charles_darwin

The Life of Charles Darwin
himself—he was in his early twenties and he was not the first nor
the last person to find extracurricular activities more interesting than
studying for his degree—but he thought that his time at Cambridge
was ‘‘worse than wasted.’’ 8 There is no doubt that his father was
exasperated by the fact that Darwin continued his shooting, hunting,
and riding in the countryside while at Cambridge. Even worse,
Darwin also added drinking, ‘‘jolly singing,’’ and playing cards to his
leisure activities. 9
Although Darwin was not an outstanding student at Cambridge,
he was beginning to apply himself to studying more seriously than
before. He worked with a private tutor in Shrewsbury between
October and December 1827 to bring his Greek up to the standard
necessary for Cambridge. Although he found the lectures boring and
generally only attended the compulsory ones, he learned the classics
and mathematics well enough to pass the necessary examinations
comfortably. And he read thoroughly A View of the Evidences of Christianity
and The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy by the
British theologian William Paley (1743–1805). A knowledge of both
books was required to pass the degree examination: Darwin knew
the arguments in Evidences of Christianity so well that he could write
and explain every one in the book. Darwin placed tenth out of 178
students who did not take an honors degree, the more difficult
course of study: not impressive but creditable nonetheless.
The irony of Darwin’s stay at Cambridge was his career goal.
He was studying to become a clergyman. Darwin was not pious. His
mother and sisters were, but Darwin was more like his father and
grandfather in religious temperament: there were too many problems
with religion in general and Christianity in particular to take either
too seriously. Darwin persuaded himself that he should accept the
doctrines of the Church of England fully and did not think too
deeply about the literal truth of the Bible or the foundational premises
of Paley’s arguments.
In the end, neither Darwin’s partying, nor his supposed lack of
application to his studies, nor the strength of his religious convictions
mattered. At Cambridge, Darwin took the first steps toward
becoming a naturalist; in today’s language, a practicing scientist. He
began collecting beetles. In fact, he became so obsessed with this
that, as Darwin recounted,
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one day, on tearing off some old bark, I saw two rare beetles
and seized one in each hand; then I saw a third and new kind,
which I could not bear to lose, so that I popped the one which
I held in my right hand into my mouth. Alas it ejected some