How It Came to Be Written 



selection could be applied to organisms living 

 in a state of nature remained for some time a 

 mystery to me. 



In October, 1838, that is fifteen months after 

 1 had begun my systematic enquiry, I hap- 

 pened to read for amusement " Malthus on 

 Population," and being well prepared to ap- 

 preciate the struggle for existence which every- 

 where goes on from long-continued observation 

 of the habits of animals and plants, it at once 

 struck me that under these circumstances 

 favourable variations would tend to be pre- 

 served and unfavourable ones to be destroyed. 

 The result of this would be the formation of 

 a new species. Here then I had at last got a 

 theory by which to work; but I was so anxious 

 to avoid prejudice that I determined not for 

 some time to write even the briefest sketch of 

 it. In June, 1842, I first allowed myself the 

 satisfaction of writing a very brief abstract of 

 my theory in pencil in 35 pages; and this was 

 enlarged during the summer of 1S44 into one 

 of 230 pages, which I had fairly copied out 

 and still possess. 



But at that time I overlooked one problem 

 of great importance; and it is astonishing to 

 me, except on the principle of Columbus and 

 his egg, how I could have overlooked it and 

 its solution. This problem is the tendency in 

 organic beings descended from the same stock 

 to diverge in character as they become modilird. 

 That they have diverged greatly is obvious 

 37 



