DR. HUGHES AT THE ATHENÆUM.

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 7342, 5 December 1884, Page 7

DR. HUGHES AT THE ATHENÆUM.

It is rarely that a, lecturer of such scholarly attainments, and displaying such deep research and vigor‘of’ thought as Dr. Hughes, has appeared on a Wellington platform, and those who were present at gqoc\ number enjoyed an undoqbted intellectual tre»t. D>, Hughes is possessed of a commanding exterior and a powerful hut well-regulated voice, and he in his initial lecture, at the Athenreum, carried his audience entirely with hhn, a Tho lecturer explained at the outset that his object was to induce thought upon a subject which was of vast importance to mankind—the theory of evolution as put forward by oh© of the greatest thinkers’ afl'd master minds of the age—the'U'te £U\ Darwin. It was unhappily too much the fashion for the few to think for the many; he desired to see a reversal of this position, and to havethemany think for tho few. The lecture dealt with the theory of evolution iivcontradistinction to that of special creation. The evolution theory, aa promulgated by Darwin, waa comparatively little known, and it was a popular delusion that the great scientist taught the doctrine that man was descended from the ape. Such was very far from being the case. What Darwin really taught was that all organisms—plants and' animals, including man—were through their respective;’ linen' ’ by ' descent from inferior organisms that have long since passed away, and whose remains, if there are any to lie found, must be sought lor in the rocky strata beneath our feet, “Man haq been developed from man &nd ape from ape.” So tmighfc Darwin. Tracing these lines of descent backwards, the human form was seen gradually deteriorating and diminishing away, until all traces of humanity proper were lost in the common ape-like forms of man’s progenitors, whichj far back in ; the past, branched off fr&m tho same stock as : did our existing apea. Dr. Darwin said, “If ;my theory be true, this world must have been j the scene of’ action-Mihe theatre of life and i death ' for cycles of ages, embracing untold ! millions of years.” Independent of Dr. Dar- \ win and his theory, the meat eminent geoto- ; gists had been led to tli’o conclusion from unI deniable facts that'the ’age of the earth is i enormous, not to be reckoned by thousands or ! by tens of thousands of years, but by ;jeons, embracing millions of Thus i what Darwin declared must be, if his theory were the true one, the most celebrated geologists had satisfactorily proved was. The lecturer referred to the rudimentary organs of 1 men and animals, and urged that, while everything tended to prove the theory pf evolution, there was nothing vyhatever to substantiate the theory of special creation or the arguments used in favor thereof. After dealing with many interesting matters connected with the theory of evolution, the lecturer proceeded to say that scientific education was absolutely essential in the interests of truth. It was necessary to find out the laws of nature and conform to them. Men were required with moral courage to speak their minds, and to stand by their conviction to the death. There was no fear of being ; too radical—the future would verify all grand and'brave predic- . tions. Science, the great Iconoclast, had been ' busy since 18 k 0 andby‘ the' highway "of pro--1 gre*a were the broken ‘images of the past. On every hand the people advanced all had been accomplished by the heroic few. The m e n of science had explored he&yen aud earth/ and, with infinite -patience, had furnished the facts. The gloomy eaverns’ bf superstition had been transformed into temples of the demons of the na?t vV© angers oj ‘to-day. Ignavaupahad been the great devil o.f the world, and science its saviour, What was. written by Esdras near the viliow-iringed waters of Babylon more than twentyrthree centuries ago, still held good,—* 4 As for truth, it epdurethand is always strong: It Hvoth and conquereth for evermore.” Applause during, the lecture was frequent and hearty. Mrs Mason presided at the piano, •