86 ORGANIC EVOLUTION — THE FACTORS 



suppose that in primeval times a man suddenly became 

 white or black, or copper-coloured or yellow, or big or 

 small, or bearded or beardless, and thereby achieved 

 such an advantage that his fellows were exterminated 

 and his progeny alone left to continue the race ? or does 

 he believe that differences in colour, in size, in shape, 

 in hair, &c. resulted in man from the gradual accumu- 

 lation of small normal variations ? I think we may say 

 that Lord Salisbury believes that the Past Evolution of 

 man has resulted from the accumulation of small varia- 

 tions, not from the accentuation of great abnormalities. 

 And if he believes this as regards the sizes, shapes, 

 colours, stnictures, &c. of men, what need is there to 

 believe otherwise as regards the sizes, shapes, colours, 

 structures, &c. of birds and beasts ? Moreover, if a little 

 evolution — great actually in the case of man, but com- 

 paratively speaking little — has occurred in little time, 

 what ground is there for believing that much evolution 

 has not occurred in immensely longer time ? If varietal 

 differences have undoubtedly arisen through evolution 

 in a few thousands of years, why should not specific or 

 ordinal differences have arisen during the lapse of many 

 thousands or millions of years ? Why then should Lord 

 Salisbury return " a verdict of not proven upon the wider 

 issues the Darwinian school has raised " ? When he does 

 so he is most illogical. 



That evolution should occur, there is no need that 

 the male and female at opposite ends of the wood who 

 have varied favourably, should meet and interbreed and 

 resist temptation by the way. Every individual of the 

 species they encounter will, on the average, have varied 

 as favourably as themselves, for those who varied un- 

 favourably will have been exterminated. It is true 

 that, owing to retrogression, the individuals of a new 

 generation, on the average, are less perfectly adapted to 

 the environment than their progenitors — that is, the 



