114 EVOLUTION [CHAP. II 



Letter 69 P.S. 2. I worked all yesterday evening in thinking, and 

 have written the paper sent by this post this morning. Not one 

 sentence would do, but it is the sort of rough sketch which 

 I should have drawn out if I had had to do it. God knows 

 whether it will at all aid you. It is miserably written, with 

 horridly bad metaphors, probably horrid bad grammar. It is 

 my deliberate impression, such as I should have written to 

 any friend who had asked me what I thought of Lyell's merits. 

 I will do anything else which you may wish, or that I can. 



Letter 70 To J. D. Hooker. 



Down, Dec. 3Oth [1858]. 



I have had this copied to save you trouble, as it was vilely 

 written, and is now vilely expressed. 



Your letter has interested me greatly ; but how inex- 

 tricable are the subjects which we are discussing ! I do not 

 think I said that I thought the productions of Asia were 

 higher**- than those of Australia. I intend carefully to avoid 

 this expression, 2 for I do not think that any one has a definite 

 idea what is meant by higher, except in classes which can 

 loosely be compared with man. On our theory of Natural 

 Selection, if the organisms of any area belonging to the 

 Eocene or Secondary periods were put into competition with 

 those now existing in the same area (or probably in any part 

 of the world) they (i.e. the old ones) would be beaten hollow 

 and be exterminated ; if the theory be true, this must be so. 

 In the same manner, I believe, a greater number of the 

 productions of Asia, the largest territory in the world, would 

 beat those of Australia, than conversely. So it seems to be 

 between Europe and North America, for I can hardly believe 

 in the difference of the stream of commerce causing so great 

 a difference in the proportions of immigrants. But this sort 

 of highness (I wish I could invent some expression, and must 

 try to do so) is different from highness in the common 

 acceptation of the word. It might be connected with degra- 

 dation of organisation : thus the blind degraded worm-like 

 snake (TypJilops] might supplant the true earthworm. Here 



1 On the use of the terms " higher " and " lower " see Letters 35 

 and 36. 



3 In a paper of pencilled notes pinned into Darwin's copy of the 

 Vestiges occur the words : " Never use the word (sic] higher and lower." 



