218 THE MEANING OF EVOLUTION 
paralleled among birds, but here the care of the 
nestling is less intimate, far less maternal, than the 
care of the mammal for her young. As the number 
of the young grows less and the care taken of them 
increases, the intensity of the affection also increases. 
By the time we get as high as the dog or the cat this 
fondness becomes a fierce, self-sacrificing love. When 
we come to man, with his high intellectual powers, 
with his deeper moral sense, we find a wonderful 
change. This love of the mother for her child has 
grown into the finest emotion possible to the human 
heart. It no longer is confined to the dependent life 
of the child, but follows the offspring through its 
entire life, guiding, guarding, shaping its destiny, 
handing on to the child the treasured wisdom of the 
race. Influenced by the example of the mother, the 
father comes to have a love for his children. It is 
not so strong as that of the mother, nor so utterly 
unselfish, but it is still a noble and exquisite love. 
Developing in a different direction, the love of the 
mother for her children grows as civilization advances, 
and spreads over the father of those children as well. 
Again reflecting her love, the man finds himself filled 
with a new feeling for the woman. It is never as 
unselfish, as free from desire, as is her love, but it 
completely transforms his relation to her. What has 
been with him simply desire is ennobled and enriched 
