WHAT IT IS NOT AND WHAT IT IS. 279 
WHAT IT IS NOT. 
There seems to be a prejudice in the minds of 
many people against the idea of evolution, as if it 
ruled God out of creation. Evolution in biology is 
not a system of speculations; it is the history of the 
unfolding of plant and animal life as observed by 
man. We can not think it possible that the facts of 
nature would rule out the Creator, but rather testify 
to his presence and power. 
Evolution does not begin with inert matter and 
speculate how it may become life of its own accord. 
Indeed, it has nothing to do with the origin of life. 
It must be admitted that the word evolution is some¬ 
times applied to a system of cosmogony which seeks 
to explain the origin of all things. Such explanations 
are mere speculations ; they can not be called science. 
That life originated spontaneously is not a part of true 
evolution, and it is a fact that evolutionists have re¬ 
jected that thought, for if life once originated of its 
own accord, it would again so originate. Of this no 
proof has ever been found. 
WHAT IT IS. 
Evolution begins with the germ, the cell life, and 
traces the development in its variations from genera¬ 
tion to generation, from species to species. Under 
proper conditions the acorn begins to grow, sending 
out a little radicle and a tiny upward shoot. These 
extend and add branches, and continue for centuries 
until the majestic oak has come to the limit of its pos- 
