,,the ,,destiny ,,of ,,man  ,,viewed    
,,in ,,the ,,light ,,of ,,his ,,origin  
,,by   ,,john ,,fiske    ,,twentieth    
,,edition4   ,,boston  ,,houghton1      
,,mifflin ,,and ,,company  #ahic        
,copyright1 #ahhd1  ,,by ,,john ,,fiske4
     ,,to  ,,my ,,children1  ,,maud1    
,,harold1 ,,clarence1 ,,ralph1 ,,ethel1 
,,and ,,herbert1  ,this ,essay  ,,is    
,,lovingly ,,dedicated4     ,,preface4  
,having been invited to give an address 
before the ,concord ,school of          
,philosophy this summer1 upon some      
subject relating to the question of     
immortality there under discussion1 it  
seemed a proper occasion for putting    
together the following thoughts on the  
origin of ,man and his place in the     
universe4 ,in dealing with the unknown1 
it is well to take one's start a long   
way within the limits of the known4 ,the
 question of a future life is generally 
regarded as lying outside the range of  
legitimate scientific discussion4 ,yet  
while fully admitting this1 one does not

 necessarily admit that the subject is  
one with regard to which we are forever 
debarred from entertaining an opinion4  
,now our opinions on such transcendental
 questions must necessarily be affected 
by the total mass of our opinions on the
 questions which lie within the scope of
 scientific inquiry2 and from this point
 of view it becomes of surpassing       
interest to trace the career of         
,humanity within that segment of the    
universe which is accessible to us4 ,the
 teachings of the doctrine of evolution 
as to the origin and destiny of ,man    
have1 moreover1 a very great speculative
 and practical value of their own1 quite
 apart from their bearings upon any     
ultimate questions4 ,the body of this   
essay is accordingly devoted to setting 
forth these teachings in what ,i        
conceive to be their true light2 while  
their transcendental implications are   
reserved for the sequel4  ,as the essay 
contains an epitome of my own original  
contributions to the doctrine of        

evolution1 ,i have added at the end a   
short list of references to other works 
of mine1 where the points here briefly  
mentioned are more fully argued and     
illustrated4 ,the views regarding the   
progress of human society1 and the      
elimination of warfare1 are set forth at
 greater length in a little book now in 
the press1 and soon to appear1 entitled 
,american ,political ,ideas4            
,,petersham1 ,september #f1 #ahhd4      
,,contents4        ,i4 ,man's ,place in 
,nature as affected by the ,copernican  
,theory4     ,,ii4 ,as affected by      
,darwinism4    ,,iii4 ,on the ,earth    
there will never be a ,higher ,creature 
than ,man4     ,,iv4 ,the ,origin of    
,infancy4      ,v4 ,the ,dawning of     
,consciousness4     ,,vi4 ,lengthening  
of ,infancy and ,concomitant ,increase  
of ,brain-,surface4    ,,vii4 ,change in
 the ,direction of the ,working of      
,natural ,selection4   ,,viii4 ,growing 
,predominance of the ,psychical ,life4  
,,ix4 ,the ,origins of ,society and of  

,morality4      ,x4 ,improvableness of  
,man4     ,,xi4 ,universal ,warfare of  
,primeval ,men4    ,,xii4 ,first checked
 by the ,beginnings of ,industrial      
,civilisation4   ,,xiii4 ,methods of    
,political ,development1 and            
,elimination of ,warfare4    ,,xiv4 ,end
 of the ,working of ,natural ,selection 
upon ,man4 ,throwing off                
the ,brute-,inheritance4     ,,xv4 ,the 
,message of ,christianity4    ,,xvi4    
,the ,question as to a ,future ,life4   
,,the ,,destiny ,,of ,,man4     ,i4     
,man's ,place in ,nature1 as affected by
 the ,copernican ,theory4   ,when we    
study the ,divine ,comedy of            
,dante--that wonderful book wherein all 
the knowledge and speculation1 all the  
sorrows and yearnings1 of the far-off   
,middle ,ages are enshrined in the glory
 of imperishable verse--we are brought  
face to face with a theory of the world 
and with ways of reasoning about the    
facts of nature which seem strange to us
 to-day1 but from the influence of which

 we are not yet1 and doubtless never    
shall be1 wholly freed4 ,a cosmology    
grotesque enough in the light of later  
knowledge1 yet wrought out no less      
carefully than the physical theories of 
,lucretius1 is employed in the service  
of a theology cumbrous in its obsolete  
details1 but resting upon fundamental   
truths which mankind can never safely   
lose sight of4 ,in the view of ,dante   
and of that phase of human culture which
 found in him its clearest and sweetest 
voice1 this earth1 the fair home of man1
 was placed in the centre of a universe 
wherein all things were ordained for his
 sole behoof3 the sun to give him light 
and warmth1 the stars in their courses  
to preside over his strangely checkered 
destinies1 the winds to blow1 the floods
 to rise1 or the fiend of pestilence to 
stalk abroad over the land1--all for the
 blessing1 or the warning1 or the       
chiding1 of the chief among ,god's      
creatures1 ,man4 ,upon some such        
conception as this1 indeed1 all theology

 would seem naturally to rest4 ,once    
dethrone ,humanity1 regard it as a mere 
local incident in an endless and aimless
 series of cosmical changes1 and you    
arrive at a doctrine which1 under       
whatever specious name it may be veiled1
 is at bottom neither more nor less than
 ,atheism4 ,on its metaphysical side    
,atheism is the denial of anything      
psychical in the universe outside of    
human consciousness2 and it is almost   
inseparably associated with the         
materialistic interpretation of human   
consciousness as the ephemeral result of
 a fleeting collocation of particles of 
matter4 ,viewed upon this side1 it is   
easy to show that ,atheism is very bad  
metaphysics1 while the materialism which
 goes with it is utterly condemned by   
modern science4#a ,but our feeling      
toward ,atheism goes much deeper than   
the mere recognition of it as           
philosophically untrue4 ,the mood in    
which we condemn it is not at all like  
the mood in which we reject the         

corpuscular theory of light or ,sir     
,g4,c4 ,lewis's vagaries on the subject 
of ,egyptian hieroglyphics4 ,we are wont
 to look upon ,atheism with unspeakable 
horror and loathing4 ,our moral sense   
revolts against it no less than our     
intelligence2 and this is because1 on   
its practical side1 ,atheism would      
remove ,humanity from its peculiar      
position in the world1 and make it cast 
in its lot with the grass that withers  
and the beasts that perish2 and thus the
 rich and varied life of the universe1  
in all the ages of its wondrous         
duration1 becomes deprived of any such  
element of purpose as can make it       
intelligible to us or appeal to our     
moral sympathies and religious          
aspirations4  ,and yet the first result 
of some of the grandest and most        
irrefragable truths of modern science1  
when newly discovered and dimly         
comprehended1 has been to make it appear
 that ,humanity must be rudely unseated 
from its throne in the world and made to

 occupy an utterly subordinate and      
trivial position2 and it is because of  
this mistaken view of their import that 
the ,church has so often and so bitterly
 opposed the teaching of such truths4   
,with the advent of the ,copernican     
astronomy the funnel-shaped ,inferno1   
the steep mountain of ,purgatory crowned
 with its terrestrial paradise1 and     
those concentric spheres of ,heaven     
wherein beatified saints held weird and 
subtle converse1 all went their way to  
the limbo prepared for the childlike    
fancies of untaught minds1 whither      
,hades and ,valhalla had gone before    
them4 ,in our day it is hard to realize 
the startling effect of the discovery   
that ,man does not dwell at the centre  
of things1 but is the denizen of an     
obscure and tiny speck of cosmical      
matter quite invisible amid the         
innumerable throng of flaming suns that 
make up our galaxy4 ,to the             
contemporaries of ,copernicus the new   
theory seemed to strike at the very     

foundations of ,christian theology4 ,in 
a universe where so much had been made  
without discernible reference to ,man1  
what became of that elaborate scheme of 
salvation which seemed to rest upon the 
assumption that the career of ,humanity 
was the sole object of ,god's creative  
forethought and fostering care8 ,when we
 bear this in mind1 we see how natural  
and inevitable it was that the ,church  
should persecute such men as ,galileo   
and ,bruno4 ,at the same time it is     
instructive to observe that1 while the  
,copernican astronomy has become firmly 
established in spite of priestly        
opposition1 the foundations of          
,christian theology have not been shaken
 thereby4 ,it is not that the question  
which once so sorely puzzled men has    
ever been settled1 but that it has been 
outgrown4 ,the speculative necessity for
 man's occupying the largest and most   
central spot in the universe is no      
longer felt4 ,it is recognized as a     
primitive and childish notion4 ,with our

 larger knowledge we see that these vast
 and fiery suns are after all but the   
,titan like servants of the little      
planets which they bear with them in    
their flight through the abysses of     
space4 ,out from the awful gaseous      
turmoil of the central mass dart those  
ceaseless waves of gentle radiance that1
 when caught upon the surface of        
whirling worlds like ours1 bring forth  
the endlessly varied forms and the      
endlessly complex movements that make up
 what we can see of life4 ,and as when  
,god revealed himself to his ancient    
prophet ,he came not in the earthquake  
or the tempest but in a voice that was  
still and small1 so that divine spark   
the ,soul1 as it takes up its brief     
abode in this realm of fleeting         
phenomena1 chooses not the central sun  
where elemental forces forever blaze and
 clash1 but selects an outlying         
terrestrial nook where seeds may        
germinate in silence1 and where through 
slow fruition the mysterious forms of   

organic life may come to take shape and 
thrive4 ,he who thus looks a little     
deeper into the secrets of nature than  
his forefathers of the sixteenth century
 may well smile at the quaint conceit   
that man cannot be the object of ,god's 
care unless he occupies an immovable    
position in the centre of the stellar   
universe4     ,,ii4  ,man's ,place in   
,nature1 as affected by ,darwinism4     
,when the ,copernican astronomy was     
finally established through the         
discoveries of ,kepler and ,newton1 it  
might well have been pronounced the     
greatest scientific achievement of the  
human mind2 but it was still more than  
that4 ,it was the greatest revolution   
that had ever been effected in ,man's   
views of his relations to the universe  
in which he lives1 and of which he      
is--at least during the present life--a 
part4 ,during the nineteenth century1   
however1 a still greater revolution has 
been effected4 ,not only has ,lyell     
enlarged our mental horizon in time as  

much as ,newton enlarged it in space1   
but it appears that throughout these    
vast stretches of time and space with   
which we have been made acquainted there
 are sundry well-marked changes going   
on4 ,certain definite paths of          
development are being pursued2 and      
around us on every side we behold       
worlds1 organisms1 and societies in     
divers stages of progress or decline4   
,still more1 as we examine the records  
of past life upon our globe1 and study  
the mutual relations of the living      
things that still remain1 it appears    
that the higher forms of life--including
 ,man himself--are the modified         
descendants of lower forms4 ,zologically
 speaking1 ,man can no longer be        
regarded as a creature apart by himself4
 ,we cannot erect an order on purpose to
 contain him1 as ,cuvier tried to do2 we
 cannot even make a separate family for 
him4 ,man is not only a vertebrate1 a   
mammal1 and a primate1 but he belongs1  
as a genus1 to the catarrhine family of 

apes4 ,and just as lions1 leopards1 and 
lynxes--different genera of the         
cat-family--are descended from a common 
stock of carnivora1 back to which we may
 also trace the pedigrees of dogs1      
hynas1 bears1 and seals2 so the various 
genera of platyrrhine and catarrhine    
apes1 including ,man1 are doubtless     
descended from a common stock of        
primates1 back to which we may also     
trace the converging pedigrees of       
monkeys and lemurs1 until their ancestry
 becomes indistinguishable from that of 
rabbits and squirrels4 ,such is the     
conclusion to which the scientific world
 has come within a quarter of a century 
from the publication of ,mr4 ,darwin's  
,origin of ,species2 and there is no    
more reason for supposing that this     
conclusion will ever be gainsaid than   
for supposing that the ,copernican      
astronomy will some time be overthrown  
and the concentric spheres of ,dante's  
heaven reinstated in the minds of men4  
,it is not strange that this theory of  

man's origin1 which we associate mainly 
with the name of ,mr4 ,darwin1 should be
 to many people very unwelcome4 ,it is  
fast bringing about a still greater     
revolution in thought than that which   
was heralded by ,copernicus2 and it     
naturally takes some time for the       
various portions of one's theory of     
things to become adjusted1 one after    
another1 to so vast and sweeping a      
change4 ,from many quarters the cry goes
 up1--,if this be true1 then ,man is at 
length cast down from his high position 
in the world4 ,i will not be called a   
mammal1 or the son of a mammal6 once    
exclaimed an acquaintance of mine who   
perhaps had been brought up by hand4    
,such expressions of feeling are crude1 
but the feeling is not unjustifiable4   
,it is urged that if man is physically  
akin to a baboon1 as pigs are akin to   
horses1 and cows to deer1 then ,humanity
 can in nowise be regarded as occupying 
a peculiar place in the universe2 it    
becomes a mere incident in an endless   

