Williams : Darwin and Darwinism. 



'23 



co-workers in the field of science, and remember their generous 

 sympathy." 



It was in 1844, I believe, that Darwin wrote out a little sketch, 

 which formed the foundation of " The Origin of Species " — not at all 

 for publication, but simply as a nucleus, or crystallizing centre around 

 which to group his observations, and to make the basis of his study. 

 It was not till 1859 that he published the great work on which his 

 fame will rest. And here is an illustration of that singular fairness 

 and earnest search for truth to which I have referred. He did not 

 leap into print with a guess ; but, after he believed that he had found 

 the truth concerning the life of the world and of man, he studied and 

 thought and observed, and gathered new facts and new arguments for 

 long years, that he might be sure, as far as it is possible to attain 

 certainty, that he had attained the truth. As an illustration of this 

 same spirit, which is really the spirit of science, and which I believe 

 to be inherently and essentially religious, as all humble truth-seeking 

 of necessity must be — take the case of Newton. Newton conceived 

 his theory of gravitation, and for sixteen years studied and gathered 

 facts, arguments, and illustrations, before he ventured to give it to 

 the world. And Mr. Darwin would have waited and studied years 

 longer than he did, had it not been for the fact that Mr. Alfred 

 Eussell Wallace (whose name will always stand as sharing the honour 

 with Darwin), while exploring the islands of the Malay Archipelago, 

 had come to the same conclusions and arrived independently at the 

 same theories with Darwin. Mr. Wallace embodied his theory in a 

 paper, which he forwarded for communication to the Linnean 

 Society. And here I may notice a beautiful episode of scientific 

 fairness. The nature of Mr. Wallace's paper having been ascertained 

 by certain of the Fellows of the Society, who were, also friends of 

 Darwin, and who knew that for several years he had been elaborating 

 and working out in detail the same theory, they arranged that a 

 paper should be communicated by Darwin at the meeting of the 

 Linnean Society at which Mr. Wallace's paper fell to be read, so that 

 in this way the question of priority as to the authorship of the theory 

 of "natural selection" might be left for future settlement. Mr. 

 Wallace was entirely satisfied, and has handsomely admitted that 

 Darwin had propounded the theory years before it had been suggested 

 to his attention. 



Darwin then wrote out and gave to the world his " Origin of 

 Species." He had wrought more completely, much more grandly, 



