Page - 8 - in The Origin of Species

8 INTRODUCTORY NOTE ments. Anthropology, Geology, Psychology, Philosophy, Soci- ology, Religion, Language, History, and Astronomy are all repre- sented, and the mere enumeration suggests the colossal nature of his achievement and its results. Yet the spirit of the man was almost as wonderful as his work. His disinterestedness, his modesty, and his absolute fairness were not only beautiful in themselves, but remain as a proof of the importance of character in intellectual labor. Here is his own frank and candidsumming up of his abilities: "My success as a man of science, whatever this may have amounted to, has been determined, as far as I can judge, by complex and diversified mental qualities and conditions. Of these, the most important have been—the love of science—unbounded patience in long re- flecting over any subject—industry in observing and collecting facts—and a fair share of invention as zvell as of common sense. With such moderate abilities as I possess, it is truly surprising that I should have influenced to a considerable extent the belief of scientific men on some important points."