Such a conjecture, Messieurs, makes you smile in the face of this monster—and yet, comparative anatomy proposes this hypothesis to us, and even imposes it upon us. In fact, let us return to the skeleton of the Quaternary Human.
Professor Sffaty turns a handle, and the black velvet-topped table that bears the various parts of a human skeleton, fixed to it by metal supports, slowly tilts and presents it face to the audience.
Consider this being, its skull—what do we see? A large, solid case in exact proportion to the thoracic cage, with the limbs of locomotion and prehension. The human species is here in full bloom: it is Quaternary Humankind, the Human-King! To produce this majestic performance required centuries of selection, thousands of centuries. Now, let us compare it with this descendant of the penultimate hour, the child of the death-throes.
Turning another handle, he tilts the second table and presents the reconstituted bones of the Quinary Human.
This is the Quinary Human. Look: the skull has become ridiculously vast; the dorsal spine, crushed beneath that weight, which it can no longer hold high and straight, is bent. The ribs, which it draws backwards, retreat, and the torso becomes hollow. That retreat will naturally occasion a preeminence of the abdomen, which, no longer being maintained, swells and sags. But what it is necessary to note above all, Messieurs, is the condition of the upper and lower limbs, for they will furnish us with a precious indication, and will allow us an induction of a higher order.
The limbs, under that strengthless body, have weakened, become bowed, while we see the joints acquiring an excessive importance, still trying to maintain in equilibrium the fragile edifice of a animal on the brink of collapse—which is to say, ready to fall upon the ground from which it has progressively raised itself up. The arms are perhaps more significant still; their vigor and utility being no longer entertained by any exercise, they have become cachexic, reduced from one age to the next—and a gradual diminution of the muscles very probably preceded that shrinkage of the bones.
But what should we conclude from that, Messieurs, if not that the atrophy of the organs was consecutive to the disuse of their functions? The arms that are being lost, the legs that are becoming twisted, are limbs that are no longer being used, or are being used less and less. By contrast, the fingers, long, slender and nimble, give evidence of the frequent and subtle employment of the hand, exclusively devoted to delicate work and rapid gestures.
It is at this point, Messieurs, that I require all your attention. Two organs have developed to the detriment of the others: the brain and the hand. I shall be more precise: the brain and the fingers. Is it the case, therefore, that they alone were employed, all the rest having become useless? Is it the case that Humans, in their final period, were all thought and digitation? Is it the case that they had no need of anything else, and had begun to restrict the expenditure of their effort to a minimum? Is it the case that they had been able, by virtue of a long series of conquests, to tame natural forces, reducing them to the servitude of their slightest need, no longer having from then on, in order to produce movement, light, heat and death, to displace themselves on land or water and perhaps through the air, to move anything except their fingertips?
Sensation.
Messieurs, that power is frightening. Our scientists have not yet attained it, fortunately for us and our children, since it precedes the end of everything. But it was logical, just as the denouement was. For what could become of such a being, after such an ascension?
At this point, Messieurs, I hear an objection that you have every right to make: the decline of Humankind, you will say, must have been slowed down for a long time by the profusion of imbeciles that doubtless existed in the human species and who prevented it from perishing. I confess, Messieurs, that the great utility of imbeciles to a race is incontestable, for they maintain a level of mediocrity that is opposed to the excess of mental development, and holds back its fatal consequences. I also agree that perhaps they might have saved the society, but the gods did not permit it; a terrible event undermined their beneficial endeavor.
What?
Geology provides us with the answer.
While animals are alive and modifying themselves, the Earth, an enormous macrobe, has a life of its own, knowing nothing of the species pullulating on its surface. It too has its slow or abrupt transformations, for worlds, like us and more than us, are subject to the law of perpetual becoming.
Suppose, therefore, that at the end of the Quinary Period—which is to say, when Humans reigned over everything, but only reigned by means of the brain and the fingers—a cataclysm similar to those produced many times before, changed the face of our planet once again. Imagine the peoples—for we must believe in the existences of human peoples, human nations, human fatherlands—violently dispossessed of their empires, decimated and exiled, scattered in the wilderness of a new world. What then becomes of that series of groups which escaped the disaster? What will be the situation of those creatures delivered henceforth solely to the resources of individual capability, deprived of their science and their technology, their hands empty in the face of formidable nature, their arms disarmed before the laws of eternal life? Such beings, artificially constituted, capable of prospering by means of the mutual aid of the Society that they have organized artificially but incapable of existing by themselves, must perish.
Messieurs, that is exactly what happened; the supposition I requested of you is an established fact of the history of the heavenly body we inhabit: geology informs us of the upheaval that occurred at the end of the Quinary Epoch and brought it to a close. Human societies were abolished at a stroke. In effect, humans became extinct. The disappearance of that superb race thus presents itself as a normal consequence of its excessive development, and the marvel is not in seeing so much ability collapse in a single moment into a conclusive inability to live; on the contrary, it would have been astonishing if it had been able to prolong its existence and survive the shock that reduced it to primitive existence and its necessities.
