Page:Carroll Lane Fenton - Darwin and the Theory of Evolution.djvu/26

 Rh larly true when the substance of the really great book is also the substance of long established tradition and prejudice, and the conclusions drawn are such as to contradict or seriously modify other conclusions reached thouandsthousands [sic] of years before, and cherished dearly by y the greater part of the human race.

Darwin was prepared for scepticism, disbelief, and attack, yet it is doubtful if he realized the magnitude of the upheaval that his book would cause. Even before the Origin officially was published the discussion began, for the paper of 1858 had aroused much interest. Everyone at all interested was impatiently waiting for the complete book; those who were on terms of friendship with the author, or had helped him in the work, received copies in advance. Of these Huxley in particular knew what was to come, perhaps with the instinct of a born fighter. On November 23, the day before the pole in of Species was put on sale, he wrote Darwin:

Reviews of the book. began to appear in December, and continued in steadily increasing numbers. Some of them were favorable, such as the one three and a half columns long,