the Book of Genesis? Or had it evolved from something more primitive and was
changing still? As the islands themselves were of recent volcanic origin there were
only two possible explanations – either God had created these species specifically for
the Galapagos, or in their geographical isolation they had evolved from a common
ancestor that had migrated to the islands. Darwin was not convinced by the theory
of natural transformation or transmutation proposed by the French naturalist Jean-
Baptiste Lamarck. In 1800 Lamarck had written that individuals are influenced by
their environment and the primary mechanism of species transformation was by use-
inheritance whereby organs are developed or are diminished by use or disuse and that
the resulting changes can be transmitted to future generations. In his autobiography
Darwin wrote:
In October 1838, that is, fifteen months after I had begun my systematic enquiry I happened
to read for amusement Malthus on Population, and being well prepared to appreciate the
struggle for existence which everywhere goes on from long-continued observation of the
habits of animals and plants, it at once struck me that under these circumstances favourable
variations would tend to be preserved, and unfavourable ones to be destroyed. The result of
this would be the formation of a new species. Here then I had at last got a theory by which to
work; but I was so anxious to avoid prejudice, that I determined for some time not to write
even the briefest sketch of it. In June 1842 I first allowed myself the satisfaction of writing
a very brief abstract of my theory in pencil in 35 pages; and this was enlarged during the
summer of 1844 into one of 230 pages, which I had fairly copied out and still possess.It is almost impossible today to understand the reluctance Darwin felt about
sharing or publishing his idea. His theory threatened to undermine the faith in God
and the Church that had become part of the social fabric and social order of Victorian
England. Some will remember the hymn that children sang every week in Church
Sunday school which told us that it was not just the order of nature that was the work
of the Creator, but also the structure and order of society:
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wondrous,
The Lord God made them all.Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings.Charles Darwin – At Down House 119