SCIENCE AND THE BOOK
We of the twentieth century have an overwhelming desire to be up to
the times. Nothing but the latest news on any subject will completely
satisfy. We are more anxious for late information than for accurate
information. We have an almost unconquerable feeling that if it is
late it must be accurate. All of us are sensitive to being thought
behind the times. We feel that no stigma can be more invidious in the
intellectual world than the stigma of being out of date. This pervades
the masses quite as strongly as it does the more cultured classes.
Under these conditions everybody wants to know the latest theory that
science has to offer concerning anything that can be brought within
the range of their interests. As a result everybody would like to know
about evolution, were it not for the fact that a great mass of people
have been brought to believe that there is something inherently
irreligious in the idea. Our people have a saving sense of the value
of religion. Denominational control may set lightly upon them.
Certain long revered doctrines may have little practical influence
upon them. Yet inherently they all believe in religion, and most of
them believe themselves to be religious, as indeed they really are.
It is a most wholesome tendency which leads us to esteem religion as
the main interest in life. We must feel a sense of shame when we
consciously permit the influences, which most favorably mold our
character, to weaken their hold upon our lives. Certainly in our time
religion is the essential agent by which character is molded. Any of
us would be foolishly short-sighted were he willing to weaken the hold
of religion upon his life for the sake of a scientific theory, the
truth or falsity of which could have but little practical bearing upon
his conduct. We must hold to religion at all hazards. We may, when
circumstances so suggest, change our denominational allegiance. We may
and often do interpret our faith quite at variance with the
ecclesiastical body with which we are connected. We may constantly
modify and develop our beliefs. But it is a pitiful life which has
lost the staying and strengthening influence of religion. I believe
this conviction is deep-rooted in the minds of our people and that it
deserves the place it holds.
To a mind thus essentially religious the announcements of science
often come as a shock. They seem to run counter to our deepest
convictions. It seems impossible to us that both can be true.
Sometimes the more we debate the questions the more contradictory they
seem to become. Every good mind needs unity in itself. No clear
thinker can be quite content when two distinct departments of thought
are at sharp variance in his mind. He may pursue one of two courses.
He may hold to one view with conviction and earnestness and look upon
the other as essentially false. To many religious people all science
that runs counter to their convictions is necessarily false. They
label it pseudo-science and pass it by. If the word pseudo-science is
unknown to them, they stigmatize it as rationalistic, or still worse
as materialistic and let it go at that.
The other course is to have faith both in religion and in science.
Such a fair-minded man must ask himself, what is the truth in the
matter? If the scientific fact is true it is to be believed. It may
run counter to what we have believed before. It may seem at first
entirely incredible. But when once he becomes convinced of its truth
the clear thinker must not only accept it, but must accept all
legitimate deductions from it. If it seems true to us we must believe
it. Absolute demonstrable truth, except in the simplest of matters is
almost unattainable. The best we can ordinarily get is a close
approach to certainty, and with this we must be content. In many
matters, indeed in most matters, we must trust the judgment of others
who are better trained in a particular line of thought.
As to the truth of geology we are certainly wise to accept for the
present the facts and principles commonly accepted by competent
geologists. In biology, we should respect the concurrent opinion of
important biologists. We must not assume that a few biologists who
think as we do are right against the biological world, or that a few
geologists who think as we do are right against the geological world.
For theology, we had better go to the educated theologian. But when it
comes to reconciling two of these and to catching the inherent
correspondence between them, it is often likely that each of these
groups of men is unable to see clearly the view-point of the other.
Here lies our freedom. Here we must either think for ourselves or
think with those wiser than ourselves whose opinions seem to us to
ring true and to focus for us our wavering and uncertain thought.
Among students of animals and plants there is no longer any question
as to the truth of evolution. That the animals of the present are the
altered animals of the past, that the plants of to-day are the
modified plants of yesterday, that civilized man of to-day is the
savage of yesterday and the tree-dweller of the day before, is no
longer debatable to the great mass of biologists. To older men
hampered by the convictions of an earlier age this dictum of modern
science may still be a little uncertain.
The working biologists of the world have no doubt. They differ
radically as to what brought about this change, they dispute
vigorously as to the rate of change, but as to the fact of the change
there is no difference of opinion. Under these conditions the thinking
man is out of joint with the times when he sets himself against the
idea of evolution. He may be so immersed in other lines as to be
indifferent to the problem; but when he is hostile to it, he marks
himself as clearly against his day. Many have been against their day
and have been right. Very great men have often been against the
opinions of their times and have come to be leaders of the world's
later thought. But ordinary men in ordinary times who think
differently on a special subject from the specialists of the times are
not very likely to be right. It is safe for most of us to accept as
true an opinion on which specialists on that subject agree. It seems
clear to me then that the thinking man to-day has in the matter of
evolution a double duty. He must become reasonably acquainted with the
theory that so largely affects all present knowledge, and he must
wrestle with the theory until it no longer hinders the hold of
religion upon his life. He may be perfectly sure that he does not
clearly understand both, but he must get them into reasonable
concordance before he can be quite at peace.
