PAKT II. 

 THE WORK. 



CHAPTER I. 



AUTHORITIES USED, COMPILATION, ETC. 



IN coming now to the " Work," it may in that regard 

 suggest itself that what concerns Mr. Darwin's pre- 

 decessors has been already discussed ; so that there 

 can further remain for us no more than his own. This, 

 to be sure, even looking solely to what is printed, is, as 

 work, not small. Happily, however, we have not to 

 draw it all into consideration, but only what of it 

 relates, more or less, to Mr. Darwin's peculiar views on 

 the origin of species. True it is that perhaps after his 

 earlier works mostly connected with the voyage of the 

 Bea/jle, and preceding (in 1858 say) the eve of his more 

 specially respective publications Charles Darwin never 

 could, and never did, write anything without having 

 at heart his one proper, single, and distinctive theory. 

 That, then, the so-called theory of natural selection 

 shall be our theme for the future ; and in the prosecu- 

 tion of it we shall not think it necessary to travel 

 beyond such writings of Mr. Darwin's as, whether 



