THE LONG ROAD 
things under his feet, — man the wonder-worker, 
the beholder of the stars, the critic and spectator of 
creation itself, the thinker of the thoughts of God, 
the worshiper, the devotee, the hero, spreading 
rapidly over the earth, and developing with pro- 
digious strides when once fairly launched upon his 
career. Can it be possible, we ask, that this god was 
fathered by the low bestial orders below him, — in- 
stinct giving birth to reason, animal ferocity devel- 
oping into human benevolence, the slums of nature 
sending forth the ruler of the earth. It is a hard 
proposition, I say, undoubtedly the hardest that 
science has ever confronted us with. 
Haeckel, discussing this subject, suggests that it is 
the parvenu in us that is reluctant to own our lowly 
progenitors, the pride of family and position, like 
that of would-be aristocratic sons who conceal the ; 
humble origin of their parents. But it is more than 
that; it is the old difficulty of walking by faith where 
there i is nothing visible to walk upon: we lack fai faith 
in the efficiency of the biologic laws, or_any_mun- 
dane forces, to_bridge the tremendous chasm that 
separates man from even the highest of the lower 
orders. His radical unlikeness.to all the forms below 
him, as if he moved in a world apart, into_which 
they—could never_enter, as in a sense he does, is 
where the difficulty lies. Moreover, evolution balks 
us because of the inconceivable stretch of time dur- 
ing which it has been at work. It is as impossible for 
es 7 
Te Pres 
