Page:Palæolithic Man and Terramara Settlements in Europe.djvu/55

Rh (3) A period of animal life in the order of fishes.

(4) Another stage of animal life in the order of birds.

(5) Another in the order of beasts.

(6) Last of all man.

It need hardly be said that the above sequence is not in precise harmony with the facts of palæontology, as any tyro can see that from the standpoint of evolution land-quadrupeds must have preceded birds. But although this and a few other details are decidedly out of joint, I do not think that the tout ensemble could have emanated from the brain of any one who had not some glimmering of the doctrine of evolution.

The main statements bearing on the creation of man have a remarkable parallelism to the facts of evolution. The upright posture, the most outstanding morphological feature of man, is signalised as the "image and likeness" of God. The act of disobedience in eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil secured to man a share of the divine prerogative of Wisdom, and opened his eyes to the momentous fact that in knowing good and evil he became henceforth a moral and responsible being.