7 
it. And as lie had heard my challenge, and seemed boldly to 
take it up, I can but attribute the subsequent oozing away of 
his courage to the pithy remarks of the late venerable President 
of the Ethnological Society, Mr. John Crawfurd, who thus 
delivered himself immediately after Sir John Lubbock had 
spoken upon the occasion referred to. Mr. Crawfurd said — 
“Eor his part he could not believe one word of Darwin’s theory. . . . 
It was a surprising thing to him that men of talent should nail themselves 
to such a belief. Man, it was said, was derived from a monkey. Prom 
what monkey ? (Laughter.) There were two or three hundred kinds of 
monkeys, and the biggest monkey, namely, the gorilla, was the biggest 
brute. (Laughter.) Then there were monkeys with tails, and monkeys 
without tails, but curiously enough those which had no tails, and were 
consequently most like man, were the stupidest of all. (Laughter.)” 
11. In Sir John Lubbock's paper, read just a year after this, 
we need not wonder that he did not risk breaking a lance for 
any of these monkeys. They may be considered as laughed off 
the field; or, in racing parlance, as “ scratched" by Sir John 
himself. So let us now proceed to witness the fight he does 
essay to make on behalf of his supposed ancestral savages. In 
the first place I must point out that he does not state very 
accurately the views of his opponents. He says, “ according 
to them, man ivas, from the commencement , pretty m,uch what 
he is at present ; if possible , even more ignorant of the arts and 
sciences than now , but with mental qualities not inferior to 
our own." The words I have emphasised by italics do not 
express opinions that could be entertained by any one who 
gives the matter five minutes' thought. At all events, those 
who believe that man was created “ upright " and “ very 
good," do not believe he was from the commencement pretty 
much what he is at present. And no one can imagine that 
man could possibly when first created be anything else than 
totally ignorant of all arts and sciences, which are human in- 
ventions and discoveries that could only be arrived at in time 
by his ingenuity and experience. We must believe and know, 
with Solomon, that although “ God created man upright," man 
himself must “ have searched out his many inventions."* And 
in these words we have a hint of the important distinction I 
wish you hereafter to consider, between “ moral and material 
civilization," as expressed in the title of this paper. Sir John, 
however, I doubt not, had no intention of mis-stating his 
opponents' case; and he correctly adds, “ Savages they consider 
to be the degenerate descendants of far superior ancestors." 
* Eccles. vii. 29. 
