l62 SPREAD OF EVOLUTION. [1861. 



of the long-continued action of changed conditions of life 

 without any selection, with the action of selection on mere 

 accidental (so to speak) variability. I oscillate much on this 

 head, but generally return to my belief that the direct action 

 of the conditions of life has not been great. At least 

 this direct action can have played an extremely small part 

 in producing all the numberless and beautiful adaptations in 

 every living creature. With respect to a person's belief, what 

 does rather surprise me is that any one (like Carpenter) 

 should be willing to go so very far as to believe that all birds 

 may have descended from one parent, and not go a little 

 farther and include all the members of the same great division ; 

 for on such a scale of belief, all the facts in Morphology and 

 in Embryology (the most important in my opinion of all sub- 

 jects) become mere Divine mockeries I cannot express 



how profoundly glad I am that some day you will publish 

 your theoretical view on the modification and endurance of 

 Brachiopodous species ; I am sure it will be a most valuable 

 contribution to knowledge. 



Pray forgive this very egotistical letter, but you yourself 

 are partly to blame for having pleased me so much. I have 

 told Murray to send a copy of my new edition to you, and 

 have written your name. 



With cordial thanks, pray believe me, my dear Sir, 



Yours very sincerely, 



Ch, Darwin. 



[In Mr. Davidson's Monograph on British Brachiopoda, 

 published shortly afterwards by the Palaeontographical Society, 

 results such as my father anticipated were to some extent 

 obtained. " No less than fifteen commonly received species 

 are demonstrated by Mr. Davidson by the aid of a long series 

 of transitional forms to appertain to . . . one type."* 



In the autumn of i860, and the early part of 1861, my 



* Lyell, ' Antiquity of Man,' first edition, p. 428. 