series of changes1 and how can we say   
that the same process of evolution that 
has produced mankind may not by and by  
produce something far more perfect8     
,there was a time when huge bird-like   
reptiles were the lords of creation1 and
 after these had been sealed within the 
iron hills there came successive        
dynasties of mammals2 and as the        
iguanodon gave place to the great       
,eocene marsupials1 as the mastodon and 
the sabre-toothed lion have long since  
vanished from the scene1 so may not ,man
 by and by disappear to make way for    
some higher creature1 and so on forever8
 ,in such case1 why should we regard    
,man as in any higher sense the object  
of ,divine care than a pig8 ,still      
stronger does the case appear when we   
remember that those countless           
adaptations of means to ends in nature1 
which since the time of ,voltaire and   
,paley we have been accustomed to cite  
as evidences of creative design1 have   
received at the hands of ,mr4 ,darwin a 

very different interpretation4 ,the     
lobster's powerful claw1 the butterfly's
 gorgeous tints1 the rose's delicious   
fragrance1 the architectural instinct of
 the bee1 the astonishing structure of  
the orchid1 are no longer explained as  
the results of contrivance4 ,that simple
 but wasteful process of survival of the
 fittest1 through which such marvellous 
things have come into being1 has little 
about it that is analogous to the       
ingenuity of human art4 ,the infinite   
and eternal ,power which is thus        
revealed in the physical life of the    
universe seems in nowise akin to the    
human soul4 ,the idea of beneficent     
purpose seems for the moment to be      
excluded from nature1 and a blind       
process1 known as ,natural ,selection1  
is the deity that slumbers not nor      
sleeps4 ,reckless of good and evil1 it  
brings forth at once the mother's tender
 love for her infant and the horrible   
teeth of the ravening shark1 and to its 
creative indifference the one is as good

 as the other4  ,in spite of these      
appalling arguments the man of science1 
urged by the single-hearted purpose to  
ascertain the truth1 be the consequences
 what they may1 goes quietly on and     
finds that the terrible theory must be  
adopted2 the fact of man's consanguinity
 with dumb beasts must be admitted4 ,in 
reaching this conclusion1 the man of    
science reasons upon the physical facts 
within his reach1 applying to them the  
same principles of common-sense whereby 
our everyday lives are successfully     
guided2 and he is very apt to smile at  
the methods of those people who1 taking 
hold of the question at the wrong end1  
begin by arguing about all manner of    
fancied consequences4 ,for his knowledge
 of the history of human thinking       
assures him that such methods have      
through all past time proved barren of  
aught save strife1 while his own bold   
yet humble method is the only one       
through which truth has ever been       
elicited4 ,to pursue unflinchingly the  

methods of science requires dauntless   
courage and a faith that nothing can    
shake4 ,such courage and such loyalty to
 nature brings its own reward4 ,for when
 once the formidable theory is really   
understood1 when once its implications  
are properly unfolded1 it is seen to    
have no such logical consequences as    
were at first ascribed to it4 ,as with  
the ,copernican astronomy1 so with the  
,darwinian biology1 we rise to a higher 
view of the workings of ,god and of the 
nature of ,man than was ever attainable 
before4 ,so far from degrading          
,humanity1 or putting it on a level with
 the animal world in general1 the       
,darwinian theory shows us distinctly   
for the first time how the creation and 
the perfecting of ,man is the goal      
toward which ,nature's work has all the 
while been tending4 ,it enlarges tenfold
 the significance of human life1 places 
it upon even a loftier eminence than    
poets or prophets have imagined1 and    
makes it seem more than ever the chief  

object of that creative activity which  
is manifested in the physical universe4 
,,iii4  ,on the ,earth there will never 
be a ,higher ,creature than ,man4   ,in 
elucidating these points1 we may fitly  
begin by considering the question as to 
the possibility of the evolution of any 
higher creature than ,man1 to whom the  
dominion over this earth shall pass4    
,the question will best be answered by  
turning back and observing one of the   
most remarkable features connected with 
the origin of ,man and with his         
superiority over other animals4 ,and let
 it be borne in mind that we are not now
 about to wander through the regions of 
unconditional possibility4 ,we are not  
dealing with vague general notions of   
development1 but with the scientific    
,darwinian theory1 which alleges        
development only as the result of       
certain rigorously defined agencies4    
,the chief among these agencies is      
,natural ,selection4 ,it has again and  
again been illustrated how by the       

cumulative selection and inheritance of 
slight physical variations generic      
differences1 like those between the     
tiger and the leopard1 or the cow and   
the antelope1 at length arise2 and the  
guiding principle in the accumulation of
 slight physical differences has been   
the welfare of the species4 ,the variant
 forms on either side have survived     
while the constant forms have perished1 
so that the lines of demarcation between
 allied species have grown more and more
 distinct1 and it is usually only by    
going back to fossil ages that we can   
supply the missing links of continuity4 
,in the desperate struggle for existence
 no peculiarity1 physical or psychical1 
however slight1 has been too            
insignificant for natural selection to  
seize and enhance2 and the myriad       
fantastic forms and hues of animal and  
vegetal life illustrate the seeming     
capriciousness of its workings4         
,psychical variations have never been   
unimportant since the appearance of the 

first faint pigment-spot which by and by
 was to translate touch into vision1 as 
it developed into the lenses and humours
 of the eye4#b ,special organs of sense 
and the lower grades of perception and  
judgment were slowly developed through  
countless ages1 in company with purely  
physical variations of shape of foot1 or
 length of neck1 or complexity of       
stomach1 or thickness of hide4 ,at      
length there came a wonderful           
moment--silent and unnoticed1 as are the
 beginnings of all great revolutions4   
,silent and unnoticed1 even as the day  
of the ,lord which cometh like a thief  
in the night1 there arrived that        
wonderful moment at which psychical     
changes began to be of more use than    
physical changes to the brute ancestor  
of ,man4 ,through further ages of       
ceaseless struggle the profitable       
variations in this creature occurred    
oftener and oftener in the brain1 and   
less often in other parts of the        
organism1 until by and by the size of   

his brain had been doubled and its      
complexity of structure increased a     
thousand-fold1 while in other respects  
his appearance was not so very different
 from that of his brother apes4#c ,along
 with this growth of the brain1 the     
complete assumption of the upright      
posture1 enabling the hands to be       
devoted entirely to prehension and thus 
relieving the jaws of that part of their
 work1 has coperated in producing that  
peculiar contour of head and face which 
is the chief distinguishing mark of     
physical ,man4 ,these slight anatomical 
changes derive their importance entirely
 from the prodigious intellectual       
changes in connection with which they   
have been produced2 and these           
intellectual changes have been          
accumulated until the distance1         
psychically speaking1 between civilized 
man and the ape is so great as to dwarf 
in comparison all that had been achieved
 in the process of evolution down to the
 time of our half-human ancestor's first

 appearance4 ,no fact in nature is      
fraught with deeper meaning than this   
two-sided fact of the extreme physical  
similarity and enormous psychical       
divergence between ,man and the group of
 animals to which he traces his         
pedigree4 ,it shows that when ,humanity 
began to be evolved an entirely new     
chapter in the history of the universe  
was opened4 ,henceforth the life of the 
nascent soul came to be first in        
importance1 and the bodily life became  
subordinated to it4 ,henceforth it      
appeared that1 in this direction at     
least1 the process of zological change  
had come to an end1 and a process of    
psychological change was to take its    
place4 ,henceforth along this supreme   
line of generation there was to be no   
further evolution of new species through
 physical variation1 but through the    
accumulation of psychical variations one
 particular species was to be           
indefinitely perfected and raised to a  
totally different plane from that on    

which all life had hitherto existed4    
,henceforth1 in short1 the dominant     
aspect of evolution was to be not the   
genesis of species1 but the progress of 
,civilization4  ,as we thoroughly grasp 
the meaning of all this1 we see that    
upon the ,darwinian theory it is        
impossible that any creature            
zoologically distinct from ,man and     
superior to him should ever at any      
future time exist upon the earth4 ,in   
the regions of unconditional possibility
 it is open to any one to argue1 if he  
chooses1 that such a creature may come  
to exist2 but the ,darwinian theory is  
utterly opposed to any such conclusion4 
,according to ,darwinism1 the creation  
of ,man is still the goal toward which  
,nature tended from the beginning4 ,not 
the production of any higher creature1  
but the perfecting of ,humanity1 is to  
be the glorious consummation of         
,nature's long and tedious work4 ,thus  
we suddenly arrive at the conclusion    
that ,man seems now1 much more clearly  

than ever1 the chief among ,god's       
creatures4 ,on the primitive barbaric   
theory1 which ,mr4 ,darwin has swept    
away1 ,man was suddenly flung into the  
world by the miraculous act of some     
unseen and incalculable ,power acting   
from without2 and whatever theology     
might suppose1 no scientific reason     
could be alleged why the same           
incalculable ,power might not at some   
future moment1 by a similar miracle1    
thrust upon the scene some mightier     
creature in whose presence ,man would   
become like a sorry beast of burden4    
,but he who has mastered the ,darwinian 
theory1 he who recognizes the slow and  
subtle process of evolution as the way  
in which ,god makes things come to pass1
 must take afar higher view4 ,he sees   
that in the deadly struggle for         
existence which has raged throughout    
countless aeons of time1 the whole      
creation has been groaning and          
travailing together in order to bring   
forth that last consummate specimen of  

,god's handiwork1 the ,human ,soul4  ,to
 the creature thus produced through a   
change in the direction in which natural
 selection has worked1 the earth and    
most of its living things have become   
gradually subordinated4 ,in all the     
classes of the animal and vegetal worlds
 many ancient species have become       
extinct1 and many modern species have   
come into being1 through the unchecked  
working of natural selection1 since ,man
 became distinctively human4 ,but in    
this respect a change has long been     
coming over the face of nature4 ,the    
destinies of all other living things are
 more and more dependent upon the will  
of ,man4 ,it rests with him to          
determine1 to a great degree1 what      
plants and animals shall remain upon the
 earth and what shall be swept from its 
surface4 ,by unconsciously imitating the
 selective processes of ,nature1 he long
 ago wrought many wild species into     
forms subservient to his needs4 ,he has 
created new varieties of fruit and      

flower and cereal grass1 and has reared 
new breeds of animals to aid him in the 
work of civilization2 until at length he
 is beginning to acquire a mastery over 
mechanical and molecular and chemical   
forces which is doubtless destined in   
the future to achieve marvellous results
 whereof today we little dream4 ,natural
 selection itself will by and by occupy 
a subordinate place in comparison with  
selection by ,man1 whose appearance on  
the earth is thus seen more clearly than
 ever to have opened an entirely new    
chapter in the mysterious history of    
creation4     ,,iv4  ,the ,origin of    
,infancy4   ,but before we can fully    
understand the exalted position which   
the ,darwinian theory assigns to man1   
another point demands consideration4    
,the natural selection of psychical     
peculiarities does not alone account for
 the origin of ,man1 or explain his most
 signal difference from all other       
animals4 ,that difference is            
unquestionably a difference in kind1 but

 in saying this one must guard against  
misunderstanding4 ,not only in the world
 of organic life1 but throughout the    
known universe1 the doctrine of         
evolution regards differences in kind as
 due to the gradual accumulation of     
differences in degree4 ,to cite a very  
simple case1 what differences of kind   
can be more striking than the           
differences between a nebula1 a sun1 a  
planet like the earth1 and a planet like
 our moon8 ,yet these things are simply 
examples of cosmical matter at four     
different stages of cooling4 ,the       
physical differences between steam1     
water1 and ice afford a more familiar   
example4 ,in the organic world the      
perpetual modification of structures    
that has been effected through natural  
selection exhibits countless instances  
of differences in kind which have risen 
from the accumulation of differences in 
degree4 ,no one would hesitate to call a
 horse's hoof different in kind from a  
cat's paw2 and yet the horse's lower leg

 and hoof are undoubtedly developed from
 a five-toed paw4 ,the most signal      
differences in kind are wont to arise   
when organs originally developed for a  
certain purpose come to be applied to a 
very different purpose1 as that change  
of the fish's air-bladder into a lung   
which accompanied the first development 
of land vertebrates4 ,but still greater 
becomes the revolution when a certain   
process goes on ,until it sets going a  
number of other processes1 unlocking    
series after series of causal agencies  
until a vast and complicated result is  
reached1 such as could by no possibility
 have been foreseen4 ,the creation of   
,man was one of these vast and          
complicated results due to the unlocking
 of various series of causal agencies2  
and it was the beginning of a deeper and
 mightier difference in kind than any   
that slowly evolving ,nature had yet    
witnessed4  ,i have indicated1 as the   
moment at which the creation of mankind 
began1 the moment when psychical        

variations became of so much more use to
 our ancestors than physical variations 
that they were seized and enhanced by   
natural selection1 to the comparative   
neglect of the latter4 ,increase of     
intellectual capacity1 in connection    
with the developing brain of a single   
race of creatures1 now became the chief 
work of natural selection in originating
 ,man2 and this1 ,i say1 was the opening
 of a new chapter1 the last and most    
wonderful chapter1 in the history of    
creation4 ,but the increasing           
intelligence and enlarged experience of 
half-human man now set in motion a new  
series of changes which greatly         
complicated the matter4 ,in order to    
understand these changes1 we must       
consider for a moment one very important
 characteristic of developing           
intelligence4  ,the simplest actions in 
which the nervous system is concerned   
are what we call reflex actions4 ,all   
the visceral actions which keep us alive
 from moment to moment1 the movements of

 the heart and lungs1 the contractions  
of arteries1 the secretions of glands1  
the digestive operations of the stomach 
and liver1 belong to the class of reflex
 actions4 ,throughout the animal world  
these acts are repeated1 with little or 
no variation1 from birth until death1   
and the tendency to perform them is     
completely organized in the nervous     
system before birth4 ,every animal      
breathes and digests as well at the     
beginning of his life as he ever does4  
,contact with air and food is all that  
is needed1 and there is nothing to be   
learned4 ,these actions1 though they are
 performed by the nervous system1 we do 
not class as psychical1 because they are
 nearly or quite unattended by          
consciousness4 ,the psychical life of   
the lowest animals consists of a few    
simple acts directed toward the securing
 of food and the avoidance of danger1   
and these acts we are in the habit of   
classing as instinctive4 ,they are so   
simple1 so few1 and so often repeated1  

that the tendency to perform them is    
completely organized in the nervous     
system before birth4 ,the animal takes  
care of himself as soon as he begins to 
live4 ,he has nothing to learn1 and his 
career is a simple repetition of the    
careers of countless ancestors4 ,with   
him heredity is everything1 and his     
individual experience is next to        
nothing4  ,as we ascend the animal scale
 till we come to the higher birds and   
mammals1 we find a very interesting and 
remarkable change beginning4 ,the       
general increase of intelligence        
involves an increasing variety and      
complication of experiences4 ,the acts  
which the animal performs in the course 
of its life become far more numerous1   
far more various1 and far more complex4 
,they are therefore severally repeated  
with less frequency in the lifetime of  
each individual4 ,consequently the      
tendency to perform them is not         
completely organized in the nervous     
system of the offspring before birth4   

