Darwiniana

Darwiniana (Collected Essays,
vol 2)

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Title: Darwiniana
Author: Thomas Henry Huxley
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Thomas Henry Huxley
Collected Essays
(1893-1894)
Vol. II
Darwiniana
(Edition: published in 1893)

PREFACE
I have entitled this volume "Darwiniana" because the pieces
republished in it either treat of the ancient doctrine of Evolution,
rehabilitated and placed upon a sound scientific foundation, since and
in consequence of, the publication of the "Origin of Species;" or they
attempt to meet the more weighty of the unsparing criticisms with
which that great work was visited for several years after its appearance;
or they record the impression left by the personality of Mr. Darwin on
one who had the privilege and the happiness of enjoying his friendship
for some thirty years; or they endeavour to sum up his work and
indicate its enduring influence on the course of scientific thought.
Those who take the trouble to read the first two essays, published in
1859 and 1860, will, I think, do me the justice to admit that my zeal to
secure fair play for Mr. Darwin, did not drive me into the position of a
mere advocate; and that, while doing justice to the greatness of the
argument I did not fail to indicate its weak points. I have never seen

any reason for departing from the position which I took up in these two
essays; and the assertion which I sometimes meet with nowadays, that I
have "recanted" or changed my opinions about Mr. Darwin's views, is
quite unintelligible to me.
As I have said in the seventh essay, the fact of evolution is to my mind
sufficiently evidenced by palaeontology; and I remain of the opinion
expressed in the second, that until selective breeding is definitely
proved to give rise to varieties infertile with one another, the logical
foundation of the theory of natural selection is incomplete. We still
remain very much in the dark about the causes of variation; the
apparent inheritance of acquired characters in some cases; and the
struggle for existence within the organism, which probably lies at the
bottom of both of these phenomena.
Some apology is due to the reader for the reproduction of the "Lectures
to Working Men" in their original state. They were taken down in
shorthand by Mr. J. Aldous Mays, who requested me to allow him to
print them. I was very much pressed with work at the time; and, as I
could not revise the reports, which I imagined, moreover, would be of
little or no interest to any but my auditors, I stipulated that a notice
should be prefixed to that effect. This was done; but it did not prevent a
considerable diffusion of the little book in this country and in the
United States, nor its translation into more than one foreign language.
Moreover Mr. Darwin often urged me to revise and expand the lectures
into a systematic popular exposition of the topics of which they treat. I
have more than once set about the task: but the proverb about spoiling a
horn and not making a spoon, is particularly applicable to attempts to
remodel a piece of work which may have served its immediate purpose
well enough.
So I have reprinted the lectures as they stand, with all their
imperfections on their heads. It would seem that many people must
have found them useful thirty years ago; and, though the sixties appear
now to be reckoned by many of the rising generation as a part of the
dark ages, I am not