however, that any arguments are here adduced, noth- 

 ing but assertions; a large part of the chapter is taken 

 up with historical sketches, in which Haeckel again proves 

 himself utterly devoid of all appreciation of history and all 

 sense of justice. He attributes the decay of the natural 

 sciences to the "flourishing condition of Christianity" and 

 dares to speak of the unfavorable influence of Christianity 

 on civilization. Apart from the historical sketch, each 

 chapter presents only the quintessence of Darwinism, fairly 

 bristling with assertions, which are boldly put forth as in- 

 controvertible truths. In view of the author's demand to 

 have at least his sincere love of truth recognized, we can 

 but throw up our hands out of sheer astonishment. To 

 illustrate Haeckel's "love of truth" let it suffice to observe 

 that in the second chapter he asserts that man is not only 

 a true vertebrate, a true mammal, etc. — ^which indeed is 

 passable — but even a true ape (having "all the anatomical 

 characteristics of true apes"). With a wonderful elasticity 

 he passes over the differences. What, indeed, is to be said, 

 when he states as a "fact" that "physiologically compared 

 (!), the sound-speech of apes is the preparatory stage to 

 articulate human speech." It is so simply monstroxis, that 

 even Garner's famous book of ape-speech, cannot sturpass 

 it. As a third illustration of Haeckel's method of argumen- 

 tation, if we are still justified in speaking of such a thing, 

 we may mention his assertion (p. 97) as a "certain historical 

 fdCt," "That man is descended directly from the ape, and 

 indirectly from a long line of lower vertebrates." If, in 



107 



