II THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES 53 



thunderbolts as its half-paralysed hands can hurl, 

 those who refuse to degrade Nature to the level of 

 primitive Judaism. 



Philosophers, on the other hand, have no such 

 aggressive tendencies. With eyes fixed on the 

 noble goal to which "per aspera et ardua" they 

 tend, they may, now and then, be stirred to 

 momentary wrath by the unnecessary obstacles 

 with which the ignorant, or the malicious, encum- 

 ber, if they cannot bar, the difficult path ; but why 

 should their souls be deeply vexed ? The majesty 

 of Fact is on their side, and the elemental forces 

 of Nature are working for them. Not a star comes 

 to the meridian at its calculated time but testifies 

 to the justice of their methods their beliefs are 

 " one with the falling rain and with the growing 

 corn." By doubt they are established, and open 

 inquiry is their bosom friend. Such men have no 

 fear of traditions however venerable, and no respect 

 for them when they become mischievous and 

 obstructive ; but they have better than mere anti- 

 quarian business in hand, and if dogmas, which 

 ought to be fossil but are not, are not forced upon 

 their notice, they are too happy to treat them as 

 non-existent. 



The hypotheses respecting the origin of species 

 which profess to stand upon a scientific basis, and, 

 as such, alone demand serious attention, are of two 

 kinds. The one, the " special creation " hypothesis, 



