Page:Biblical Libraries (Richardson).djvu/292

 kind"). Its profound bearing on the theory of the composition and inspiration of the Bible has given the fact new significance and makes an understanding of the nature of a library one of the best tools for the interpretation of the Bible in the face of modern problems. While it is not possible to elaborate this within narrow limits, it may be said briefly that the logical end of the application of the doctrine of evolution to books and libraries is that the Bible is, like man, the result of natural selection and is as unique among books as man among the animals. And, whatever may be true of men, in the case of books the formation of a book-library by natural selection tends towards the elimination of error. The more numerous the individuals for selection and the longer the period of formation, the greater the reduction of error in the work (not of course the copy where the longer the transmission the greater the error is)