,the short period of ante-natal         
existence does not afford time enough   
for the organization of so many and such
 complex habitudes and capacities4 ,the 
process which in the lower animals is   
completed before birth is in the higher 
animals left to be completed after      
birth4 ,when the creature begins its    
life it is not completely organized4    
,instead of the power of doing all the  
things which its parents did1 it starts 
with the power of doing only some few of
 them2 for the rest it has only latent  
capacities which need to be brought out 
by its individual experience after      
birth4 ,in other words1 it begins its   
separate life not as a matured creature1
 but as an infant which needs for a time
 to be watched and helped4     ,v4  ,the
 ,dawning of ,consciousness4   ,here we 
arrive at one of the most wonderful     
moments in the history of creation1--the
 moment of the first faint dawning of   
consciousness1 the foreshadowing of the 
true life of the soul4 ,whence came the 

soul we no more know than we know whence
 came the universe4 ,the primal origin  
of consciousness is hidden in the depths
 of the bygone eternity4 ,that it cannot
 possibly be the product of any cunning 
arrangement of material particles is    
demonstrated beyond peradventure by what
 we now know of the correlation of      
physical forces4#d ,the ,platonic view  
of the soul1 as a spiritual substance1  
an effluence from ,godhood1 which under 
certain conditions becomes incarnated in
 perishable forms of matter1 is         
doubtless the view most consonant with  
the present state of our knowledge4 ,yet
 while we know not the primal origin of 
the soul1 we have learned something with
 regard to the conditions under which it
 has become incarnated in material      
forms4 ,modern psychology has something 
to say about the dawning of conscious   
life in the animal world4 ,reflex action
 is unaccompanied by consciousness4 ,the
 nervous actions which regulate the     
movements of the viscera go on without  

our knowledge2 we learn of their        
existence only by study1 as we learn of 
facts in outward nature4 ,if you tickle 
the foot of a person asleep1 and the    
foot is withdrawn by simple reflex      
action1 the sleeper is unconscious alike
 of the irritation and of the movement1 
even as the decapitated frog is         
unconscious when a drop of nitric acid  
falls on his back and he lifts up a leg 
and rubs the place4 ,in like manner the 
reflex movements which make up the life 
of the lowest animals are doubtless     
quite unconscious1 even when in their   
general character they simulate         
conscious actions1 as they often do4 ,in
 the case of such creatures1 the famous 
hypothesis of ,descartes1 that animals  
are automata1 is doubtless mainly       
correct4 ,in the case of instincts also1
 where the instinctive actions are      
completely organized before birth1 and  
are repeated without variation during   
the whole lifetime of the individual1   
there is probably little if any         

consciousness4 ,it is an essential      
prerequisite of consciousness that there
 should be a period of delay or tension 
between the receipt of an impression and
 the determination of the consequent    
movement4 ,diminish this period of delay
 and you diminish the vividness of      
consciousness4 ,a familiar example will 
make this clear4 ,when you are learning 
to play a new piece of music on the     
piano1 especially if you do not read    
music rapidly1 you are intensely        
conscious of each group of notes on the 
page1 and of each group of keys that you
 strike1 and of the relations of the one
 to the other4 ,but when you have       
learned the piece by heart1 you think   
nothing of either notes or keys1 but    
play automatically while your attention 
is concentrated upon the artistic       
character of the music4 ,if somebody    
thoughtlessly interrupts you with a     
question about ,egyptian politics1 you  
go on playing while you answer him      
politely4 ,that is1 where you had at    

first to make a conscious act of        
volition for each movement1 the whole   
group of movements has now become       
automatic1 and volition is only         
concerned in setting the process going4 
,as the delay involved in the perception
 and the movement disappears1 so does   
the consciousness of the perception and 
the movement tend to disappear4         
,consciousness implies perpetual        
discrimination1 or the recognition of   
likenesses and differences1 and this is 
impossible unless impressions persist   
long enough to be compared with one     
another4 ,the physical organs in        
connection with whose activity          
consciousness is manifested are the     
upper and outer parts of the brain1--the
 cerebrum and cerebellum4 ,these organs 
never receive impressions directly from 
the outside world1 but only from lower  
nerve-centres1 such as the spinal cord1 
the medulla1 the optic lobes1 and other 
special centres of sensation4 ,the      
impressions received by the cerebrum and

 cerebellum are waves of molecular      
disturbance sent up along centripetal   
nerves from the lower centres1 and      
presently drafted off along centrifugal 
nerves back to the lower centres1 thus  
causing the myriad movements which make 
up our active life4 ,now there is no    
consciousness except when molecular     
disturbance is generated in the cerebrum
 and cerebellum faster than it can be   
drafted off to the lower centres4#e ,it 
is the surplus of molecular disturbance 
remaining in the cerebrum and           
cerebellum1 and reflected back and forth
 among the cells and fibres of which    
these highest centres are composed1 that
 affords the physical condition for the 
manifestation of consciousness4 ,memory1
 emotion1 reason1 and volition begin    
with this retention of a surplus of     
molecular motion in the highest centres4
 ,as we survey the vertebrate           
sub-kingdom of animals1 we find that as 
this surplus increases1 the surface of  
the highest centres increases in area4  

,in the lowest vertebrate animal1 the   
amphioxus1 the cerebrum and cerebellum  
do not exist at all4 ,in fishes we begin
 to find them1 but they are much smaller
 than the optic lobes4 ,in such a highly
 organized fish as the halibut1 which   
weighs about as much as an average-sized
 man1 the cerebrum is smaller than a    
melon-seed4 ,continuing to grow by      
adding concentric layers at the surface1
 the cerebrum and cerebellum become much
 larger in birds and lower mammals1     
gradually covering up the optic lobes4  
,as we pass to higher mammalian forms1  
the growth of the cerebrum becomes most 
conspicuous1 until it extends backwards 
so far as to cover up the cerebellum1   
whose functions are limited to the      
conscious adjustment of muscular        
movements4 ,in the higher apes the      
cerebrum begins to extend itself        
forwards1 and this goes on in the human 
race4 ,the cranial capacity of the      
,european exceeds that of the           
,australian by forty cubic inches1 or   

nearly four times as much as that by    
which the ,australian exceeds the       
gorilla2 and the expansion is almost    
entirely in the upper and anterior      
portions4 ,but the increase of the      
cerebral surface is shown not only in   
the general size of the organ1 but to a 
still greater extent in the irregular   
creasing and furrowing of the surface4  
,this creasing and furrowing begins to  
occur in the higher mammals1 and in     
civilized man it is carried to an       
astonishing extent4 ,the amount of      
intelligence is correlated with the     
number1 the depth1 and the irregularity 
of the furrows4 ,a cat's brain has a few
 symmetrical creases4 ,in an ape the    
creases are deepened into slight        
furrows1 and they run irregularly1      
somewhat like the lines in the palm of  
your hand4 ,with age and experience the 
furrows grow deeper and more sinuous1   
and new ones appear2 and in man these   
phenomena come to have great            
significance4 ,the cerebral surface of a

 human infant is like that of an ape4   
,in an adult savage1 or in a ,european  
peasant1 the furrowing is somewhat      
marked and complicated4 ,in the brain of
 a great scholar1 the furrows are very  
deep and crooked1 and hundreds of       
creases appear which are not found at   
all in the brains of ordinary men4 ,in  
other words1 the cerebral surface of    
such a man1 the seat of conscious mental
 life1 has become enormously enlarged in
 area2 and we must further observe that 
it goes on enlarging in some cases into 
extreme old age4#f  ,putting all these  
facts together1 it becomes plain that in
 the lowest animals1 whose lives consist
 of sundry reflex actions monotonously  
repeated from generation to generation1 
there can be nothing1 or next to        
nothing1 of what we know as             
consciousness4 ,it is only when the life
 becomes more complicated and various1  
so that reflex action can no longer     
determine all its movements and the     
higher nerve-centres begin to be        

evolved1 that the dawning of            
consciousness is reached4 ,but with the 
growth of the higher centres the        
capacities of action become so various  
and indeterminate that definite         
direction is not given to them until    
after birth4 ,the creature begins life  
as an infant1 with its partially        
developed cerebrum representing         
capabilities which it is left for its   
individual experience to bring forth and
 modify4     ,,vi4  ,lengthening of     
,infancy1 and ,concomitant ,increase of 
,brain-,surface4   ,the first appearance
 of infancy in the animal world thus    
heralded the new era which was to be    
crowned by the development of ,man4     
,with the beginnings of infancy there   
came the first dawning of a conscious   
life similar in nature to the conscious 
life of human beings1 and there came1   
moreover1 on the part of parents1 the   
beginning of feelings and actions not   
purely self-regarding4 ,but still more1 
the period of infancy was a period of   

plasticity4 ,the career of each         
individual being no longer wholly       
predetermined by the careers of its     
ancestors1 it began to become teachable4
 ,individuality of character also became
 possible at the same time1 and for the 
same reason4 ,all birds and mammals     
which take care of their young are      
teachable1 though in very various       
degrees1 and all in like manner show    
individual peculiarities of disposition1
 though in most cases these are slight  
and inconspicuous4 ,in dogs1 horses1 and
 apes there is marked teachableness1 and
 there are also marked differences in   
individual character4  ,but in the      
non-human animal world all these        
phenomena are but slightly developed4   
,they are but the dim adumbrations of   
what was by and by to bloom forth in the
 human race4 ,they can scarcely be said 
to have served as a prophecy of the     
revolution that was to come4 ,one       
generation of dumb beasts is after all  
very like another1 and from studying the

 careers of the mastodon1 the hipparion1
 the sabre-toothed lion1 or even the    
dryopithecus1 an observer in the        
,miocene age could never have foreseen  
the possibility of a creature endowed   
with such a boundless capacity of       
progress as the modern ,man4            
,nevertheless1 however dimly suggestive 
was this group of phenomena1 it         
contained the germ of all that is       
preminent in humanity4 ,in the direct   
line of our ancestry it only needed that
 the period of infancy should be        
sufficiently prolonged1 in order that a 
creature should at length appear1       
endowed with the teachableness1 the     
individuality1 and the capacity for     
progress which are the peculiar         
prerogatives of fully-developed ,man4#g 
,in this direct line the manlike apes of
 ,africa and the ,indian ,archipelago   
have advanced far beyond the mammalian  
world in general4 ,along with a cerebral
 surface1 and an accompanying           
intelligence1 far greater than that of  

other mammals1 these tailless apes begin
 life as helpless babies1 and are unable
 to walk1 to feed themselves1 or to     
grasp objects with precision until they 
are two or three months old4 ,these apes
 have thus advanced a little way upon   
the peculiar road which our half-human  
forefathers began to travel as soon as  
psychical variations came to be of more 
use to the species than variations in   
bodily structure4 ,the gulf by which the
 lowest known man is separated from the 
highest known ape consists in the great 
increase of his cerebral surface1 with  
the accompanying intelligence1 and in   
the very long duration of his infancy4  
,these two things have gone hand in     
hand4 ,the increase of cerebral surface1
 due to the working of natural selection
 in this direction alone1 has entailed a
 vast increase in the amount of cerebral
 organization that must be left to be   
completed after birth1 and thus has     
prolonged the period of infancy4 ,and   
conversely the prolonging of the plastic

