20 GENESIS OF MAN. 



" The proper stud)' of mankind is man." And yet how tame 

 appear the most mysterious facts of human anatomy and physi- 

 ology, as taught to the mass of mankind, compared with the as- 

 tonishing revelations of comparative embryology and comparative 

 anatomy ! 



As already remarked, Haeckel is a philosopher as well as an in- 

 vestigator. No German philosopher can be without his terminology. 

 Haeckel has his, and it remains to the future to decide whether the 

 ends of science are to be furthered by its introduction. It is at 

 least certain that to understand Haeckel one must understand his 

 terminology. Being much of it of Greek derivation, it undergoes 

 little change by transfer to the English language. In so far, how- 

 ever, as it is German, this difficulty is great, often, indeed, quite 

 insuperable. Everybody admits the inadequacy of some parts of 

 Darwin's terminology. The best English expounders of his theory 

 have found themselves compelled to adopt other terms to convey 

 his ideas with the requisite clearness and force. I have already 

 referred to important improvements introduced by Herbert Spen- 

 cer before it was possible for him properly to arrange the new 

 biological laws under his universal system of cosmical principles. 

 That author has also, in addition to those before referred to, pro- 

 posed an excellent synonym for Darwin's most important term, 

 " Natural Selection." This he calls " Survival of the fittest," 

 which, while it can never of course supersede the former, must be 

 admitted by all to bring to the mind far more directly, the idea 

 which it is desired to convey. 



Haeckel has felt the need of some adequate terms to characterize 

 the two great classes or types of mind, which not only now, but in 

 all ages, have existed in a state of opposition or rivalry in the 

 world. No matter what questions might arise for solution bearing 

 upon the knowledge or progress of the race, there has always ex- 

 isted this sharply defined opposition growing out of these two 

 constutionally opposite mental types. Various popular appella- 

 tions have been employed from time to time, differing in different 

 countries and for different forms of agitation. None of these, how- 

 ever, have struck at the true psychological root of the phenomenon, 

 and the world has been long waiting for a thorough analysis of this 

 subject and the suggestion of a scientific terminology, based upon 

 this ground-law of the constitutional polarity of the human intellect. 



