WHAT LED TO THE WORK AND THE SUCCESS OF IT. 171 



been led to the conclusion that those powers of nature 

 wjrich give rise to races and permanent varieties in 

 animals and plants, are the same as those which in much 

 longer periods produce species, and in a still longer series 

 of ages give rise to differences of generic rank. He 

 appears to me to have succeeded by his investigations 

 and reasonings in throwing a flood of light on many 

 classes of phenomena connected with the affinities, 

 geographical distribution, and geological succession of 

 organic beings, for which no other hypothesis has been 

 able, or has even attempted to account." 1 



1 There can be no doubt that these words of his struck Sir Charles 

 himself as all too precipitate, when, four years later, he published 

 his Antiquity of Man. So fervid in speech of expectation before, he 

 immediately cooled after, seeing the book. He begins with objec- 

 tions the moment he xeads it. These objections are for long only 

 " a valuable lot of criticisms " to the sanguine author, who has never 

 a doubt for all that but that his critic is his most faithful adherent. 

 It is really touching, the innocent propos that, for a considerable 

 time, in the implicitness of his faith, Darwin runs out into Lyell ; 

 and even more touching, perhaps, the signs of startled surprise that 

 foreshadow at last his imminent awaking. He is quite thankful 

 for long in the acceptance of all suggestions, and in modifying 

 his pages accordingly. He hears nothing on the part of anybody, 

 but he tells it to Lyell, as of Sedgwick, Watson, Crawford, Murchi- 

 son, Herschell, Jardine, Whewell, innumerable others. Carpenter 

 is a convert, he says ; but he fears that Owen is " dead against us 



he had very long* interviews with , which perhaps you (Lyell) 



would like to hear about. ... I infer from several expressions 

 that, at bottom, he goes an immense way with us you will make a 

 grand discussion on man, you are very bold in this, and I honour 

 you but it will horrify the world at first more than my whole 

 volume you used to caution me to be cautious about man it makes 

 me laugh to think what a joke it will be if I have to caution you 

 by the way, H. D. Rogers goes very far with us." In fact, it is really 

 striking the amount of psychological interest that may be derived 

 from the letters of Darwin to Lyell that occur between the dates 

 of October 1859 and April 1863. Mr. Darwin seems to notice the 

 first start he gets from Lyell in his letter to the latter of April 10th, 



