96 Evolution and Religion 



may indeed mitigate the power of some of them, for as 

 man's ignorance of the phenomena of life diminishes 

 so his control over these natural enemies increases. 

 The wild beasts to-day are practically vanquished, out- 

 side of the tropics and the polar regions. Disease 

 germs are being attacked more successfully day by day. 

 Famines are growing rarer through scientific investi- 

 gation of obscure blights on crops, and through in- 

 creased transportation. Suffering from fierce heats 

 can be relieved somewhat by growing facilities for 

 escaping temporarily at least from the plague spots 

 and pest holes of city life; intense cold can be alle- 

 viated by the use of newly discovered fuels and im- 

 proved methods of heating. Thunderstorms, floods, 

 too, can be guarded against in a measure. Even con- 

 flagrations may be avoided or mitigated, in some cases, 

 through watchfulness and better facilities for controlling 

 or fighting fire. But the struggle to overcome life's 

 enemies will, apparently, never wholly pass away as 

 long as the evolutionary conditions of man's life remain 

 unchanged. The main thing for our race to do would 

 seem to be to present a united front to all these enemies 

 of life alike — not forgetting to extirpate the traitors 

 in its own ranks, the wild beasts of selfish passion in 

 man's own heart, which by preying on the needs or 

 weaknesses of his fellowman render it more difficult to 

 overcome the natural enemies of life. 



