6 INTRODUCTION 



place among scientific men, whether more ambitious or less so 

 than most of my fellow-workers, I can form no opinion." (Life 

 and Letters, I. pp. 61-65.) 



Even if the Journal of the voyage were not one of the most 

 ' interesting and informing of books, this statement by its author 

 of the importance of the expedition in making possible his later 

 epoch-making generalizations would give it a distinctive place in 

 the literature of science. But its amazing wealth of informa- 

 tion and its unconsciously painted picture of disinterested zeal 

 in the search for scientific truth have made it for intrinsic rea- 

 sons a classic in its kind. 



