The Message of Science. ii 



all, but to have been in progress ever since life first found 

 foothold on the earth's surface ! .Apparently it has been 

 in the natural order of things from the beginning. 



We shall be able to show that natural salvation has 

 been the tendencj' and trend of the evolution of life on the 

 earth ; that from the Silurian ages upward, life has put 

 forth and developed toward a naturally attained freedom 

 from evil conditions, " sin " and death ; and moreover that 

 the prospect for this is good. There is so much doubt, 

 disheartenment and pessimism in the world that a plain 

 statement of the human situation from the biological point 

 of view cannot be otherwise than morally healthy. The 

 progress of this great life movement on the surface of the 

 globe constitutes a drama of surpassing interest, the 

 grandest spectacle in nature. 



As to the origin of life on the earth, we have no certain 

 knowledge as yet, whether it came here from some other 

 world in space, or originated here from a capacity to live 

 inherent in matter. The former supposition puts the 

 question of origin one step farther away ; the latter is the 

 one to which all intermediary theories must ultimately 

 lead ; for life is the subjective side of matter, its personal 

 attribute : that property which renders the " ion " a 

 "psychon." 



It is not difficult to believe that there are other plane- 

 tary globes where life develops more easily and with less 

 travail and duress than on our earth. It is hot incredible 



