The Progress of the Race 
substance little by little with a mystery-laden 
fluid that we at first term life, then instinct, 
and finally intelligence; a will that, for an 
end we know not, organises, strengthens 
and facilitates the existence of all that is. 
There can be no certainty, and yet many 
instances invite us to believe that were 
an actual estimate possible, the quantity 
of matter that has raised itself from its 
beginnings would be found to be ever 
increasing. A fragile remark, I admit, but 
the only one we can make on the hidden 
force that leads us; and it stands for much 
in a world where confidence in life, until 
certitude to the contrary reach us, must 
remain the first of all our duties, at times 
even when life itself conveys no encouraging 
clearness to us. 
I know all that may be urged against 
the theory of evolution. In its favour are 
numerous proofs and most powerful argu- 
ments, which yet do not carry irresistible 
conviction. We must beware of abandon- 
ing ourselves unreservedly to the prevailing 
truths of our time. A hundred years hence, 
many chapters of a book instinct to-day 
313 
