Love is much like a wild rose, beautiful and calm,
but willing to draw blood in its defense.
- Mark A Overby
On the Origin Of Species
By: Charles Darwin, 1859
WHEN on board H.M.S. Beagle as naturalist, I was much struck with
certain facts in the distribution of the organic beings inhabiting
South America, and in the geological relations of the present to the
past inhabitants of that continent. These facts, as will be seen in
the latter chapters of this volume, seemed to throw some light on
the origin of species- that mystery of mysteries, as it has been
called by one of our greatest philosophers. On my return home, it
occurred to me, in 1837, that something might perhaps be made out on
this question by patiently accumulating and reflecting on all sorts of
facts which could possibly have any bearing on it. After five years'
work I allowed myself to speculate on the subject, and drew up some
short notes; these I enlarged in 1844 into a sketch of the
conclusions, which then seemed to me probable: from that period to the
present day I have steadily pursued the same object. I hope that I may
be excused for entering on these personal details, as I give them to
show that I have not been hasty in coming to a decision.
My work is now (1859) nearly finished; but as it will take me many
more years to complete it, and as my health is far from strong, I have
been urged to publish this abstract. I have more especially been
induced to do this, as Mr. Wallace, who is now studying the natural
history of the Malay Archipelago, has arrived at almost exactly the
same general conclusions that I have on the origin of species. In 1858
he sent me a memoir on this subject, with a request that I would
forward it to Sir Charles Lyell, who sent it to the Linnean Society,
and it is published in the third volume of the Journal of that
society. Sir C. Lyell and Dr. Hooker, who both knew of my work- the
latter having read my sketch of 1844- honoured me by thinking it
advisable to publish, with Mr. Wallace's excellent memoir, some
brief extracts from my manuscripts.
This abstract, which I now publish, must necessarily be imperfect.
cannot here give references and authorities for my several statements;
and I must trust to the reader reposing some confidence in my
accuracy. No doubt errors will have crept in, though I hope I have
always been cautious in trusting to good authorities alone. I can here
give only the general conclusions at which I have arrived, with a
few facts in illustration, but which, I hope, in most cases will
suffice. No one can feel more sensible than I do of the necessity of
hereafter publishing in detail all the facts, with references, on
which my conclusions have been grounded; and I hope in a future work
to do this. For I am well aware that scarcely a single point is
discussed in this volume on which facts cannot be adduced, often
apparently leading to conclusions directly opposite to those at
which I have arrived. A fair result can be obtained only by fully
stating and balancing the facts and arguments on both sides of each
question; and this is here impossible.
I much regret that want of space prevents my having the satisfaction
of acknowledging the generous assistance which I have received from
very many naturalists, some of them personally unknown to me. I
cannot, however, let this opportunity pass without expressing my
deep obligations to Dr. Hooker, who, for the last fifteen years, has
aided me in every possible way by his large stores of knowledge and
his excellent judgment.
In considering the Origin of Species, it is quite conceivable that a
naturalist, reflecting on the mutual affinities of organic beings,
on their embryological relations, their geographical distribution,
geological succession, and other such facts, might come to the
conclusion that species had not been independently created, but had
descended, like varieties, from other species. Nevertheless, such a
conclusion, even if well founded, would be unsatisfactory, until it
could be shown how the innumerable species inhabiting this world
have been modified, so as to acquire that perfection of structure
and coadaptation which justly excites our admiration. Naturalists
continually refer to external conditions, such as climate, food,
&c., as the only possible cause of variation. In one limited sense, as
we shall hereafter see, this may be true; but it is preposterous to
attribute to mere external conditions, the structure, for instance, of
the woodpecker, with its feet, tail, beak, and tongue, so admirably
adapted to catch insects under the bark of trees. In the case of the
mistletoe, which draws its nourishment from certain trees, which has
seeds that must be transported by certain birds, and which has flowers
with separate sexes absolutely requiring the agency of certain insects
to bring pollen from one flower to the other, it is equally
preposterous to account for the structure of this parasite, with its
relations to several distinct organic beings, by the effects of
external conditions, or of habit, or of the volition of the plant
itself.
It is, therefore, of the highest importance to gain a clear
insight into the means of modification and coadaptation. At the
commencement of my observations it seemed to me probable that a
careful study of domesticated animals and of cultivated plants would
offer the best chance of making out this obscure problem. Nor have I
been disappointed; in this and in all other perplexing cases I have
invariably found that our knowledge, imperfect though it be, of
variation under domestication, afforded the best and safest clue. I
may venture to express my conviction of the high value of such
studies, although they have been very commonly neglected by
naturalists.
From these considerations, I shall devote the first chapter of
this Abstract to Variation under Domestication. We shall thus see that
a large amount of hereditary modification is at least possible; and,
what is equally or more important, we shall see how great is the power
of man in accumulating by his Selection successive slight
variations. I will then pass on to the variability of species in a
state of nature; but I shall, unfortunately, be compelled to treat
this subject far too briefly, as it can be treated properly only by
giving long catalogues of facts. We shall, however, be enabled to
discuss what circumstances are most favourable to variation. In the
next chapter the Struggle for Existence amongst all organic beings
throughout the world, which inevitably follows from the high
geometrical ratio of their increase, will be considered. This is the
doctrine of Malthus, applied to the whole animal and vegetable
kingdoms. As many more individuals of each species are born than can
possibly survive; and as, consequently, there is a frequently
recurring struggle for existence, it follows that any being, if it
vary however slightly in any manner profitable to itself, under the
complex and sometimes varying conditions of life, will have a better
chance of surviving, and thus be naturally selected. From the strong
principle of inheritance, any selected variety will tend to
propagate its new and modified form.
This fundamental subject of Natural Selection will be treated at
some length in the fourth chapter; and we shall then see how Natural
Selection almost inevitably causes much Extinction of the less
improved forms of life, and leads to what I have called Divergence
of Character. In the next chapter I shall discuss the complex and
little known laws of variation. In the five succeeding chapters, the
most apparent and gravest difficulties in accepting the theory will be
given: namely, first, the difficulties of transitions, or how a simple
being or a simple organ can be changed and perfected into a highly
developed being or into an elaborately constructed organ; secondly,
the subject of Instinct, or the mental powers of animals; thirdly,
Hybridism, or the infertility of species and the fertility of
varieties when intercrossed; and fourthly, the imperfection of the
Geological Record. In the next chapter I shall consider the geological
succession of organic beings throughout time; in the twelfth and
thirteenth, their geographical distribution throughout space; in the
fourteenth, their classification or mutual affinities, both when
mature and in an embryonic condition. In the last chapter I shall give
a brief recapitulation of the whole work, and a few concluding
remarks.
No one ought to feel surprise at much remaining as yet unexplained
in regard to the origin of species and varieties, if he make due
allowance for our profound ignorance in regard to the mutual relations
of the many beings which live around us. Who can explain why one
species ranges widely and is very numerous, and why another allied
species has a narrow range and is rare? Yet these relations are of the
highest importance, for they determine the present welfare and, as I
believe, the future success and modification of every inhabitant of
this world. Still less do we know of the mutual relations of the
innumerable inhabitants of the world during the many past geological
epochs in its history. Although much remains obscure, and will long
remain obscure, I can entertain no doubt, after the most deliberate
study and dispassionate judgment of which I am capable, that the
view which most naturalists until recently entertained, and which I
formerly entertained- namely, that each species has been independently
created- is erroneous. I am fully convinced that species are not
immutable; but that those belonging 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, I am convinced that
Natural Selection has been the most important, but not the
exclusive, means of modification.
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