CHAPTER XVI 



THE ORGANIC EVOLUTION OF MAN 



Granted that the organic was duly evolved from 

 the inorganic, and that a cell such as we know now 

 came sooner or later into being, what line did 

 evolution take next ? 



Most biologists assume that the first organic 

 matter was a cell — either a bit of green protoplasm 

 or an amoeba — and even those who see a hiatus 

 between the organic and inorganic usually find 

 evolution in the organic, once the organic is started, 

 comparatively plain sailing. 



From the first protoplasmic mass — so runs the 

 modern biological creed — grew the two great stems, 

 animals and plants, and these were divided and 

 subdivided into branches by variation and selec- 

 tion until one twig is a mushroom and another 

 twig a rose ; until one twig is a starfish and 

 another twig a man. 



The organic evolution of man is undoubtedly 

 one of the most interesting problems of science. 



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