Truth is true no matter how it is acquired. There can be no doubt as
to the essential truth of religion: its fruits proclaim its worth.
There can be no doubt as to the essential truth of evolution; the
clarity it has brought into the sciences is the evidence of the value
of the conception. That it will persist in its present form, that it
will be unchanged by later additions to our knowledge is of course
unthinkable. It may be incomplete, it may be undeveloped, but so far
as it goes it contains the truth. Under these conditions, how can we
bring peace into our own mind? These two important provinces seem so
often to be at variance. The difficulty may lie in one of two places.
In the first place, each truth may be stated in terms so peculiar to
its own subject as to convey no meaning to the student of the other
branch. There is a second, and more harassing possibility. The same
words may be used by students in each branch but each side may put a
different significance into the terms. Then each believes he
understands the other, when he really does not.
Our theology is man's interpretation of God's revelations of Himself
as recorded in the Bible. Our science is man's interpretation of God's
revelation of Himself in nature. Each is God's revelation, and so far
as we have understood it, that revelation is of the utmost importance
in our lives. Each has all the inherent short-comings of man's
interpretation. Each has all the difficulties necessarily found in any
stage of a developing understanding. We may be sure if we could
thoroughly understand God's revelation of Himself as recorded in the
Bible and his revelation of Himself as recorded in the rocks and the
tissues of animals as well as in the body and mind of man to-day,
there would be no difficulty. When we understand both completely, as
perhaps we never shall, there will be no contradictions of any kind
between them. Even now if we are firmly convinced that truth must be
in both, there will be little difficulty in reaching a workable unity
which will satisfy the present needs of the human mind and will not be
so crystallized as to prevent a future growth. If, however, we hope to
find a unity between a belief in evolution and a belief in the
inspiration and value of the Bible, we must accept both of these in
the terms of to-day. To reconcile a twentieth century statement of
science with an eighteenth century statement of theology would be as
absurd as it would be to reconcile a statement of twentieth century
theology with eighteenth century science. Each century must restate
its truths in terms of its own time. The truths may be at bottom the
same through many centuries but to be clearly intelligible in any
century they must be couched in the terminology of the age.
It seems to me if we are to understand, in conformity with the thought
of the age, any particular book in the Bible, there are three steps
through which we must pass. We must first ask ourselves the kind of
people to whom the book was originally written. We must know their
habits of life and of thought. Until this is clear in our minds the
book can have little significance. Having built up as nearly as may be
the life and thought of the time, we must next decide what is the
inherent truth taught to the people of that time by the book under
consideration. Much that is written must be simply the setting in
which alone that truth could reach them. This extraneous detail gives
vigor and color to the message but is not the message itself. The last
step and the hardest one to take, the one that to some minds seems
almost irreverent, is to decide the form that message must take to-day
to convey to our minds the same truth which the original message
conveyed to the people of its time. In so far as we succeed in taking
these three steps, we shall get the true message which this book
holds for us to-day.
When Paul in his first burning letter told the Corinthian congregation
that their women should be silent in their churches, he is not, it
seems to me, giving a message which in those terms applies to the
world to-day. If a woman has anything that is worth saying she has a
perfect right to say it in church. In any denomination in which
religious observance is not ecclesiastically formal she will be
allowed that privilege. By an interesting peculiarity of mind on our
part she may be permitted to do so upon Wednesday evenings, when our
early prejudice still prevents her speaking on Sunday. What is the
truth of the teaching of Paul in this matter? The Christians of
Corinthian times had already begun to suffer from persecution. They
were already despised and distrusted. Men had come to speak ill of
them. Paul's injunction concerning the silence of women in churches
was simply an injunction against their doing those things which in the
thought and habit of those times were associated generally with
looseness of character. Fine Corinthian women did not speak in public.
A woman who would consent to speak before a group of men of Corinth of
that day would by that fact have proclaimed herself a woman of loose
morals. Paul's injunction is that, in this desperate struggle
Christian women should do nothing which could possibly bring them into
disrepute. The lives of Christians must be above suspicion. This
message is certainly as true to-day as it was in the time of Paul and
Corinth. Whether or not a woman speaks in church to-day has no bearing
whatever upon the question. The question is how she speaks and what
she says. If her life gives force to her message and her message
contains God's truth she is entirely free to speak.
