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

CHAPTER XIIITHE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO(1858-1862)After returning to Macassar, where I spent threemonths collecting, I visited Amboyna, staying there amonth, and arrived at Ternate, January 8, 1858.It was while waiting at Ternate in order to getready for my next journey, and to decide where Ishould go, that the idea already referred to occurredto me. It has been shown how, for the precedingeight or nine years, the great problem of the origin ofspecies had been continually pondered over, and howmy varied observations and study had been made useof to lay down the foundation for its full discussionand elucidation. My paper written at Sarawak renderedit certain to my mind that the change hadtaken place by natural succession and descent— onespecies becoming changed either slowly or rapidlyinto another. But the exact process of the changeand the causes which led to it were absolutely unknownand appeared almost inconceivable. The greatdifficulty was to understand how, if one species wasgradually changed into another, there continued to beso many quite distinct species, so many which differedfrom their nearest allies by slight yet perfectly definiteand constant characters.At the time in question I was suffering from a