The Descent of Man

such aphorisms, but they are almost worthless,
as their wide difference and number prove the
difficulty, if not the impossibility, of the attempt.
It has been asserted that man alone is
capable of progressive improvement; that he
alone makes use of tools or fire, domesticates
other animals, or possesses property; that no
animal has the power of abstraction, or of forming
general concepts, is self-conscious and
comprehends itself; that no animal employs
language; that man alone has a sense of beauty,
is liable to caprice, has the feeling of gratitude,
mystery, etc.; believes in God, or is endowed
with a conscience. I will hazard a few remarks
on the more important and interesting of these
points.
Archbishop Sumner formerly maintained (31.
Quoted by Sir C. Lyell, 'Antiquity of Man,' p.
497.) that man alone is capable of progressive
improvement. That he is capable of incomparably
greater and more rapid improvement than