In similar fashion we have changed most beautifully the message which
we have come to love, as the Mizpah message: "The Lord watch between
thee and me while we are absent one from the other." We have
absolutely transformed and glorified the message. It was once the
calling down of the wrath of Jehovah upon one or other of two herdsmen
if either of them should fail to comply with the agreement to remain
within his own boundary. These men whose herdsmen were constantly
stealing each other's cattle agreed to separate because they could not
live in unity. They set up a heap of unhewn stone, and called upon God
to guard and to see that neither of them passed beyond the boundary of
the other. What was once a threat between warring herdsmen has become
a binding link between Christian brothers. No longer do we call upon
the Lord to guard in our absence lest our enemy encroach upon our
domain. Now we call upon him to bind our hearts together so that
neither time nor circumstance can bring division between us. The
menace of a herdsman's wrath has become one of the tenderest messages
of Christian love.
In the light of the principles stated above, what is the essential
truth that lies back of the earliest chapters of Genesis? First, that
there is one God. Slowly it had been borne in upon the Hebrew mind as
upon no other tribe in the world that the Lord God is one God. Nearly
all the world besides believed in many gods. Each nation had a God
peculiarly its own, each city had a minor god caring for it
particularly. There were gods of the woods, gods of the oceans, gods
of the streams. Gods and goddesses were everywhere. To this people
wandering through the terrible monotony of the sandy desert, the
"Garden of Allah," there came the inspired comprehension of the
eternal oneness of Almighty God. First, he was to most of them the God
of the Hebrew, stronger than the gods of the nations. After a while
under the teaching of prophet after prophet there finally came to the
entire nation the exalted conception that God is one and there is no
other God. This is one of the imperishable revelations of all time.
Beside this, all suggestions of fifth or sixth day, of hours or of
ages are absolutely insignificant. These are but the clothing of the
idea which makes it acceptable to its time. This clothing must change
with every age if it would reach thoroughly the minds of the age.
Underneath and forever lies the glorious truth that the Lord God is
one God.
The second truth which seems to me to underlie this magnificent
parable of creation is the truth that this great God has created the
universe and that he cares for his people. Gods before had been
objects of terror. Gods before had lived lives such as the people
themselves would not have respected among their companions. Gods
before were to be shunned. If one could but escape the attention of
the gods it was his greatest good fortune. Now we have the conception
of an all-knowing, ever-present God to whom his people are dear. The
terms in which it was stated in those days matter but little. To
modern psychologists even the idea that people are dear to God seems
speaking too humanly. Yet the truth involved must come in terms that
the people of to-day understand. We can best comprehend God if we
think of Him as loving and chastening, even though down in our hearts
we know that these terms are not high enough, are too human to apply
to an Eternal God. But we know no better and they tell us the truth
even though the terms may in time pass completely away.
Last of all and perhaps most characteristic of the Hebrew people is
the great lesson that this Eternal God, who created the universe and
cares for his people, demands righteousness of his people. To the
nations round about religion was not a matter of righteousness. For
them religion had nothing to do with morality. Thieves might have gods
favorable to them quite as well as righteous men. The worship of Diana
of the Ephesians or of Astarte in the groves of the Asia Minor coast
could be so unspeakably licentious and vile as not to admit of
description to-day. Yet this was all religion. To the Hebrew came the
inspired, exalted conception of a God who demanded righteousness of
his people. Beside this wonderful revelation to the human mind details
of serpents, and of apples, of names of men and of women, of gardens
and of swords are absolutely but the transitory clothing. This brought
them to the minds of the times. The value of the form is evidenced by
the fact that it brought the conception. But we must not lose the
glory of the conception in an over regard for the clothing in which
the idea came.
Does this mean that Genesis has served its purpose and is to-day to be
conceived of as a beautiful relic of the past, to be reverently
enshrined but not seriously accepted? Far from it. The glory of the
Genesis story lies in its wonderful power to grow. It strengthened
the minds of a persecuted tribe wandering in the desert who finally
settled in a small and barren country. It brought the truth to them so
clearly that they have persuaded much of the world of that truth and
bid fair to persuade the rest. The story has grown with the mind of
man. As it served the Hebrew in his time it has grown to serve others
to this day. Each generation has read the story in the light of its
own times and each generation will continue to read the story in the
light of its advancing knowledge. The only part of the story that can
be affected is the clothing, the inherent truth remains forever.
Furthermore, the story which persuaded the childhood of race is the
story which will persuade the childhood of to-day. In no other form
could the great truth of the Bible be brought to our children as well
as in the form of these early chapters. In early life our children
will accept these stories as literally as the ancient Hebrew accepted
them. As they grow in knowledge, unconsciously and without jar, if we
do not jar them, our children will read into the story what God has
taught them in the world outside. The shock which came to their elders
need never come to them. It is our fault if our children are disturbed
by the conflict between religion and science which disturbed us. There
is no difference between God's revelation of Himself, as we have it in
the Bible, and God's revelation of Himself in nature. The better we
know the Bible and the better we know nature the clearer this will be
to us.
