Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882. On the origin of species; Evolution (Biology)
Henceforward, then, instead of saying that a man is hard up, let us say
that his organisation is at a low ebb, or, if we wish him well, let us
hope that he will grow plenty of limbs. It must be remembered that we
are dealing with physical organisations only. We do not say that the
thousand-horse man is better than a one-horse man, we only say that he is
more highly organised and should be recognised as being so by the
scientific leaders of the period. A man’s will, truth, endurance, are
part of him also, and may, as in the case of the late Mr. Cobden, have in
themselves a power equivalent to all the horse-power which they can
influence; but were we to go into this part of the question we should
never have done, and we are compelled reluctantly to leave our dream in
its present fragmentary condition.
A Note on “The Tempest”
Act III, Scene I
_The following brief essay was contributed by Butler to a small
miscellany entitled_ LITERARY FOUNDLINGS: VERSE AND PROSE, COLLECTED IN
CANTERBURY, N.Z., _which was published at Christ Church on the occasion
of a bazaar held there in March_, 1864, _in aid of the funds of the
Christ Church Orphan Asylum_, _and offered for sale during the progress
of the bazaar_. _The miscellany consisted entirely of the productions of
Canterbury writers_, _and among the contributors were Dean Jacobs_,
_Canon Cottrell_, _and James Edward FitzGerald_, _the founder of the_
PRESS.
WHEN Prince Ferdinand was wrecked on the island Miranda was fifteen years
old. We can hardly suppose that she had ever seen Ariel, and Caliban was
a detestable object whom her father took good care to keep as much out of
her way as possible. Caliban was like the man cook on a back-country
run. “’Tis a villain, sir,” says Miranda. “I do not love to look on.”
“But as ’tis,” returns Prospero, “we cannot miss him; he does make our
fire, fetch in our wood, and serve in offices that profit us.” Hands
were scarce, and Prospero was obliged to put up with Caliban in spite of
the many drawbacks with which his services were attended; in fact, no one
on the island could have liked him, for Ariel owed him a grudge on the
score of the cruelty with which he had been treated by Sycorax, and we
have already heard what Miranda and Prospero had to say about him. He
may therefore pass for nobody. Prospero was an old man, or at any rate
in all probability some forty years of age; therefore it is no wonder
that when Miranda saw Prince Ferdinand she should have fallen violently
in love with him. “Nothing ill,” according to her view, “could dwell in
such a temple—if the ill Spirit have so fair an house, good things will
strive to dwell with ’t.” A very natural sentiment for a girl in
Miranda’s circumstances, but nevertheless one which betrayed a charming
inexperience of the ways of the world and of the real value of good
looks. What surprises us, however, is this, namely the remarkable
celerity with which Miranda in a few hours became so thoroughly wide
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