“The Origin of Species” 113 
on the descent of man made its appearance so late. Huxley, always 
generous, never thought of claiming priority for himself. In enthu- 
siastic language he tells how Darwin’s immortal work, The Origin 
of Species, first shed light for him on the problem of the descent of 
man; the recognition of a vera causa in the transformation of species 
illuminated his thoughts as with a flash, He was now content to 
leave what perplexed him, what he could not yet solve, as he says 
himself, “in the mighty hands of Darwin.” Happy in the bustle of 
strife against old and deep-rooted prejudices, against intolerance and 
superstition, he wielded his sharp weapons on Darwin’s behalf; wearing 
Darwin’s armour he joyously overthrew adversary after adversary. 
Darwin spoke of Huxley as his “general agent?” Huxley says of 
himself “I am Darwin’s bulldog?” 
Thus Huxley openly acknowledged that it was Darwin’s Origin of 
Species that first set the problem of the descent of man in its true 
light, that made the question of the origin of the human race a 
pressing one. That this was the logical consequence of his book 
Darwin himself had long felt. He had been reproached with inten- 
tionally shirking the application of his theory to Man. Let us hear 
what he says on this point in his autobiography: “As soon as I had 
become, in the year 1837 or 1838, convinced that species were mutable 
productions, I could not avoid the belief that man must come under 
the same law. Accordingly I collected notes on the subject for my own 
satisfaction, and not for a long time with any intention of publishing. 
Although in the ‘Origin of Species’ the derivation of any particular 
species is never discussed, yet I thought it best, in order that no 
honourable man should accuse me of concealing my views’, to add 
that by the work ‘light would be thrown on the origin of man and his 
history.’ It would have been useless and injurious to the success of 
the book to have paraded, without giving any evidence, my conviction 
with respect to his origin*.” 
In a letter written in January, 1860, to the Rev. L. Blomefield, 
Darwin expresses himself in similar terms. “With respect to man, I 
am very far from wishing to obtrude my belief; but I thought it 
dishonest to quite conceal my opinion.” 
The brief allusion in the Origin of Species is so far from prominent 
and so incidental that it was excusable to assume that Darwin had not 
touched upon the descent of man in this work. It was solely the 
desire to have his mass of evidence sufficiently complete, solely 
1 Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Hucley, Vol. 1. p. 171, London, 1900, 
2 Ibid. p. 363. 
= No italics in original. 
4 Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Vol. 1. p. 93. 
5 Tbid. Vol. 1. p. 263. 