 period of infancy1 entailing a vast    
increase in teachableness and           
versatility1 has contributed to the     
further enlargement of the cerebral     
surface4 ,the mutual reaction of these  
two groups of facts must have gone on   
for an enormous length of time since man
 began thus diverging from his simian   
brethren4 ,it is not likely that less   
than a million years have elapsed since 
the first page of this new chapter in   
the history of creation was opened3 it  
is probable that the time has been much 
longer4 ,in comparison with such a      
period1 the whole recorded duration of  
human history shrinks into nothingness4 
,the pyramids of ,egypt seem like things
 of yesterday when we think of the      
,cave-,men of western ,europe in the    
glacial period1 who scratched pictures  
of mammoths on pieces of reindeer-antler
 with a bit of pointed flint4 ,yet      
during an entire geologic on before     
these ,cave-,men appeared on the scene1 
a being erect upon two legs1 if we may  

quote from ,serjeant ,buzfuz1 and       
wearing the outward semblance of a man  
and not of a monster1 wandered hither   
and thither over the face of the earth1 
setting his mark upon it as no other    
creature yet had done1 leaving behind   
him innumerable tell-tale remnants of   
his fierce and squalid existence1 yet   
too scantily endowed with wit to make   
any written disclosure of his thoughts  
and deeds4 ,if the physiological annals 
of that long and weary time could now be
 unrolled before us1 the principal fact 
which we should discern1 dominating all 
other facts in interest and             
significance1 would be that mutual      
reaction between increase of cerebral   
surface and lengthening of babyhood     
which ,i have here described4  ,thus    
through the simple continuance and      
interaction of processes that began far 
back in the world of warm-blooded       
animals1 we get at last a creature      
essentially different from all others4  
,through the complication of effects the

 heaping up of minute differences in    
degree has ended in bringing forth a    
difference in kind4 ,in the human       
organism physical variation has         
well-nigh stopped1 or is confined to    
insignificant features1 save in the grey
 surface of the cerebrum4 ,the work of  
cerebral organization is chiefly        
completed after birth1 as we see by     
contrasting the smooth ape-like         
brain-surface of the new-born child with
 the deeply-furrowed and myriad-seamed  
surface of the adult civilized brain4   
,the plastic period of adolescence1     
lengthened in civilized man until it has
 come to cover more than one third of   
his lifetime1 is thus the guaranty of   
his boundless progressiveness4          
,inherited tendencies and aptitudes     
still form the foundations of character2
 but individual experience has come to  
count as an enormous factor in modifying
 the career of mankind from generation  
to generation4 ,it is not too much to   
say that the difference between man and 

all other living creatures1 in respect  
of teachableness1 progressiveness1 and  
individuality of character1 surpasses   
all other differences of kind that are  
known to exist in the universe4         
,,vii4  ,change in the ,direction of the
 ,working of ,natural ,selection4   ,in 
the fresh light which these             
considerations throw upon the problem of
 man's origin1 we can now see more      
clearly than ever how great a revolution
 was inaugurated when natural selection 
began to confine its operations to the  
surface of the cerebrum4 ,among the     
older incidents in the evolution of     
organic life1 the changes were very     
wonderful which out of the pectoral fin 
of a fish developed the jointed         
fore-limb of the mammal with its        
five-toed paw1 and thence through much  
slighter variation brought forth the    
human arm with its delicate and crafty  
hand4 ,more wondrous still were the     
phases of change through which the      
rudimentary pigment-spot of the worm1 by

 the development and differentiation of 
successive layers1 gave place to the    
variously-constructed eyes of insects1  
mollusks1 and vertebrates4 ,the day for 
creative work of this sort has probably 
gone by1 as the day for the evolution of
 annulose segments and vertebrate       
skeletons has gone by1--on our planet1  
at least4 ,in the line of our own       
development1 all work of this kind      
stopped long ago1 to be replaced by     
different methods4 ,as an optical       
instrument1 the eye had well-nigh       
reached extreme perfection in many a    
bird and mammal ages before man's       
beginnings2 and the essential features  
of the human hand existed already in the
 hands of ,miocene apes4 ,but different 
methods came in when human intelligence 
appeared upon the scene4 ,mr4 ,spencer  
has somewhere reminded us that the      
crowbar is but an extra lever added to  
the levers of which the arm is already  
composed1 and the telescope but adds a  
new set of lenses to those which already

 exist in the eye4 ,this beautiful      
illustration goes to the kernel of the  
change that was wrought when natural    
selection began to confine itself to the
 psychical modification of our          
ancestors4 ,in a very deep sense all    
human science is but the increment of   
the power of the eye1 and all human art 
is the increment of the power of the    
hand4#h ,vision and                     
manipulation1--these1 in their countless
 indirect and transfigured forms1 are   
the two coperating factors in all       
intellectual progress4 ,it is not merely
 that with the telescope we see extinct 
volcanoes on the moon1 or resolve spots 
of nebulous cloud into clusters of      
blazing suns2 it is that in every       
scientific theory we frame by indirect  
methods visual images of things not     
present to sense4 ,with our mind's eye  
we see atmospheric convulsions on the   
surfaces of distant worlds1 watch the   
giant ichthyosaurs splashing in         
,jurassic oceans1 follow the varied     

figures of the rhythmic dance of        
molecules as chemical elements unite and
 separate1 or examine1 with the aid of  
long-forgotten vocabularies now         
magically restored1 the manners and     
morals1 the laws and superstitions1 of  
peoples that have ceased to be4#i ,and  
so in art the wonderful printing-press1 
and the engine that moves it1 are the   
lineal descendants through countless    
stages of complication1 of the simple   
levers of primitive man and the rude    
stylus wherewith he engraved strange    
hieroglyphs on the bark of trees4 ,in   
such ways1 since the human phase of     
evolution began1 has the direct action  
of muscle and sense been supplemented   
and superseded by the indirect work of  
the inquisitive and inventive mind4     
,,viii4  ,growing ,predominance of the  
,psychical ,life4   ,let us note one    
further aspect of this mighty           
revolution4 ,in its lowly beginnings the
 psychical life was merely an appendage 
to the life of the body4 ,the avoidance 

of enemies1 the securing of food1 the   
perpetuation of the species1 make up the
 whole of the lives of lower animals1   
and the rudiments of memory1 reason1    
emotion1 and volition were at first     
concerned solely with the achievement of
 these ends in an increasingly indirect1
 complex1 and effective way4 ,though the
 life of a large portion of the human   
race is still confined to the pursuit of
 these same ends1 yet so vast has been  
the increase of psychical life that the 
simple character of the ends is liable  
to be lost sight of amid the variety1   
the indirectness1 and the complexity of 
the means4 ,but in civilized society    
other ends1 purely immaterial in their  
nature1 have come to add themselves to  
these1 and in some instances to take    
their place4 ,it is long since we were  
told that ,man does not live by bread   
alone4 ,during many generations we have 
seen thousands of men1 actuated by the  
noblest impulse of which humanity is    
capable1 though misled by the teachings 

of a crude philosophy1 despising and    
maltreating their bodies as clogs and   
incumbrances to the life of the         
indwelling soul4 ,countless martyrs we  
have seen throwing away the physical    
earthly life as so much worthless dross1
 and all for the sake of purely         
spiritual truths4 ,as with religion1 so 
with the scientific spirit and the      
artistic spirit1--the unquenchable      
craving to know the secrets of nature1  
and the yearning to create the beautiful
 in form and colour and sound4 ,in the  
highest human beings such ends as these 
have come to be uppermost in            
consciousness1 and with the progress of 
material civilization this will be more 
and more the case4 ,if we can imagine a 
future time when warfare and crime shall
 have been done away with forever1 when 
disease shall have been for the most    
part curbed1 and when every human being 
by moderate labour can secure ample food
 and shelter1 we can also see that in   
such a state of things the work of      

civilization would be by no means       
completed4 ,in ministering to human     
happiness in countless ways1 through the
 pursuit of purely spiritual ends1 in   
enriching and diversifying life to the  
utmost1 there would still be almost     
limitless work to be done4 ,i believe   
that such a time will come for weary and
 suffering mankind4 ,such a faith is    
inspiring4 ,it sustains one in the work 
of life1 when one would otherwise lose  
heart4 ,but it is a faith that rests    
upon induction4 ,the process of         
evolution is excessively slow1 and its  
ends are achieved at the cost of        
enormous waste of life1 but for         
innumerable ages its direction has been 
toward the goal here pointed out2 and   
the case may be fitly summed up in the  
statement that whereas in its rude      
beginnings the psychical life was but an
 appendage to the body1 in              
fully-developed ,humanity the body is   
but the vehicle for the soul4     ,,ix4 
,the ,origins of ,society and of        

,morality4   ,one further point must be 
considered before this outline sketch of
 the manner of man's origin can be      
called complete4 ,the psychical         
development of ,humanity1 since its     
earlier stages1 has been largely clue to
 the reaction of individuals upon one   
another in those various relations which
 we characterize as social4#aj ,in      
considering the origin of ,man1 the     
origin of human society cannot be passed
 over4 ,foreshadowings of social        
relations occur in the animal world1 not
 only in the line of our own vertebrate 
ancestry1 but in certain orders of      
insects which stand quite remote from   
that line4 ,many of the higher mammals  
are gregarious1 and this is especially  
true of that whole order of primates to 
which we belong4 ,rudimentary moral     
sentiments are also clearly discernible 
in the highest members of various       
mammalian orders1 and in all but the    
lowest members of our own order4 ,but in
 respect of definiteness and permanence 

the relations between individuals in a  
state of gregariousness fall far short  
of the relations between individuals in 
the rudest human society4 ,the          
primordial unit of human society is the 
family1 and it was by the establishment 
of definite and permanent family        
relationships that the step was taken   
which raised ,man socially above the    
level of gregarious apehood4 ,this great
 point was attained through that        
lengthening of the period of helpless   
childhood which accompanied the         
gradually increasing intelligence of our
 half-human ancestors4 ,when childhood  
had come to extend over a period of ten 
or a dozen years--a period which would  
be doubled1 or more than doubled1 where 
several children were born in succession
 to the same parents--the relationships 
between father and mother1 brethren and 
sisters1 must have become firmly knit2  
and thus the family1 the unit of human  
society1 gradually came into            
existence4#aa ,the rudimentary growth of

 moral sentiment must now have received 
a definite direction4 ,as already       
observed1 with the beginnings of infancy
 in the animal world there came the     
genesis in the parents of feelings and  
actions not purely self-regarding4      
,rudimentary sympathies1 with           
rudimentary capacity for self-devotion1 
are witnessed now and then among higher 
mammals1 such as the dog1 and not       
uncommonly among apes4 ,but as the human
 family1 with its definite              
relationships1 came into being1 there   
must necessarily have grown up between  
its various members reciprocal          
necessities of behaviour4 ,the conduct  
of the individual could no longer be    
shaped with sole reference to his own   
selfish desires1 but must be to a great 
extent subordinated to the general      
welfare of the family4 ,and in judging  
of the character of his own conduct1 the
 individual must now begin to refer it  
to some law of things outside of        
himself2 and hence the germs of         

conscience and of the idea of duty4     
,such were no doubt the crude beginnings
 of human morality4  ,with this genesis 
of the family1 the ,creation of ,man may
 be said1 in a certain sense1 to have   
been completed4 ,the great extent of    
cerebral surface1 the lengthened period 
of infancy1 the consequent capacity for 
progress1 the definite constitution of  
the family1 and the judgment of actions 
as good or bad according to some other  
standard than that of selfish           
desire1--these are the attributes which 
essentially distinguish ,man from other 
creatures4 ,all these1 we see1 are      
direct or indirect results of the       
revolution which began when natural     
selection came to confine itself to     
psychical variations1 to the neglect of 
physical variations4 ,the immediate     
result was the increase of cerebrum4    
,this prolonged the infancy1 thus giving
 rise to the capacity for progress2 and 
infancy1 in turn1 originated the family 
and thus opened the way for the growth  

of sympathies and of ethical feelings4  
,all these results have perpetually     
reacted upon one another until a        
creature different in kind from all     
other creatures has been evolved4 ,the  
creature thus evolved long since became 
dominant over the earth in a sense in   
which none of his predecessors ever     
became dominant2 and henceforth the work
 of evolution1 so far as our planet is  
concerned1 is chiefly devoted to the    
perfecting of this last and most        
wonderful product of creative energy4   
,x4  ,improvableness of ,man4   ,for the
 creation of ,man was by no means the   
creation of a perfect being4 ,the most  
essential feature of ,man is his        
improvableness1 and since his first     
appearance on the earth the changes that
 have gone on in him have been enormous1
 though they have continued to run along
 in the lines of development that were  
then marked out4 ,the changes have been 
so great that in many respects the      
interval between the highest and the    

lowest men far surpasses quantitatively 
the interval between the lowest men and 
the highest apes4 ,if we take into      
account the creasing of the cerebral    
surface1 the difference between the     
brain of a ,shakespeare and that of an  
,australian savage would doubtless be   
fifty times greater than the difference 
between the ,australian's brain and that
 of an orang-outang4 ,in mathematical   
capacity the ,australian1 who cannot    
tell the number of fingers on his two   
hands1 is much nearer to a lion or wolf 
than to ,sir ,rowan ,hamilton1 who      
invented the method of quaternions4 ,in 
moral development this same ,australian1
 whose language contains no words for   
justice and benevolence1 is less remote 
from dogs and baboons than from a       
,howard or a ,garrison4 ,in             
progressiveness1 too1 the difference    
between the lowest and the highest races
 of men is no less conspicuous4 ,the    
,australian is more teachable than the  
ape1 but his limit is nevertheless very 