Perhaps the most severe shock that has come to the mind of religious
man from the teachings of science has been the at first almost
unsupportable idea that man is the descendant of creatures of which
the ape is to-day the nearest representative. He had learned from
Genesis the altogether adorable conception that he was made in the
image of his Maker. It lifted him; it strengthened him; it gave him
more power to struggle. He might know that he had marred that likeness
by wrong-doing, he might understand that the fullness of the glory of
God's image could not shine through his own face. Yet he believed that
he was, in spite of all his imperfections, made in the image of his
Maker. Now comes this horrible linkage with a miserable brute to
either shock and confound him or to degrade him. We can easily
imagine, some of us have bitterly experienced, the shock of this
changed conception. But it was only because we mistook the clothing
for the truth in both cases. We read science in its own terms; we read
Genesis in its own terms. They did not use the same language and they
jarred us to the very soul. Slowly, however, we are coming out of the
darkness of that battle; slowly the glorious light of the beautiful
truth is breaking into our minds and our hearts.
Michael Angelo painted a wonderful picture of "The Judgment." Here,
seated upon a throne, which after all is only a magnificent chair,
sits a venerable figure of what is really but a nobly-proportioned
man, to whom the nations come for their final reward. He separates the
righteous from those who must forever be sundered from their God. Seen
through the distant past it still remains a majestic picture; but no
painter would think of repeating its conception to-day.
Quite in the modern spirit is the beautiful lunette which John Sargent
placed in the Boston Library, above his well known frieze of "The
Prophets." It represents "Jehovah confounding the gods of the
nations." The naked figure of suppliant Israel stands before an altar
of unhewn stones, on which burns the sacrifice. The smoke ascends to
Heaven. On one side stands the mighty figure of Assyria with uplifted
mace ready to strike its awful blow upon the shoulders of helpless
Israel. On the other side the lithe, subtle form of Egypt, clasping
the knout, watches its chance to bring its treacherous thong upon the
helpless shoulders of suffering Israel. But Jehovah may not appear,
man may not look on God and live. Jehovah is seen as a glory behind
the cloud of smoke shrouded by winged cherubim. From one side of the
cloud comes a mighty hand meeting with power the force of Assyria.
From the other side, a lithe and sinewy hand thwarts the subtlety of
Egypt. But Jehovah is behind the cloud.
Again we understand that we are made in the image of our Maker. Again
we understand the power of the uplift of this idea. From the conflict
it has emerged in new and glorified form. Hath a God eyes that he may
see? Hath a God ears that he may hear? Hath a God hands that he may
work? These we know to be but human forms of speaking. Eyes, ears, and
hands we may owe to the brute from whom we have sprung; in our eyes
and ears and hands we show the relationship we bear to them. These are
not the image of God. God is a deeper, a finer, a nobler something
than hands, than ears and eyes. The image of God lies within
ourselves: the image of God is that which makes us what we are. In
every noble purpose, in every earnest endeavor to uplift ourselves or
our fellowman, in every thought that turns us from the evil of a
repented past, in every desire with which our hearts yearn to
strengthen, support and sustain our friends and even our enemies,
shines forth the image of Almighty God. This it is that links us with
the Eternal: this it is that makes it worth while that we should be
Eternal. Besides this what are hands and ears and eyes? We are made,
all in us that is noblest and highest, in the image of our Maker.
A word in closing. The time is ripe for a broader conception of
theology and of science on the part of those who are not trained to be
specialists in either. We are becoming more and more inherently
religious. We are becoming more and more enamored of the truth in all
its forms. The times are ripe for us to cease the struggle and to
strive for peace. So long as men insist that the important things in
faith are the things on which men differ there will be eternal strife.
So soon as men endeavor to find the common ground between them and
each tries to state his belief in forms acceptable to himself but
involving no hostility to his neighbor, we shall be working for peace.
Some of our finest men of to-day are being trained in modern science
and in modern theology. There is no scorn in their minds for early
science or for early theology. Each served its age, and each taught
its truth. But its truth must be restated in terms of to-day. The old
creeds will always be loved. The old creeds will always hold our
reverence and allegiance. But each age must be at liberty to interpret
these creeds in the terms in which that age best understands truth.
Each age must be at liberty "to restate the doctrines of the past in
accordance with the newness of the age and with the ancient verity of
truth." How feeble my own attempt is in this matter, I quite
understand; I am still a child of the struggle. It has all come in my
lifetime and I have seen and felt not a little of the bitterness of
it. I believe the time is ripe for a definite peace. I believe our
children, if we do not hamper them, will never know the struggle we
have had. In every great institution throughout this broad land men of
earnest mind and noble soul are teaching the truth as God gives it to
them to know the truth. Let us not hesitate to entrust our children to
their hands. To us they may seem to be teachers of discord but they
are not speaking in terms that we understand. They are using the
language of a new age. Underneath their teaching lies the everlasting
truth. Out of their teaching will come everlasting life. Let us trust
God in the world. Let us believe that in this age he is teaching men's
lips and dwelling in men's hearts. Only so can we give to our children
the best their times can give them. If we insist in holding these men
back to our conception we but deny them the privilege of moving with
God's great procession. We make them laggards when they should be in
the front ranks, their faces lighted by a nearer and clearer vision of
Almighty truth.
