THE EVIDENCE IN BRIEF 17 



physicists, upon which Lord Salisbury laid so much 

 misdirected stress in its relation to the beginnings 

 of life. The fact of organic evolution is at least as 

 certain a part of knowledge as the law of universal 

 gravitation. Condemned by the ancient beliefs which 

 it has in turn destroyed, misconstrued as the denial 

 of morality, repudiated by the incompetent and 

 the prejudiced, unrecognised in our educational 

 curricula, it is accepted of Truth. 



CHAPTER II 



THE EVIDENCE IN BRIEF 



But it is not consistent either with knowledge or 

 reason or even dignity to hold any dogma becausu 

 it is loudly proclaimed, or universally accepted, or 

 because disbelief brings penalties or ridicule. It is 

 therefore our duty, before considering the facts of 

 organic evolution, the factors upon which it depends, 

 and the modes of their operation, to make some 

 survey, however general, of the evidence for the 

 theory. In sooth, fully to recount this would entail, 

 amongst other things, a rehearsal of all the facts 

 of biology, so comprehensive is the principle ; 

 but here it is proposed merely to set forth in 

 outline the evidence of the chief witnesses at 

 our disposal. Some of them are hardly on nod- 

 ding terms with one another ; but they all tell the 

 same tale. 



In the first place, there is the evidence of that 

 central principle of scientific thought, the law of con- 



B 



