" (vol. i. p. 65)
The grand conclusion is, "man (body, soul, and spirit) is descended from
a hairy quadruped, furnished with a tail and pointed ears, probably
arboreal in its habits, and an inhabitant of the Old World." (vol. ii.
p. 372) Mr. Darwin adds: "He who denounces these views (as irreligious)
is bound to explain why it is more irreligious to explain the origin of
man as a distinct species by descent from some lower form, through the
laws of variation and natural selection, than to explain the birth of
the individual through the laws of ordinary reproduction." (vol. ii. p.
378)
FOOTNOTE:
[7] _Descent of Man_, etc. By Charles Darwin, M. A., F. R. S., etc. New
York, 1871, vol. i. p. 179.
_The Sense in which Mr. Darwin uses the Word "Natural."_
We have not yet reached the heart of Mr. Darwin's theory. The main idea
of his system lies in the word "natural." He uses that word in two
senses: first, as antithetical to the word artificial. Men can produce
very marked varieties as to structure and habits of animals. This is
exemplified in the production of the different breeds of horses, cattle,
sheep, and dogs; and specially, as Mr. Darwin seems to think, in the
case of pigeons. Of these, he says, "The diversity of breeds is
something astonishing." Some have long, and some very short bills; some
have large feet, some small; some long necks, others long wings and
tails, while others have singularly short tails; some have thirty, and
even forty, tail-feathers, instead of the normal number of twelve or
fourteen.
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