To John Phillips   26 November [1859]

My dear Phillips.

Thank you for your note.¹ Permit me to say one word about my Book. Though many facts in palæontolog may appear, or be really, opposed to my notions, & though my explanations may be quite fallacious, I earnestly beg you to consider whether a theory wholly false could explain, as it seems to me to explain, several classes of facts,—as affinity of inhabitants of islands to nearest continent—the nature of the inhabitants of oceanic islands—the affinities & classification of organic beings & their arrangement in groups—the strange fact of a being of one group being adapted to the habits of another group—the facts of morphology or homology—Embryology & Rudimentary organs.— If you think the theory of Natural Selection does not to large extent explain these classes of facts, I have not a word to say.—

Pray forgive me saying a word in favour of my offspring to one, whom I consider an important judge.—

Yours very sincerely | C. Darwin