The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1901-06-28

and seems to enjoy. Another5exam-
ple:' the uneducated Indian, who
would quickly lose himself in New
York, would be at home in the dense
forest where the most educated and
cultured white man would wander
around hopelessly and vaguely and
soon perish. So we may state this
law thus: That is fttest to survive
which is best adapted to it's sur
rounding environment.
But preceding any survival must
come the struggle for existence.
This struggle is continuous and ev-
erlasting. For if there we're such a
thing as universal cessation of the
strife for existence the progress of
the world would at once come to an
end, and a rapid decline would set
in. To illustrate this we cite the
ancient Roman empire as good
example. While Rome was sur
rounded by contesting enemies, the
struggle for existence was very keen
and progress was marked and rap
i'd But, having successfully car
ried on the contest and having at
tained mastery of the known world,
the struggle ceased and Rome was,
for very short time, the idle CEN
ter of luxury. Then, as history
shows us, decided decay set in and
Rome deteriorated 50 fast that she
was IN short time over-run by
throngs of hostile foreigners, and
soon Became a weak prey to plum
dering tribes of half-savage aliens.
So Rome, having carried on her
strife for continuance and having
been found unfit to survive, sue
cumbed. But while Rome fell the
never-ending struggle was going
on amidst all other peoples, and the
best adapted grasped and held pow
Though many things are very we'll
adapted to their conditions, there is
nothing perfectly adapted. We're
there such thing as perfect suita
bilitysto surroundings, this strug-
gle would at once cease. Perfect
adaptation cannot occur because
there4s always some force willing
sto.opnoae another. force, thus. bring
ing about the struggle. Supposing,
for a minute, that something is per
fectly adapted; that nature has left
undone nothing which could better
fix it. Then this must have never
ending existence. But we know
from practical life that nothing has
ever been thus. So nothing can pos
sibly be perfectly adapted. There
fore the struggle for existence must
forever go on, with the result that
the fittest always survive.
Strange as it may seem, though
very true, there is struggle for
survival even among the theories
and doctrines set forth by various
persons or governments. A doc
trine may be established today
which during the course of a year
will be entirely replaced by anoth-
er. Or theory may be set before
us which in short time will be
wholly upset. There are doctrines
in existence now which were estab-
lished 1900 years or more ago; and
there were doctrines established
1000 years ago which seem very ri
diculOus to us in our inventive and
instructive age. The old Romans
esta blished customs in their ancient
age which are observed today. Even
some parts, or rather a great part of
our government today dates it's orr
gin with the Romans. And a por-
ton is even taken from the Greeks,
whose government existed long be-
fore that of the Romans. Here, in
these parts of our government, is
the law of survival of the fittest
again shown. These laws or prin-
ciples of the Romans and Greeks
we're we'll adapted to the ages thro'
which they have successfully pass
ed, and to our government, and 80,
being the most fit, they are in exist
ence today. And the Ancients OBJ
served many customs which went
into disuse as soon as the nation
fell These last we're not worthy to
remain, 80 did not survive. The
great Greek philosophers, Socrates
Plato and Aristotle, originated some
ideas which are today holding good;
they originated other IDEAS which
hardly lived as long as their au-
thors. Here again is the same inev-
table result of the most fit surviv-
ing. So we see that there is really
an unconscious strife for existence
even among ideas and theories; a
strife resulting in the most endur-
ance of the fttest. -. J.. ~
Let us consider this law in its re
lation to nature and in it's force on
Nature, In Nature. the same as in