40 THE MEANING OF EVOLUTION 



question of the origin of the animals of the Malay 

 Archipelago. He had not the faintest knowledge of 

 what Darwin was doing, but was influenced, of course, 

 like Darwin, by what he read in Malthus. Interesting 

 to relate, he had come to exactly the same conclu- 

 sions, writing his opinions in the form of an essay. 

 By the strangest sort of coincidence, he sent this essay 

 to Charles Darwin, asking him to read it, and, if he 

 thought it was not altogether too foolish, to send it 

 to Lyell for publication by the Linnsean Society. Dar- 

 win read with utter astonishment this essay containing 

 views so absolutely like those that had come to him 

 from his own long series of observations and reflec- 

 tions. With uncommon magnanimity his first impulse 

 was to withhold his own publication entirely, but to 

 this Lyell and Hooker would not for a moment con- 

 sent. They were determined that Darwin should give 

 them his long series of notebooks as evidence of the 

 independence of his work and that he present to the 

 Linnaean Society, simultaneously with Wallace's pa- 

 per, one of his own upon the same subject. In 

 this manly form both essays were read at the next 

 meeting of the society. The joint papers pro- 

 voked instant discussion and prompt opposition. 

 The world at large scarcely admitted a possi- 

 ble doubt of the fixity of species. Men gener- 

 ally believed the idea to be absolutely irreconcilable 



