The law is a mere general expression of the
fact that they DO act in that way. But many imagine that there is
some principle within the living organism which impels it onward
to a higher level of organisation. That is entirely an error.
There is no "law of progress." If an animal is fitted to secure
its livelihood and breed posterity in certain surroundings, it
may remain unchanged indefinitely if these surroundings do not
materially change. So the duckmole of Australia and the tuatara
of New Zealand have retained primitive features for millions of
years; so the aboriginal Australian and the Fuegian have remained
stagnant, in their isolation, for a hundred thousand years or
more; so the Chinaman, in his geographical isolation, has
remained unchanged for two thousand years. There is no more a
"conservative instinct" in Chinese than there is a "progressive
instinct" in Europeans. The difference is one of history and
geography, as we shall see.
To make this important principle still clearer, let us imagine
some primitive philosopher observing the advance of the tide over
a level beach. He must discover two things: why the water comes
onward at all, and why it advances along those particular
channels.
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