INDEX
A
Acquired characters not inherited, 52.
Adaptation and purpose, 89.
Adaptation for the individual, 87.
Adaptation for the species, 125.
Advanced teaching, 291.
Agassiz and evolution, 19.
Age of the earth, 156.
Allantois of chick, 206.
American Museum of Natural History, 221.
Anaxagoras and evolution, 9.
Anaximander and evolution, 8.
Ancestry of man, 186.
Andes rising out of Pacific, 32.
Aquinas, Thomas, and evolution, 12.
Archaeopteryx, 181.
Aristotle and evolution, 9.
Armadillo and glyptodon, 29.
Artificial flavors, 161.
Artificial proteids, 161.
Artificial sugars, 161.
Ascent of man, 189.
Asexual reproduction, 194.
Augustine, Saint, and evolution, 11.
Australian mammals, 186.
B
Bank swallow's nest, 146.
Barnacles studies by Darwin, 34.
Beagle and Darwin's voyage, 25.
Beauty of human female, 127.
Biologists accept evolution, 278.
Bird colors, 131.
Bird from reptile, 122.
Bird nests, 145.
Birds of a region definite, 61.
Bird song, 135.
Blowing viper, 107.
Blue birds and frost, 61.
Bradbury, Dean, 43.
Buffon and evolution, 15.
Bumble bees, 125.
Butterfly colors, 129.
Butterfly's mouth, 95.
C
Carboniferous age, 174.
Carnivorous teeth, 124.
Caterpillars on leaves, 110.
Cave man, 188.
Cells live in water, 166.
Cenozoic age, 185.
Cicada killer, 143.
Circular nest of bird, 147.
City life in man, 256.
Clothing of birds, 101.
Coal plants, 174.
Cold-blooded animals, 99.
Color, concealing, Thayer, 115.
Concealing appearance, 105.
Cope and Lamarckianism, 244.
Cope on taste of toad, 118.
Coral reef formation, 32.
Country life in man, 256.
Cretaceous period, 180.
Cricket song, 134.
Crinoids, 171.
Crossing and variation, 53.
Cuvier criticises Lamarck, 19.
D
Darwin, Charles,
along La Plata, 28.
at Buenos Ayres, 28.
at Keeling Atoll, 31.
at Galapagos, 30.
father of evolution, 21.
in Brazil, 27.
in Patagonia, 29.
in Peru, 30.
on Beagle, 26.
persuaded world of evolution, 21.
studies Lyell's Geology, 26.
studies Malthus, 35.
Darwin, Erasmus, and evolution, 16.
Darwin's ancestry, 22.
birth, 23.
burial in Abbey, 43.
death, 43.
education, 23.
narrative of voyage, 33.
patient mind, 45.
purity of mind, 29.
return to England, 33.
short sketches, 39.
study of barnacles, 34.
work double, 233.
Deer horns, 138.
Descartes and evolution, 12.
Descent of man, 189.
Determinants in nucleus, 238.
Development of chick, 204.
Development of pond-snails, 46.
Devonian age, 173.
Devonian fish, 173.
DeVries and mutation, 246.
Duckmole, 208.
E
Early marriage, 272.
Earth's age, 155.
Ecstatic flight, 136.
Egg-laying mammals, 208.
Eimer and orthogenesis, 243.
Elements of Geology, Lyell, 26.
Emanuel Kant and evolution, 13.
Embryo of chick, 203.
Emerson and nature, 48.
Empedocles and evolution, 8.
English sparrow (see Sparrow, English).
Environment in man, 258.
Eugenic program, 269.
Evening primrose and mutation, 246.
Evolution since Darwin, 233.
F
Feeble-mindedness, 264.
Feet of mammals, 122.
First living things, 165.
Fish eggs, 145.
Fish may freeze, 104.
Fitz-Roy, Capt., and Beagle, 25.
Freedom of teaching, 291.
Fright paralysis, 108.
Frog's long tadpole stage, 112.
Frost and bluebirds, 61.
Fur of seal, 100.
Future evolution of man, 249.
G
Galapagos Islands and evolution, 30.
Geological periods, 158.
Glyptodon and armadillo, 29.
Goethe and evolution, 20.
Graphite from plants, 168.
Grasshopper's mouth, 93.
Grasshopper song, 133.
Groundhog and winter, 103.
Growth of North America, 167.
H
Haeckel advocates evolution, 42.
Health certificates, 263.
Henslow and Darwin's education, 24.
Henslow suggests Darwin for Beagle, 24.
Heredity and natural selection, 45.
Heredity in man, 258.
Homes, few animals have, 98.
