Furtheron，Mr。Sullyremarksthat\"Heraclitusdeservesaprominentplaceinthehistoryoftheideaofevolution，\"andhestates，withperfectjustice，thatHeraclitushasforeshadowedsomeofthespecialpeculiaritiesofMr。Darwin’sviews。ItisindeedaverystrangecircumstancethatthephilosophyofthegreatEphesianmorethanadumbratesthetwodoctrineswhichhaveplayedleadingparts，theoneinthedevelopmentofChristiandogma，theotherinthatofnaturalscience。TheformeristheconceptionoftheWord[logos]whichtookitsJewishshapeinAlexandria，anditsChristianforminthatGospelwhichisusuallyreferredtoanEphesiansourceofsomefivecenturieslaterdate；andthelatteristhatofthestruggleforexistence。Thesayingthat\"strifeisfatherandkingofall\"
[……]，ascribedtoHeraclitus，wouldbeanotinappropriatemottoforthe\"OriginofSpecies。\"
IhavereferredonlytoMr。Sully’sarticle，becausehisauthorityisquitesufficientformypurpose。ButtheconsultationofanyofthemoreelaboratehistoriesofGreekphilosophy，suchasthegreatworkofZeller，forexample，willonlybringoutthesamefactintostillmorestrikingprominence。Ihaveprofessedno\"minuteacquaintance\"witheitherIndianorGreekphilosophy，butIhavetakenagreatdealofpainstosecurethatsuchknowledgeasIdopossessshallbeaccurateandtrustworthy。
Inthethirdplace，Mr。GladstoneappearstowishthatIshoulddiscusswithhimthequestionwhetherthenebularhypothesisis，orisnot，confirmatoryofthepentateuchalaccountoftheoriginofthings。Mr。Gladstoneappearstobepreparedtoenteruponthiscampaignwithalightheart。IconfessIamnot，andmyreasonforthisbackwardnesswilldoubtlesssurpriseMr。
Gladstone。Itisthat，rathermorethanaquarterofacenturyago（namely，inFebruary1859），whenitwasmyduty，asPresidentoftheGeologicalSociety，todelivertheAnniversaryAddress，Ichoseatopicwhichinvolvedaverycarefulstudyoftheremarkablecosmogonicalspeculation，originallypromulgatedbyImmanuelKantand，subsequently，byLaplace，whichisnowknownasthenebularhypothesis。WiththehelpofsuchlittleacquaintancewiththeprinciplesofphysicsandastronomyasIhadgained，Iendeavouredtoobtainaclearunderstandingofthisspeculationinallitsbearings。IamnotsurethatIsucceeded；butofthisIamcertain，thattheproblemsinvolvedareverydifficult，evenforthosewhopossesstheintellectualdisciplinerequisitefordealingwiththem。