“The publication of the Darwin and Wallace papers in 1858, and still more that of the 'Origin' in 1859, had the effect upon them of the flash of light, which to a man who has lost himself in a dark night, suddenly reveals a road which, whether it takes him straight home or not, certainly goes his way. That which we were looking for, and could not find, was a hypothesis respecting the origin of known organic forms, which assumed the operation of no causes but such as could be proved to be actually at work. We wanted, not to pin our faith to that or any other speculation, but to get hold of clear and definite conceptions which could be brought face to face with facts and have their validity tested. The 'Origin' provided us with the working hypothesis we sought.” FactsScienceEvolutionBiologyHypothesisValidityOrigin Of SpeciesDarwinEffectCharles DarwinWallaceAlfred Russel WallaceAlfred Wallace Book:On the Reception of the 'Origin of Species' Source: On the Reception of the 'Origin of Species'