Homes, warm-blooded animals, 101.
Horn of rhinoceros, 123.
Horns of deer, 138.
Horse and early man, 232.
earliest, 223.
neck, 229.
story of, 220.
three-toed, 227.
Horseshoe crab, 171.
How mammals developed, 192.
Huxley at Oxford meeting, 42.
I
Ichneumon fly, 142.
Image of God, 288.
Improving the environment, 259.
Improving the stock, 261.
Inheritance of acquired characters, 238.
Insect's biting mouth, 93.
Interpretation of Genesis, 284.
Isolation, Jordan, 242.
Isolation, Romanes, 242.
Isolation, Wagner, 241.
J
Java skull, 187.
Jehovah confounding the nations, 289.
Jordan and isolation, 242.
Judgment, Michael Angelo, 289.
Jukes family, 265.
June-bug, 107.
K
Kallikak family, 265.
Kant and evolution, 13.
Katydid's color, 111.
Katydid's song, 133.
Keeling Atoll and Darwin, 31.
King Crab, 171.
L
Lamarck and evolution, 17.
Lampshells, 172.
La Place's theory, 151.
Leibnitz, and evolution, 13.
Life from other planets, 162.
Life in the past, 149.
Life, its nature, 247.
Linnaean Society and evolution, 40.
Linnaeus and fixed species, 15.
Locust's song, 135.
Lucretius and evolution, 10.
Lung-fish, 176.
Lyell's Geology, 26.
M
Male birds brighter, 131.
Male insects sing, 134.
Malthus and population, 35.
Mamma, significance of, 211.
Mammals, egg-laying, 208.
how developed, 192.
Man and God's image, 288.
early, and horse, 232.
growing better, 255.
Man's ancestry, 250.
future evolution, 249.
Mating and song, 133.
Mating antics, 136.
Meaning of Genesis, 284.
Megatherium and sloth, 29.
Mesozoic age, 178.
Michael Angelo, Judgment, 289.
Migration of birds, 103.
Missing link, 187.
Mizpah, 283.
Modern teachers of biology, 291.
Mongolian idiot, 265.
Mosquito's bite, 97.
Mosquito's mouth, 96.
Mother-love, 217.
Multiplication and evolution, 54.
Mutation and DeVries, 246.
N
Nature of life, 247.
Nature of milk, 214.
Natural selection explained, 45.
in brief, 36.
Nebular hypothesis, 152.
Neck of horse, 229.
Neo-Darwinians, 237.
Nests for warm eggs, 101.
Number and position of breasts, 215.
O
Odor as protection, 117.
Opossum playing dead, 107.
Origin of birds, 181.
feathers, 102.
flight, 122.
hair, 102.
life, 159.
lungs, 177.
milk glands, 212.
placenta, 210.
variations, 50.
"Origin of Species" published, 41.
Orthogenesis and Eimer, 243.
Oxford meeting of British Association, 41.
P
Palaeozoic era, 170.
Paley's Natural Theology, 87.
Pangenesis, 236.
Patagonia and its terraces, 29.
Phenacodus, 185.
Physical evolution of man, 254.
Pithecanthropus, 188.
Planetesimal theory, 155.
Playing dead, 107.
Playing 'possum, 107.
Polygamy in animals, 137.
Pond-snail, development of, 46.
Potato worm, 142.
Protective coloration, 109.
Protoplasm, 164.
Pterodactyl, 180.
Puff adder, 107.
Purpose and adaptation, 89.
Purpose in nature, 88.
Q
Quiet and escape, 105.
R
Raining toads, 113.
Religion and evolution, 74.
Reptiles of Mesozoic, 179.
Reproduction, asexual and sexual, 194.
in fishes, 196.
in frogs, 199.
in reptiles, 202.
Rhinoceros horn, 123.
Romanes and isolation, 242.
Rooster finer than hen, 132.
S
Saint Augustine and evolution, 11.
Salamanders, 176.
Sargent's picture, 289.
Science and the book, 274.
Science and theology, 280.
Science, definition, 280.
Seals and polygamy, 139.
Sealskin and fur, 100.
Sedgwick and Darwin, 24.
Selection and evolution, 56.
Sexual selection, 126, 128.
Skunk's odor, 117.
Sloth and megatherium, 29.
Song and mating, 133.
Sparrow, English, adapted to town, 66.
and hawks, 69.
and winter, 73.
eat varied food, 71.
eye-minded, 78.
feed young on insects, 72.
good qualities, 85.
has reached limit, 85.
in Philadelphia, 63.
introduction, 62.
lives near houses, 70.
nests early, 81.
nests often, 82.
once migratory, 80.
quarrels without animosity, 75.
sociable, 74.
spread of, 65.
stays over winter, 79.
successful, 83.
transported in cars, 67.
unafraid of man, 69.
wintering, 73.
Sparrow, House, 62.
