inst him--especially in his own
country--by a work so outspoken, and it was not till after his death
that its authorship was definitely known.

The _Vestiges of Creation_ met with very different receptions at the
hands of the general public and from the scientific world, at the time
it was published. The former were startled but captivated by its
fearless statements and suggestive lines of thought; while the latter
were repelled and incensed by the want of judgment, too frequently
shown, in accepting as indisputable, facts and experiments which really
rested on a very slender basis or none at all. So popular was the book,
however, that it passed through twelve editions, the last being
published after the appearance of the _Origin of Species_.

It is interesting to read Darwin's judgment in later life on this once
famous book; he says:--

'The work from its powerful and brilliant style, though
displaying in the earlier editions little accurate knowledge and
a great want of scientific caution, immediately had a very wide
circulation. In my opinion it has done excellent service in this
country in calling attention to the subject, in removing
prejudice, and in thus preparing the ground for the reception of
analogous views[93].'

If we enquire what was the attitude of scientific naturalists towards
the doctrine of Evolution, immediately before the occurrence of the
events to be recorded in the next chapter, we shall find some diversity
of opinion to exist. The late Professor Newton, an eminent
ornithologist, has asserted that, at this period, many systematic
zoologists and botanists had begun to feel great 'searchings of heart'
as to the possibility of maintaining what were the generally prevalent
views concerning the reality and immutability of species. Huxley,
however, declared that he and many contemporary biologists were ready to
say 'to Mosaists and Evolutionists a plague to both your houses!' and
were disposed to turn aside from an interminable and fruitless
discussion, to labour in the fields of ascertainable fact[94].

CHAPTER IX

DARWIN AND WALLACE: THE THEORY OF NATURAL SELECTION

Charles Darwin was the grandson of Erasmus Darwin, who, as we have seen,
arrived independently at conclusions concerning the origin of species
very similar to those of Lamarck, and embodied his views in poems,
which, at the time of their publication, achieved a considerable
popularity. In the y