Author: Miao Deling
I once wrote an oil poem entitled "Self-Deprecation" in the year of confusion, lamenting my helplessness in being born at an inopportune time and a bad fate, two of which were: "Thirty and hate are not established, forty is not confused but confused." Darwin, on the other hand, was a completely different year, and 1839 was his founding year and the lucky year of his life. In this year, he published the Voyage of the Beagle, was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, and married his beautiful and kind little cousin Emma. Perhaps more importantly, 1839 also marked an important turning point in Darwin's academic development and wonderful life.
First of all, in the two or three years since his return from the global expedition, in the process of compiling the diaries, specimens, materials and writings of the global expedition, he has further enhanced his many doubts about the theory of species fixation, which mainly come from three aspects: (1) the mammal fossils found in Patagonia in South America, which have been studied by Professor Owen, are very similar to the local poor toothed species (such as large sloths, armadillos, etc.); (2) the ostriches that are continuously distributed in the south and north of South America. There are clear differences in species between north and south (the southernmost ostrich is much smaller than in the north) ;(3) There are subtle but obvious differences between the adjacent islets of the Galapagos Islands (e.g., the famous tortoise, on different islands, their neck length and the pattern on the shell of the turtle are different). In addition, the shape of the beak of the ground finches on different islands is also different). If each species was created separately by God and does not change once created, why do these strange and interesting phenomena occur? If there really was a Creator, he wouldn't be so stupid or cause trouble, would he? Beginning in July 1837, Darwin gradually recorded these doubts and ideas in his secret notebooks, essentially concluding that species are variable and evolve slowly. But how did this change or evolution happen? He didn't know. One day in September 1838, when he was reading the economist Malthus's famous book "Population", Mao Sai suddenly opened up, it turned out to be natural selection, survival of the fittest! At this moment, he suddenly discovered the main mechanism of biological evolution - natural selection. For Darwin, this "epiphany" can really be described as "stepping on the iron shoe and finding nowhere to find it, and it takes no effort at all." According to the historians of science, he recorded this relatively mature idea in 1839.
Secondly, it is precisely because of the years since his return to China that Darwin has achieved the above series of impressive achievements, and at the same time, in the busy single life of London, he has also experienced the loneliness of celibacy. Towards the end of 1838, he suddenly felt the need for an intimate partner in his life, and he also began to feel that he had achieved something and could propose to his very good cousin Emma.
Emma is her uncle's youngest daughter and the jewel in her uncle's hand. Emma is not only a lady in the ordinary sense, but also a kind, well-informed, versatile woman; she loves literature and art, and she plays the piano well. When she grew up traveling around Europe with her parents and living in Paris, her father hired Chopin as her pianist and played the piano to the level of a pianist. Darwin and his little cousin are young and beautiful, and the love between their hearts goes without saying, and their uncles and cousins are also tacit and happy to see it come true. However, in the Victorian era, women could not take the initiative to open their mouths to confide in the man, but Darwin always felt that the little cousin was too good to deserve her. Approaching the "year of establishment", he finally felt that he had a little "confidence". But Darwin, who has always been cautious in his words and deeds, must also ask "marry or not to marry?" before making up his mind. "This serious question, do a rigorous scientific argument!"
In order to weigh the pros and cons of family marriage, Darwin took out a few pieces of paper in a serious manner, listing the pros and cons of marriage on the left and the pros and cons of not marrying on the right; comparing the two boxes, analyzing and discussing them, and finally concluding that it was completely the routine of writing scientific papers. The "benefits" of marriage listed on the left include lifelong companionship (friends when old age comes), the joy of heaven (if God gives children), music, and the ability to linger with charming female dependents; the disadvantages of marriage include losing the freedom to go out and investigate due to family feuds, and wasting precious time for social activities and relatives and friends. The "benefits" listed on the right include the freedom to be single, having time to "chat" with wise and interesting gentlemen in clubs, not having to be forced to deal with relatives and friends who lack common interests, playing tricks, etc.; the disadvantages of not marrying are naturally the loss of many benefits of marriage. After such "scientific" and careful consideration, he finally realized: If a person is like a worker bee, he only knows how to bury his head in work and work hard all his life, what fun and meaning is there in life? Looking at the many happy "slaves" around him, he did not hesitate to write at the conclusion: The argument is completed - marriage!
On November 9, 1838, Darwin went to his uncle's house to propose to Emma. He did not bring roses or engagement rings, nor did he kneel down on one knee in front of his sweetheart, as many young people do today, but nervously asked Emma, "I love you, Emma." Would you like to be my lifelong partner? This thoughtful word, which he uttered in a trembling voice. Still, Emma knew this honest and lovely cousin very well, a phrase she had been waiting for years, and in her ears it was more beautiful than the most beautiful music in the world. However, the words came so suddenly that Emma was so excited that she could not speak for a moment, and she shyly nodded her head in acquiescence. Two days later, Darwin's father and uncle, as the parents of both parties, held a solemn and cheerful but unobtrusive engagement ceremony for the young couple at their uncle's house. Darwin called it "the most memorable day of his life."
The couple married at the end of January 1839, and their marriage was a typical fairytale union of "a happy and happy life from then on". The two people are happy to tie the knot is the "kiss and kiss" between the cousins and brothers, therefore, the door is right, the husband sings with the woman, the white head is old, and they have 10 children together, except for 3 people who died early, the other seven brothers and sisters are healthy and long-lived, and several of them have achieved success in their careers.