quickly reached4 ,all the distinctive   
attributes of ,man1 in short1 have been 
developed to an enormous extent through 
long ages of social evolution4  ,this   
psychical development of ,man is        
destined to go on in the future as it   
has gone on in the past4 ,the creative  
energy which has been at work through   
the bygone eternity is not going to     
become quiescent to-morrow4 ,we have    
learned something of its methods of     
working1 and from the careful           
observation of the past we can foresee  
the future in some of its most general  
outlines4 ,from what has already gone on
 during the historic period of man's    
existence1 we can safely predict a      
change that will by and by distinguish  
him from all other creatures even more  
widely and more fundamentally than he is
 distinguished today4 ,whenever in the  
course of organic evolution we see any  
function beginning as incidental to the 
performance of other functions1 and     
continuing for many ages to increase in 

importance until it becomes an          
indispensable strand in the web of life1
 we may be sure that by a continuance of
 the same process its influence is      
destined to increase still more in the  
future4 ,such has been the case with the
 function of sympathy1 and with the     
ethical feelings which have grown up    
along with sympathy and depend largely  
upon it for their vitality4 ,like       
everything else which especially        
distinguishes ,man1 the altruistic      
feelings were first called into         
existence through the first beginnings  
of infancy in the animal world4 ,their  
rudimentary form was that of the        
transient affection of a female bird or 
mammal for its young4 ,first given a    
definite direction through the genesis  
of the primitive human family1 the      
development of altruism has formed an   
important part of the progress of       
civilization1 but as yet it has scarcely
 kept pace with the general development 
of intelligence4 ,there can be little   

doubt that in respect of justice and    
kindness the advance of civilized man   
has been less marked than in respect of 
quick-wittedness4 ,now this is because  
the advancement of civilized man has    
been largely effected through fighting1 
through the continuance of that deadly  
struggle and competition which has been 
going on ever since organic life first  
appeared on the earth4 ,it is through   
such fierce and perpetual struggle that 
the higher forms of life have been      
gradually evolved by natural selection4 
,but we have already seen how in many   
respects the evolution of ,man was the  
opening of an entirely new chapter in   
the history of the universe4 ,in no     
respect was it more so than in the      
genesis of the altruistic emotions4 ,for
 when natural selection1 through the    
lengthening of childhood1 had secured a 
determinate development for this class  
of human feelings1 it had at last       
originated a power which could thrive   
only through the elimination of strife4 

,and the later history of mankind1      
during the past thirty centuries1 has   
been characterized by the gradual       
eliminating of strife1 though the       
process has gone on with the extreme    
slowness that marks all the work of     
evolution4 ,it is only at the present   
clay that1 by surveying human history   
from the widest possible outlook1 and   
with the aid of the habits of thought   
which the study of evolution fosters1 we
 are enabled distinctly to observe this 
tendency4 ,as this is the most wonderful
 of all the phases of that stupendous   
revolution in nature which was          
inaugurated in the ,creation of ,man1 it
 deserves especial attention here2 and  
we shall find it leading us quite       
directly to our conclusion4 ,from the   
,origin of ,man1 when thoroughly        
comprehended in its general outlines1 we
 shall at length be able to catch some  
glimpses of his ,destiny4     ,,xi4     
,universal ,warfare of ,primeval ,men4  
,in speaking of the higher altruistic   

feelings as being antagonistic to the   
continuance of warfare1 ,i did not mean 
to imply that warfare can ever be       
directly put down by our horror of      
cruelty or our moral disapproval of     
strife4 ,the actual process is much more
 indirect and complex than this4 ,in    
respect of belligerency the earliest men
 were doubtless no better than brutes4  
,they were simply the most crafty and   
formidable among brutes4 ,to get food   
was the prime necessity of life1 and as 
long as food was obtainable only by     
hunting and fishing1 or otherwise       
seizing upon edible objects already in  
existence1 chronic and universal quarrel
 was inevitable4 ,the conditions of the 
struggle for existence were not yet     
visibly changed from what they had been 
from the outset in the animal world4    
,that struggle meant everlasting        
slaughter1 and the fiercest races of    
fighters would be just the ones to      
survive and perpetuate their kind4      
,those most successful primitive men1   

from whom civilized peoples are         
descended1 must have excelled in        
treachery and cruelty1 as in quickness  
of wit and strength of will4 ,that moral
 sense which makes it seem wicked to    
steal and murder was scarcely more      
developed in them than in tigers or     
wolves4 ,but to all this there was one  
exception4 ,the family supplied motives 
for peaceful coperation4#ab ,within the 
family limits fidelity and forbearance  
had their uses1 for events could not    
have been long in showing that the most 
coherent families would prevail over    
their less coherent rivals4 ,observation
 of the most savage races agrees with   
the comparative study of the            
institutions of civilized peoples1 in   
proving that the only bond of political 
union recognized among primitive men1 or
 conceivable by them1 was the physical  
fact of blood-relationship4             
,illustrations of this are found in     
plenty far within the historic period4  
,the very township1 which under one name

 or another has formed the unit of      
political society among all civilized   
peoples1 was originally the stockaded   
dwelling-place of a clan which traced   
its blood to a common ancestor4 ,in such
 a condition of things the nearest      
approach ever made to peace was a state 
of armed truce2 and while the simple    
rules of morality were recognized1 they 
were only regarded as binding within the
 limits of the clan4 ,there was no      
recognition of the wickedness of robbery
 and murder in general4  ,this state of 
things1 as above hinted1 could not come 
to an end as long as men obtained food  
by seizing upon edible objects already  
in existence4 ,the supply of fish1 game1
 or fruit being strictly limited1 men   
must ordinarily fight under penalty of  
starvation4 ,if we could put a moral    
interpretation upon events which        
antedated morality as we understand it1 
we should say it was their duty to      
fight2 and the reverence accorded to the
 chieftain who murdered most            

successfully in behalf of his clansmen  
was well deserved4 ,it is worthy of note
 that1 in isolated parts of the earth   
where the natural supply of food is     
abundant1 as in sundry tropical islands 
of the ,pacific ,ocean1 men have ceased 
from warfare and become gentle and      
docile without rising above the         
intellectual level of savagery4         
,compared with other savages1 they are  
like the chimpanzee as contrasted with  
the gorilla4 ,such exceptional instances
 well illustrate the general truth that1
 so long as the method of obtaining food
 was the same as that employed by brute 
animals1 men must continue to fight like
 dogs over a bone4     ,,xii4  ,first   
checked by the ,beginnings of           
,industrial ,civilization4   ,but       
presently man's superior intelligence   
came into play in such wise that other  
and better methods of getting food were 
devised4 ,when in intervals of peace men
 learned to rear flocks and herds1 and  
to till the ground1 and when they had   

further learned to exchange with one    
another the products of their labour1 a 
new step1 of most profound significance1
 was taken4 ,tribes which had once      
learned how to do these things were not 
long in overcoming their neighbours1 and
 flourishing at their expense1 for      
agriculture allows a vastly greater     
population to live upon a given area1   
and in many ways it favours social      
compactness4 ,an immense series of      
social changes was now begun4 ,whereas  
the only conceivable bond of political  
combination had heretofore been         
blood-relationship1 a new basis was now 
furnished by territorial contiguity and 
by community of occupation4 ,the supply 
of food was no longer strictly limited1 
for it could be indefinitely increased  
by peaceful industry2 and moreover1 in  
the free exchange of the products of    
labour1 it ceased to be true that one   
man's interest was opposed to another's4
 ,men did not at once recognize this    
fact1 and indeed it has not yet become  

universally recognized1 so long have men
 persisted in interpreting the          
conditions of industrial life in        
accordance with the immemorial          
traditions of the time when the means of
 subsistence were strictly limited1 so  
that one man's success meant another's  
starvation4 ,our robber                 
tariffs--miscalled protective--are      
survivals of the barbarous mode of      
thinking which fitted the ages before   
industrial civilization began4 ,but     
although the pacific implications of    
free exchange were very slowly          
recognized1 it is not the less true that
 the beginnings of agriculture and      
commerce marked the beginnings of the   
greatest social revolution in the whole 
career of mankind4 ,henceforth the      
conditions for the maintenance of       
physical life became different from what
 they had been throughout the past      
history of the animal world4 ,it was no 
longer necessary for men to quarrel for 
their food like dogs over a bone2 for   

they could now obtain it far more       
effectively by applying their           
intelligence to the task of utilizing   
the forces of inanimate nature2 and the 
due execution of such a task was in no  
wise assisted by wrath and contention1  
but from the outset was rather hindered 
by such things4  ,such were the         
beginnings of industrial civilization4  
,out of its exigencies1 continually     
increasing in complexity1 have          
proceeded1 directly or indirectly1 the  
arts and sciences which have given to   
modern life so much of its interest and 
value4 ,but more important still has    
been the work of industrial civilization
 in the ethical field4 ,by furnishing a 
wider basis for political union than    
mere blood-relationship1 it greatly     
extended the area within which moral    
obligations were recognized as binding4 
,at first confined to the clan1 the idea
 of duty came at length to extend       
throughout a state in which many clans  
were combined and fused1 and as it thus 

increased in generality and             
abstractness1 the idea became           
immeasurably strengthened and ennobled4 
,at last1 with the rise of empires1 in  
which many states were brought together 
in pacific industrial relations1 the    
recognized sphere of moral obligation   
became enlarged until it comprehended   
all mankind4     ,,xiii4  ,methods of   
,political ,development1 and            
,elimination of ,warfare4   ,this rise  
of empires1 this coalescence of small   
groups of men into larger and larger    
political aggregates1 has been the chief
 work of civilization1 when looked at on
 its political side4#ac ,like all the   
work of evolution1 this process has gone
 on irregularly and intermittently1 and 
its ultimate tendency has only gradually
 become apparent4 ,this process of      
coalescence has from the outset been    
brought about by the needs of industrial
 civilization1 and the chief obstacle   
which it has had to encounter has been  
the universal hostility and warfare     

bequeathed from primeval times4 ,the    
history of mankind has been largely made
 up of fighting1 but in the careers of  
the most progressive races this fighting
 has been far from meaningless1 like the
 battles of kites and crows4 ,in the    
stream of history which1 beginning on   
the shores of the ,mediterranean ,sea1  
has widened until in our day it covers  
both sides of the ,atlantic and is fast 
extending over the remotest parts of the
 earth1--in this main stream of history 
the warfare which has gone on has had a 
clearly discernible purpose and meaning4
 ,broadly considered1 this warfare has  
been chiefly the struggle of the higher 
industrial civilization in defending    
itself against the attacks of neighbours
 who had not advanced beyond that early 
stage of humanity in which warfare was  
chronic and normal4 ,during the historic
 period1 the wars of ,europe have been  
either contests between the industrial  
and the predatory types of society1 or  
contests incident upon the imperfect    

formation of large political aggregates4
 ,there have been three ways in which   
great political bodies have arisen4 ,the
 earliest and lowest method was that of 
conquest without incorporation4 ,a      
single powerful tribe conquered and     
annexed its neighbours without admitting
 them to a share in the government4 ,it 
appropriated their military strength1   
robbed them of most of the fruits of    
their labour1 and thus virtually        
enslaved them4 ,such was the origin of  
the great despotic empires of ,oriental 
type4 ,such states degenerate rapidly in
 military strength4 ,their slavish      
populations1 accustomed to be starved   
and beaten or massacred by the          
tax-gatherer1 become unable to fight1 so
 that great armies of them will flee    
before a handful of freemen1 as in the  
case of the ancient ,persians and the   
modern ,egyptians4 ,to strike down the  
executive head of such an assemblage of 
enslaved tribes is to effect the        
conquest or the dissolution of the whole

 mass1 and hence the history of ,eastern
 peoples has been characterized by      
sudden and gigantic revolutions4  ,the  
second method of forming great political
 bodies was that of conquest with       
incorporation4 ,the conquering tribe1   
while annexing its neighbours1 gradually
 admitted them to a share in the        
government4 ,in this way arose the      
,roman empire1 the largest1 the most    
stable1 and in its best days the most   
pacific political aggregate the world   
had as yet seen4 ,throughout the best   
part of ,europe1 its conquests succeeded
 in transforming the ancient predatory  
type of society into the modern         
industrial type4 ,it effectually broke  
up the primeval clan-system1 with its   
narrow ethical ideas1 and arrived at the
 broad conception of rights and duties  
coextensive with ,humanity4 ,but in the 
method upon which ,rome proceeded there 
was an essential element of weakness4   
,the simple device of representation1 by
 which political power is equally       

retained in all parts of the community  
while its exercise is delegated to a    
central body1 was entirely unknown to   
the ,romans4 ,partly for this reason1   
and partly because of the terrible      
military pressure to which the frontier 
was perpetually exposed1 the ,roman     
government became a despotism which     
gradually took on many of the vices of  
the ,oriental type4 ,the political      
weakness which resulted from this       
allowed ,europe to be overrun by peoples
 organized in clans and tribes1 and for 
some time there was a partial           
retrogression toward the disorder       
characteristic of primitive ages4 ,the  
retrogression was but partial and       
temporary1 however2 the exposed frontier
 has been steadily pushed eastward into 
the heart of ,asia2 the industrial type 
of society is no longer menaced by the  
predatory type2 the primeval clan-system
 has entirely disappeared as a social   
force2 and warfare1 once ubiquitous and 
chronic1 has become local and           

