The Descent of Man | Page 6

sexes, yet primarily acquired by the
male--Other uses of such weapons--Their high importance-- Greater size of the
male--Means of defence--On the preference shewn by either sex in the pairing of
quadrupeds.

CHAPTER XVIII.
Secondary Sexual Characters of Mammals--continued.

Voice--Remarkable sexual peculiarities in seals--Odour--Development of the
hair--Colour of the hair and skin--Anomalous case of the female being more ornamented
than the male--Colour and ornaments due to sexual selection-- Colour acquired for the
sake of protection--Colour, though common to both sexes, often due to sexual
selection--On the disappearance of spots and stripes in adult quadrupeds--On the colours
and ornaments of the Quadrumana--Summary.


PART III. SEXUAL SELECTION IN RELATION TO
MAN, AND CONCLUSION.


CHAPTER XIX.
Secondary Sexual Characters of Man.
Differences between man and woman--Causes of such differences, and of certain
characters common to both sexes--Law of battle--Differences in mental powers, and
voice--On the influence of beauty in determining the marriages of mankind--Attention
paid by savages to ornaments--Their ideas of beauty in women--The tendency to
exaggerate each natural peculiarity.

CHAPTER XX.
Secondary Sexual Characters of Man--continued.
On the effects of the continued selection of women according to a different standard of
beauty in each race--On the causes which interfere with sexual selection in civilised and
savage nations--Conditions favourable to sexual selection during primeval times--On the
manner of action of sexual selection with mankind--On the women in savage tribes
having some power to choose their husbands--Absence of hair on the body, and
development of the beard--Colour of the skin--Summary.

CHAPTER XXI.
General Summary and Conclusion.

Main conclusion that man is descended from some lower form--Manner of
development--Genealogy of man--Intellectual and moral faculties--Sexual
selection--Concluding remarks.
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE.
INDEX.

THE DESCENT OF MAN; AND SELECTION IN RELATION TO SEX.
...
INTRODUCTION.
The nature of the following work will be best understood by a brief account of how it
came to be written. During many years I collected notes on the origin or descent of man,
without any intention of publishing on the subject, but rather with the determination not
to publish, as I thought that I should thus only add to the prejudices against my views. It
seemed to me sufficient to indicate, in the first edition of my 'Origin of Species,' that by
this work "light would be thrown on the origin of man and his history;" and this implies
that man must be included with other organic beings in any general conclusion respecting
his manner of appearance on this earth. Now the case wears a wholly different aspect.
When a naturalist like Carl Vogt ventures to say in his address as President of the
National Institution of Geneva (1869), "personne, en Europe au moins, n'ose plus soutenir
la creation independante et de toutes pieces, des especes," it is manifest that at least a
large number of naturalists must admit that species are the modified descendants of other
species; and this especially holds good with the younger and rising naturalists. The
greater number accept the agency of natural selection; though some urge, whether with
justice the future must decide, that I have greatly overrated its importance. Of the older
and honoured chiefs in natural science, many unfortunately are still opposed to evolution
in every form.
In consequence of the views now adopted by most naturalists, and which will ultimately,
as in every other case, be followed by others who are not scientific, I have been led to put
together my notes, so as to see how far the general conclusions arrived at in my former
works were applicable to man. This seemed all the more desirable, as I had never
deliberately applied these views to a species taken singly. When we confine our attention
to any one form, we are deprived of the weighty arguments derived from the nature of the
affinities which connect together whole groups of organisms--their geographical
distribution in past and present times, and their geological succession. The homological
structure, embryological development, and rudimentary organs of a species remain to be
considered, whether it be man or any other animal, to which our attention may be
directed; but these great classes of facts afford, as it appears to me, ample and conclusive
evidence in favour of the principle of gradual evolution. The strong support derived from
the other arguments should, however, always be kept before the mind.

The sole object of this work is to consider, firstly, whether man, like every other species,
is descended from some pre-existing form; secondly, the manner of his development; and
thirdly, the value of the differences between the so-called races of man. As I shall confine
myself to these points, it will not be necessary to describe in detail the differences
between the several races--an enormous subject which has been fully described in many
valuable works. The high antiquity of man