• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

THE WORLD OF LIFE The senses are the ministers of love, The senses are the oracles of truth, The senses the interpreters of law, The senses the discoverers of fact; They hold their court in beauty and in joy On earth and in the spheres where Angels dwell, And through the senses God reveals Himself And through the senses earth is taught from heaven. Born from the darkest age Of superstition is that ancient creed That matter is the enemy of good, Accursed and hateful to the Infinite; For every atom is a living thought, Dropped from the meditations of a God, Its every essence an immortal love Of the incarnate Deity; and all The inmost pulses of material things Are mediums for the pulses of His will. THE WORLD OF LIFE A MANIFESTATION OF CREATIVE POWER, DIRECTIVE MIND AND ULTIMATE PURPOSE BY ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE O.M., D.C.L., F.R.S., ETC. AUTHOR OF "MY LIFE: A RECORD OF EVENTS AND OPINIONS," " MAN'S PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE," "THE MALAV ARCHIPELAGO," "DARWINISM," "GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS," " NATURAL SELECTION AND TROPICAL NATURE," ETC. " Every plant, whether beech, lily, or seaweed, has its origin in a cell, which does not contain the ulterior product, but which is endowed with, or accompanied by a force, which provokes and directs the formation of all later developments. Here is the fact, or rather the mystery, as to the production of the several species with their special organs." ALPHONSE DE CANDOLLE. LONDON CHAP MAN AND HALL, LIMITED All nature is but art unknown to thee; All chance, direction which thou canst not see; All discord, harmony not understood ; All partial evil, universal good. God of the Granite and the Rose! Soul of the Sparrow and the Bee! The mighty tide of Being flows Through countless channels, Lord, from Thee. PREFACE IN the present volume I have attempted to summarise and complete my half-century of thought and work on the Darwinian theory of evolution. In several directions I have extended the scope and application of the theory, and have shown that it is capable of explaining many of the phenomena of living things hitherto thought to be beyond its range. Among these are the detailed distribution of plants and animals, which I have discussed at some length. It occupies about one-fou.th of the volume (Chapters II. to VI.), and brings out certain facts and conclusions which I believe will be of interest to all plant-lovers, and also be not without a certain value to botanists. Next in importance are three chapters (X., XI., and XII.) devoted to a general review of the Geological Record and a discussion of the various problems arising out of it. Some of the conclusions to which this examination leads us are, I believe, both important and of much general interest. In Chapter VIII. I have endeavoured to show natural selection actually at work in continually perfecting that wonderful co-adaptation of the most diverse forms of life which pervades all nature. Some little-known aspects of bird-migration are here discussed, and proof is given of the enormous importance of mosquitoes for the very existence of a considerable proportion of our birds, including most of our most favoured pets and songsters. This chapter will, I think, have a special interest for every bird-lover. v vi THE WORLD OF LIFE In Chapter IX. I deal with some little-known pheno­ mena in that hitherto neglected field of enquiry which I have termed "Recognition Marks." Besides the obvious uses implied by their name, I have shown that they are of great importance-perhaps absolutely essential-in the pro­ cess of the evolution of new species. During the enquiry I have arrived at the somewhat startling conclusion that the exquisite variety and beauty of insect-coloration and mark­ ing have not been developed through their own visual per­ ceptions, but mainly-perhaps even exclusively-through those of higher animals. I show that brilliant butterflies do not, and almost certainly cannot, recognise each other by colour, and that they probably do not even perceive colour at all except as to a certain extent presenting visual differences. But besides the discussion of these and several other allied subjects, the most prominent feature of my book is that I enter into a popular yet critical examination of those underlying fundamental problems which Darwin purposely excluded from his works as being beyond the scope of his enquiry. Such are, the nature and causes of Life itself; and more especially of its most fundamental and mysterious powers-growth and reproduction. I first endeavour to show (in Chapter XIV.) by a care­ ful consideration of the structure of the bird's feather; of the marvellous transformations of the higher insects; and, more especially of the highly elaborated wing-scales of the Lepidoptera (as easily accessible examples of what is going on in every part of the structure of every living thing), the