CHARLES DARWIN 105 



"5. That I should never settle down to a steady life 

 hereafter. 



"6. That my accommodations would be most un- 

 comfortable. 



"7. That you [his father] should consider it as again 

 changing my profession. 



"8. That it would be a useless undertaking." 



This list is extremely characteristic of Darwin, who 

 had the habit of marshaling impartially the arguments 

 for and against any proposition. Thus it has come 

 about that those who may wish to find reasons against 

 Darwin's opinions, look for them in Darwin's works. 

 Undoubtedly this careful survey of the pros and cons 

 gave to Darwin's writings much of their extraordinary 

 power ; he never allowed himself to be carried away by 

 an idea, unchecked by the objections which careful and 

 prolonged thought could muster against it. 



The objections to the voyage were not sustained in 

 the event, except perhaps No. 6; Nos. i and 7 ceased 

 to be objections. The hardships were accentuated by 

 a constant tendency to seasickness, and it was supposed 

 that this had to do with the physical defects which 

 made Darwin a semi-invalid for the rest of his life. 

 Since, however, a similar weakness existed in another 

 member of the family, who did not go to sea, it is 

 probable that there was a constitutional defect, which 

 may have been aggravated by the five years' 

 voyage. 



6. Darwin's journal of the voyage has been published Darwin's 

 in what is now one of the classics of travel. As we read, 

 it is difficult to realize that it was written by a young 

 man recently graduated from college. Its style is so 

 mature, its thought so profound, and the knowledge of 

 zoology and geology shown is so remarkable, that we 



