1859.] NEW EDITION. 37 



prove.'" I agreed most fully and truly that I have probably 

 greatly sinned in this line, and defended my general line of 

 argument of inventing a theory and seeing how many classes 

 of facts the theory would explain. I added that I would en- 

 deavour to modify the " believes " and " convinceds." He took 

 me up short : " You will then spoil your book, the charm of 

 (!) it is that it is Darwin himself." He added another objec- 

 tion, that the book was too teres atque rotimdus — that it ex- 

 plained everything, and that it was improbable in the highest 

 degree that I should succeed in this. I quite agree with this 

 rather queer objection, and it comes to this that my book 

 must be very bad or very good. . . . 



I have heard, by roundabout channel, that Herschel says 

 my book "is the law of higgledy-piggledy." What this ex- 

 actly means I do not know, but it is evidently very con- 

 temptuous. If true this is a great blow and discouragement. 



C. Darwin to John Lubbock. 



December 14th [1859]. 



. . . The latter part of my stay at Ilkley did me much 

 good, but I suppose I never shall be strong, for the work I 

 have had since I came back has knocked me up a little 

 more than once. I have been busy in getting a reprint (with 

 a very few corrections) through the press. 



My book has been as yet very much more successful than 

 I ever dreamed of : Murray is now printing 3000 copies. 

 Have you finished it ? If so, pray tell me whether you are 

 with me on the general issue, or against me. If you are 

 against me, I know well how honourable, fair, and candid an 

 opponent I shall have, and which is a good deal more than 

 I can say of all my opponents . . . 



Pray tell me what you have been doing. Have you had 

 time for any Natural History ? . . . 



P. S. — I have got — I wish and hope I might say that we 

 have got — a fair number of excellent men on our side of the 

 question on the mutability of species. 



