terror what it means to us. And 

 as to putting any moral content into it, until a 

 late stage in the world's development, that is 

 not to be thought of. Judged of even by later 

 standards there is much to relieve one's first 

 unfavourable impression. With exceptions, the 

 fight is a fair fight. As a rule there is no hate 

 in it, but only Hunger. It is seldom prolonged, 

 and seldom wanton. As to the manner of death, 

 it is generally sudden. As to the fact of death, 

 all animals must die. As to the meaning of 

 an existence prematurely closed, it is better to be 

 to be eaten than not to be at all. And, as to 



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