SOME DIFFICULTIES OF EVOLUTION. 



85 



thereby producing the " superman," they degrade humanity to 

 the bestial level, and men act like beasts. 



The greatest lover of Darwin cannot say that he ever indicated 

 that this law of natural selection did not apply to man. Indeed, 

 the contrary is the case ; and no surprise need be felt that Ger- 

 many fell into this fatal error. As we well know, Professor 

 Huxley, Darwin's doughty champion, everywhere asserted that 

 Darwin's law held good for all living animals, amongst which he 

 classed humanity. 



Not until the very close of his life did the truth on this subject 

 shine in upon his soul. Not until his " Romanes " lecture at 

 Oxford in lb93 (see " Eomanes " lecture, p. 34), did he in one 

 sentence overturn that deadly lie which has brought death or 

 misery to millions, and set civilisation back in Europe fifty years. 



Huxley then said, to the delight of all Christians, and to the 

 dismay of all his friends, that — 



The ethical progress of society depends, not on our imitating 

 the cosmic process (ruthless self-assertion), still less in running 

 away from it, but in combating it." 



I grant the phrasing is obscure, but it is a wonderful utterance 

 from Huxley ; and declares that in evolution there is one law for 

 the beast, and an opposite law for the man. That if egoism is 

 the bestial law, and might is right ; altruism is the human law 

 and might is no longer right. Broadly speaking, would it be too 

 much like John Bull if we said " that in a general sense, while 

 the Germans fought to establish the first law of these two, the 

 Allies fought to establish the second; and by God's good hand 

 obtained the victory " ? 



To return to our organic evolution. The outsider has still a 

 few stumbling blocks to get over before he can accept what the 

 twentieth century has left of Darwin's original evolution. 



4. The fourth difficidty is the sudden appearance in the rocks 

 of the fossils of myriads of entirely new species, unpreceded by the 

 greatly desired intermediate types, of which the strata are so 

 shamelessly deficient.'^ These new species are perfect in every 

 respect, and no evolution is apparent in their structure. Darwin 

 pointed out that these sudden arrivals (shall we say, from 

 nowhere," or from the hands of the Creator?) were very serious 

 objections to his theory. 



He, of course, relying for advance in variations denied fixed 

 species, but in this his following is not numerous. Few have any 

 idea of the numbers O'f the different species, each with its own 

 pecuUar and fixed characteristics, and extraordinary instincts. 

 The insects alone number three-quarters of a million species, of 

 which beetles can show 1 '200,000 varieties! 



*Kecent discoveries of isolated supposed " links " do not invalidate 

 the general statement. 



