The highest function of the human mind is perfect knowledge, fully developed consciousness, and the moral activity arising from it. “Know thyself!” was the cry of the philosophers of antiquity to their fellow-men who were striving to ennoble themselves. “Know thyself!” is the cry of the Theory of Development, not merely to the individual, but to all mankind. And whilst increased knowledge of self becomes, in the case of every individual man, a strong force urging to an increased attention to conduct, mankind as a whole will be led to a higher path of moral perfection by the knowledge of its true origin and its actual position in Nature. The simple religion of Nature, which grows from a true knowledge of Her, and of Her inexhaustible store of revelations, will in future ennoble and perfect the development of mankind far beyond that degree which can possibly be attained under the influence of the multifarious religions of the churches of the various nations,—religions resting on a blind belief in the vague secrets and mythical revelations of a sacerdotal caste. Future centuries will celebrate our age, which was occupied with laying the foundations of the Doctrine of Descent, as the new era in which began a period of human development, rich in blessings,—a period which was characterized by the victory of free inquiry over the despotism of authority, and by the powerful ennobling influence of the Monistic Philosophy. FOOTNOTES: [1] With the exception of a single specimen of the bones of a foot, preserved in the cabinet of Amherst College.—E. R. L. [2] The primary stock of the Coniferæ divided into two branches at an early period, into the Araucariæ on the one hand, and the Taxaceæ, or yew-trees, on the other. The majority of recent Coniferæ are derived from the former. Out of the latter the third class of the Gymnosperms—the Meningos, or Gnetaceæ—were developed. This small but very interesting class contains only three different genera—Gnetum, Welwitschia, and Ephedra; it is, however, of great importance, as it forms the transition group from the Coniferæ to the Angiosperms, and more especially to the Dicotyledons. [3] “Ueber ein Aequivalent der takonischen Schiefer Nordamerikas in Deutschland.” [4] The English word “Insects” might with advantage be used in the Linnæan sense for the whole group of Arthropods. In this case the Hexapod Insects might be spoken of as the Flies.—E. R. L. [5] Weisbach: “Novara-Reise,” Anthropholog. Theil. [6] Müsset im Naturbetrachten Immer Eins wie Alles achten. Nichts ist drinnen, Nichts ist drauszen, Denn was innen, das ist auszen. [7] Natur hat weder Kern noch Schale, Alles ist sie mit einem Male. LIST OF THE WORKS REFERRED TO IN THE TEXT BY FIGURES, THUS—(1), _The study of which is recommended to the Reader._