A Short History of Nearly Everything-第84章

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diocrity　called　“the　temple　of　nature”　years　before　charles　was　even　born。　it　wasn’t　untilthe　younger　darwin　was　back　in　england　and　read　thomas　malthus’s　essay　on　the　principleof　population　（which　proposed　that　increases　in　food　supply　could　never　keep　up　withpopulation　growth　for　mathematical　reasons）　that　the　idea　began　to　percolate　through　his　mindthat　life　is　a　perpetual　struggle　and　that　natural　selection　was　the　means　by　which　somespecies　prospered　while　others　failed。　specifically　what　darwin　saw　was　that　all　organismspeted　for　resources；　and　those　that　had　some　innate　advantage　would　prosper　and　pass　onthat　advantage　to　their　offspring。　by　such　means　would　species　continuously　improve。

it　seems　an　awfully　simple　idea—it　is　an　awfully　simple　idea—but　it　explained　a　great　deal；and　darwin　was　prepared　to　devote　his　life　to　it。　“how　stupid　of　me　not　to　have　thought　ofit！”　t。　h。　huxley　cried　upon　reading　on　the　origin　of　species。　it　is　a　view　that　has　beenechoed　ever　since。

interestingly；　darwin　didn’t　use　the　phrase　“survival　of　the　fittest”　in　any　of　his　work（though　he　did　express　his　admiration　for　it）。　the　expression　was　coined　five　years　after　thepublication　of　on　the　origin　of　species　by　herbert　spencer　in　principles　of　biology　in　1864。

nor　did　he　employ　the　word　evolution　in　print　until　the　sixth　edition　of　origin　（by　which　timeits　use　had　bee　too　widespread　to　resist）；　preferring　instead　“descent　with　modification。”

nor；　above　all；　were　his　conclusions　in　any　way　inspired　by　his　noticing；　during　his　time　inthe　galápagos　islands；　an　interesting　diversity　in　the　beaks　of　finches。　the　story　asconventionally　told　（or　at　least　as　frequently　remembered　by　many　of　us）　is　that　darwin；while　traveling　from　island　to　island；　noticed　that　the　finches’　beaks　on　each　island　weremarvelously　adapted　for　exploiting　local　resources—that　on　one　island　beaks　were　sturdy　andshort　and　good　for　cracking　nuts；　while　on　the　next　island　beaks　were　perhaps　long　and　thinand　well　suited　for　winkling　food　out　of　crevices—and　it　was　this　that　set　him　to　thinking　thatperhaps　the　birds　had　not　been　created　this　way；　but　had　in　a　sense　created　themselves。

in　fact；　the　birds　had　created　themselves；　but　it　wasn’t　darwin　who　noticed　it。　at　the　timeof　the　beagle　voyage；　darwin　was　fresh　out　of　college　and　not　yet　an　acplished　naturalistand　so　failed　to　see　that　the　galápagos　birds　were　all　of　a　type。　it　was　his　friend　theornithologist　john　gould　who　realized　that　what　darwin　had　found　was　lots　of　finches　withdifferent　talents。　unfortunately；　in　his　inexperience　darwin　had　not　noted　which　birds　camefrom　which　islands。　（he　had　made　a　similar　error　with　tortoises。）　it　took　years　to　sort　themuddles　out。

because　of　these　oversights；　and　the　need　to　sort　through　crates　and　crates　of　other　beaglespecimens；　it　wasn’t　until　1842；　six　years　after　his　return　to　england；　that　darwin　finallybegan　to　sketch　out　the　rudiments　of　his　new　theory。　these　he　expanded　into　a　230…page“sketch”　two　years　later。　and　then　he　did　an　extraordinary　thing：　he　put　his　notes　away　andfor　the　next　decade　and　a　half　busied　himself　with　other　matters。　he　fathered　ten　children；devoted　nearly　eight　years　to　writing　an　exhaustive　opus　on　barnacles　（“i　hate　a　barnacle　as　noman　ever　did　before；”　he　sighed；　understandably；　upon　the　work’s　conclusion）；　and　fell　preyto　strange　disorders　that　left　him　chronically　listless；　faint；　and　“flurried；”　as　he　put　it。　thesymptoms　nearly　always　included　a　terrible　nausea　and　generally　also　incorporatedpalpitations；　migraines；　exhaustion；　trembling；　spots　before　the　eyes；　shortness　of　breath；“swimming　of　the　head；”　and；　not　surprisingly；　depression。

the　cause　of　the　illness　has　never　been　established；　but　the　most　romantic　and　perhapslikely　of　the　many　suggested　possibilities　is　that　he　suffered　from　chagas’s　disease；　alingering　tropical　malady　that　he　could　have　acquired　from　the　bite　of　a　benchuga　bug　insouth　america。　a　more　prosaic　explanation　is　that　his　condition　was　psychosomatic。　in　eithercase；　the　misery　was　not。　often　he　could　work　for　no　more　than　twenty　minutes　at　a　stretch；sometimes　not　that。

much　of　the　rest　of　his　time　was　devoted　to　a　series　of　increasingly　desperate　treatments—icy　plunge　baths；　dousings　in　vinegar；　draping　himself　with　“electric　chains”　that　subjectedhim　to　small　jolts　of　current。　he　became　something　of　a　hermit；　seldom　leaving　his　home　inkent；　down　house。　one　of　his　first　acts　upon　moving　to　the　house　was　to　erect　a　mirroroutside　his　study　window　so　that　he　could　identify；　and　if　necessary　avoid；　callers。

