300 The Morality of Nature 



stage of geological history, and are never discoverable in 

 earlier stages were not produced from creatures of earlier 

 stage, how were they produced. Was it by direct miracu- 

 lous creation? And if the direct miraculous creation be 

 supposed, why is there the close relationship and similarity 

 to some type and form previously existing? And why is 

 it that always the new form is of complexity a little greater 

 than that in the previous forms ? But even the supposition 

 of a miraculous creation does not preclude the idea that the 

 new form might be made by a perfecting addition to an 

 older one. This theory could fall in with the facts. The 

 fault in such a theory is that the new miracle is superfluous 

 and useless, when the far older miracle of original creative 

 force stands evident and undeniable. 



Reviewing the history written in the rocks chronologically 

 we may summarize it thus. Beginning with early life which 

 has left no fossils there arose a sea-life of algae and shell 

 fish whose remains are the first recognizable. And mark well 

 the fact that there is no relic of any other life discoverable 

 in this old strata. 



The shell fish of simple forms are followed by others 

 more elaborate, crustaceans with means of locomotion. 

 Then appear primitive fishes, followed by amphibious ani- 

 mals which are the first to leave any trace of life on the 

 land. Life evidently began in the sea, and the later land 

 life was evolved from it when sea animals came out of the 

 water, and gradually took to more and more of land life, 

 until they were able to live entirely out of the water. These 

 amphibians were followed by animals of terrestrial habits 

 which began to show the bone-structure of more recent 



