SOLUTION OF THE WORLD-PROBLEMS. 387 



in the fetters of tradition and superstition. We saw 

 in the first section how slowly and how late the science 

 of the human organism was developed. One of its 

 chief branches — embryology — was not firmly estab- 

 lished until 1828 (by Baer), and another, of equal 

 importance — the cellular theory — until 1838 (by 

 Schwann). It was even later still when the answer 

 was given to the " question of all questions," the 

 great riddle of the origin of man. Although 

 Lamarck had pointed out the only path to a correct 

 solution of it in 1809, and had affirmed the descent of 

 man from the ape, it fell to Darwin to establish the 

 affirmation securely fifty years afterwards, and to 

 Huxley to collect the most important proofs of it in 

 1863, in his Place of Man in Nature. I have myself 

 made the first attempt in my Anthropogeny (1874) to 

 present in their historical connection the entire series 

 of ancestors through which our race has been slowly 

 evolved from the animal kingdom in the course of 

 many millions of years. 



CONCLUSION. 



The number of world-riddles has been continually 

 diminishing in the course of the nineteenth century 

 through the aforesaid progress of a true knowledge of 

 nature. Only one comprehensive riddle of the uni- 

 verse now remains — the problem of substance. What 

 is the real character of this mighty world- wonder that 

 the realistic scientist calls Nature or the Universe, the 

 idealist philosopher calls Substance or the Cosmos, 

 the pious believer calls Creator or God ? Can we 



