《A Short History of Nearly Everything》第125章

referred　panion　dropped　out。
from　a　twenty…first…century　perspective　the　two　men’s　most　striking　joint　feature　was　their1an　auspicious　date　in　history：　on　the　same　day　in　kentucky；　abraham　lincoln　was　born。
extreme　youthfulness。　at　the　time　of　sailing；　fitzroy　was　only　twenty…three；　darwin　justtwenty…two。
fitzroy’s　formal　assignment　was　to　chart　coastal　waters；　but　his　hobby—passion　really—was　to　seek　out　evidence　for　a　literal；　biblical　interpretation　of　creation。　that　darwin　wastrained　for　the　ministry　was　central　to　fitzroy’s　decision　to　have　him　aboard。　that　darwinsubsequently　proved　to　be　not　only　liberal　of　view　but　less　than　wholeheartedly　devoted　tochristian　fundamentals　became　a　source　of　lasting　friction　between　them。
darwin’s　time　aboard　hms　beagle；　from　1831　to　1836；　was　obviously　the　formativeexperience　of　his　life；　but　also　one　of　the　most　trying。　he　and　his　captain　shared　a　small　cabin；which　can’t　have　been　easy　as　fitzroy　was　subject　to　fits　of　fury　followed　by　spells　ofsimmering　resentment。　he　and　darwin　constantly　engaged　in　quarrels；　some　“bordering　oninsanity；”　as　darwin　later　recalled。　ocean　voyages　tended　to　bee　melancholyundertakings　at　the　best　of　times—the　previous　captain　of　the　beagle　had　put　a　bullet　throughhis　brain　during　a　moment　of　lonely　gloom—and　fitzroy　came　from　a　family　well　known　fora　depressive　instinct。　his　uncle；　viscount　castlereagh；　had　slit　his　throat　the　previous　decadewhile　serving　as　chancellor　of　the　exchequer。　（fitzroy　would　himself　mit　suicide　by　thesame　method　in　1865。）　even　in　his　calmer　moods；　fitzroy　proved　strangely　unknowable。
darwin　was　astounded　to　learn　upon　the　conclusion　of　their　voyage　that　almost　at　oncefitzroy　married　a　young　woman　to　whom　he　had　long　been　betrothed。　in　five　years　indarwin’s　pany；　he　had　not　once　hinted　at　an　attachment　or　even　mentioned　her　name。
in　every　other　respect；　however；　the　beagle　voyage　was　a　triumph。　darwin　experiencedadventure　enough　to　last　a　lifetime　and　accumulated　a　hoard　of　specimens　sufficient　to　makehis　reputation　and　keep　him　occupied　for　years。　he　found　a　magnificent　trove　of　giant　ancientfossils；　including　the　finest　megatherium　known　to　date；　survived　a　lethal　earthquake　inchile；　discovered　a　new　species　of　dolphin　（which　he　dutifully　named　delphinus　fitzroyi）；conducted　diligent　and　useful　geological　investigations　throughout　the　andes；　and　developeda　new　and　much…admired　theory　for　the　formation　of　coral　atolls；　which　suggested；　notcoincidentally；　that　atolls　could　not　form　in　less　than　a　million　years—the　first　hint　of　hislong…standing　attachment　to　the　extreme　antiquity　of　earthly　processes。　in　1836；　aged　twenty…seven；　he　returned　home　after　being　away　for　five　years　and　two　days。　he　never　left　englandagain。
one　thing　darwin　didn’t　do　on　the　voyage　was　propound　the　theory　（or　even　a　theory）　ofevolution。　for　a　start；　evolution　as　a　concept　was　already　decades　old　by　the　1830s。　darwin’sown　grandfather；　erasmus；　had　paid　tribute　to　evolutionary　principles　in　a　poem　of　inspiredmediocrity　called　“the　temple　of　nature”　years　before　charles　was　even　born。　it　wasn’t　untilthe　younger　darwin　was　back　in　england　and　read　thomas　malthus’s　essay　on　the　principleof　population　（which　proposed　that　increases　in　food　supply　could　never　keep　up　withpopulation　growth　for　mathematical　reasons）　that　the　idea　began　to　percolate　through　his　mindthat　life　is　a　perpetual　struggle　and　that　natural　selection　was　the　means　by　which　somespecies　prospered　while　others　failed。　specifically　what　darwin　saw　was　that　all　organismspeted　for　resources；　and　those　that　had　some　innate　advantage　would　prosper　and　pass　onthat　advantage　to　their　offspring。　by　such　means　would　species　continuously　improve。
it　seems　an　awfully　simple　idea—it　is　an　awfully　simple　idea—but　it　explained　a　great　deal；and　darwin　was　prepared　to　devote　his　life　to　it。　“how　stupid　of　me　not　to　have　thought　ofit！”　t。　h。　huxley　cried　upon　reading　on　the　origin　of　species。　it　is　a　view　that　has　beenechoed　ever　since。
interestingly；　darwin　didn’t　use　the　phrase　“survival　of　the　fittest”　in　any　of　his　work（though　he　did　express　his　admiration　for　it）。　the　expression　was　coined　five　years　after　thepublication　of　on　the　origin　of　species　by　herbert　spencer　in　principles　of　biology　in　1864。
nor　did　he　employ　the　word　evolution　in　print　until　the　sixth　edition　of　origin　（by　which　timeits　use　had　bee　too　widespread　to　resist）；　preferring　instead　“descent　with　modification。”
nor；　above　all；　were　his　conclusions　in　any　way　inspired　by　his　noticing；　during　his　time　inthe　galápagos　islands；　an　interesting　diversity　in　the　beaks　of　finches。　the　story　asconventionally　told　（or　at　least　as　frequently　remembered　by　many　of　us）　is　that　darwin；while　traveling　from　island　to　island；　noticed　that　the　finches’　beaks　on　each　island　weremarvelously　adapted　for　exploiting　local　resources—that　on　one　island　beaks　were　sturdy　andshort　and　good　for　cracking　nuts；　while　on　the　next　island　beaks　were　perhaps　long　and　thinand　well　suited　for　winkling　food　out　of　crevices—and　it　was　this　that　set　him　to　thinking　thatperhaps　the　birds　had　not　been　created　this　way；　but　had　in　a　sense　created　themselves。
in　fact；　the　birds　had　created　themselves；　but　it　wasn’t　darwin　who　noticed　it。　at　the　timeof　the　beagle　voyage；　darwin　was　fresh　out　of　college　and　not　yet　an　acplished　naturalistand　so　failed　to　see　that　the　galápagos　birds　were　all　of　a　type。　it　was　his　friend　theornithologist　john　gould　who　realized　that　what　darwin　had　found　was　lots　of　finches　withdifferent　talents。　unfortunately；　in　his　inexperience　darwin　had　not　noted　which　birds　camefrom　which　islands。　（he　had　made　a　similar　error　with　tortoises。）　it　took　years　to　sort　themuddles　out。
because　of　these　oversights；　and　the　need　to　sort　through　crates　and　crates　of　other　beaglespecimens；　it　wasn’t　until　1842；　six　years　after　his　return　to　england；　that　darwin　finallybegan　to　sketch　out　the　rudiments　of　his　new　theory。　these　he　expanded　into　a　230…page“sketch”　two　years　later。　and　then　he　did　an　extraordinary　thing：　he　put　his　notes　away　andfor　the　next　decade　and　a　half　busied　himself　with