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Show 38-± SEXUAL· SELECTION: 1\IAN. I' ART JJ. n.ll that I have written in the later chapters on man. vV c cannot positively say that this character, but not that, has been thus modified ; it has, however, been shewn that tho races of man differ from each other aml from their nearest allies amongst the lower animals, in certain characters which arc of no service to them in their ordinary habits of life, and which it is extremely probable would have been modified through sexual selection. We have seen that with the lowest savages the people of en.eh tribe admire their own characteristic qun.litics,-the shape of the bead and face, the squareness of the cheek-bones, the prominence or depression of the nose, the colour of the skin, the length of the hair 011 the bead, the absence of hair on the face and body, or the presence of a great beard, and so forth. Hence these and other such points could hardly fail to have been slowly ancl gradually exaggerated from the more powerful and able men in each tribe, wlw would · succeed in rearing the largest num1er of offspring, having selected during many generations as their wives the most strongly characterised and therefore most attrac- -tive women. For my own part I conclude that of all the causes which have led to the differences in external appearance between the races of man, and to a certain extent between man and the lower animals, scxnn.l selection has been by far the most efficient. Cnu. XXI. GENERAI~ SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION. 385 CHAPTER XXI. GENERAL SUMMARY AND CoNCLUSION. Main conclusion that man is de·cended from some lower formManner of development- Genealogy of man- Intel1ectual and moral faculties- Sexual selection- Concluding remarks. A BRIEF summary will here be sufficient to recall to the reader's mind the more salient points in this work. Many of the views which have been advanced are highly speculative, and . ome no doubt will prove erroneous ; but I have in every case given the reasons which have led me to one view rather than to another. It seemed worth while to try how far the principle of evolution would. throw light on some of the more complex problems in the natural history of man. False facts are highly injurious to the progress of science, for they often long endure ; but false views, if supported by some evidence, do little harm, as every one takes a salutary pleasure in proving their falseness; and when this is done, one path towards error is closed and tl1e road to truth is often at the same time opened. The main conclusion arrived at in this work and now held by many naturalists who are well com~etent to form a sound judgment, is that man is descended from son~e los~ highly organised. form. The grounds upon wh1ch this conclusion rests will never be shaken for the dose similarity between man and the lower ani:nals in embryonic development, as well as in innumerable points 0f structure and constitution, both of hi(l'h aud of the most trifling importance,-the rudiment; which VOL. II. 2 C |