60s & Further

Ancient Wisdom Bookstore I The Theosophists Philosophers & Thinkers

Welcome to the
Ancient Wisdom Bookstore1

Hi Folks-this store (1-3) took 3 months to research and it was worth every minute.
At the end of it I realized that all the "New Age" and "Pagan/Wiccan" books
are just personal-self-absorbed attempts at 'glamour ministries'
and the knowlege we all yearned for has already been here for thousands of years,
millenniums and aeons, and that Nature perhaps may be the single one greatest teacher.

In the 60s & 70s during the' Revolution'-the "Hippie Movement,"
many of us dropped out of college-
although many of us did complete the courses and were granted our degrees.
I learned early on that learning never stopped for us.,
even if we had dropped out, we still studied whatever came to us..
through music, art, poltical and civil rights upheavals,
through the 'psychedelic round table's' (drug induced nights with friends),
present day philosophers, scholars, and guru's, and our own unquenchable thirst for 'truth.'

It occurred to me while I was arranging these particular bookstore's,
that if you want to study life's 'truths',
the ways of the ancients, astrology, myths and mythology, the occult and magic,
all the World has to offer is in a spiritual dialogue--
first read the Theosophists,
then Joseph Campbell...and then pick your favorites for your daily fare.
Mine have been Yogananda, Ram Dass, Thich Nhat Hahn and many others.

I was told by my grandfather when I was very little,
that to know history was to know who we are today..
in this age of remembering past lifetimes and recalling our own soul's ancient pathway-
-it's fascinating, to me, to delve into the ancient cultures, lost continents,
and familiar planetary alliances-of the past and in the Now...
blending it together and arriving at a spiritual truth
that I can live by and base my perceptions on,
I hope, will illustrate my point.

This project is in no way complete..
and will be ongoing-- thyme permitting.

Om Shakti, Shakti, Om

LionHeart
May 2009

Painting above "Tired Cupid" by William Bouguereau

The five prominent symbols visible in the seal (above) of the Theosophical Society are
the Star of David, the Ankh, the Swastika, the Ouroboros, and above the seal is the Aum.
Around the seal are written the words:
"There is no religion higher than truth".

The Theosophists

According to lexicographers, the term theosophia is composed of two Greek words
theos, "god," and sophos, "wise." So far, correct.
But the explanations that follow are far from giving a clear idea of Theosophy.
Webster defines it most originally as
"a supposed intercourse with God and superior spirits,
and consequent attainment of superhuman knowledge,
by physical processes, as by the theurgic operations of some ancient Platonists,
or by the chemical processes of the German fire- philosophers."

Theosophy and Theosophists have existed ever since the first glimmering of nascent thought
made man seek instinctively for the means of expressing his own independent opinions.

It is a noticeable fact that neither Zoroaster, Buddha, Orpheus, Pythagoras,
Confucius, Socrates, nor Ammonius Saccas, committed anything to writing.
The reason for it is obvious.
Theosophy is a double-edged weapon and unfit for the ignorant or the selfish.
Like every ancient philosophy it has its votaries among the moderns;
but, until late in our own days, its disciples were few in numbers,
and of the most various sects and opinions.

"Entirely speculative, and founding no school,
they have still exercised a silent influence upon philosophy;
and no doubt, when the time arrives, many ideas thus silently propounded
may yet give new directions to human thought and behavior."

Theosophy is a body of ideas which holds that all religions
are attempts by man/woman to ascertain "the Divine",
and as such each religion has a portion of the truth.

Theosophy, as a coherent system of thought,
developed from the writings of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (also Hélène).
Together with Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge,
and others she founded the Theosophical Society in 1875.

A more formal definition from the Concise Oxford Dictionary describes Theosophy as
"any of various philosophies professing to achieve a knowledge of God by spiritual ecstasy,
direct intuition, or special individual relations, esp.
a modern movement following Hindu and Buddhist
teachings and seeking universal brotherhood."

Adherents of Theosophy maintain that it is a "body of truth" that forms the basis of all religions.
Theosophy, they claim, represents a modern face of Sanatana Dharma,
"the Eternal Truth", as the proper religion.

The Theosophical Society intends to demonstrate or to describe
a synthesis of philosophy, ancient spiritual mysticism and modern science.

-H.P. Blavatsky-

Kybalion:
A Study of the Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece
by Three Initiates

Contents: Hermetic Philosophy; Seven Hermetic Principles; Mental Transmutation;
The All; the Mental Universe; Divine Paradox; "The All" in All; Planes of Correspondence;
Vibration; Polarity; Rhythm; Causation; Gender; Mental Gender; Hermetic Axioms.

