10 
PBOOFS OF EVOLUTION. 
have been generally accepted, and the races of 
men have shaped their earthly careers in accord¬ 
ance therewith. Now and then a splendid soul 
arose and denied the truth of these assumed rev¬ 
elations ; but he rarely lived to repeat the denial. 
For ages men were content merely to know how 
to utilize the simplest forces of Nature, to learn 
how to do the commonest things, and to join in 
communities for pleasure and protection. They 
thought all things were made out of hand by a 
Supreme Architect who directed momentarily and 
minutely all human affairs. Fear and wonder 
made all their gods, and love and hope supplied 
them with the beautiful belief in immortality. 
Although the martyrs of truth fell one by one, 
each left a germinal thought behind. Only with¬ 
in the present generation has it become safe and 
reputable to think. Hardly is this even now the 
exact truth; for “The Descent of Man” was at 
first hailed with good-natured laughter and gentle 
derision; it was a good drawing-room joke at the 
expense of the monkey-tribe. Even at the present 
moment, the vast majority of the people smile 
broadly whenever the subject of man’s evolution¬ 
ary origin is seriously mentioned. Comparatively 