occasional4  ,the third and highest     
method of forming great political bodies
 is that of federation4 ,the element of 
fighting was essential in the two lower 
methods1 but in this it is not          
essential4 ,here there is no conquest1  
but a voluntary union of small political
 groups into a great political group4   
,each little group preserves its local  
independence intact1 while forming part 
of an indissoluble whole4 ,obviously    
this method of political union requires 
both high intelligence and high ethical 
development ,in early times it was      
impracticable4 ,it was first attempted1 
with brilliant though ephemeral success1
 by the ,greeks1 but it failed for want 
of the device of representation4 ,in    
later times it was put into operation1  
with permanent success1 on a small scale
 by the ,swiss1 and on a great scale by 
our forefathers in ,england4 ,the       
coalescence of shires into the kingdom  
of ,england1 effected as it was by means
 of a representative assembly1 and      

accompanied by the general retention of 
local self-government1 afforded a       
distinct precedent for such a gigantic  
federal union as men of ,english race   
have since constructed in ,america4 ,the
 principle of federation was there1     
though not the name4 ,and here we hit   
upon the fundamental contrast between   
the history of ,england and that of     
,france4 ,the method by which the modern
 ,french nation has been built up has   
been the ,roman method of conquest with 
incorporation4 ,as the ruler of ,paris  
gradually overcame his vassals1 one     
after another1 by warfare or diplomacy1 
he annexed their counties to his royal  
domain1 and governed them by lieutenants
 sent from ,paris4 ,self-government was 
thus crushed out in ,france1 while it   
was preserved in ,england4 ,and just as 
,rome achieved its unprecedented        
dominion by adopting a political method 
more effective than any that had been   
hitherto employed1 so ,england1         
employing for the first time a still    

higher and more effective method1 has   
come to play a part in the world        
compared with which even the part played
 by ,rome seems insignificant4 ,the test
 of the relative strength of the        
,english and ,roman methods came when   
,england and ,france contended for the  
possession of ,north ,america4 ,the     
people which preserved its              
self-government could send forth        
self-supporting colonies2 the people    
which had lost the very tradition of    
self-government could not4 ,hence the   
dominion of the sea1 with that of all   
the outlying parts of the earth1 fell   
into the hands of men of ,english race2 
and hence the federative method of      
political union--the method which       
contains every element of permanence1   
and which is pacific in its very        
conception--is already assuming a sway  
which is unquestionably destined to     
become universal4  ,bearing all this in 
mind1 we cannot fail to recognize the   
truth of the statement that the great   

wars of the historic period have been   
either contests between the industrial  
and the predatory types of society or   
contests incident upon the imperfect    
formation of great political aggregates4
 ,throughout the turmoil of the historic
 period--which on a superficial view    
seems such a chaos--we see certain      
definite tendencies at work2 the        
tendency toward the formation of larger 
and larger political aggregates1 and    
toward the more perfect maintenance of  
local self-government and individual    
freedom among the parts of the          
aggregate4 ,this two-sided process began
 with the beginnings of industrial      
civilization2 it has aided the progress 
of industry and been aided by it2 and   
the result has been to diminish the     
quantity of warfare1 and to lessen the  
number of points at which it touches the
 ordinary course of civilized life4     
,with the further continuance of this   
process1 but one ultimate result is     
possible4 ,it must go on until warfare  

becomes obsolete4 ,the nineteenth       
century1 which has witnessed an         
unprecedented development of industrial 
civilization1 with its attendant arts   
and sciences1 has also witnessed an     
unprecedented diminution in the strength
 of the primeval spirit of militancy4   
,it is not that we have got rid of great
 wars1 but that the relative proportion 
of human strength which has been        
employed in warfare has been remarkably 
less than in any previous age4 ,in our  
own history1 of the two really great    
wars which have permeated our whole     
social existence1--the ,revolutionary   
,war and the ,war of ,secession1--the   
first was fought in behalf of the       
pacific principle of equal              
representation2 the second was fought in
 behalf of the pacific principle of     
federalism4 ,in each case1 the victory  
helped to hasten the day when warfare   
shall become unnecessary4 ,in the few   
great wars of ,europe since the         
overthrow of ,napoleon1 we may see the  

same principle at work4 ,in almost every
 case the result has been to strengthen 
the pacific tendencies of modern        
society4 ,whereas warfare was once      
dominant over the face of the earth1 and
 came home in all its horrid details to 
everybody's door1 and threatened the    
very existence of industrial            
civilization2 it has now become narrowly
 confined in time and space1 it no      
longer comes home to everybody's door1  
and1 in so far as it is still tolerated1
 for want of a better method of settling
 grave international questions1 it has  
become quite ancillary to the paramount 
needs1 of industrial civilization4 ,when
 we can see so much as this lying before
 us on the pages of history1 we cannot  
fail to see that the final extinction of
 warfare is only a question of time4    
,sooner or later it must come to an end1
 and the pacific principle of           
federalism1 whereby questions between   
states are settled1 like questions      
between individuals by due process of   

law1 must reign supreme over all the    
earth4     ,,xiv4  ,end of the ,working 
of ,natural ,selection upon ,man4       
,throwing off the ,brute-,inheritance4  
,as regards the significance of ,man's  
position in the universe1 this gradual  
elimination of strife is a fact of      
utterly unparalleled grandeur4 ,words   
cannot do justice to such a fact4 ,it   
means that the wholesale destruction of 
life1 which has heretofore characterized
 evolution ever since life began1 and   
through which the higher forms of       
organic existence have been produced1   
must presently come to an end in the    
case of the chief of ,god's creatures4  
,it means that the universal struggle   
for existence1 having succeeded in      
bringing forth that consummate product  
of creative energy1 the ,human ,soul1   
has done its work and will presently    
cease4 ,in the lower regions of organic 
life it must go on1 but as a determining
 factor in the highest work of evolution
 it will disappear4  ,the action of     

natural selection upon ,man has long    
since been essentially diminished       
through the operation of social         
conditions4 ,for in all grades of       
civilization above the lowest1 there are
 so many kinds of superiorities which   
severally enable men to survive1        
notwithstanding accompanying            
inferiorities1 that natural selection   
cannot by itself rectify any particular 
unfitness4 ,in a race of inferior       
animals any maladjustment is quickly    
removed by natural selection1 because1  
owing to the universal slaughter1 the   
highest completeness of life possible to
 a given grade of organization is       
required for the mere maintenance of    
life4 ,but under the conditions         
surrounding human development it is     
otherwise4#ad ,there is a wide interval 
between the highest and lowest degrees  
of completeness of living that are      
compatible with maintenance of life4    
,hence the wicked flourish4 ,vice is but
 slowly eliminated1 because mankind has 

so many other qualities1 beside the bad 
ones1 which enable it to subsist and    
achieve progress in spite of them1 that 
natural selection--which always works   
through death--cannot come into play4   
,the improvement of civilized man goes  
on mainly through processes of direct   
adaptation4 ,the principle in accordance
 with which the gloved hand of the dandy
 becomes white and soft while the hand  
of the labouring man grows brown and    
tough is the main principle at work in  
the improvement of ,humanity4 ,our      
intellectual faculties1 our passions and
 prejudices1 our tastes and habits1     
become strengthened by use and weakened 
by disuse1 just as the blacksmith's arm 
grows strong and the horse turned out to
 pasture becomes unfit for work4 ,this  
law of use and disuse has been of       
immense importance throughout the whole 
evolution of organic life4 ,with ,man it
 has come to be paramount4  ,if now we  
contrast the civilized man              
intellectually and morally with the     

savage1 we find that1 along with his    
vast increase of cerebral surface1 he   
has an immensely greater power of       
representing in imagination objects and 
relations not present to the senses4    
,this is the fundamental intellectual   
difference between civilized men and    
savages4#ae ,the power of imagination1  
or ideal representation1 underlies the  
whole of science and art1 and it is     
closely connected with the ability to   
work hard and submit to present         
discomfort for the sake of a distant    
reward4 ,it is also closely connected   
with the development of the sympathetic 
feelings4 ,the better we can imagine    
objects and relations not present to    
sense1 the more readily we can          
sympathize with other people4 ,half the 
cruelty in the world is the direct      
result of stupid incapacity to put one's
 self in the other man's place4 ,so     
closely inter-related are our           
intellectual and moral natures that the 
development of sympathy is very         

considerably determined by increasing   
width and variety of experience4 ,from  
the simplest form of sympathy1 such as  
the painful thrill felt on seeing some  
one in a dangerous position1 up to the  
elaborate complication of altruistic    
feelings involved in the notion of      
abstract justice1 the development is    
very largely a development of the       
representative faculty4 ,the very same  
causes1 therefore1 deeply grounded in   
the nature of industrial civilization1  
which have developed science and art1   
have also had a distinct tendency to    
encourage the growth of the sympathetic 
emotions4  ,but1 as already observed1   
these emotions are still too feebly     
developed1 even in the highest races of 
men4 ,we have made more progress in     
intelligence than in kindness4 ,for     
thousands of generations1 and until very
 recent times1 one of the chief         
occupations of men has been to plunder1 
bruise1 and kill one another4 ,the      
selfish and ugly passions which are     

primordial--which have the incalculable 
strength of inheritance from the time   
when animal consciousness began--have   
had but little opportunity to grow weak 
from disuse4 ,the tender and unselfish  
feelings1 which are a later product of  
evolution1 have too seldom been allowed 
to grow strong from exercise4 ,and the  
whims and prejudices of the primeval    
militant barbarism are slow in dying out
 from the midst of peaceful industrial  
civilization4 ,the coarser forms of     
cruelty are disappearing1 and the       
butchery of men has greatly diminished4 
,but most people apply to industrial    
pursuits a notion of antagonism derived 
from ages of warfare1 and seek in all   
manner of ways to cheat or overreach one
 another4 ,and as in more barbarous     
times the hero was he who had slain his 
tens of thousands1 so now the man who   
has made wealth by overreaching his     
neighbours is not uncommonly spoken of  
in terms which imply approval4 ,though  
gentlemen1 moreover1 no longer assail   

one another with knives and clubs1 they 
still inflict wounds with cruel words   
and sneers4 ,though the free--thinker is
 no longer chained to a stake and       
burned1 people still tell lies about    
him1 and do their best to starve him by 
hurting his reputation4 ,the virtues of 
forbearance and self-control are still  
in a very rudimentary state1 and of     
mutual helpfulness there is far too     
little among men4  ,nevertheless in all 
these respects some improvement has been
 made1 along with the diminution of     
warfare1 and by the time warfare has not
 merely ceased from the earth but has   
come to be the dimly remembered phantom 
of a remote past1 the development of the
 sympathetic side of human nature will  
doubtless become prodigious4 ,the       
manifestation of selfish and hateful    
feelings will be more and more sternly  
repressed by public opinion1 and such   
feelings will become weakened by disuse1
 while the sympathetic feelings will    
increase in strength as the sphere for  

their exercise is enlarged4 ,and thus at
 length we see what human progress      
means4 ,it means throwing off the       
brute-inheritance1--gradually throwing  
it off through ages of struggle that are
 by and by to make struggle needless4   
,man is slowly passing from a primitive 
social state in which he was little     
better than a brute1 toward an ultimate 
social state in which his character     
shall have become so transformed that   
nothing of the brute can be detected in 
it4 ,the ape and the tiger in human     
nature will become extinct4 ,theology   
has had much to say about original sin4 
,this original sin is neither more nor  
less than the brute-inheritance which   
every man carries with him1 and the     
process of evolution is an advance      
toward true salvation4 ,fresh value is  
thus added to human life4 ,the modern   
prophet1 employing the methods of       
science1 may again proclaim that the    
kingdom of heaven is at hand4 ,work ye1 
therefore1 early and late1 to prepare   

its coming4     ,,xv4  ,the ,message of 
,christianity4   ,now what is this      
message of the modern prophet but pure  
,christianity8--not the mass of         
theological doctrine ingeniously piled  
up by ,justin ,martyr and ,tertullian   
and ,clement and ,athanasius and        
,augustine1 but the real and essential  
,christianity which came1 fraught with  
good tidings to men1 from the very lips 
of ,jesus and ,paul6 ,when did ,st4     
,paul's conception of the two men within
 him that warred against each other1 the
 appetites of our brute nature and the  
,god-given yearning for a higher        
life1--when did this grand conception   
ever have so much significance as now8  
,when have we ever before held such a   
clew to the meaning of ,christ in the   
,sermon on the ,mount8 ,blessed are the 
meek1 for they shall inherit the earth4 
,in the cruel strife of centuries has it
 not often seemed as if the earth were  
to be rather the prize of the hardest   
heart and the strongest fist8 ,to many  

