he that is with us is more than they that be
with them. "The skirmishes are frequently disastrous to us, but the
great battles all go one way." And we long for the glory of "him
that overcometh." But the victor's song can come only after the
battle, and be sung only by those who have overcome. And we would
not have it otherwise if we could. The closing words of Dr.
Hitchcock's last sermon are the following:

"It is one of the revelations of scripture that we are to judge the
angels, sitting above them on the shining heights. It may well be
so. Those angels are the imperial guard, doing easy duty at home. We
are the tenth legion, marching in from the swamps and forests of the
far-off frontier, scarred and battered, but victorious over death
and sin."

CHAPTER X

PRESENT ASPECTS OF THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION

In all our study we have taken for granted the truth of the theory
of evolution. If you are not already persuaded of this by the
writings of Darwin, Wallace, and many others, no words or arguments
of mine would convince you. We have used as the foundation of our
argument only the fundamental propositions of Mr. Darwin's theory.

But while all evolutionists accept these propositions they differ
more or less in the weight or efficiency which they assign to each.
In a sum in multiplication you may gain the same product by using
different factors; but if the product is to be constant, if you
halve one factor, you must double another. Evolution is a product of
many factors. One evolutionist lays more, another less, emphasis on
natural selection, according as he assigns less or more efficiency
to other forces or processes. Furthermore, evolutionists differ
widely in questions of detail, and some of these subsidiary
questions are of great practical importance and interest. It may be
useful, therefore, to review these propositions in the light of the
facts which we have gathered, and to see how they are interpreted,
and what emphasis is laid on each by different thinkers.

The fundamental fact on which Mr. Darwin's theory rests is the
"struggle for existence." Life is not something to be idly enjoyed,
but a prize to be won; the world is not a play-ground, but an arena.
And the severity of the struggle can scarcely be overrated. Only one
or two of a host of runners reach the goal, the others die along the
course. Concerning this there can be no doubt, and there is little
room for difference of interpretation.