' THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES* 81 



his young rival's paper at once to Sir Charles Lyell, 

 who sent it on immediately 'to the Linnean Society. 



But Sir Charles Lyell and Sir Joseph Hooker, both 

 of whom knew of Darwin's work, thought it advisable 

 that he should publish, in the ' Journal ' of the Society, 

 a few extracts from his own manuscripts, side by side 

 with Wallace's paper. Darwin, therefore, selected some 

 essential passages for the purpose from his own long- 

 gathered and voluminous notes, and the two contributions 

 were read together before the Society on July the 1st, 

 1858. That double communication marks the date of 

 birth of modern evolutionism. It is to the eternal 

 credit of both thinkers that each accepted his own true 

 position with regard to the great discovery in perfect 

 sincerity. The elder naturalist never strove for a 

 moment to press his own claim to priority against the 

 younger : the younger, with singular generosity and 

 courtesy, waived his own claim to divide the honours of 

 discovery in favour of the elder. Not one word save 

 words of fraternal admiration and cordial appreciation 

 ever passed the lips of either with regard to the other. 



The distinctive notion of natural selection, indeed, 

 like all true and fruitful ideas, had more than once 

 flashed for a moment across the penetrating mind of 

 more than one independent investigator. As early as 

 1813, Dr. Wells, the famous author of the theory of 

 dew, applied that particular conception to the single 

 case of the production of special races among mankind. 



' Of the accidental varieties of man, which would 

 occur among the first few and scattered inhabitants cf 

 the middle regions of Africa,' he wrote, ' some one would 

 be better fitted than the others to bear the diseases of 



