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The first two essays were kept unchanged for their historical significance, after Wallace earned recognition as an independent originator of the theory. Later essays were corrected, expanded, or rewritten to express Wallace’s current views more fully, and the preface explains why and how the work was published.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":15,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-theory-of-natural-selection-preface/516192/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-theory-of-natural-selection-preface/516192.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Rhys","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-24","2026-10-06",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What does Wallace say about the first two essays in this volume?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"He explains that they are printed without alteration because his independent development of natural selection gave them historical value.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why did Wallace publish these essays as a collected volume?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"He wants readers to understand the outline and content of the theory of the origin of species as he conceived it, including its principles and applications.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How does Wallace describe his relationship to Darwin’s work?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"He states that Darwin had been working long before him and that he did not attempt to write The Origin of Species, acknowledging limitations in his own ability and patience.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},516192,1791420679,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":14,"category_name":15,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},687207024643,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","0 0301 0049085 0  \nMBL/WHOI  \n# 5.J.Smith\n\nMewAaew  \nG  \n5久5;  \n1  \nTHE THEORY OF  \nNATURAL SELECTION.  \ng Series of Gssags.  \nALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE,  \nAUTHOR OF  \n“THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGo,”ETC.,ETC.  \nMACMILLAN AND CO.,Zanoon,  \nAND 63,BLEEKER STREET,Neh ork.  \n1870.  \n[The right of Translation and Reproduction is reserted.]  \nLOXDox:  \nPRISTED BY w.w.IEAD,ROYAL VICTORIA PRESs,FARRIXGDox STREET,E.C.  \nPREFACE.  \nTHE present volume consists of essays which I havecontributed to various periodicals,or read before scien-tific societies during the last fifteen years,with othersnow printed for the first time.The two first of theseries are printed without alteration,because,havinggained me the reputation of being an independentoriginator of tle theory of“natural selection,”they·may be considered to have some historical value.Ihave added to them one or two very short explanatorynotes,and have given headings to subjects,to makethem uniform with the rest of the book.The otheressays have been carefully corrected,often consider-ably enlarged,and in some cases almost rewritten,soas to express more fully and more clearly the viewswhich I hold at the present time;and as most ofthem originally appeared in publications which havea very limited circulation,I believe that the largerportion of this volume will be new to many of myfriends and to most of my readers.  \nI now wish to say a few words on the reasons whichhave led me to publish this work.The second essay,especially when taken in connection with the first,contains an outline sketch of the theory of the originof species(by means of what was afterwards termedby Mr.Darwin—“natural selection,”)as conceived  \nPREFACE.  \nby me before I had the least notion of the scope andnature of Mr.Darwin's labours.They were publishedin a way not likely to attract the attention of any butworking naturalists,and I feel sure that many whohave heard of them,have never had the opportunityof ascertaining how much or how little they really con-tain.It therefore happens,that,while some writersgive me more credit than I deserve,others may verynaturally class me with Dr.Wells and Mr.PatrickMatthew,who,as Mr.Darwin has shown in the his-torical sketch given in the 4th and 5th Editions ofthe“Origin of Species,”certainly propounded thefundamental principle of\"natural selection\"beforehimself,but who made no further use of that principle,and failed to see its wide and immensely importantapplications.  \nThe present work will,I venture to think,prove,that I both saw at the time the value and scope ofthe law which I had discovered,and have since beenable to apply it to some purpose in a few originallines of investigation.But here my claims cease.I have felt all my life,and I still feel,the mostsincere satisfaction that Mr.Darwin had been atwork long before me,and that it was not left for meto attempt to write“The Origin of Species.”I havelong since measured my own strength,and know wellthat it would be quite unequal to that task.Farabler men than myself may confess,that they havenot that untiring patience in accumulating,and thatwonderful skill in using,large masses of facts of the","cbCaip9gqndSOeJT","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaip9gqndSOeJT","pdf",38221445,414,"English","# PREFACE\n## Purpose of the collected essays\n## Wallace’s relation to Darwin’s work\n## Scope, claims, and limitations","[{\"question\":\"What does Wallace say about the first two essays in this volume?\",\"answer\":\"He explains that they are printed without alteration because his independent development of natural selection gave them historical value.\"},{\"question\":\"Why did Wallace publish these essays as a collected volume?\",\"answer\":\"He wants readers to understand the outline and content of the theory of the origin of species as he conceived it, including its principles and applications.\"},{\"question\":\"How does Wallace describe his relationship to Darwin’s work?\",\"answer\":\"He states that Darwin had been working long before him and that he did not attempt to write The Origin of Species, acknowledging limitations in his own ability and patience.\"}]","The Theory of Natural Selection - Preface | PDF",1791327263,638]