x] OF EVOLUTION 133 



Hooker and Huxley, in spite of their wide knowledge 

 and long intercourse with Darwin, found the work, 

 so condensed were its reasonings, a ' very hard book ' 

 to read, one on which it was difficult to pronounce 

 a judgment till after several perusals ! 



It would be idle to speculate at the present day 

 whether the cause of Evolution would have been 

 better served by the publication, as Darwin at one 

 time proposed, of a ' Preliminary Essay/ like that of 

 1844, or by the great work, which had been com- 

 menced and half completed in 1858, rather than by 

 the ' abstract,' in which the theory of Natural Selection 

 was in the end presented to the world. Probably 

 the more moderate dimensions of the Origin oj 

 Species made it far better suited for the general 

 reader ; while the condensation which was necessitated 

 did not in the end militate against its influence with 

 men of science. It will I think be now generally 

 conceded that the great success of this grand work 

 was fully deserved. A subject of such complexity as 

 that which it dealt with could only be adequately 

 discussed in a manner that would demand careful 

 attention and thought on the part of the reader ; 

 and Darwin's well-weighed words, carefully balanced 

 sentences, and guarded reservations are admirably 

 adapted to the accomplishment of the difficult task 

 he had undertaken. The Origin of Species has been 

 read by the millions with pleasure, and, at the same 



