The Theories of Darwin and Their Relation to Philosophy, Religion, and Morality | Page 2

possession directly
guarantees the other. This is the standpoint of the author, and from it he
has endeavored to treat all the questions which are to be taken into
consideration. Should he, by his exposition of this standpoint, succeed
in helping even a few readers in reaching the conviction of the actual
harmony between the scientific, religious, and ethical acquisitions of
mankind, or in confirming them anew in such conviction, he would
find himself amply rewarded for this first extended venture before the
public.
R. S.
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AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO AMERICAN EDITION.
Six years have elapsed since I wrote the book which is now going forth
in English dress. The great leader of the theories in question has passed
away; the waves of thought he set in motion are assuming smoother
shape; and I can only add to what I have already written, that not only
have I had no occasion to retract any of the statements or views laid
down in the book, but I perceive the religious as well as the scientific
world growing more and more into accord with the views I have
maintained, and which were at first so vehemently opposed.
I owe so much to the literary men of the English tongue on both sides
of the Atlantic, that I shall be glad if, through the devoted labors of the
translator, I am enabled to pay them a tribute of gratitude by aiding
them in clearing the way for thought in these much disputed fields, or
in reconciling in their minds the conflict between faith and science.
R. S.
SCHÖNTHAL, WÜRTEMBERG, September, 1882.
* * * * *
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INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN EDITION,
BY THE DUKE OF ARGYLL.
* * * * *
It is well known that Mr. Darwin's theory on the Origin of Species has
been accepted in Germany more widely, with more absolute faith, and
with more vehement enthusiasm, than in the country of its birth. In
Germany, more conspicuously than elsewhere, it has itself become the
subject of developments as strange and as aberrant as any which it
assumes in the history of Organic Life. The most extravagant
conclusions have been drawn from it--invading every branch of human

thought, in Science, in Philosophy, and in Religion. These conclusions
have been preached, too, with a dogmatism as angry and as intolerant
as any of the old theologies. It is the fate of every idea which is new
and fruitful, that it is ridden to the death by excited novices. We can not
be surprised if this fate has overtaken the idea that all existing animal
forms have had their ancestry in other forms which exist no longer, and
have been derived from these by ordinary generation through countless
stages of descent. Although this is an idea which, whether true or not, is
entirely subordinate to the larger idea of creation, it usurps in many
minds the character of a substitute. This is natural enough. The theory,
or at least the language, of Evolutionists, puts forward a visible order of
phenomena as a complete and all-sufficient account of its own origin
and cause. However unsatisfactory this may be to the higher faculties
of the mind, it is eminently {6} satisfactory to those other faculties
which are lower in the scale. It dismisses as needless, or it postpones
indefinitely, all thought of the agencies which are ultimate and unseen.
Just as in the physical world, some trivial object which is very near us
may shut out the whole of a wide horizon, so in the intellectual world,
some coarse mechanical conception may shut out all the kingdom of
Nature and the glory of it.
Two great subjects of investigation lie before us. The first is to
ascertain how far the Theory of Evolution represents an universal fact,
or only one very partial and fragmentary aspect of a great variety of
facts connected with the origin and development of Organic Life. The
second and by far the most important inquiry, is to estimate aright, or
as nearly as we can, the relative place and importance of these facts in
the Philosophy of Nature.
Subjects of investigation so rich and manifold as these may well attract
all the most varied gifts of the human mind. This they have already
done, and there is every indication that they will continue to do so for
generations yet to be. Already an immense literature is devoted to them;
and every fresh effort of observation and of reasoning seems to open
out new and fruitful avenues of thought. The work which is here
introduced to the English reader contains an excellent review of this
literature, so far as it is represented in the English and German

languages. Knowing the author personally, as I have done for many
years, I recognize with pleasure in