The Presidential Address.
67
distinguished from a museum-naturalist. It was during the
five years' cruise of the 'Beagle,' of which the personal
narrative was given to the world in his celebrated 'Naturalist's
Voyage,' that the future philosopher was first led to ponder
over those phenomena of living nature with which he was
brought into contact, and which, as he tells us in the 'Origin
of Species,' induced him on his return to speculate on the
great problem indicated in the title of that work. When in
later life he continued his studies in this country, it was
always living animals and plants that were appealed to when
possible; his most important experiments and observations
were made upon materials growing in his greenhouse or
garden, or were collected from the surrounding country ; and
in his broader generalisations, which necessitated a wider
survey of facts, he always made use of the observations of
those to whom Nature had spoken face to face. Even when
failing health compelled him to abandon the great literary
undertakings which were promised to supplement the 'Origin
of Species,' he delighted in minute observation as a
recreation.1 To his friend and co-worker, Mr. A. R. Wallace, he
once remarked :—"When I am obliged to give up observation
and. experiment, I shall die." Nature was to Darwin a
living, organically-connected whole ; with him science did
not begin and end with the accumulation of series of dried
and labelled specimens.
In spite of all that has been written for and against the
Darwinian theory, it is surprising how much this doctrine is
still misunderstood by the general public. Ask any non-
scientific person what he imagines to be conveyed by the
word "Darwinism," and he will probably tell you that it is
the theory that man is descended from a monkey, which is
about as explicit as saying that the Newtonian theory of
gravitation is something to do with an apple. Indeed I may
1 The difficulties besetting the experimental investigator are forcibly
recalled to my mind by a remark once made to me by Mr. Darwin.
Speaking on this subject I said that Nature, when thus questioned, often
gives an evasive answer, to which he replied, "She will tell you a direct
lie if she can."