ABSTRACT
Paterson challenged anyone to "rewrite the Declaration of Independence without reference to a divine source of human rights. It cannot be done; the axiom is missing." She was therefore especially interested in Human Destiny, a work by a distinguished scientist that presented a theistic account of evolution and a defense of individual freedom. In a cabin on the edge of the Grand Canyon he wrote the first draft of the original version of his book, three volumes in French, which subsequently was to be rewritten and condensed to one volume in English as Human Destiny. In 1942, du Nouy and his wife contrived to escape to the United States. He had only five years left, but he lived to see Human Destiny in print, in both French and English, and a world-wide success. There is perennial incomprehension of what makes a "timely" book. Genuinely timely ideas are new ideas, counter to the fashion which has had its run.
