Ridpath's history of the world; being an account of the ethnic origin, primitive estate, early migrations, social conditions and present promise of the principal families of men (1897) (14596902587)

Identifier: ridpathshistoryo01ridp (find matches)
Title: Ridpath's history of the world; being an account of the ethnic origin, primitive estate, early migrations, social conditions and present promise of the principal families of men ..
Year: 1897 (1890s)
Authors: Ridpath, John Clark, 1840-1900
Subjects: World history Ethnology
Publisher: New York, Merrill & Baker
Contributing Library: Mugar Memorial Library, Boston University
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston University



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olutionas partly explanatory of the facts andconditions of life. They admit that evo-lution has performed a certain subordi-nate and limited office in the productionof the living forms now inhabiting theearth; but they lay great stress upon thephenomenal aspects of the beginning. On the other hand, the evolutionistsdo not exclude creation from the schemeof universal nature. As Neither theory we have said, they begin is exclusive ofthe inquiry with the fact oflife. The theory runs thus: Givenlife—that is, the primordial germs of life—and evolution will account for therest. But this theory clearly does notpreclude creation as a part—that is,the primal part—of the scheme of life. 186 GREAT RACES OF MANKIND. From which, as indicated above, thetrue division of opinion relates to themode of operation—the processes andmethods by which the present organic dowed with life, and having in them thepossibilities of all the descendent speciesof living- beings which now appear onthe earth.
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THE TRADITIONAL EDEN. forms have come to pass—whether fromperfected ancestral pairs for each species,created by a fiat immediately, and, so tospeak, full-grown in power and capacity,ut whether from potential germs en- Still another observation should bemade at the outset with respect to thecontention of the two opinions or viewsof the origin of living species. Thisis that, on the whole, the belief in evo- MANNER OF THE BEGINNING.—FIAT AND EVOLUTION 187 lution as explanatory of the modus oper-andi of universal nature has steadilyBelief m evoiu- gained ground in the high- tion as a method t opinion Qf the age. Its gams ground. * among thinkers. first conquest Was that of the earth itself. The hypothesis of cre-ation, that is, of immediate and phe-nomenal creation, formerly included theearth as one of the products of a creativefiat. For a long time the conservativebeliefs of the past held their groundssteadily against the encroachments ofereoloQfv. That science was resisted inits pro