Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- CHAP. I Introductory
- CHAP. II Origin of the Idea of Evolution
- CHAP. III The Development of the Idea of Evolution to the Inorganic World
- CHAP. IV The Triumph of Catastrophism over Evolution
- CHAP. V The Revolt Scrope and Lyell against Catastrophism
- CHAP. VI The Principles of Geology
- CHAP. VII The Influence of Lyell's Works
- CHAP. VIII Early Attempts to establish the Doctrine of Evolution for the Organic World
- CHAP. IX Darwin and Wallace: The Theory of Natural Selection
- CHAP. X The Origin of Species
- CHAP. XI The Influence of Drawin's Works
- CHAP. XII The Place of Lyell and Darwin in History
- Notes
- Index
- Plate section
CHAP. XI - The Influence of Drawin's Works
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- CHAP. I Introductory
- CHAP. II Origin of the Idea of Evolution
- CHAP. III The Development of the Idea of Evolution to the Inorganic World
- CHAP. IV The Triumph of Catastrophism over Evolution
- CHAP. V The Revolt Scrope and Lyell against Catastrophism
- CHAP. VI The Principles of Geology
- CHAP. VII The Influence of Lyell's Works
- CHAP. VIII Early Attempts to establish the Doctrine of Evolution for the Organic World
- CHAP. IX Darwin and Wallace: The Theory of Natural Selection
- CHAP. X The Origin of Species
- CHAP. XI The Influence of Drawin's Works
- CHAP. XII The Place of Lyell and Darwin in History
- Notes
- Index
- Plate section
Summary
In two essays ‘On the Coming of Age of the Origin of Species,’ and ‘On the Reception of the Origin of Species,’ published in 1880 and 1887 respectively, Huxley has discussed the course of events following the publication of Darwin's great work, he having the advantage of being one of the chief actors in those events. There is a striking parallelism between the manner that the Principles of Geology had been received thirty years earlier, and the way that the Origin of Species was met, both by Darwin's scientific contemporaries and the reading public.
At the outset, as we have already intimated, Lyell and Darwin were equally fortunate, in that each found a critic, in one of the chief organs of public opinion, who was at the same time both competent and sympathetic. The story of the lucky accident by which this came about in Darwin's case has been told by Huxley himself.
‘The Origin was sent to Mr Lucas, one of the staff of the Times writers at that time, in what was I suppose the ordinary course of business. Mr Lucas, though an excellent journalist,… was as innocent of any knowledge of science as a babe, and bewailed himself to an acquaintance on having to deal with such a book. Whereupon, he was recommended to ask me to get him out of the difficulty, and he applied to me accordingly, explaining, however, that it would be necessary for him formally to adopt anything I might be disposed to write, by prefacing it with two or three paragraphs of his own.’
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- Information
- The Coming of EvolutionThe Story of a Great Revolution in Science, pp. 136 - 148Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009