126 “The Descent of Man” 
of the beard in man, and the characteristic colour of the different 
human races to sexual selection. Since bareness of the skin could be 
no advantage, but rather a disadvantage, this character cannot have 
been brought about by natural selection. Darwin also rejected a 
direct influence of climate as a cause of the origin of the skin-colour. 
I have already expressed the opinion, based on the development of 
his views as shown in his letters, that in a third edition Darwin would 
probably have laid more stress on the influence of external environ- 
ment. He himself feels that there are gaps in his proofs here, and 
says in self-criticism : “The views here advanced, on the part which 
sexual selection has played in the history of man, want scientific 
precision.” I need here only point out that it is impossible to 
explain the graduated stages of skin-colour by sexual selection, since 
it would have produced races sharply defined by their colour and not 
united to other races by transition stages, and this, it is well known, 
is not the case. Moreover, the fact established by me’, that in all 
races the ventral side of the trunk is paler than the dorsal side, and 
the inner surface of the extremities paler than the outer side, cannot 
be explained by sexual selection in the Darwinian sense. 
With this I conclude my brief survey of the rich contents of 
Darwin’s book. I may be permitted to conclude by quoting the 
magnificent final words of The Descent of Man: “We must, however, 
acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man, with all his noble qualities, 
with sympathy which feels for the most debased, with benevolence 
which extends not only to other men but to the humblest living 
creature, with his god-like intellect which has penetrated into the 
movements and constitution of the solar system—with all these 
exalted powers—Man still bears in his bodily frame the indelible 
stamp of his lowly origin*®.” 
What has been the fate of Darwin’s doctrines since his great 
achievement? How have they been received and followed up by the 
scientific and lay world? And what do the successors of the mighty 
hero and genius think now in regard to the origin of the human 
race ? 
At the present time we are incomparably more favourably placed - 
than Darwin was for answering this question of all questions. We 
have at our command an incomparably greater wealth of material 
than he had at his disposal. And we are more fortunate than he in 
this respect, that we now know transition-forms which help to fill up 
the gap, still great, between the lowest human races and the highest 
1 Descent of Man, p. 924. 
2 “Die Hautfarbe des Menschen,” Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft in 
Wien, Vol. xxxtv. pp. 331—352. 
3 Ibid. p. 947. 