The most important part of this book - other than pointing out these principles is that they are UNIVERSAL -
they allways work, they express throughout nature and if you use them and apply the consciously,
you can create whatever you can possibly desire in your life.
You will know then that there is a law and that it works with
mathematical precision, and that you can ALWAYS count on it.

The moment you grasp this truth, you will never ever again wish or hope for something to happen,
you will know that you have the power to create it and you will be certain of it.
And when you use this principles consciously and experience the truth of them -
no one in the entire world will ever be able to talk you out of fulfilling your heart's desires.
Even if the entire world doubts and laughs at you, you will not care because you'll KNOW that you CAN.
You will have the "key".

Helena Petrova Blavatsky
(1831-1891)
http://www.blavatsky.net/

Born of Russian Aristocratic parents,
Blavatsky, a flamboyant and charismatic personality,
was from an early age aware of her psychic abilities. 
She spent much of her life travelling through Europe,
the Middle East, Asia, and America. 
Through her travels and under various teachers
she was able to further develop her psychic powers.
She claimed to have several times entered Tibet,
which at that time was practically inaccessable to foreigners. 
It was there that she claimed to have met the secret Masters or Adepts
who she said appointed her as their worldly representative.

In New York in 1875, Madam Blavatsky,
with the help of an American lawyer and former soldier
Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832-1907),
and an Irish-born lawyer William Q. Judge (1851-1896),
founded a new society "to collect and diffuse
a knowledge of the laws which govern the Universe".
  They called it the Theosophical Society, from theosophy,
a Neoplatonic term meaning "Divine Wisdom" or "Wisdom of the Gods".

Travelling to India, Blavatsky and Olcott established themselves at Adyar,
near Madras, the proporty they aquired there eventually becoming
the world headquarters of the Society. 
| They then vistited Ceylon, where they converted (at least nominally). 
Then in Europe they established the nucleus of the movement in Britian,
and no less than three Theosophical Societies in Paris.

Coming at a time when Spiritualism and Mesmerism were all the rage,
when Darwin's scientific discoveries had undermined the authority of the church,
and a magical-occult revival was underway in France,
the time was certainly propitious. 
The new society flourished,
disseminating occult and Eastern teachings to the intelligent public at large,
and providing a powerful alternative to the restrictive dogmas of the conservative churches,
the arid vision of materialistic science, and the fairy-floss superficialities of Spiritualism.

Within a few short years other movements and organisations had sprung up
alongside the Spiritualists and Blavatsky's Theosophical Society. 
Mary Baker Eddy's Christian Science,
the Society for Psychical Research,
and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
were perhaps the three most important. 
The Occult rennaisance was well and truely flourishing. 
But it was to last only a few decades before conservatism once again took over. 
Not until the Counterculture movement of the mid-sixties
would any comparable revolution of consciousness occur.

The Secret Doctrine :
The Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy (Volumes 1 and 2)
by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

Isis Unveiled (Volumes 1 and 2)
by H. P. Blavatsky

The Key to Theosophy
by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

The Voice of the Silence:
Chosen Fragments from the "Book of the Golden Precepts"
by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

Helena Blavatsky
by Helena Blavatsky, Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (Introduction)

Alice A. Bailey
(1880-1949)

A prolific writer on mysticism
and the founder of an international esoteric movement,
Alice Bailey was born on 16th June 1880,
in Manchester, the daughter of an engineer.
After a cloistered upbringing she entered on a period of
evangelical work with the British army, which took her to India.
In 1920 Alice married another Theosophist, Foster Bailey,
and in 1923 they started The Arcane School to teach disciples
how to further the Great Universal Plan under the guidance
of the inner hierarchy of spiritual masters led by Christ.
After her death in 1949 the school was carried on by her husband. 
It still flourishes as a large international organization, and an organisation,
the Lucis Trust, was formed to overlook
the legal aspects of the School and the published books.
The influence of Ms Bailey's difficult writings has been,
if anything, even greater than that of Blavatsky in the New Age movement.

In America she discovered the works of Madame Blavatsky
and became active in the Theosophical Society.
The narrow, dogmatic Christianity which she had previously followed
gave way to wider spiritual horizons,
though the figure of Christ remained central to her beliefs.
She later grew disillusioned with the petty intrigues of the Theosophical Society
and ceased to play an active part in it, but she always recognized
the valuable part that Theosophy had played in her life.