That is why, Messieurs, the only surprising thing is seeing that some specimens, admittedly very rare, have been able to continue the species. The prodigy would seem inconceivable to us, in fact, if paleontology did not provide example of analogous survivals; indeed, the large cetaceans and the large pachyderms, not to mention the large reptiles—the whale, the elephant, the rhinoceros, the crocodile—had not completely disappeared in the time that we will call, if you will permit, the Reign of Humankind. We possess their fossils; those degenerate witnesses of the Quaternary and Tertiary epochs had therefore persisted for millions of years beyond their normal age, and humans were able to see those vestiges of another time, to marvel at their proportions and their unusual forms, and to be as astonished by them as we are by this human! In the same way, a few humans persisted in living when they had no right to do so, and have been able to survive into our era.
Evidently, the humans that survive no longer furnish us with an exact image of what humans were at the supreme moment of their cerebral hypertrophy—far from it! For you can easily understand that those degenerates, thrust back into the midst of natural forces and constrained by them to sustain a precarious struggle, had, by adaptation, to recover a few armaments and sensibly attenuate the vices of their deformation. That is the probability indicated to us by reason; it is also a reality that anatomy demonstrates to us.
The individual that you see here, compared to the skeletons of its ancestors, is sufficient to prove that humankind, following the world’s upheaval, was reanimalized. We have brought back another document that will make this comparative study easier, and permit us conclusions more clearly categorical. I am talking about a third skeleton: a modern skeleton, that of the female counterpart of the male you can see.
Sensation.
It was for us a capital regret that we were unable to collect in the living state this last human female. Its presence in our collections would doubtless have permitted us to obtain products who
se rearing and consequent study would have been very curious. Unfortunately, in spite of our efforts to spare it, the poor beast was killed during the hunt.
Marked sensation.
We have dissected it with great care, and if I abstain from presenting that anatomical specimen to you, so precious for the demonstration of the hypothesis that I announced to you just now, it is, firstly, to avoid extending inordinately a lecture that is already long, and also out of a sense of compassion—for one day when, by chance, the male you see here perceived the bones of its companion in our laboratory, it showed us evidence of the most violent despair, uttering sobs that were almost gorillan, and I would reproach myself, Mesdames, for repeating that dolorous scene in front of you.
Disapproving murmurs. The professor pretends not to hear them. He drinks some water.
The murmurs accentuate, however; the crowd demands the spectacle of that dolor, about which they have been told while refusing to let them see it. The protests become increasingly violent, and Professor Sffaty resigns himself to having the skull, at least, of the female brought out.
The sign that he addresses to his assistants, understood by everyone, reestablishes calm; applause resounds.
The Human contemplates this frantic clamor with bewilderment. Solitary for centuries, it no longer has any notion of assemblies, and the noise frightens it. It turns its head, looking to the right and the left, seeking a means of escape.
Suddenly, it perceives the skull in the hands of an assistant. It recognizes it and, mad with fury, it runs to grab it. But the Gorilla raises its long arms above its head and the gnome, impotent, falls to its knees, extends its joined hands toward the skull of the last female human, and weeps.
Smiling, the Gorilla lowers its arms again. The Human takes possession of the cherished head and covers it with kisses. Its little shoulders are seen heaving with each sob.
An assistant takes the skull back and carries it away. The Human extends its arms toward the retreating relic.
The crowd applauds.
*
III.
The Gorilloid
That moving scene, in exciting the nervous tension of the auditorium, had been well-designed to prepare a feverish welcome for Professor Sffaty’s conclusions: anticipated conclusions, discounted by some, revolting to others, impatiently awaited by the combativeness of all.
Suddenly, a relative tranquility emerges throughout the hall; silence is gradually reestablished, and that very silence resembles an injunction finally to formulate those subversive conclusions, against which some are waiting to protest indignantly.
The lecturer, who senses that public preoccupation and is not at all apprehensive about it, collects himself momentarily before he resumes speaking. Then he extends his right hand, and in a firm but unprovocative voice, he says:
I would have finished, Messieurs, if it were not still necessary for me to touch upon, if only briefly, the thorniest part of this study, and to reach the conclusion you expect of us. I indicated it at the beginning of this talk, and public opinion, with adverse passions, has already asked the question. Are Gorillas descended from Humans?
Movements.
I am only too well aware that the hypothesis alone has raised indignant protests, and that we have been accused of attacking the self-respect of our race, which God created and fashioned in his own image. I am only too well aware of how difficult and scabrous the question is from social, religious and mundane viewpoints. Messieurs, from the scientific viewpoint, it is not; we study life in its multiform aspects, we study it without preconceptions and without fury, in order to extract, insofar as it is possible, the great laws that preside over the progression of beings. In any case, in order to reassure the most legitimate scruples, I will immediately tell you my personal and categorical response to the question posed:
No! Gorillas are not descended from Humans.
Various movements.
