THE NEANDERTHAL SKULL. 113 



than the manner in which it has been mis- 

 understood), on account of a certain cha- 

 racteristic it has in common with other 

 theories, which should not be mentioned in 

 the same breath with it, except, as now, 

 with the accompaniment of protest and 

 apology "(p. 12). 



According, therefore, to Darwin's theory 

 of Natural Selection, each of the successive 

 races of man's progenitors, from the hairy 

 quadruped to man himself, must have been 

 better fitted to maintain its position in the 

 world than any which preceded it. There is, 

 however, this conclusive answer, which is 

 fatal to Darwin's theory; viz., that while 

 many monkey tribes survive, all the 

 anthropomorphous, or man-shaped apes, 

 have entirely perished. Here you have 

 a striking instance of facts contradicting 

 theories ; and shows the exceedingly weak 

 point of Mr. Darwin's reasoning. For 

 according to his hypothesis, the survival 

 of the fittest is a necessary part of his 

 theory ; according to the inexorable logic of 

 facts, the fittest apes have all perished, and 



