3 
and 'again, that his “ character was chiefly marked by a certain 
grand and cheerful simplicity, strangely and beautifully united with 
a deep and thoughtful wisdom, which, together with his illimitable 
kindness to others, and complete forgetfulness of himself, made a 
combination as loveable as it was venerable.” 
When we consider Mr. Darwin’s work, we are led to regard him 
as one of the most fortunate and successful observers of natural 
phenomena, and as the greatest generaliser in the whole history of 
biology ; and further, we are impressed with the' great influence 
his generalisations have had on all other sciences. 
What, in a few words, may be said to be Mr. Darwin’s great 
work ] It is not that he first propounded the theory of evolution , 
nor so much that, taking into consideration heredity, the struggle 
for existence, and the survival of the fittest, he hit upon the idea 
of natural selection , as that by undertaking elaborate investigations, 
by collecting facts from every possible source, and by pondering 
over and testing his conclusions again and again, he was able, after 
many years of patient industry, to publish an all but complete proof 
of evolution. He has thus not only increased our knowledge, but, 
by establishing a new principle, has completely revolutionised 
biology, introduced order where there was confusion, and laid new 
foundations on which naturalists are raising a fair and comely 
edifice, which will form the best and most lasting monument of 
the great philosopher of the nineteenth century. 
So familiar are we all with Mr. Darwin’s writings, that it is 
scarcely necessary to do more than mention some of the more im- 
portant ones. First of all, one naturally thinks of that mine of 
wealth to the naturalist, the Origin of Species, in which we have 
condensed into an exceedingly small compass facts, enough for 
a dozen volumes ; yet notwithstanding the great condensa- 
tion manifested throughout this book, the reasoning is evident 
from beginning to end, and the conclusions stand unassail- 
able. It reads as if it were the epitome of a whole series of 
works which the author had intended to write, and for which 
material had been collected, rather than as an introduction; an 
epitome, however, so complete and suggestive in itself that, like a 
picked army, it was able to fight its way so effectively, that it was 
found to be practically unnecessary to fall back upon the vast 
