CHARLES DARWIN TO C. LYELL.
Down, Saturday [December 12th, 1859].

...I had very long interviews with --, which perhaps you would like to hear
about...I infer from several expressions that, at bottom, he goes an
immense way with us...

He said to the effect that my explanation was the best ever published of
the manner of formation of species. I said I was very glad to hear it. He
took me up short: "You must not at all suppose that I agree with you in
all respects." I said I thought it no more likely that I should be right
in nearly all points, than that I should toss up a penny and get heads
twenty times running. I asked him what he thought the weakest part. He
said he had no particular objection to any part. He added:--

"If I must criticise, I should say, 'we do not want to know what Darwin
believes and is convinced of, but what he can prove.'" I agreed most fully
and truly that I have probably greatly sinned in this line, and defended my
general line of argument of inventing a theory and seeing how many classes
of facts the theory would explain. I added that I would endeavour to
modify the "believes" and "convinceds." He took me up short: "You will
then spoil your book, the charm of (!) it is that it is Darwin himself."
He added another objection, that the book was too teres atque rotundus---
that it explained everything, and that it was improbable in the highest
degree that I should succeed in this. I quite agree with this rather queer
objection, and it comes to this that my book must be very bad or very
good...

I have heard, by roundabout channel, that Herschel says my book "is the law