万物简史 第560期:达尔文的非凡见解(9)

 Darwin's manuscript might have remained locked away till his death 达尔文的手稿也许到死也不会发表，

but for an alarming blow that arrived from the Far East in the early summer of 1858 可是一件意想不到的事情令他深感吃惊。1858年夏初，达尔文收到了一个来自远东的包裹，

in the form of a packet containing a friendly letter from a young naturalist¹ named Alfred Russel Wallace and the draft of a paper, 里面有一位名为阿尔弗雷德·拉塞尔·华莱士的年轻博物学家写的一封措辞友好的信，

On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely from the Original Type, 以及他的一篇名为《变种与原种永远分离的趋势》的论文草稿。

outlining a theory of natural selection that was uncannily similar to Darwin's secret jottings. 该文提出了自然选择的理论，与达尔文未发表的手稿不谋而合，

Even some of the phrasing echoed Darwin's own. 有一些语句甚至与达尔文的如出一辙。

"I never saw a more striking coincidence," Darwin reflected in dismay. “我从未见过如此巧合的事情，”达尔文沮丧地说，

"If Wallace had my manuscript sketch² written out in 1842, he could not have made a better short abstract." “即使阅读了我写于1842年的手稿，华莱士也给不出比这更加精当的概括。”

Wallace didn't drop into Darwin's life quite as unexpectedly as is sometimes suggested. 华莱士并不像有时候认为的那样。是不期而然地闯入了达尔文的生活。

The two were already corresponding, and Wallace had more than once generously sent Darwin specimens³ that he thought might be of interest. 他们两个人已经在通信，华莱士还曾不止一次大度地把他认为有点意思的标本寄给达尔文。

In the process of these exchanges Darwin had discreetly⁴ warned Wallace that he regarded the subject of species creation as his own territory. 在两人通信的过程中，达尔文曾委婉地告诉华莱士，他早已把物种起源作为自己独占的研究领域。

"This summer will make the 20th year (!) since I opened my first note-book, on the question of how & in what way do species & varieties differ from each other," “到今年夏天，我已经第20年（！）没有打开过我的第一部手稿了，里面论述了物种和变种是怎样彼此不同的。”

he had written to Wallace some time earlier. "I am now preparing my work for publication," he added, even though he wasn't really. 早些时候，在给华莱士的信里，他曾这样写道，“我现在正准备出版我的著作。”他接着说，不过实际上他并没有打算这样做。

In any case, Wallace failed to grasp what Darwin was trying to tell him, 然而，华莱士没有领会达尔文的意思，

and of course he could have no idea that his own theory was so nearly identical to one that Darwin had been evolving, as it were, for two decades. 无论如何，他当然不可能知道他的理论与达尔文已经研究了20年的学说会几乎一致。

 

1 naturalist   

n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)

参考例句：

• He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业，同时是个博物学爱好者。
• The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。

2 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

3 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 discreetly   

ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地

参考例句：

• He had only known the perennial widow, the discreetly expensive Frenchwoman. 他只知道她是个永远那么年轻的寡妇，一个很会讲排场的法国女人。
• Sensing that Lilian wanted to be alone with Celia, Andrew discreetly disappeared. 安德鲁觉得莉莲想同西莉亚单独谈些什么，有意避开了。