knowledge which has come into men's hands, since the publication
of Newton's 'Principia,' is Darwin's 'Origin of Species.'

It was badly received by the generation to which it was first
addressed, and the outpouring of angry nonsense to which it gave
rise is sad to think upon. But the present generation will
probably behave just as badly if another Darwin should arise, and
inflict upon them that which the generality of mankind most hate
--the necessity of revising their convictions. Let them, then,
be charitable to us ancients; and if they behave no better than
the men of my day to some new benefactor, let them recollect
that, after all, our wrath did not come to much, and vented
itself chiefly in the bad language of sanctimonious scolds. Let
them as speedily perform a strategic right-about-face, and follow
the truth wherever it leads. The opponents of the new truth will
discover, as those of Darwin are doing, that, after all, theories
do not alter facts, and that the universe remains unaffected even
though texts crumble. Or, it may be, that, as history repeats
itself, their happy ingenuity will also discover that the new
wine is exactly of the same vintage as the old, and that (rightly
viewed) the old bottles prove to have been expressly made for
holding it.