' ORIGIN OF SPECIES.' 8/ 



The success of the ' Origin ' may, I think, be 

 attributed in large part to my having long before 

 written two condensed sketches, and to my having 

 finally abstracted a much larger manuscript, which was 

 itself an abstract. By this means I was enabled to 

 select the more striking facts and conclusions. I had, 

 also, during many years followed a golden rule, 

 'namely, that whenever a published fact, a new obser- 

 vation or thought came across me, which was opposed 

 ito my general results, to make a memorandum of it 

 without fail and at once ; for I had found by ex- 

 perience that such facts and thoughts were far more 

 apt to escape from the memory than favourable ones. 

 Owing to this habit, very few objections were raised 

 against my views which I had not at least noticed and 

 attempted to answer. 



It has sometimes been said that the success of the 

 ' Origin ' proved " that the subject was in the air," or 

 " that men's minds were prepared for it." I do not 

 think that this is strictly true, for I occasionally 

 sounded not a few naturalists, and never happened to 

 come across a single one who seemed to doubt about 

 the permanence of species. Even Lyell and Hooker, 

 though they would listen with interest to me, never 

 seemed to agree. I tried once or twice to explain to 

 able men what I meant by Natural Selection, but 

 signally failed. What I believe was strictly true is 

 that innumerable well-observed facts were stored in the 

 minds of naturalists ready to take their proper places 

 as soon as any theory which would receive them was 

 sufficiently explained. Another element in the success 