absolute necessity for an organising and directive Life­ Principle in order to account for the very possibility of these complex outgrowths. I argue, that they necessarily imply first, a Creative Power, which so constituted matter as to render these marvels possible; next, a directive Mind, PREFACE vu which is demanded at every step of what we term growth, and often look upon as so simple and natural a process as to require no explanation; and, lastly, an ultimate Purpose, in the very existence of the whole vast life-world in all its long course of evolution throughout the eons of geological time. This Purpose, which alone throws light on many of the mysteries of its mode of evolution, I hold to be the development of Man, the one crowning product of the whole cosmic process of life-development; the only being which can to some extent comprehend nature; which can perceive and trace out her modes of action; which can appreciate the hidden forces and motions everywhere at work, and can deduce from them a supreme and over­ ruling Mind as their necessary cause. For those who accept some such view as I have indicated, I show (in Chapters XV. and XVI.) how strongly it is sup­ ported and enforced by a long series of facts and co-relations which we can hardly look upon as all purely accidental coincidences. Such are the infinitely varied products of living things which serve man's purposes and man's alone­ not only by supplying his material wants, and by gratifying his higher tastes and emotions, but as rendering possible many of those advances in the arts and in science which we claim to be the highest proofs of his superiority to the brutes, as well as of his advancing civilisation. From a consideration of these better-known facts I proceed (in Chapter XVII.) to an exposition of the mystery of cell-growth; to a consideration of the elements in their special relation to the earth itself and to the life-world; while in the last chapter I endeavour to show the purpose of that law of diversity which seems to pervade the whole material Universe. As an" excursus," I devote Chapter XIX. to a discussion of the nature, extent, and uses of Pain, as strictly deduced from the law of Evolution. Strangely enough, this has never, I believe, been done before; and it viii THE WORLD OF LIFE enables us to answer the question-" Is Nature Cruel?" with a decided negative. This outline of the varied contents and objects of my book, will, I hope, be useful to my readers, and especially to my reviewers, by directing their attention to those parts of the work in which they may be more especially interested. I also wish to point out that, however strange and heretical some of my beliefs and suggestions may appear to be, I claim that they have only been arrived at by a careful study of the facts and conditions of the problem. I mention this because numerous critics of my former work-Man's Place in the Universe (to which this may be considered supplementary)-treated the conclusions there arrived at as if they were wholly matters of opinion or imagination, and founded (as were their own) on personal likes or dis­ likes, without any appeal to evidence or to reasoning. This is not a method I have adopted in any of my works. I have now only to express my thanks to the friends and correspondents who have kindly assisted me with numerical and other data for various portions of my book; as well as to those publishers and authors who have allowed me to use the engravings or photographs with which my book is illustrated. These are in every case (I believe) acknowledged in the text, or on the various plates and figures. BROADSTONE, WIMBORNE, November 1910. CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAGE WHAT LIFE IS, AND WHENCE IT COMES CHAPTER II SPECIES-THEIR NUMBERS, VARIETY, AND DISTRIBUTION 11 CHAPTER III THE NUMERICAL DISTRIBUTION OF BRITISH PLANTS: TEMPERATE FLORAS COMPARED . 22 CHAPTER IV THE TROPICAL FLORAS OF' THE WORLD CHAPTER V THE DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS CHAPTER VI THE NUMERICAL DISTRIBUTION OF' SPECIES IN RELATION TO EVOLUTION 93 CHAPTER VII HEREDITY, VARIATION, INCREASE 101 ix x THE WORLD OF LIFE CHAPTER VIII PAGE ILLUSTRATIVE CASES OF NATURAL SELECTION AND ADAPTA- TION 124 CHAPTER IX THE IMPORTANCE OF RECOGNITION-MARKS FOR EVOLUTION. 156 CHAPTER X THE EARTH'S SURFACE-CHANGES AS THE CONDITION AND MOTIVE-POWER OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION 173 CHAPTER XI THE PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LIFE-WORLD, AS SHOWN BY THE GEOLOGICAL RECORD 188 CHAPTER XII LIFE OF THE TERTIARY PERIOD 219 CHAPTER XIII SOME EXTENSIONS OF DARWIN'S THEORY CHAPTER XIV BIRDS AND INSECTS ; AS PROOFS OF AN ORGANISING AND DIRECTIVE LIFE-PRINCIPLE 286 CHAPTER XV GENERAL ADAPTATIONS OF PLANTS, ANIMALS, AND MAN 305 CHAPTER XVI THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM IN ITS SPECIAL RELATION TO MAN 325 CONTENTS Xl CHAPTER XVII PAGE THE MVSTERY OF THE CELL.

Load more

  459

Copy Link