338 The Morality of Nature 



illustrate many stages of evolution between these extreme 

 forms, showing the same method of growth; and differing 

 only in regard to the length of time, and degree of organiza- 

 tion, which they reach before they stop in their maturity, to 

 begin over again. We see all living creation arranging itself 

 in a number of such lines of evolution, each line producing 

 different series of changes, and different species; in the 

 varying complexity of its type. And further we see that 

 all these creatures are still changing as environment changes. 

 They are adapting themselves by change of two kinds, 

 first, changes to meet new different conditions, which 

 changes may be toward less complexity or more com- 

 plexity as required, but which is normally upward toward 

 more complexity; and second, by change due to acquire- 

 ment of new character, in order to better meet continuing 

 conditions ; which second change is normally a progress to 

 a higher type by the addition of the newly acquired thing 

 to those previously possessed. Now these facts of embry- 

 ology support and extend those of geology, and together 

 they induce as a fair and convincing deduction, the belief 

 that the higher creatures have reached their present form 

 by progressive evolution from earlier forms, closely related 

 to the primitive forms now seen, and that the process is 

 still in operation. 