men these words of ,christ have been as 
foolishness and as a stumbling-block1   
and the ethics of the ,sermon on the    
,mount have been openly derided as too  
good for this world4 ,in that wonderful 
picture of modern life which is the     
greatest work of one of the great seers 
of our time1 ,victor ,hugo gives a      
concrete illustration of the working of 
,christ's methods4 ,in the saintlike    
career of ,bishop ,myriel1 and in the   
transformation which his example works  
in the character of the hardened outlaw 
,jean ,valjean1 we have a most powerful 
commentary on the ,sermon on the ,mount4
 ,by some critics who could express     
their views freely about ,les ,misrables
 while hesitating to impugn directly the
 authority of the ,new ,testament1      
,monseigneur ,bienvenu was unsparingly  
ridiculed as a man of impossible        
goodness1 and as a milksop and fool     
withal4 ,but ,i think ,victor ,hugo     
understood the capabilities of human    
nature1 and its real dignity1 much      

better than these scoffers4 ,in a low   
stage of civilization ,monseigneur      
,bienvenu would have had small chance of
 reaching middle life4 ,christ himself1 
we remember1 was crucified between two  
thieves4 ,it is none the less true that 
when once the degree of civilization is 
such as to allow this highest type of   
character1 distinguished by its meekness
 and kindness1 to take root and thrive1 
its methods are incomparable in their   
potency4 ,the ,master knew full well    
that the time was not yet ripe1--that he
 brought not peace1 but a sword4 ,but he
 preached nevertheless that gospel of   
great joy which is by and by to be      
realized by toiling ,humanity1 and he   
announced ethical principles fit for the
 time that is coming4 ,the great        
originality of his teaching1 and the    
feature that has chiefly given it power 
in the world1 lay in the distinctness   
with which he conceived a state of      
society from which every vestige of     
strife1 and the modes of behaviour      

adapted to ages of strife1 shall be     
utterly and forever swept away4 ,through
 misery that has seemed unendurable and 
turmoil that has seemed endless1 men    
have thought on that gracious life and  
its sublime ideal1 and have taken       
comfort in the sweetly solemn message of
 peace on earth and good will to men4   
,i believe that the promise with which  
,i started has now been amply redeemed4 
,i believe it has been fully shown that 
so far from degrading ,humanity1 or     
putting it on a level with the animal   
world in general1 the doctrine of       
evolution shows us distinctly for the   
first time how the creation and the     
perfecting of ,man is the goal toward   
which ,nature's work has been tending   
from the first4 ,we can now see clearly 
that our new knowledge enlarges tenfold 
the significance of human life1 and     
makes it seem more than ever the chief  
object of ,divine care1 the consummate  
fruition of that creative energy which  
is manifested throughout the knowable   

universe4     ,,xvi4  ,the ,question as 
to a ,future ,life4   ,upon the question
 whether ,humanity is1 after all1 to    
cast in its lot with the grass that     
withers and the beasts that perish1 the 
whole foregoing argument has a bearing  
that is by no means remote or           
far-fetched4 ,it is not likely that we  
shall ever succeed in making the        
immortality of the soul a matter of     
scientific demonstration1 for we lack   
the requisite data4 ,it must ever remain
 an affair of religion rather than of   
science4 ,in other words1 it must remain
 one of that class of questions upon    
which ,i may not expect to convince my  
neighbour1 while at the same time ,i may
 entertain a reasonable conviction of my
 own upon the subject4#af ,in the domain
 of cerebral physiology the question    
might be debated forever without a      
result4 ,the only thing which cerebral  
physiology tells us1 when studied with  
the aid of molecular physics1 is against
 the materialist1 so far as it goes4 ,it

 tells us that1 during the present life1
 although thought and feeling are always
 manifested in connection with a        
peculiar form of matter1 yet by no      
possibility can thought and feeling be  
in any sense the products of matter4    
,nothing could be more grossly          
unscientific than the famous remark of  
,cabanis1 that the brain secretes       
thought as the liver secretes bile4 ,it 
is not even correct to say that thought 
goes on in the brain4 ,what goes on in  
the brain is an amazingly complex series
 of molecular movements1 with which     
thought and feeling are in some unknown 
way correlated1 not as effects or as    
causes1 but as concomitants4 ,so much is
 clear1 but cerebral physiology says    
nothing about another life4 ,indeed1 why
 should it8 ,the last place in the world
 to which ,i should go for information  
about a state of things in which thought
 and feeling can exist in the absence of
 a cerebrum would be cerebral           
physiology6  ,the materialistic         

assumption that there is no such state  
of things1 and that the life of the soul
 accordingly ends with the life of the  
body1 is perhaps the most colossal      
instance of baseless assumption that is 
known to the history of philosophy4 ,no 
evidence for it can be alleged beyond   
the familiar fact that during the       
present life we know ,soul only in its  
association with ,body1 and therefore   
cannot discover disembodied soul without
 dying ourselves4 ,this fact must always
 prevent us from obtaining direct       
evidence for the belief in the soul's   
survival4 ,but a negative presumption is
 not created by the absence of proof in 
cases where1 in the nature of things1   
proof is inaccessible4#ag ,with his     
illegitimate hypothesis of annihilation1
 the materialist transgresses the bounds
 of experience quite as widely as the   
poet who sings of the ,new ,jerusalem   
with its river of life and its streets  
of gold4 ,scientifically speaking1 there
 is not a particle of evidence for      

either view4  ,but when we desist from  
the futile attempt to introduce         
scientific demonstration into a region  
which confessedly transcends human      
experience1 and when we consider the    
question upon broad grounds of moral    
probability1 ,i have no doubt that men  
will continue in the future1 as in the  
past1 to cherish the faith in a life    
beyond the grave4 ,in past times the    
disbelief in the soul's immortality has 
always accompanied that kind of         
philosophy which1 under whatever name1  
has regarded ,humanity as merely a local
 incident in an endless and aimless     
series of cosmical changes4 ,as a       
general rule1 people who have come to   
take such a view of the position of ,man
 in the universe have ceased to believe 
in a future life4 ,on the other hand1 he
 who regards ,man as the consummate     
fruition of creative energy1 and the    
chief object of ,divine care1 is almost 
irresistibly driven to the belief that  
the soul's career is not completed with 

the present life upon the earth4        
,difficulties on theory he will         
naturally expect to meet in many        
quarters2 but these will not weaken his 
faith1 especially when he remembers that
 upon the alternative view the          
difficulties are at least as great4 ,we 
live in a world of mystery1 at all      
events1 and there is not a problem in   
the simplest and most exact departments 
of science which does not speedily lead 
us to a transcendental problem that we  
can neither solve nor elude4 ,a broad   
common-sense argument has often to be   
called in1 where keen-edged metaphysical
 analysis has confessed itself baffled4 
,now we have here seen that the doctrine
 of evolution does not allow us to take 
the atheistic view of the position of   
,man4 ,it is true that modern astronomy 
shows us giant balls of vapour          
condensing into fiery suns1 cooling down
 into planets fit for the support of    
life1 and at last growing cold and rigid
 in death1 like the moon4 ,and there are

 indications of a time when systems of  
dead planets shall fall in upon their   
central ember that was once a sun1 and  
the whole lifeless mass1 thus regaining 
heat1 shall expand into a nebulous cloud
 like that with which we started1 that  
the work of condensation and evolution  
may begin over again4 ,these ,titanic   
events must doubtless seem to our       
limited vision like an endless and      
aimless series of cosmical changes4     
,they disclose no signs of purpose1 or  
even of dramatic tendency2#ah they seem 
like the weary work of ,sisyphos4 ,but  
on the face of our own planet1 where    
alone we are able to survey the process 
of evolution in its higher and more     
complex details1 we do find distinct    
indications of a dramatic tendency1     
though doubtless not of purpose in the  
limited human sense4 ,the ,darwinian    
theory1 properly understood1 replaces as
 much teleology#ai as it destroys4 ,from
 the first dawning of life we see all   
things working together toward one      

mighty goal1 the evolution of the most  
exalted spiritual qualities which       
characterize ,humanity4 ,the body is    
cast aside and returns to the dust of   
which it was made4 ,the earth1 so       
marvellously wrought to man's uses1 will
 also be cast aside4 ,the day is to     
come1 no doubt1 when the heavens shall  
vanish as a scroll1 and the elements be 
melted with fervent heat4 ,so small is  
the value which ,nature sets upon the   
perishable forms of matter6 ,the        
question1 then1 is reduced to this3 are 
,man's highest spiritual qualities1 into
 the production of which all this       
creative energy has gone1 to disappear  
with the rest8 ,has all this work been  
done for nothing8 ,is it all ephemeral1 
all a bubble that bursts1 a vision that 
fades8 ,are we to regard the ,creator's 
work as like that of a child1 who builds
 houses out of blocks1 just for the     
pleasure of knocking them down8 ,for    
aught that science can tell us1 it may  
be so1 but ,i can see no good reason for

 believing any such thing4 ,on such a   
view the riddle of the universe becomes 
a riddle without a meaning4 ,why1 then1 
are we any more called upon to throw    
away our belief in the permanence of the
 spiritual element in ,man than we are  
called upon to throw away our belief in 
the constancy of ,nature8 ,when         
questioned as to the ground of our      
irresistible belief that like causes    
must always be followed by like effects1
 ,mr4 ,mill's answer was that it is the 
result of an induction coextensive with 
the whole of our experience2 ,mr4       
,spencer's answer was that it is a      
postulate which we make in every act of 
experience2#bj but the authors of the   
,unseen ,universe1 slightly varying the 
form of statement1 called it a supreme  
act of faith1--the expression of a trust
 in ,god1 that ,he will not put us to   
permanent intellectual confusion4 ,now  
the more thoroughly we comprehend that  
process of evolution by which things    
have come to be what they are1 the more 

we are likely to feel that to deny the  
everlasting persistence of the spiritual
 element in ,man is to rob the whole    
process of its meaning4 ,it goes far    
toward putting us to permanent          
intellectual confusion1 and ,i do not   
see that any one has as yet alleged1 or 
is ever likely to allege1 a sufficient  
reason for our accepting so dire an     
alternative4  ,for my own part1         
therefore1 ,i believe in the immortality
 of the soul1 not in the sense in which 
,i accept the demonstrable truths of    
science1 but as a supreme act of faith  
in the reasonableness of ,god's work4   
,such a belief1 relating to regions     
quite inaccessible to experience1 cannot
 of course be clothed in terms of       
definite and tangible meaning4 ,for the 
experience which alone can give us such 
terms we must await that solemn day     
which is to overtake us all4 ,the belief
 can be most quickly defined by its     
negation1 as the refusal to believe that
 this world is all4 ,the materialist    

holds that when you have described the  
whole universe of phenomena of which we 
can become cognizant under the          
conditions of the present life1 then the
 whole story is told4 ,it seems to me1  
on the contrary1 that the whole story is
 not thus told4 ,i feel the omnipresence
 of mystery in such wise as to make it  
far easier for me to adopt the view of  
,euripides1 that what we call death may 
be but the dawning of true knowledge and
 of true life4 ,the greatest philosopher
 of modern times1 the master and teacher
 of all who shall study the process of  
evolution for many a day to come1 holds 
that the conscious soul is not the      
product of a collocation of material    
particles1 but is in the deepest sense a
 divine effluence4 ,according to ,mr4   
,spencer1 the divine energy which is    
manifested throughout the knowable      
universe is the same energy that wells  
up in us as consciousness4 ,speaking for
 myself1 ,i can see no insuperable      
difficulty in the notion that at some   

period in the evolution of ,humanity    
this divine spark may have acquired     
sufficient concentration and steadiness 
to survive the wreck of material forms  
and endure forever4 ,such a crowning    
wonder seems to me no more than the fit 
climax to a creative work that has been 
ineffably beautiful and marvellous in   
all its myriad stages4  ,only on some   
such view can the reasonableness of the 
universe1 which still remains far above 
our finite power of comprehension1      
maintain its ground4 ,there are some    
minds inaccessible to the class of      
considerations here alleged1 and perhaps
 there always will be4 ,but on such     
grounds1 if on no other1 the faith in   
immortality is likely to be shared by   
all who look upon the genesis of the    
highest spiritual qualities in ,man as  
the goal of ,nature's creative work4    
,this view has survived the ,copernican 
revolution in science1 and it has       
survived the ,darwinian revolution4     
,nay1 if the foregoing exposition be    

sound1 it is ,darwinism which has placed
 ,humanity upon a higher pinnacle than  
ever4 ,the future is lighted for us with
 the radiant colours of hope4 ,strife   
and sorrow shall disappear4 ,peace and  
love shall reign supreme4 ,the dream of 
poets1 the lesson of priest and prophet1
 the inspiration of the great musician1 
is confirmed in the light of modern     
knowledge2 and as we gird ourselves up  
for the work of life1 we may look       
forward to the time when in the truest  
sense the kingdoms of this world shall  
become the kingdom of ,christ1 and he   
shall reign for ever and ever1 king of  
kings and lord of lords4                
,,references4       ,c4,p41 ,outlines of
 ,cosmic ,philosophy1 #ahgd2     ,u4,w41
 ,the ,unseen ,world1 #ahgf2     ,d41   
,darwinism and ,other ,essays1 #ahgi2   
,e4,e41 ,excursions of an ,evolutionist1
 #ahhd4      #a3 ,c4,p4 ii4 #dcb-dea4   
#b3 ,c4,p4 ii4 #hi-ia4     #c3 ,c4,p4   
ii4 #cah-cba2 ,d4 #de4     #d3 ,u4,w4   
#dj-db2 ,d4 #fe-gd2 ,e4,e4 #bgh-bhb1    

