The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1884-06-15

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mr.. COKE admits that Prof. Muller 10 more
euaided ana less vehement tnan n. Arnoid.
out ID sueeestsd mat ne. 700. seems 70 dsny
Win revelation sNer sIesnion not always Quite
IN Keeping with his own free thinking.
ne almost goes thefu length OF the svo!u.
uonist whsh No aven tnat 10 one sense every
religion was true religion being the only re'
hg,on wn'cn was possible ~ the time. which
was compatible with the LANGUAGE. the senti-
msnts ana the thoughts OF each generation.
which was appropriate 10 the age OF the world
Bill. here and there II 10 implied thatevolutton
proves an evolver. and that the Bible 10 evil
dence thereof. HIS protest. TOO. against tho
literal reading OF the Old Testament derives
great strength from the science OF LANGUAGE Of
which no 10 80 distinguished MASTER He 10
abe to show why certain passages are to DO
nguratively construed" Nevertheless. Mr..
Coke will not concede that the superhuman
character OF the Bible can DO shored up With
pathological buttresses. Am ready to admit
that when We arc told God appeared 70 so.And-
50 in dream. this means that so-nnd-so
dreamti II. But the sun either stood still or It
did not. The walls OF Jericho were felled with
shout. or they were not And for all the
crimes Imputed to him. God is either RESPONSE
ble-as the Bible declares Him to be-or the
Bible 10 to be construed as We construe other
rude and blind beliefs OF human beings In
their infancy"
In his discussion OF tho objections to Oar.
wins theory that tho differentiation into species
has resulted mainly from natural selection or
the survival Of the fttest. Mr.. Coke lays great
stress upon tbs fact that the calculations Of the
physicists do not supply an adequate lapse Of
timc for the accomplishment OF such difiercn-
tiation. He reminds Us OF Darwin's conces-
sion that he who docs not admit how vast
have been the past periods Of time may at
once close this volume" BY vast Darwin
means something only short Of infinite. and
throughout his writings he reiterstes that.
making every allowance for occasional leaps.
the process Of natural selection must have been
intellectually slow. To the Same effect writes
Prof. Haeckel: tho organic history Of the
earth must not be calculated By thou
sands OF years. but by archaeological
or geological periods. each OF which comprises
years" Elsewhere the Sumo scientist assures
us that u necessary We may assume ten thou
sand billions OF years: before us. and behind us
lies eternity MIR. Coke proceeds to show. BY
contrasting the inordinato demands OF the
natural selectionists with the relatively mod
crate computations of astronomers and gsol-
ogtsts. that eternity by no means lies behind
us as far as the adaptation OF the earth's crust
TO BIOLOGICAL changes 10 concerned. What
are we to make OF thisP Is natural Sc
lection. as taught by Darwin. consistent
with the length OF time which physicists
declare to 10 availablep II the prodisious
amount OF variation which has taken place
since the commencement OF life upon the earth
has been brought about by tho gradual. insiRni-
fcant. minute notifications which natural Sc
lection supposes. are lOO.0OO.OOO years-the
ful amount which physical science with its
various tests Is prepared to concode-enough
Tor the purposeT II 1t took the whole OF the
Tertiary period to merge the four toes OF the
orohippus In the one toe OF the horse. will the
Triassic period suffice. by the same process. to
turn lizard into an ostrieh1 Yet nothing
snort OF this Is what natural selectionists call
upon our credulitY 10 admit"
Now. this time objection cannot be lightly
thrust aside. Darwin himself candidly con-
tossed that 1t lie probably ono Of the eravest
yet advanced" but he seemed to doubt the cor
rectness Of the physical computations Hux-
ley declines. rs q natural selectionist. to con-
Germ himself with tho matter. He says. In
effect: 1t Is not my business to determine
how long 1t takes to turn scales into feathers.
Whether It took q million or billion Of years
is no affair OF mine. The geologist must settle
that. take my time from him." To this Mr..
Coke rejoins: DR.. Huxley's way out Of the off
nculty Is little better than the old reply: tan pis
pour les fats. Will the hypothesis accommodate
itself to the facts That is the question. DIR.
Huxley says: I desire to be informed what is
the foundation for the statement that evolu-
tion does require so great timer None what
ever that erolution requires It. But the whole
doctrine OF natual selection In Its integrity 10
tho foundation for the statement as regards