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My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

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144 MY LIFEfind that you so well appreciated Lyell. I first readDarwin's ' Journal ' three or four years ago, <strong>and</strong> havelately re-read it. As the Journal <strong>of</strong> a scientifictraveller, it is second only to Humboldt's Personal'Narrative '—as a work <strong>of</strong> general interest, perhapssuperior to it." <strong>My</strong> reference to Darwin's "Journal "<strong>and</strong> to Humboldt's " Personal Narrative " indicate, Ibelieve, the two works to whose inspiration I owe mydetermination to visit the tropics as a collector.In the last letter to :— Bates before our SouthAmerican voyage I wrote " I begin to feel ratherdissatisfied with a mere local collection, little is to belearned by it. I should like to take some one familyto study thoroughly, principally with a view to thetheory <strong>of</strong> the origin <strong>of</strong> species. By that means I amstrongly <strong>of</strong> opinion that some definite results mightbe arrived at." And at the very end <strong>of</strong> the letter I:— say " There is a work published by the Ray SocietyI should much like to see, Oken's ' Elements <strong>of</strong>Physiophilosophy.' There is a review <strong>of</strong> it in theAthencBum. It contains some remarkable views onmy favourite subject—the variations, arrangements,distribution, etc., <strong>of</strong> species."These extracts from my early letters to Batessuffice to show that the great problem <strong>of</strong> the origin<strong>of</strong> species was already distinctly formulated in mymind ; that I was not satisfied with the more or lessvague solutions at that time <strong>of</strong>fered ; that I believedthe conception <strong>of</strong> evolution through natural law soclearly formulated in the " Vestiges " tobe, so far asit went, a true one ; <strong>and</strong> that I firmly believed that afull <strong>and</strong> careful study <strong>of</strong> the facts <strong>of</strong> nature wouldultimately lead to a solution <strong>of</strong> the mystery.What decided our going to Para <strong>and</strong> the Amazonany other part <strong>of</strong> the tropics was therather than to

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