Darwin's wife, Emma
At this point, Darwin has not yet reached the age of 30, but he has truly established a family. For Darwin's scientific research career, for the first two or three years after marriage, the newlyweds settled in crowded and dirty London, temporarily working as renters. Emma had no complaints about this and was an excellent housewife who received many of Darwin's scientist friends, she was warm and attentive, and made her feel at home. A scientist friend of Darwin once praised Emma for saying that in retrospect, the esoteric philosophy of the "philosopher" (Darwin's nickname on the Beagle) had been forgotten, while the hostess's hospitality lingered in her mind.
In addition, less than a year after returning from the Darwin Global Expedition, there was a sudden strange illness with symptoms such as headache, dizziness, palpitations, and nausea. This strange disease has tormented him for a long time, plagued him for the rest of his life, and the cause of the disease has not been identified, so it cannot be cured. During the 43 years that Darwin and Emma lived together, Emma played multiple roles as wife, secretary, nurse, entertainer, best friend, and psychologist. In order to relieve the pressure of his work, Emma played the piano and read novels for him; she knew more foreign languages than Darwin, often translated foreign letters and books for him; and also helped him transcribe and organize materials. More importantly, she understood and unconditionally supported Darwin's research work, always looking for ways to share his worries. As Darwin wrote in his memoirs, Emma was the greatest happiness of my life, she never said a word I didn't like to hear, she was my best friend and savior. Indeed, judging from Darwin's physical condition and his workload, it is difficult to imagine how, without Emma's meticulous care for him, he could have lived to such a rare age and achieved so much.
The Darwins had a son and a daughter in two years after their marriage, and by the second half of 1841 Emma found herself pregnant with her third child. London apartments, which were not already very spacious, became more crowded with the birth of children. In addition, Darwin was increasingly restless due to his health, which was increasingly difficult to tolerate the noise of London. He consulted Emma that perhaps they needed to buy a house on the outskirts of London; that would avoid the noisy life of London and facilitate the occasional visit to the city for scientific activities. Emma had always liked the idyllic life of her mother's family, but only succumbed to London for her husband's career. Thus, Darwin's proposal was exactly what she wanted. After some searching, they bought a priest's house in Downe, a small town on the southern outskirts of London, which came to be known as Down House. From 1842 onwards, Darwin spent the rest of his life in this house (for 40 years), writing On the Origin of Species and many other works, and now the house is now designated the "Darwin House Memorial" by the British Historical And Cultural Institution.
Darwin House
As mentioned earlier, when Darwin re-read Malthus's "Population" in September 1838, he suddenly had an "epiphany" and discovered the main mechanism of biological evolution- natural selection. However, since the idea had come so suddenly, and so shockingly "dangerous", he had simply written it down in his secret notebook dated September 28, 1838. From that moment on, he kept this idea secret, and he felt that it was too immature and too easily controversial. Over the next few years, he kept a record of evidence in one secret notebook after another (which he had only revealed in a letter to his good friend Lyle). After he had settled down after he had moved to the "Party House", he began to feel that the above ideas had matured, so he drafted a 35-page handwritten outline in the new house (1842). By July 1844, he had completed a 50,000-word (189-page) Outline of Species Theory on the basis of the previous outline.
The main conclusions of Darwin's compendium include:
(1) There are heritable individual variations in organisms. In other words, organisms are born with variations that can be passed on from parent to offspring.
(2) Because of limited resources, there must be a brutal struggle for survival between living beings.
(3) As a result, individuals with "good" variations have a greater chance of survival and leave more offspring. Over time, beneficial variations are preserved and accumulated, and harmful variants are removed, ultimately enabling organisms to better adapt to their living environment and way of living. This is the principle of "natural selection".
(4) Natural selection is the main way of biological evolution, which not only explains the mystery of the mass extinction of organisms in the history of the earth, but also explains why the creatures on the earth have become so colorful today. The entire biological world, including our own humans, has evolved from one or more of the earliest primitive species through natural selection and is still in constant evolution.
It is worth pointing out that at this time, Darwin was relatively satisfied with this "Outline of Species Theory", and thought that he summed up some of the more certain understandings and conclusions at that time, which was worth publishing at the appropriate time. To this end, he took into account his scribbled handwriting, and solemnly asked the local primary school principal who wrote well to copy out his manuscript neatly. In view of his poor health and full of confidence and obsession with his "theory", he wrote a letter to his wife Emma zheng at the age of less than 35 that resembled a "will" and entrusted his important "academic baby" to his beloved wife, in case of premature death, his wife knew how to deal with this precious manuscript.
Darwin wrote in his letter: "This manuscript is a compendium of the theory of species that I have just completed, and if a qualified reviewer can later affirm its value, it will be a major contribution to scientific progress." In the unlikely event that I die, please pay £400 for publication and entrust Mr. Henslow or Mr. Lyle to discuss the matter to ensure that it is published. However, the doom he feared did not come, and he was fortunate to live to an ancient age, not only to publicize this theory himself, but also to witness its wide acceptance and to earn him a prominent "posthumous name" – but all this will have to wait for at least 15 years...
Miao: Researcher, Institute for Biodiversity And Natural History, University of Kansas, Lawrence 66045, USA. [email protected]
Miao Desui: Professor Emeritus, Museum of Natural History, Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA 66045.
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