CHARLES DARWIN G308

 CHARLES DARWIN

Two men were deep in argument. They were men of wealth and good education. The discussion was taking place in the library of a large country house which one of them owned. Gradually the argument became more heated. It was about a book which lay on the table in front of them. They disagreed about some of the views in the book. Both of them had read it carefully. Then they had read some of the chapters again and again. One of the men held the view that what the book said was right. The other was sure that it was wrong.

The year was 1859. The book had not long been published and had shocked many learned people in Britain. Its title was the Origin of Species, written by Charles Darwin. He had set out to question views about how life had developed on the Earth. In doing so, he had thrown doubt on some people's religious beliefs. And religion was such an important part of life at that time that some people were quite angry with Darwin. How dare he attack beliefs and ideas which had been held for centuries?

Darwin's views were the result of years of careful observation, th
ought and study. One of his most important ideas was that different types of living creatures on the Earth had not been created suddenly. Instead, they had been developing over thousands of millions of years. In the struggle for life, some species had not been successful. They had died out. Others, however, remained because they were able to fit in with their surroundings. This was what was known as “the survival of the fittest.”

The book was not meant to be an attack on Christian belief. Darwin simply set out the facts that he believed to be true. And he based his ideas on scientific experiment. He did not want to make a statement without trying to prove it. But naturally, the Origin of Species was seen as a book written against religion. Its ideas did not agree with what was written in the Bible. For example, Darwin's points about slow evolution did not agree with the story of how Man was created in the Bible. Therefore the book caused great interest and argument, and its author was soon the centre of attention.

Darwin was born in 1809 at Shrewsbury, where he went to school. Later, he studied medicine at Cambridge. However, he was very interested in plants, animals and geology. Therefore when the opportunity arose to go on a most important and interesting voyage for scientific study, he took it.

The journey lasted for five years, from 1831—36. It took him to many different parts of the world. Wherever he went, Darwin made a most careful study of the animal and plant life found there. He was not prepared to accept the usual teachings about how things developed. In true scientific manner, he liked to put ideas to the test. If possible, he wanted proof before he would believe something.

After Darwin returned to Britain he married and settled down to live in Kent. He lived and worked there for the rest of his life. For much of the time he suffered from bad health. However, his work continued. Over the years he read widely. Gradually he gathered together the proof for his beliefs. One of Darwin's friends, Alfred Wallace, was also a naturalist. Wallace and Darwin agreed on the way in which different forms of life had begun. Some of their work was published in 1858. Immediately, it aroused interest. Darwin's main work, the Origin of Species, was published a year later, in November 1859. The book was received so eagerly that it was sold out on the first day

Then came the arguments. Most scientists of the time were prepared to accept what Darwin said. The man was something of a genius. He had made his points carefully. Proof was given to support his views. But many people simply could not believe that what he had written was true. It was so different from what the Church taught, and Church leaders declared that Darwin's book was an attack on Christian belief. So, many of them wrote and spoke out strongly against it. One of these was the Bishop of Oxford, who took part in a debate against T.H. Huxley, a well-known scientist. The views which they spoke in public showed the great differences between many scientists and many church people. The Bishop said that Darwin's ideas were wrong. Huxley asked him to offer proof, as Darwin had done. The Bishop mainly read statements from the Bible.

The argument went on for many years. The whole question was of interest to a large number of people. Whether or not they agreed with Darwin's views, many of them thought deeply.

Darwin lived on until 1882. Later in his life, he wrote several other books. But none of them caused the kind of interest and argument that had come in 1859. His Origin of Species was one of the most important books published during the nineteenth century.