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appearance of the human race upon the scene ; the animals and 
plants then created were the progenitors of those which now, 
possibly with others since created, tenant the earth.” 
The novelty of Mr. Darwin’s views has had something to do 
with the ready reception of them by the rising generation, who 
in this age of electric telegraphy and underground railroads, are 
always seeking the sensational and the marvellous, the ten- 
dency of whose mind is to consider those who differ from 
them as standing upon a lower intellectual platform than 
themselves. 
My intention is not to attempt to enter into a general criticism 
of the value of the arguments for or against the Darwinian 
theory ; this would lead me far beyond the limits within which 
I propose to confine this paper; moreover, this has been done 
over and over again by far abler hands than mine. Nor do I 
intend to trespass upon your time, beyond a mere allusion to 
the controversy which has for some years been going on in 
respect to the structural differences between man and animals ; 
and I shall consider it equally foreign to my purpose to inquire 
into man’s zoological position, considering it, as I do, of com- 
paratively little importance whether he be considered as belong- 
ing to a species, order, class, or sub- class of the animal kingdom. 
I propose to test Darwinism solely and simply in reference to 
its bearings upon the faculty of Articulate Language. 
Those who have read the “ Descent of Man,” will remember 
that the author begins by saying that he who wishes to decide 
whether man is the modified descendant of some pre-existing 
form, would probably first inquire whether man varies, however 
slightly, in bodily structure, and in mental faculties ; and if so, 
whether the variations are transmitted to his offspring in accord- 
ance with the laws which prevail with the lower animals. He 
then proceeds to compare the bodily structure of man and that 
of the lower animals, remarking that all the bones in his skeleton 
can be compared with the corresponding bones in the monkey, 
bat, or seal ; that it is the same with his muscles, nerves, blood- 
vessels, and viscera, — in fact, he shows that there is a remark- 
able correspondence between man and the higher mammals, 
especially the ape, in the structure of the brain and other parts 
of the body. He then calls attention to the fact that man is 
liable to receive from the lower animals, and to communicate to 
them, certain diseases, as hydrophobia, small-pox, the glanders, 
&c., a fact which he says proves the close similarity of their 
tissues and blood, both in minute structure and composition, far 
more plainly than does their comparison under the best micro- 
scope, or by the aid of the best chemical analysis. 
