146 CHARLES DARWIN. 



understand what I mean by Natural Selection I hope 



to God you will be more successful than I have been in 

 making people understand your meaning." 



He says almost the same thing in a letter to Lyell 

 (June 6 th) : — 



". . . . I am beginning to despair of ever making the 



majority understand my notions I must be a very bad 



explainer. I hope to Heaven that you will succeed better. 

 Several reviews and several letters have shown me too clearly 

 how little I am understood. I suppose ' Natural Selection ' 

 was a bad term ;....! can only hope by reiterated explana- 

 tions finally to make the matter clearer." 



Writing to Asa Gray, he says : — 



". . . . I have had a letter of fourteen folio pages from 

 Harvey against my book, with some ingenious and new 

 remarks ; but it is an extraordinary fact that he does not 

 understand at all what I mean by Natural Selection." 



Later on, he again wrote to Lyell : — 



"Talking of 'natural selection'; if I had to commence de 

 novo, I would have used 'natural preservation.' For I find 

 men like Harvey of Dublin cannot understand me, though he 

 has read the book twice. Dr. Gray of the British Museum 

 remarked to me that, ' selection was obviously impossible with 

 plants ! No one could tell him how it could be possible ! ' 

 And he may now add that the author did not attempt it to 

 him ! " 



And still later he wrote asking Ly ell's advice as to 

 additions to a new edition of the " Origin," saying : — 

 " I would also put a note to ' Natural Selection,' 

 and show how variously it has been misunderstood." 

 This note is to be found on page 63 of the sixth 



