Free Nineteenth Century Thought by Anand Prakash Page B

idea. Mark in the para
words such as 'chance,' 'might have been developed,' 'small and graduated
steps' and 'it is probable.'
    22.       Fulvous: Reddish yellow.
     
    He
who admits the principle of sexual selection will be led to the remarkable
conclusion that the cerebral system not only regulates most of the existing
functions of the body, but has indirectly influenced the progressive
development of various bodily structures and of certain mental qualities. Courage,
pugnacity, perseverance, strength and size of body, weapons of all kinds,
musical organs, both vocal and instrumental, bright colours , stripes and marks, and ornamental appendages have all been indirectly gained by
the one sex or the other, through the influence of love and jealousy, through
the appreciation of the beautiful in sound, colour or form, and through the
exertion of a choice; and these powers of the mind manifestly depend on the
development of the cerebral system. 23   * * *
    The
main conclusion arrived at in this work, namely that man is descended from some
lowly-organized form, will, I regret to think, be
highly distasteful to many persons. Bur there can hardly be a doubt that we are
descended from barbarians. The astonishment which I felt on first seeing a
party of Fuegians 24 on a wild and broken
shore will never be forgotten by me, for the reflection at once rushed into my
mind-such were our ancestors. These men were absolutely naked and bedaubed with
paint, their long hair was tangled, their mouths frothed with excitement, and
their expression was wild, startled, and distrustful. They possessed hardly any
arts, and like wild animals lived on what they could catch; they had no
government, and were merciless to everyone not of their own small tribe. He
who· has seen a savage in his native land will not feel much shame, if forced
to acknowledge that the blood of some more humble creature flows in his veins.
For my own part I would as soon be descended   from that heroic little monkey, who braved his dreaded enemy in order to
save the life of his keeper; or
    ANNOTATIONS
    23.      Cerebral
system: This provides scope to Darwin to reach the highly
problematic area of feelings. Also, mark that Darwin's attitude is
totally atheistic which enables him to see the brain as a physical organ open
to the evolutionary process in nature.
    24.      Fuegians : The
natives of the islands Tierra del Fuego near South America.
     
    from
that old baboon 25 , who, descending from the mountains, carried away
in triumph his young comrade from a crowd of astonished dogs-as from a savage
who delights to torture his enemies, offers up bloody sacrifices, practices
infanticide without remorse, treats his wives like slaves, knows no decency,
and is haunted by the grossest superstitions.
    Man
may he excused for feeling some pride at having risen, though not through his
own exertions , to the very summit of the organic scale; and the fact of his
having thus risen , instead of having been aboriginally placed there, may give
him hopes for a still higher destiny in the distant future. Bur we are not here
concerned with hopes or fears, only with the truth as far as our reason allows
us to discover it. I have given the evidence to the best of my ability; and we
must acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities,
with sympathy which feels for the most debased, with benevolence which extends
not only to other men but to the humblest living creature, with his godlike intellect
which has penetrated into the movements and constitution of the solar
system-with all these exalted powers-Man still bears in his bodily frame 26 the indelible stamp of his lowly origin.
    ANNOTATIONS
    25.         Old baboon: Old
world monkey.
    26.         Bodily frame: Darwin's
terms being biological, 'bodily frame' is descriptive to the extent of being
literal. This reflects the power and appeal the scientific perspective enjoyed
in the nineteenth