Sphex wasp, 143.
Spider cocoons, 139.
Spider, young, 140.
Spontaneous generation, 159.
Stone lilies, 171.
Story of the horse, 220.
Struggle against enemies, 104.
for food, 91.
for shelter, 92.
for the individual, 90.
for the species, 91, 125.
Sunfish and young, 196.
T
Taste of toad, 118.
Teeth of mammals, 98.
Temperature of mammals, 99.
Tertiary era, 185.
Thayer, concealing color, 115.
Theology and science, 280.
Theology, definition, 280.
Thomas Aquinas and evolution, 12.
Three-toed horse, 227.
Toad, bad taste, 118.
color, 112.
enemies, 113.
short tadpole stage, 112.
Tomato worm, 142.
Turtles and young, 202.
Tusks of elephant, 124.
Tussock worm, 64.
Two methods of reproduction, 194.
Types of insect mouth, 93.
U
Understanding the Bible, 281.
Underwing moth, 130.
V
Variation and natural selection, 49.
by crossing, 53.
Virchow and man's ancestry, 187.
Vireo's color, 115.
W
Wagner and isolation, 241.
Wallace and evolution, 39.
Warm-blooded animals, 99.
Weissman and evolution, 235.
Wilberforce, Bishop, and evolution, 41.
Wintering of ground hog, 103.
Wintering of mammals, 103.
Wintering of squirrels, 103.
Woodchuck, 103.
Woodpecker's nest, 146.
Y
Young growing finer, 272.
APPENDIX
BIBLIOGRAPHY
In connection with each chapter, wherever this is possible, there are
four classes of references. First is named a small and inexpensive but
satisfactory book on the subject. Second, a more comprehensive book,
readily accessible and not unduly expensive. Then a few of the most
satisfactory reference books on the subject independent of cost or
ready availability. Fourth, a list of references to articles in the
eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
CHAPTER I. _Evolution before Darwin._
1. -- -- -- --
2. Biology and Its Makers, Locy.
3. From the Greeks to Darwin, Osborn. Chapters 1, 2, 3, 19.
4. Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, article, _Evolution_,
section, _History_.
CHAPTER II. _Darwin and Wallace._
1. The Coming of Evolution, Judd.
2. Charles Darwin, Poulton.
3. Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, by his son, Francis Darwin. 2
vols.
My Life, A. R. Wallace. 2 vols.
4. Encyclopedia Britannica, articles _Darwin_, _Wallace_.
CHAPTER III. _The Underlying Idea._
1. Evolution, Geddes and Thompson.
2. The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin.
3. The Evolution Theory, Weissmann. 2 vols.
4. Encyclopedia Britannica, articles _Variation_ and _Selection_.
CHAPTER IV. _Adaptation for the Individual._
1. Colin Clout's Calendar, Grant Allen.
2. Evolution and Animal Life, Jordan and Kellogg. Chapters 16, 19.
3. Darwinism, Wallace.
4. Encyclopedia Britannica, articles _Adaptation_, _Colours of
Animals_, _Hibernation_.
CHAPTER V. _Adaptation for the Species._
1. Colin Clout's Calendar, Grant Allen.
2. Evolution and Animal Life, Jordan and Kellogg.
3. Darwinism, Wallace.
4. Encyclopedia Britannica, articles, _Metamorphosis_, _Song of
Birds_.
CHAPTER VI. _Life in the Past._
1. The Story of Our Continent, Shaler.
2. Elements of Geology, Blackwelder and Barrows.
3. The Story of Evolution, McCabe.
4. Encyclopedia Britannica, article, _Geology_ (palaeontological and
physiographical).
CHAPTER VII. _How the Mammals Developed._
1. -- -- -- --
2. Plant and Animal Children, Torelle.
3. -- -- -- --
4. Encyclopedia Britannica, article, _Mammalia_.
CHAPTER VIII. _The Story of the Horse._
1. The Evolution of the Horse in America, Osborn, in _The Century_,
November, 1904.
The Evolution of the Horse, Matthew.
2. The Horse, Flower.
3. Encyclopedia Britannica, article, _Horse_.
CHAPTER IX. _Evolution Since Darwin._
1. The Evolution of Living Organisms, Goodrich.
2. Biology and Its Makers, Locy. Chapters 14, 18.
3. Darwinism To-day, Kellogg.
4. Encyclopedia Britannica, articles, _Romanes_, _Weissmann_,
_Mendel_.
CHAPTER X. _The Future Evolution of Man._
1. The Problem of Race Regeneration, Ellis.
2. Inquiries into Human Faculty, Galton.
3. Heredity, Thompson.
4. Encyclopedia Britannica, articles, _Eugenics_, _Galton_.
CHAPTER XI. _Science and the Book._
1. -- -- -- --
2. The Origin and Permanent Value of the Old Testament, Skater.
3. The Life and Literature of the Ancient Hebrews, Abbott.
4. Encyclopedia Britannica, articles, _Genesis_, _Bible_ (Old
Testament Canon).
