The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1897-10-30
DARWIN AND HIS THEORY.
The Origin of the Idea and His
Work Upon Ii.
CFruIu Harper's Magazine ,

(FruIu HaTper's MagazineJ
The Key to the solution r. this puZZ!e
came INTO Darwin mind through chaGce
reading of the famous essay IN ''PGPu.t-
ton which Thomas Robert Mzlthos Oad
published almost half a ceatury before.
This essay. expOS'ting ideas by NJ meaus
exclusively original with Maltbus- etH-
phasizes inc fact that organisms tend TO
increase at a geonctrical ratio through
successive generations, and hence would
OverpnpuIate the earth IL not somehow
Kept in check COgtJating TINS thought,
Darwin gained a new insight into the
processes Of nature He saw that IN y.T
tue of this tendency Of each race OF beings
70 oveTpOpuiate the earth, the entire 0r
ganic woTii. animal and vegetable. must
I've ia a state of perpetual carnag- and
strife. individual against in,iiv dual fight
ing for SustcnanCe and life.
That idea fully imagined, NJ be"pmes
plain that a selective influence - all the
time at work in nature, since ont a few
indiS iduals. relatively, of each generation
can come to maturity, and these few must.
naturally, BE- those best fitted 70 battle
with the particular circumstance in The
midst Of which they are plae ed In other
words the fn,.1y ielusIS best aCfspte,I 20 their
surroundings wiz, ON the average. ~ those
that grow TO maturity and produce off
spring. To these offspring VIII ~ trans
| fnitted Ih.. favorable pecuIiaFities. Thus
| these peculiaritieS will become perrua-
nent, AMI nature VIII have cconspIisheI
| precisely what the human breeder Is
| seen u accomplish.
Grant that organisms in a state Of ma
( S{s
| 9th Ter hich is indubitabie-and that
such variations will he transmitted by
| parent to it's offspring which ne Oae then
| doubted grant, further, tlI9t there -
| an incesSant strife among the various II
| ganisms. so that only small pToTortitn
| ran come To matun; grant these things,
/ said Darwin. AMI W have an explana ton
| of the preservation OF variations whict
I-a,is on u the tranSmutatiOn Of species
/ themselves
| This wonderful eUisH of vantage Darwin
I mad reached bv 1s39- Here was tine fun
] outline Of his theory; here Were tine ideas
/ which afterward came To be emhalucd in
| familiar speech in the phrases. "spuutane-
! Ons variation and the survival If the
! fitteSt. through" natural selection. After
4 such discovery any ordinary man would
y at CO IA e run tuc StEettS II Ut
enCe. 10 to speak. screaming Eureka
/ Not 30 Darwin. lie placed the manuscript
/ outline Of his theory in his portfolio- and
! vent on gathering facts bearing on his dis
Cuvrry. In ] S44 he made AN a distract in a
I manuscript book of the mass of facts by
that time accumulated He showed IL 90
his friend Hooker, made careful .,F'vIslou
! for it, putIicatiol. in the event of bis sudden
death. tnen stoTr.I il away in his desk. AMI
went ahead with the gathering of more
data
Twelve wears more elapsed. years dur
| ing hich thc silent worker gathered u
| proGE-i,,uS u ass Of facts. answered a multi
J tude of objections that arose in his Ow IA
| mind. vastly fortified his theory. AZ
! this time the tOiler was a n invalid never
| knowing day free from illness AMI dti-
| comfort. - -liged 10 husband his strength
| never able to work more than an hour
and EaIf at n stretch; Vet he accom-
pljShsd " hat would have been vast ACHIEVE
n,ents for hall loz en- nien Of robust health