#cbg1 #ccf4     #e3 ,c4,p4 ii4 #aed-aei4
     #f3 ,c4,p4 ii4 #acc-ace4     #g3   
,d4 #de-dh2 ,e4,e4 #cjf-cai4     #h3    
,c4,p4 ii4 #caj4     #i3 ,e4,e4         
#aji-adf4     #aj3 ,c4,p4 ii4 #bhd-cbc4 
#aa3 ,c4,p4 ii4 #cdb-cdf1 #ceh-cfc4     
#ab3 ,c4,p4 ii4 #bjb-bjh4     #ac3      
,c4,p4 ii4 #bac-bbd4     #ad3 ,c4,p4 ii4
 #ccd4     #ae3 ,c4,p4 ii4 #cab-cae4    
#af3 ,u4,w4 #ed2 ,e4,e4 #bhi-bia4       
#ag3 ,u4,w4 #dg-ej2 ,d4 #ge4     #ah3   
,d4 #if-ajb4     #ai3 ,c4,p4 ii4 #djf4  
#bj3 ,c4,p4 i4 #de-ga1 #bhf2 ii4 #afb2  
,u4,w4 #f2 ,d4 #hg-ie4            99    
99       99       99       99   ,john   
,fiske's ,writings4   ,,myths ,,and     
,,myth-,,makers3 ,old ,tales and        
,superstitions interpreted by           
,comparative ,mythology1 #agth ,edition4
 #abmo1 #b4jj4  ,,outlines ,,of ,,cosmic
 ,,philosophy4 ,based on the ,doctrine  
of ,evolution1 with ,criticisms on the  
,positive ,philosophy4 #adth ,edition4  
#b vols41 #hvo1 #f4jj  ,,the ,,unseen   
,,world1 and other ,essays1 #abth       

,edition4 #abmo1 #b4jj4  ,,excursions   
,,of ,,an ,,evolutionist4 #aeth         
,edition4 #abmo1 #b4jj4  ,,darwinism1   
and other ,essays4 #hth ,edition4 #abmo1
 #b4jj4  ,,the ,,destiny ,,of ,,man1    
viewed in the ,light of ,his ,origin4   
#bjth ,edition4 #afmo1 #a4jj4  ,,the    
,,idea ,,of ,,god1 as affected by       
,modern ,knowledge4 ,a ,sequel to ,the  
,destiny of ,man4 #adth ,thousand4      
#afmo1 #a4jj4  ,,the ,,critical ,,period
 ,,of ,,american ,,history4 #aghc-aghi4 
#abth ,edition4 ,crown #hvo1 #b4jj4     
,,the ,,beginnings ,,of ,,new ,,england 
or the ,puritan ,theocracy in its       
,relations to ,civil and ,religious     
,liberty4 #ajth ,thousand4 ,crown #hvo1 
#b4jj4  ,,the ,,war ,,of ,,independence4
 ,in ,riverside ,library for ,young     
,people4 #afmo1 #ge cents4  ,,the       
,,discovery ,,and ,,spanish ,,conquest  
,,of ,,america4 ,with ,maps1 #aath      
,thousand4 #b vols41 crown #hvo1 #d4jj4 
,,the ,,american ,,revolution4 #hth     
,thousand4 #b vols41 crown #hvo1 #d4jj4 

,,civil ,,government ,,in ,,the ,,united
 ,,states4 ,,considered ,,with ,,some   
,,reference ,,to ,,its ,,origins4 #efth 
,thousand4 ,crown #hvo1 #a4jj1 net4     
,,houghton1 ,,mifflin  ,,co4 ,,boston   
,,and ,,new ,,york4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,,american        
,,political ,,ideas1 viewed from the    
,stand-point of ,universal ,history4    
,seventh ,edition4 #abmo1 #a4jj4        
,,harper  ,,brothers1 ,new ,york4       
,,the ,,writings ,,of ,,john ,,fiske4   
,,the ,,discovery ,,of ,,america4  ,with
 some ,account of ,ancient ,america and 
the ,spanish ,conquest4 ,with a steel   
portrait of ,mr4 ,fiske1 reproductions  
of many old maps1 several modern maps1  
facsimiles1 and other illustrations4 #b 
vols4 crown #hvo1 #d4jj4                
,,large-,,paper ,,edition4 ,limited to  
#bej copies4 #d vols4 #hvo1 #af4jj1 net4
  ,this work forms the beginning of ,mr4
 ,fiske's history of ,america4 ,it is1  
perhaps1 the most important single      
portion yet completed by him1 and gives 

the results of vast research4   ,,the   
,,american ,,revolution4  ,with ,plans  
of ,battles1 and a new ,steel ,portrait 
of ,washington1 engraved by ,willcox    
from a miniature never before           
reproduced4 #b vols4 crown #hvo1 gilt   
top1 #d4jj4  ,the reader may turn to    
these volumes with full assurance of    
faith for a fresh rehearsal of the old  
facts1 which no time can stale1 and for 
new views of those old facts1 according 
to the larger framework of ideas in     
which they can now be set by the master 
of a captivating style and an expert in 
historical philosophy4--,new ,york      
,evening ,post4  ,the freshness and     
vivid interest of the narrative and the 
comprehensive generalization which      
springs naturally from the author's plan
 of a large work on ,american history1  
of which the two volumes now published  
are no more than a third or a fourth    
part1 make it a book of new and         
permanent interest4--,springfield       
,republican4   ,,civil ,,government ,,in

 ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,considered   
with some ,reference to its ,origins4   
,with ,questions on the ,text by ,frank 
,a4 ,hill1 and ,bibliographical ,notes  
by ,mr4 ,fiske4 #abmo1 #a4jj1 net4  ,if 
this admirable volume 7,fiske's ,civil  
,government7 can be fairly taught to our
 rising generation1 the future1 we      
believe1 will show that ,mr4 ,fiske has 
never done more useful work than in its 
preparation4--,the ,congregationalist   
7,boston74   ,,the ,,critical ,,period  
,,of ,,american ,,history4 #aghc-aghi4  
,with ,map1 ,notes1 etc4 ,crown #hvo1   
#b4jj4  ,the author combines in an      
unusual degree the impartiality of the  
trained scholar with the fervor of the  
interested narrator4444 ,the volume     
should be in every library in the       
land4--,the ,congregationalist          
7,boston74  ,an admirable book4444 ,mr4 
,fiske has a great talent for making    
history interesting to the general      
reader4--,new ,york ,times4   ,,the     
,,beginnings ,,of ,,new ,,england2  ,or1

 the ,puritan ,theocracy in its         
,relations to ,civil and ,religious     
,liberty4 ,crown #hvo1 #b4jj4  ,it deals
 with the early colonial history of ,new
 ,england in the entertaining and vivid 
style which has marked all of ,mr4      
,fiske's writings on ,american history1 
and it is distinguished1 like them1 by  
its aggressive patriotism and its       
justice to all parties in               
controversy4444 ,the whole book is novel
 and fresh in treatment1 philosophical  
and wise1 and will not be laid down till
 one has read the last page1 and remains
 impatient for what is still to         
come4--,boston ,post4   ,,the ,,war ,,of
 ,,independence4  ,in ,riverside        
,library for ,young ,people4 ,with      
,maps4 #afmo1 #ge cents4  ,john ,fiske's
 ,war of ,independence is a miracle4444 
,a book brilliant and effective beyond  
measure4444 ,it is a statement that     
every child can comprehend1 but that    
only a man of consummate genius could   
have written4--,mrs4 ,,caroline ,h4     

,,dall1 in the ,springfield ,republican4
  ,the story of the ,revolution1 as ,mr4
 ,fiske tells it1 is one of surpassing  
interest4 ,his treatment is a marvel of 
clearness and comprehensiveness2        
discarding non-essential details1 he    
selects with a fine historic instinct   
the main currents of history1 traces    
them with the utmost precision1 and     
tells the whole story in a masterly     
fashion4 ,his little volume will be a   
text-book for older quite as much as for
 young readers4--,christian ,union 7,new
 ,york74   ,,outlines ,,of ,,cosmic     
,,philosophy  ,based on the ,doctrine of
 ,evolution1 with ,criticisms on the    
,positive ,philosophy4 ,in two volumes4 
#hvo1 #f4jj4  ,you must allow me to     
thank you for the very great interest   
with which ,i have at last slowly read  
the whole of your work4444 ,i never in  
my life read so lucid an expositor 7and 
therefore thinker7 as you are2 and ,i   
think that ,i understand nearly the     
whole1 though perhaps less clearly about

 cosmic theism and causation than other 
parts4 ,it is hopeless to attempt out of
 so much to specify what has interested 
me most1 and probably you would not care
 to hear4 ,it pleased me to find that   
here and there ,i had arrived1 from my  
own crude thoughts1 at some of the same 
conclusions with you1 though ,i could   
seldom or never have given my reasons   
for such conclusions4--,,charles        
,,darwin4  ,this work of ,mr4 ,fiske's  
may be not unfairly designated the most 
important contribution yet made by      
,america to philosophical               
literature4--,the ,academy 7,london74   
,,darwinism1 ,,and ,,other ,,essays4    
,if ever there was a spirit thoroughly  
invigorated by the joy of right         
understanding it is that of the author  
of these pieces4 ,even the reader       
catches something of his intellectual   
buoyancy1 and is thus carried almost    
lightly through discussions which would 
be hard and dry in the hands of a less  
animated writer4444 ,no less confident  

and serene than his acceptance of the   
utmost logical results of recent        
scientific discovery is ,mr4 ,fiske's   
assurance that the foundations of       
spiritual truths1 so called1 cannot     
possibly be shaken thereby4--,the       
,atlantic ,monthly 7,boston74   ,,the   
,,unseen ,,world1  ,and ,other ,essays4 
#abmo1 #b4jj4  ,to each study the writer
 seems to have brought1 besides an      
excellent quality of discriminating     
judgment1 full and fresh special        
knowledge1 that enables him to supply   
much information on the subject1        
whatever it may be1 that is not to be   
found in the volume he is noticing4 ,to 
the knowledge1 analytical power1 and    
faculty of clear statement1 that appear 
in all these papers1 ,mr4 ,fiske adds a 
just independence of thought that       
conciliates respectful consideration of 
his views1 even when they are most at   
variance with the commonly accepted     
ones4--,boston ,advertiser4             
,,excursions ,,of ,,an ,,evolutionist4  

#abmo1 #b4jj4  ,among our thoughtful    
essayists there are none more brilliant 
than ,mr4 ,john ,fiske4 ,his pure style 
suits his clear thought4 ,he does not   
write unless he has something to say2   
and when he does write he shows not only
 that he has thoroughly acquainted      
himself with the subject but that he has
 to a rare degree the art of so massing 
his matter as to bring out the true     
value of the leading points in artistic 
relief4 ,it is this perspective which   
makes his work such agreeable reading   
even on abstruse subjects1 and has      
enabled him to play the same part in    
popularizing ,spencer in this country   
that ,littr performed for ,comte in     
,france1 and ,dumont for ,bentham in    
,england4 ,the same qualities appear to 
good advantage in his new volume1 which 
contains his later essays on his        
favorite subject of evolution4444 ,they 
are well worth reperusal4--,the ,nation 
7,new ,york74   ,,myths ,,and           
,,myth-,,makers4  ,old ,tales and       

,superstitions interpreted by           
,comparative ,mythology4 #abmo1 #b4jj4  
,mr4 ,fiske has given us a book which is
 at once sensible and attractive1 on a  
subject about which much is written that
 is crotchety or tedious4--,w4,r4,s4    
,,ralston1 in ,athenum 7,london74  ,a   
perusal of this thorough work cannot be 
too strongly recommended to all who are 
interested in comparative               
mythology4--,revue ,critique 7,paris74  
,,the ,,destiny ,,of ,,man1  ,viewed in 
the ,light of his ,origin4 #afmo1 gilt  
top1 #a4jj4  ,mr4 ,fiske has given us in
 his ,destiny of ,man a most attractive 
condensation of his views as expressed  
in his various other works4 ,one is     
charmed by the directness and clearness 
of his style1 his simple and pure       
,english1 and his evident knowledge of  
his subject4444 ,of one thing we may be 
sure1 that none are leading us more     
surely or rapidly to the full truth than
 men like the author of this little     
book1 who reverently study the works of 

,god for the lessons which he would     
teach his children4--,christian ,union  
7,new ,york74   ,,the ,,idea ,,of ,,god1
  ,as ,affected by ,modern ,knowledge4  
#afmo1 gilt top1 #a4jj4  ,the charms of 
,john ,fiske's style are patent4 ,the   
secrets of its fluency1 clearness1 and  
beauty are secrets which many a maker of
 literary stuffs has attempted to       
unravel1 in order to weave like         
cloth-of-gold4444 ,a model for authors  
and a delight to readers4--,the ,critic 
7,new ,york74  999999 ,for sale by all  
,booksellers4 ,sent by mail1 postpaid1  
on receipt of price by the ,publishers1 
,,houghton1 ,,mifflin  ,,co4  #d ,park  
,street1 ,boston2 #aa ,east #agth       
,street1 ,new ,york4         99       99
       99       99       99