472 FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 
late Sir Benjamin Brodie, a man of highly philosophic 
mind, often drew my attention to the fact that, as early as 
1794, Charles Darwin's grandfather was the pioneer of 
Charles Darwin.* In 1801, and in subsequent years, the 
celebrated Lamarck, who, through the vigorous exposition 
of his views by the author of the "Vestiges of Creation," 
rendered the public mind perfectly familiar with the idea 
of evolution, endeavored to show the development of 
species out of changes of habit and external condition. In 
1813 Dr. Wells, the founder of our present theory of Dew, 
read before the Royal Society a paper in which, to use the 
words of Mr. Darwin, "he distinctly recognizes the prin- 
ciple of natural selection; and this is the first recognition 
that has been indicated." The thoroughness and skill 
with which Wells pursued his work, and the obvious inde- 
pendence of his character, rendered him long ago a favorite 
with me; and it gave me the liveliest pleasure to alight 
upon this additional testimony to his penetration. Pro- 
fessor Grant, Mr. Patrick Matthew, Von Buch, the author 
of the " Vestiges," D'Halloy, and others, by the enuncia- 
tion of opinions more or less clear and correct, showed 
that the question had been fermenting long prior to the 
year 1858, whn Mr. Darwin and Mr. Wallace simul- 
taneously, but independently, placed their closely con- 
current views before the Linnean Society. f 
These papers were followed in 1859 by the publication 
of the first edition of the " Origin of Species." All great 
things come slowly to the birth. Copernicus, as I informed 
vou, pondered his great work for thirty-three years. 
Newton for nearly twenty years kept the idea of Gravita- 
tion before his mind; for twenty years also he dwelt upon 
iiis discovery of Fluxions, and doubtless would have con- 
tinued to make it the object of his private thought, hud 
he not found Leibnitz upon his track. Darwin for two- 
and-twenty years pondered the problem of the origin of 
species, and doubtless he would have continued to do so had 
* " Zoonomia," vol. i. pp. 500-510. 
fin 1855 Mr. Herbert Spencer (" Principles of Psychology," 2d 
edit. vol. i. p. 465 ) expressed "the belief that life under all its forms 
has arisen by an unbroken evolution, and through the instrumen- 
tality of what are called natural causes." This was my belief also 
'at that time. 