The reason is simple. Humans have disappeared, and we have just contemplated their ruination. Now, if they were truly our ancestors, they would still exist, since they would exist in us, by means of us, who would represent their perpetual life down here. So, since it pleases some people to consider that descendancy as a humiliation for us and an abasement of our dignity, let us discard the hypothesis, Messieurs. I consent to that, and I assert it.
But if we are not descended from Humans, does that mean that they and we are not descended from a common ancestor? If they are not our ancestors, does that mean that they are not our kin—elder brethren of a sort?
Agitation. Ironic laughter.
You would laugh even louder if I told you that once, in the Quaternary centuries, the human species was able to smile as you are doing, and become indignant, too, at the mere idea of a kinship with us! Then, it was radiant in all its glory, while we were still struggling in the limbo of animality, striving with great difficulty to bring forth our consciousness. It was doubtless scornful of us, refusing to recognize any link between itself and us, seeing us as nothing but beasts, and—who knows?—perhaps putting us in cages. . . .
Laughter.
I’m joking, Messieurs. But if Humans were once able to contest the fraternity of the two races, and deny us because they doubted our perfectibility, we are able in our turn to reason in the same way, since intellectual ability presents itself to us as an accomplished fact. We have less right than them to deny the evident similarities, and the necessity of confessing that common characteristics engender common possibilities imposes itself even more forcefully upon us. Among the myriad species that exist or have existed, none is closer to ours. Time alone separates us. Like us, they have passed through the phases of their normal evolution, in parallel with us, but before us. They ascended more rapidly; they descended again sooner.
That ascent, Messieurs, we know about today; that branch of Simians, themselves the issue of Prosimians, which were born of Marsupials, eventually goes back, via the Protomammals all the way to the Dipneumona and the Gastraeads,2 and the inferior Mollusks connect them with the Zoophytes, the Algae and the original Protoplasma.
Undoubtedly, Messieurs, Humans protested, in their time, against such a humble origin, and did not want to admit that it was also the most noble, since the baseness of the extraction procures the laborious climb, and honors the climber. That they would be no more inclined than we are to consent to recognize that verity, is also probable. The pride of that advanced race must have been equal to ours, if not even more foolish, and we are entitled to credit any presumptuousness to beings whose skulls were able to acquire a form like this!
He takes the enormous skull of the Quinary Human in both hands, and holds it up before the crowd.
Who among us can say what dreams were hatched in there? Perhaps humans considered themselves, as we do, to be angelic, supraterrestrial creatures, who had nothing in common with the rest of life! Humans, before us, might perhaps have been able to believe that the world had been created for them, that a God was watching over them, that the stars shone in order to embellish their nights, and that their existence was the ultimate reason for everything! Perhaps they believed, like us, that they possessed within them the principle of an immortal soul!
Laughter.
That opinion amuses us today, Messieurs, and yet, grotesque as it appears to us when it is professed by others, we do not hesitate to renew it for our own usage.
Protests. Several ladies get up and leave.
Forgive me, I beg you, if it is impossible for me not to point out the fundamental vice of the reasoning that opposes us. When we observe, for two branches of the same family, the same progress, is it not illogical to admit it for one and deny it for the other?
Animated protests. Tumult.
I see nothing diminishing for us in being the relatives of Humans, who were majestic in their epoch as we are in ours! I cannot see anything humiliating in the honor of having, like them, followed the route of progress.
Laughter and shouting. Violent protests
. Someone whistles.
It is Pride that is manifest here, and I am addressing myself to Reason!
Applause from several benches.
Pride doomed Humankind! Pride is the force that creates at the outset, and kills in the end! It drives those who pursue a task, and leads them astray when the task is finished! Pride in the work accomplished is called vanity!
Increasing tumult.
Is it certain that the highest are also the greatest, and that we are able to measure our work accurately? In the ages when Humans were infatuated with their power, building the cities and knowledge that have disappeared with them, modest corals were building a world and empires, which have triumphed over the sea and on which we live!
Bravo! Bravo!
Enough!
Bravo!
Why become irritated, Messieurs? Let us look around us more widely! Everything moves and works in fraternal nature! Nothing is stationary, and progress is incessant for all.
For progress is not, as some think, the exclusive prerogative of intelligent creatures; it is applicable to everything that lives; it is life in motion, and that is why nothing can slow it down or stop it. It moves, and must move; it is irreducible and necessary, incessant in the divine order, like the great laws of universal gravitation, from which it follows and results, Messieurs, and it continues in us and around us, everywhere and simultaneously!
That is what traces the thread connecting groups and individuals, and we can follow it back, following with it, through the ages, through the species, the curve of unbreakable linkages by which the infinitely small and the infinitely great are connected! If you consent to comprehend the divine labor of Progress, follow it and trace it back, the curve that it has traced since the dawn of time, and you will see how it took hold of matter in order to extract from it, little by little, life in its innumerable forms, which it diversified and ramified, which it specialized and focused, separating each from the rest without ever detaching it! Follow it, and by means of the chain of evident filiations it will lead you without interruption to a conception of the common origin of the unique family!
Scientific Romance Page 36