Of the fourteen chapters which make up the book no fewer than nine are devoted to proving that evolution has occurred. It has been truly said, that for every one fact biologists have found in support of the special theory of natural selection they have found ten facts supporting the doctrine of evolution. Darwin, then, was in the position of a skilled barrister who has a plausible case and who knows the ins and outs of his brief, while his opponents stood in the shoes of inexperienced counsel who had but recently received their brief, and who had not had the time to master the details thereof. In such circumstances it is not difficult to predict which way the verdict of the jury will go. Darwin, moreover, had a charming personality. Never was a man with a theory less dogmatic. Never was the holder of a theory more careful of the expressions he used. Never was a scientific man more ready to give ear to his opponents, to meet them half way, and, where necessary, to compromise. Darwin was not afraid of facts, and was always ready to alter his views when they appeared to be opposed to facts. The average scientific man of to-day makes facts fit his theory; if they refuse to fit it he ignores or denies them. Darwin continually modified his views; when he found himself in a tight place he did not hesitate to resort to Lamarckian factors, such as the inheritance of the effects of use and disuse and of the effects of environment. He conceded that natural selection was insufficient to account for all the phenomena of organic evolution, and advanced the theory of sexual selection in order to account for facts which the major hypothesis seemed to him incapable of explaining. Darwin, moreover, having ample private means, was not obliged to work for a living, and was therefore able to devote the whole of his time to research. The advantages of such a position cannot be over-estimated, and, perhaps, have not been sufficiently taken into account in apportioning the praise between Darwin and Wallace for their great discovery. Huxley To all these factors in Darwin’s favour we must add his good fortune in possessing so able a lieutenant as Huxley. Huxley was an ardent evolutionist, an able writer, and a brilliant debater. A man of his mental calibre was able, like a clever barrister, to make out a plausible case for any theory which he chose to take up. While nominally a strong supporter of the Darwinian theory, he was in reality fighting for the doctrine of descent. Had _any_ plausible theory of evolution been enunciated, Huxley would undoubtedly have fought for it equally earnestly.