Then, a little later (and with both of us almost accidentally) we
became travellers, collectors, and observers, in some of the
richest and most interesting portions of the earth; and we thus
had forced upon our attention all the strange phenomena of local
and geographical distribution, with the numerous problems to
which they give rise. Thenceforward our interest in the great
mystery of _how_ species came into existence was intensified,
and--again to use Darwin's expression--"haunted" us.
Finally, both Darwin and myself, at the critical period when our
minds were freshly stored with a considerable body of personal
observation and reflection bearing upon the problem to be solved,
had our attention directed to the system of _positive checks_ as
expounded by Malthus in his "Principles of Population." The effect
of that was analogous to that of friction upon the specially
prepared match, producing that flash of insight which led us
immediately to the simple but universal law of the "survival of
the fittest," as the long-sought _effective_ cause of the
continuous modification and adaptations of living things.
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