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implications for human development in darwin’s theories； and itbecame an immediate talking point。
the showdown came on saturday； june 30； 1860； at a meeting of the british associationfor the advancement of science in oxford。 huxley had been urged to attend by robertchambers； author of vestiges of the natural history of creation； though he was still unawareof chambers’s connection to that contentious tome。 darwin； as ever； was absent。 the meetingwas held at the oxford zoological museum。 more than a thousand people crowded into thechamber； hundreds more were turned away。 people knew that something big was going tohappen； though they had first to wait while a slumber…inducing speaker named john williamdraper of new york university bravely slogged his way through two hours of introductoryremarks on “the intellectual development of europe considered with reference to the viewsof mr。 darwin。”
finally； the bishop of oxford； samuel wilberforce； rose to speak。 wilberforce had beenbriefed （or so it is generally assumed） by the ardent anti…darwinian richard owen； who hadbeen a guest in his home the night before。 as nearly always with events that end in uproar；accounts vary widely on what exactly transpired。 in the most popular version； wilberforce；when properly in flow； turned to huxley with a dry smile and demanded of him whether heclaimed attachment to the apes by way of his grandmother or grandfather。 the remark wasdoubtless intended as a quip； but it came across as an icy challenge。 according to his ownaccount； huxley turned to his neighbor and whispered； “the lord hath delivered him into myhands；” then rose with a certain relish。
others； however； recalled a huxley trembling with fury and indignation。 at all events；huxley declared that he would rather claim kinship to an ape than to someone who used hiseminence to propound uninformed twaddle in what was supposed to be a serious scientificforum。 such a riposte was a scandalous impertinence； as well as an insult to wilberforce’soffice； and the proceedings instantly collapsed in tumult。 a lady brewster fainted。 robertfitzroy； darwin’s panion on the beagle twenty…five years before； wandered through thehall with a bible held aloft； shouting； “the book； the book。” （he was at the conference topresent a paper on storms in his capacity as head of the newly created meteorologicaldepartment。） interestingly； each side afterward claimed to have routed the other。
darwin did eventually make his belief in our kinship with the apes explicit in the descentof man in 1871。 the conclusion was a bold one since nothing in the fossil record supportedsuch a notion。 the only known early human remains of that time were the famous neandertalbones from germany and a few uncertain fragments of jawbones； and many respectedauthorities refused to believe even in their antiquity。 the descent of man was altogether amore controversial book； but by the time of its appearance the world had grown less excitableand its arguments caused much less of a stir。
for the most part； however； darwin passed his twilight years with other projects； most ofwhich touched only tangentially on questions of natural selection。 he spent amazingly longperiods picking through bird droppings； scrutinizing the contents in an attempt to understandhow seeds spread between continents； and spent years more studying the behavior of worms。
one of his experiments was to play the piano to them； not to amuse them but to study theeffects on them of sound and vibration。 he was the first to realize how vitally importantworms are to soil fertility。 “it may be doubted whether there are many other animals whichhave played so important a part in the history of the world；” he wrote in his masterwork on thesubject； the formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms （1881）； which wasactually more popular thanon the origin of species had ever been。 among his other bookswere on the various contrivances by which british and foreign orchids are fertilised byinsects （1862）； expressions of the emotions in man and animals （1872）； which sold almost5；300 copies on its first day； the effects of cross and self fertilization in the vegetablekingdom （1876）—a subject that came improbably close to mendel’s own work； withoutattaining anything like the same insights—and his last book； the power of movement inplants。 finally； but not least； he devoted much effort to studying the consequences ofinbreeding—a matter of private interest to him。 having married his own cousin； darwinglumly suspected that certain physical and mental frailties among his children arose from alack of diversity in his family tree。
darwin was often honored in his lifetime； but never for on the origin of species ordescentof man。 when the royal society bestowed on him the prestigious copley medal it was for hisgeology； zoology； and botany； not evolutionary theories； and the linnaean society wassimilarly pleased to honor darwin without embracing his radical notions。 he was neverknighted； though he was buried in westminster abbey—next to newton。 he died at down inapril 1882。 mendel died two years later。
darwin’s theory didn’t really gain widespread acceptance until the 1930s and 1940s； withthe advance of a refined theory called； with a certain hauteur； the modern synthesis；bining darwin’s ideas with those of mendel and others。 for mendel； appreciation wasalso posthumous； though it came somewhat sooner。 in 1900； three scientists workingseparately in europe rediscovered mendel’s work more or less simultaneously。 it was onlybecause one of them； a dutchman named hugo de vries； seemed set to claim mendel’sinsights as his own that a rival made it noisily clear that the credit really lay with the forgottenmonk。
the world was almost ready； but not quite； to begin to understand how we got here—howwe made each other。 it is fairly amazing to reflect that at the beginning of the twentiethcentury； and for some years beyond； the best scientific minds in the world couldn’t actuallytell you where babies came from。
and these； you may recall； were men who thought science was nearly at an end。
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26THE STUFF OF LIFE
小？说网
if your two parents hadn’t