Evening star., 1925-08-08

| Charles Darwin, whose name stu
cuts quite figure in the world, in
| his last years said:
"If had my life to live over again,
| l would devote a certain amount OF
time each day to listening TO good
music
Perhaps Darwin had been reading
over again his Origin OF Species" n
tremendously good. but tremendously
+, dull book, at least In so far as the
average reader Is concerned.
Music, he perhaps thought, would
! have helped him tighten up bit a
| too solid work, one naturally only In.
| teresting to a naturalist. Certainly
there Is no need for even a scientific
work being as dull as The Origin of
| Species"
The scientific spirit need not he un.
| interesting, as a new series OF vol.
| umes recently issued has proved. In.
| deed, science, with it's investiga tions
into things as they are, deep into the
very nature of things, has the most
| glorious, poetic theme there Is.
| Darwin realized as we'll he might
| that 1t would have been better thing
! for him IL he had lightened up his life
! somewhat with good music. A high
class dance orchestra would have
| helped.
different Origin of Species" we might
have had If Darwin had tripped the
light fantastic toe once a day during
the progress of that work.
Surely his words are the finest
warning any man can have to beware
| of narrowness. 1t is great, Of course.
to devote ones life to scientific re-
| search, but it is greater (even for a
scientisD to make a real science out
OF living, so that near the end of 1t
| one will have no regrets over many
wonderful beautiful things he missed.
In reviewing Darwin's other much
! discussed book The Descent OF
Man" | said | could not urge the
average man or woman to read il.
This is even more true of The Origin
of Species"
This book was originally published
November "a, 1859. since which time
II has had great influence on the
thoughts OF men, not so much
/ through its direct reading by the pub
lie as by reason of the penetration
! Of it's ideas into daily life.
Such ideas do diffuse themselves,
although they may get bit twisted
In the process.
What was Darwin trying to show. in
! the 500 pages (of small type> of his
Origin? In his own words, as given
in the introduction:
Although much remains obscure
and will long remain obscure, / can
| entertain no doubt, after the most de-
liberate study and dispassionate judg-
ment of which l am capable, that the
view which most naturalists until re-
Gently entertained, and which l for
merly overwhelmingly that each
species has been independently Gre
ated-is erroneous.
Il am fully convinced that species
are not immutable, but that those be
| longing to what are called the same
genera are lineal descendants of some
other and generally extinct species, in
the same manner as the acknowledged
varieties of any one species are the
descendants of that species
Furthermore, l am convinced that
| natural selection has been the most
important, but not the exclusive
/ means of modification"
From the close study of domesticated
animals and cultivated plants, Oar
| win proceeded TO write IA chapters on
such topics as Variation Under Do
mestication," Variation Under Ma
! ture." Struggle for Existence" Ma
tural Selection, or the Survival of the
| Fittest," etc.
| On the struggle for existence. Dar
win said: When we reflect on this
| struggle we may console ourselves
| with the full belief that the war of ma
rure is not inceSsant, that no fear is
! felt, that death is generally prompt