REVIEW QUESTIONS
_Foreword._ 1. What is the purpose of this book?
Chapter I. 1. What were some of the theories of the Greek
philosophers, and what shadowing of truth was there in their beliefs?
2. What was Lucretius's idea? 3. What were the explanations of Genesis
given by St. Augustine and by Thomas Aquinas? 4. What were theories of
Descartes, Leibnitz, and Kant? 5. How is the delay of the thought of
evolution accounted for? 6. What were the contributions of Linnaeus,
Buffon, Erasmus, Darwin, Lamarck? 7. What check to progress was made
by Cuvier and Agassiz? 8. What phases of evolution were studied by
Goethe?
Chapter II. 1. Sketch the life of Charles Darwin. 2. What advantages
did he derive from the "Beagle" expedition? 3. What is the theory of
Natural Selection, and how did Darwin arrive at it? 4. Describe the
Wallace and Wilberforce incidents. 5. What has been the progressive
attitude toward the Darwinian idea?
Chapter III. 1. Explain Heredity as the conservative force of nature.
2. Explain Variation as the progressive tendency in nature. 3. In what
ratio is the Multiplication of animals? 4. How does the process of
Selection make for the survival of the fittest? 5. What three
possibilities are open to animals under a change of environment? 6.
What is the history of the English Sparrow in this country, and how is
his increase accounted for by his powers of adaptation?
Chapter IV. 1. Show how the struggle for existence as affecting food,
results in adaptations in the individual. Give illustrations. 2. Do
the same for the results of struggle for shelter. 3. What are some of
the adjustments resulting from the need of protection from foes?
Chapter V. 1. Discuss coloration. 2. How is sound used as an
attraction? 3. What are some of the other methods of attracting mates?
4. What are some of the specializations produced by polygamy? 5.
Describe some of the protections and provisions for the young.
Chapter VI. 1. What is La Place's Nebular Hypothesis? 2. What is the
Planetesimal Theory? 3. What bases have been used for calculation of
the age of the earth? 4. Reproduce the Table of Geological Times. 5.
What is the Theory of Spontaneous Generation? 6. What is the theory of
life development from organic dust in space? 7. Discuss protoplasm. 8.
What was the probable growth of the North American continent? 9. What
is the nature of the fossils in the earliest layers of stratified
rock? 10. Describe the life of each of the three periods of the
Palaeozoic era. 11. Do the same for the Mesozoic era. 12. What was the
effect upon life of the development of seasons and of climates? 13.
What physical characteristics of the earth helped in the development
of new animal forms in the Cenozoic era? 14. What has been the ascent
of man?
Chapter VII. 1. Illustrate the asexual method of reproduction. 2.
Trace the two-parent method of reproduction upward from the simplest
forms. 3. What has been the development of the milk glands? 4. How
does the prolonged care of the young by the mother indicate the higher
development of the animal?
Chapter VIII. 1. Describe the earliest known ancestor of the horse? 2.
What changes took place in the second stage of development? 3. What is
the form by the middle of the Tertiary period? 4. What was the size of
the late Tertiary horse, and how was the grinding power of the teeth
increased? 5. How was the early Quaternary horse adapted for speed and
for eating? 6. How is the extermination of the horse in North and
South America accounted for, and how was he introduced again?
Chapter IX. 1. How extensive has the belief in evolution become since
Darwin's day? 2. How does the theory of Natural Selection fail in
accounting for Variation; how did Darwin try to amend his original
theory; and what is Weissmann's belief. 3. What second objection has
been brought against the theory of Natural Selection, and what have
been the contributions of Wagner, Jordan, and Romanes to the
discussion? 4. What is the third objection to Darwinism, and what is
the bearing upon it of the theory of Orthogenesis? 5. What is the
American and French tendency toward the belief that use is the cause
of the persisting of organs? 6. How did DeVries discover the
principle of mutation, and how does it apply to the discussion of
evolution?
Chapter X. 1. What was the cause of the passing of the civilization of
Athens, of Judea, of Sparta? 2. What promise of uniform development is
evident to-day, and what are some of the hindrances? 3. What has been
the changing emphasis in the evolution of man? 4. How is man the
arbiter of his own destiny? 5. What is the task of the eugenist; how
is he trying to accomplish it, and what are some of the possibilities
suggested. 6. What is the promise for the future?
Chapter XI. 1. What is the duty of the fair-minded person toward the
essential truths of religion and of science? 2. What two difficulties
lie in the path of reconciliation, and why should each century restate
its truths? 3. What three steps are desirable in studying the Bible?
Illustrate. 4. What is the essential truth of the early chapters of
Genesis, and what its glory? 5. Interpret the meaning of "creation of
man in God's image." 6. What is our duty to ourselves and our
children?