17 Charles Darwin – On the Origin of Species
Charles Darwin was a cautious man burdened with a bold idea. In April 1856 Charles
Lyell had spent a few days at Down House and it was during this stay that Darwin
revealed the theory he had been quietly developing over the last twenty years – his
theory of natural selection. Lyell was sceptical but urged Darwin to publish so he
could establish priority. Darwin then consulted his friend Joseph Hooker who had
read Darwin’s 1844 ‘Essay’ and was already familiar with his thinking. His advice
was to wait, to wait until his theory was indisputable.
In July 1858 Wallace’s ‘Letter from Ternate’ reached Darwin. His reaction was
a mixture of amazement and a despair which he described as almost paralysing. In
just 4000 words Wallace had summarized the key elements of the theory of evolution
which Darwin had been labouring over for years. ‘I never saw a more striking
coincidence, if Wallace had my manuscript sketch written out in 1842, he could not
have made a better short abstract.’ In his short essay Wallace had summarized all the
main principles of Darwin’s ideas on species. Once Wallace’s paper was published it
would have precedence over all of Darwin’s years of work.
Wallace wrote that he hoped his idea would be new to Darwin and if he thought it
sufficiently important, to show it to Sir Charles Lyell. There has been some controversy
about exactly when Darwin received Wallace’s letter and how quickly he passed it on
to Lyell, with the implication that Darwin may have decided to incorporate some of
Wallace’s ideas into his 1844 ‘Essay’. But of course Joseph Hooker had already seen
a copy of this document, so this is highly unlikely.
Darwin had acquired a narrow strip of land of one and a half acres (0.61 ha)
adjoining the grounds of Down House to the south-west and named it Sandwalk
Wood. One side was shaded with oak trees and the other looked over a hedge to a
charming valley. Darwin had a variety of trees planted and ordered a path known as
the ‘sandwalk’ to be built around the perimeter. Darwin’s daily walk of several circuits
of this path served for exercise and allowed uninterrupted thinking. His analogy of
the tangled meadow bank to describe the web of life and consequently of his concept
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