, 1877-08-05


us all. Sir james Stephen, certainly no
mere dreamer. still less u facilc believer
in the trauscendental assumptions .of theology,
in commenting Oh passage OF Mr. JOHN
Stuart31il's, has pnt this very powerfully: " All
human language. all human observation, implies
that the mind, tue !, is thing in itself Ia liked
point in the midst Of a world Of change, OF
wlqch world Of change its own organs torn, Il
part. 1t is the same yesterday, to-day. anu to-
morrow, 1t was what it is when it's organs were
OF different shape aud consisted OF different
matter from their present shape and mai ter.
It will be what it is wien tltey have gone
through other changes. l do nut say that this
proves but surelyit suggests it renders pr:o-
able, the bclict that this ultimate feet, this
starting point OF nll knowledge, Thought. feel
ing, and language, this final incx1,'1tslolilty
fan emphatic though clumsy phrase1, Is
independent Of Its organs. that it may have eX-
istcd before they were collected out OF the 'cle~
ments. aud may continue to exist after they are
dissolved into the Clements AND. little
further on. he adds what, coming from such
writer as Sir James Stephen, is far more 1m-
uressire than if It came from one OF less neg
atire c1eed: ut seems to me that We are sp!r-
its in PRISON, able only to make signals to each
other, but with world Of things to think aud
to sav which our signals caunof dts:r1oe at al
Now. il this bel.et III an imprisoned '4l,:' which
does not change, while its pTisOn-l1ouse grows
up. or falls to ruin about It.. has anything really
to do with the leeplt-roote1 faith ln inture
life, it touches point on which all ncn-irom
the coagenltal idiot TO the highest amongst us
have the same experience, The ablest man
might fall into idiocy, or the n,ercst idiot sud
denly crow into intelligence, by change in the
structure o1 his brain: and yet either the one or
The other would apply the the same word = y
to both the opposite states throuIh which tie
had passed. Indeed, As far rs SCIENCE has
traced back the history OF man into the
past. We might ta:rly say that evolution
means the story OF the long preparation,
frst, for the introduction into the world OF
being viii, sense Of personal identity, who
can distinguish himself from the universe
around him: AMI, next, OF the tanning and SUBJ
dung, and disciplll'ng, and purifying OF the
immense capacity Tor anarchy and scltishnesz
which the attainment OF this marvellous end IN
wolves But, il this be 50, then at least It seems
clear that the selection Of SOME such tgos to de-
s1rov.-cven though not purely yarntrrary,-wnle
others of them arc reserved Tor what may tic
called their natural career would involve great
catastrophe signal Intervention OF the Creator
to change the course for which apparently lie
had been creating man.
Nor can at all accept as justly applicable to
this SUBJECT the argument from analogy sug-
ccstcd III the preceding paper, derived from the
apparent predoninancc III Waste,-the weedlng-
ont OF what is untitled to suTyiyc--ln the world
as yyc see it. - Entire species Of living cfe:t-
lures hare died out unknown. Whole races OF
mcu,-sou1e Of them OF high mental qualities
have passed to the abyss" Well, tie outer.
ence ss,twccn species dying out 'uuknoTn,'
and dying out when 1t Is little KNOWN OF even