darwin　kept　his　theory　to　himself　because　he　well　knew　the　storm　it　would　cause。　in　1844；the　year　he　locked　his　notes　away；　a　book　called　vestiges　of　the　natural　history　of　creationroused　much　of　the　thinking　world　to　fury　by　suggesting　that　humans　might　have　evolvedfrom　lesser　primates　without　the　assistance　of　a　divine　creator。　anticipating　the　outcry；　theauthor　had　taken　careful　steps　to　conceal　his　identity；　which　he　kept　a　secret　from　even　hisclosest　friends　for　the　next　forty　years。　some　wondered　if　darwin　himself　might　be　the　author。

others　suspected　prince　albert。　in　fact；　the　author　was　a　successful　and　generally　unassumingscottish　publisher　named　robert　chambers　whose　reluctance　to　reveal　himself　had　a　practicaldimension　as　well　as　a　personal　one：　his　firm　was　a　leading　publisher　of　bibles。　vestiges　waswarmly　blasted　from　pulpits　throughout　britain　and　far　beyond；　but　also　attracted　a　good　dealof　more　scholarly　ire。　the　edinburgh　review　devoted　nearly　an　entire　issue—eighty…fivepages—to　pulling　it　to　pieces。　even　t。　h。　huxley；　a　believer　in　evolution；　attacked　the　bookwith　some　venom；　unaware　that　the　author　was　a　friend。

2darwin’s　manuscript　might　have　remained　locked　away　till　his　death　but　for　an　alarmingblow　that　arrived　from　the　far　east　in　the　early　summer　of　1858　in　the　form　of　a　packetcontaining　a　friendly　letter　from　a　young　naturalist　named　alfred　russel　wallace　and　the　draftof　a　paper；　on　the　tendency　of　varieties　to　depart　indefinitely　from　the　original　type；outlining　a　theory　of　natural　selection　that　was　uncannily　similar　to　darwin’s　secret　jottings。

even　some　of　the　phrasing　echoed　darwin’s　own。　“i　never　saw　a　more　striking　coincidence；”

darwin　reflected　in　dismay。　“if　wallace　had　my　manuscript　sketch　written　out　in　1842；　hecould　not　have　made　a　better　short　abstract。”

wallace　didn’t　drop　into　darwin’s　life　quite　as　unexpectedly　as　is　sometimes　suggested。

the　two　were　already　corresponding；　and　wallace　had　more　than　once　generously　sentdarwin　specimens　that　he　thought　might　be　of　interest。　in　the　process　of　these　exchangesdarwin　had　discreetly　warned　wallace　that　he　regarded　the　subject　of　species　creation　as　hisown　territory。　“this　summer　will　make　the　20th　year　（！）　since　i　opened　my　first　note…book；　onthe　question　of　how　&　in　what　way　do　species　&　varieties　differ　from　each　other；”　he　hadwritten　to　wallace　some　time　earlier。　“i　am　now　preparing　my　work　for　publication；”　headded；　even　though　he　wasn’t　really。

in　any　case；　wallace　failed　to　grasp　what　darwin　was　trying　to　tell　him；　and　of　course　hecould　have　no　idea　that　his　own　theory　was　so　nearly　identical　to　one　that　darwin　had　beenevolving；　as　it　were；　for　two　decades。

darwin　was　placed　in　an　agonizing　quandary。　if　he　rushed　into　print　to　preserve　his　priority；he　would　be　taking　advantage　of　an　innocent　tip…off　from　a　distant　admirer。　but　if　he　steppedaside；　as　gentlemanly　conduct　arguably　required；　he　would　lose　credit　for　a　theory　that　he　hadindependently　propounded。　wallace’s　theory　was；　by　wallace’s　own　admission；　the　result　of　aflash　of　insight；　darwin’s　was　the　product　of　years　of　careful；　plodding；　methodical　thought。　itwas　all　crushingly　unfair。

to　pound　his　misery；　darwin’s　youngest　son；　also　named　charles；　had　contracted　scarletfever　and　was　critically　ill。　at　the　height　of　the　crisis；　on　june　28；　the　child　died。　despite　thedistraction　of　his　son’s　illness；　darwin　found　time　to　dash　off　letters　to　his　friends　charleslyell　and　joseph　hooker；　offering　to　step　aside　but　noting　that　to　do　so　would　mean　that　allhis　work；　“whatever　it　may　amount　to；　will　be　smashed。”　lyell　and　hooker　came　up　with　thepromise　solution　of　presenting　a　summary　of　darwin’s　and　wallace’s　ideas　together。　thevenue　they　settled　on　was　a　meeting　of　the　linnaean　society；　which　at　the　time　was　strugglingto　find　its　way　back　into　fashion　as　a　seat　of　scientific　eminence。　on　july　1；　1858；　darwin’s2darwin　was　one　of　the　few　to　guess　correctly。　he　happened　to　be　visiting　chambers　one　day　when　an　advancecopy　of　the　sixth　edition　of　vestiges　was　delivered。　the　keenness　with　which　chambers　checked　the　revisionswas　something　of　a　giveaway；　though　it　appears　the　two　men　did　not　discuss　it。

and　wallace’s　theory　was　unveiled　to　the　world。　darwin　himself　was　not　present。　on　the　dayof　the　meeting；　he　and　his　wife　were　burying　their　son。

the　darwin–wallace　presentation　was　one　of　seven　that　evening—one　of　the　others　was　onthe　flora　of　angola—and　if　the　thirty　or　so　people　in　the　audience　had　any　idea　that　they　werewitnessing　the　scientific　highlight　of　the　century；　they　s