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92 FACTS AND FANCIES 



Darwin's facts, that unless " natural selection" 

 is a much more skilful breeder than man, and 

 possesses some secrets not yet discovered by 

 us, the effects of this iipaginary power would 

 lead, not to the production of new species, but 

 merely to the extinction of those already ex- 

 isting. In short, all the evidence goes to show 

 that — so beautifully balanced are the parts of 

 the organism — any excess or deficiency in any 

 of them, when artificially or accidentally intro- 

 duced, brings in elements not only of instabil- 

 ity, but of decay and destruction. This subject 

 is deserving of a more full treatment than it 

 can receive here, but enough has been said to 

 show that in this evolutionists have unwittingly 

 furnished us with a new confirmation of the 

 theory of intelligent design. 



In some places there are in Haeckel's book 

 touches of a grim humor which are not without 

 interest, as showing the subjective side of the 

 monistic theory and illustrating the attitude 

 of its professors to things held sacred by other 

 men. For example, the following is the intro- 

 duction to the chapter headed " From the Prim- 

 itive Worm to the Skulled Animal," and which 

 has for its motto the lines of Goethe be- 

 ginning : 



