THE LIFE AND WORK OF DARWIN 225 



these long periods of suffering often made work of 

 any kind an impossibility. " For nearly forty years 

 he never knew one day of the health of ordinary 

 men, and his life was one long struggle against the 

 weariness and strain of sickness." 



Under such conditions absolute regularity of 

 routine was essential, and the day's work was 

 carefully planned out. At his best he had three 

 periods of work: from 8 to 9.30; from 10.30 to 

 12.15; an -d from 4.30 to 6. Each period being 

 under two hours' duration. 



Darwin was a man greatly loved and respected by 

 all who knew him. There was a peculiar charm 

 about his manner, a constant deference to others, 

 and a faculty of seeing the best side of everything 

 and everybody. 



The striking characteristic of his manner of work 

 was his respect for time. His natural tendency was 

 to use simple methods and few instruments ; little 

 odds and ends were saved for the chance of their 

 proving useful. One quality of mind, which seemed 

 to be of special and extreme advantage in leading 

 him to make discoveries, was the power of never 

 letting exceptions pass unnoticed. He enjoyed ex- 

 perimenting much more than work which only 

 entailed reasoning. 



For books he had no respect, regarding them 

 merely as tools to be worked with, and he did not 

 hesitate to cut a heavy book in half, to make it more 

 convenient to hold. He marked the passages bear- 

 ing on his work, and made an index at the end of 

 the volume. Like many eminent people, he ex- 



p 



