The Descent of Man

Even if it be granted that the difference between
man and his nearest allies is as great in
corporeal structure as some naturalists maintain,
and although we must grant that the difference
between them is immense in mental power,
yet the facts given in the earlier chapters
appear to declare, in the plainest manner, that
man is descended from some lower form, notwithstanding
that connecting-links have not
hitherto been discovered.
Man is liable to numerous, slight, and diversified
variations, which are induced by the same
general causes, are governed and transmitted
in accordance with the same general laws, as in
the lower animals. Man has multiplied so rapidly,
that he has necessarily been exposed to
struggle for existence, and consequently to natural
selection. He has given rise to many races,
some of which differ so much from each other,
that they have often been ranked by naturalists
as distinct species. His body is constructed on