A Treatise on Cosmic Fire
by Alice A. Bailey

Glamour: A World Problem
by Alice A. Bailey

The Seven Rays of Life: A Compilation
by Alice A. Bailey

Ponder on This: A Compilation
by Alice A. Bailey

Djhwal Khul, the Tibetan is one of the Ascended Masters who is recognized
as the “Great Psychologist” and is a teacher of higher metaphysical laws.
He is well known for his seminal theosophical teachings transmitted to Alice Bailey
which became the basis of the Arcane School.

Djwhal Khul is currently elevating and transforming the collective consciousness
of humankind through teachings and work on the inner planes
with all students who hear and want to respond to the “Higher Call”.
His teachings are filled with love, wisdom and humor.
The Tibetan has a great understanding and compassion for the human process
because of his own incarnations on the physical plane.
His devotion to the planet and all beings upon her
is reflected in his commitment to the restoration of the Divine Plan on Earth.

Manley P. Hall
(1901 - 1990)

Manly P. Hall was a seeker and lover of wisdom, the very definition of a philosopher.
He had the courage and the raw intellectual energy to look for wisdom
in places most men had long since forgotten about, or never knew existed.
He lived in an era when most Americans did not look
toward other cultures and traditions, without looking down.
Yet during such times, Manly P. Hall spoke, and wrote extensively,
of the wisdom found in all ancient traditions.

In an age when serious study of "other religions" was anathema to most,
Manly found deep cross-cultural threads and revealed many
interconnected roots of modern religious expression.

Neither Guru nor Saint, he made no claim of perfection, far from it;
but his work is exceedingly rare in its grand scope, detail and synthesis.
He embraced the wisdom of every tradition, and,
with a fluid command of their obscure and complex contents,
worked to express their unifying truths.
His legacy is over 200 printed volumes,
8000 lectures,
a hand picked library which is one of the finest in the field,
and a Society and University that continue in his spirit
of universal exploration and learning.

"Hence the disciple of the Ancient Wisdom is taught to realize
that man is not essentially a personality, but a spirit."
Manly P. Hall

THE PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
http://www.prs.org/
In 1934 Mr. Hall founded the Philosophical Research Society,
dedicating it to the ensoulment of all arts, sciences, and crafts,
and devoted to the one basic purpose of advancing the brotherhood of all that lives,
to meet all lovers of wisdom on a common ground.
The society still hosts a wide range of lectures, seminars, workshops and performances
on philosophical subjects and runs a bookstore and library. 
Located in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles since its inception,
it has for decades been a place of learning for all spiritual traditions
and was designated a Cultural Site by Los Angeles City Council in 1994.

The Secret Teachings of All Ages
by Manly P. Hall

Reincarnation, The Cycle of Necessity
by Manly P. Hall

Twelve World Teachers:
A Summary of Their Lives and Teachings
by Manly P. Hall

The Ways of the Lonely Ones
by Manly P. Hall, J. Augustus Knapp (Illustrator)

Sages & Seers
by Manly P. Hall

Inner Lives of Minerals, Plants & Animals
by Manly P. Hall

Annie Besant
(1847-1933)

Annie Besant is often described as a Theosophist,
educator and friend of India.
While words describe parts of her life,
they do not say clearly that her whole life seems to have been
a courageous search for an all-embracing truth.
She became interested in Theosophy as a way of knowing God.
As a member and later leader of the Theosophical Society,
Besant helped to spread Theosophical beliefs around the world,
notably in India.
Here, her long-time interest in education resulted in the founding
of the Central Hindu College at Benares (1898).
Here also she became involved in Indian nationalism,
and in 1916 established the Indian Home Rule League,
of which she became president,
as she was of the Indian National Congress in 1917.
She would later split with its leader Mahatma Gandhi.
In the late 1920s Besant travelled to the United States
with her protégé and adopted son Jiddu Krishnamurti,
whom she claimed was the new Messiah and incarnation of Buddha.
Krishnamurti rejected these claims in 1929.
Besant eventually became reunited with her own children, but died in India,
where her ashes were scattered at the seashore.

The Spiritual Life
by Annie Besant

Thought Power:
Its Control and Culture
by Annie Besant

Death and After and Memories of Past Lives
by Annie Besant

Besant with Mahatma Gandhi Besant with J. Krishnamurti

Charles Leadbeater
(1847-1934)
http://blavatskyarchives.com/leadbeaterbib.htm

"The range of [C.W. Leadbeater's] . . . writings,
and the wealth of material that flowed from his prolific pen, was vast. 
Some forty volumes, even more pamphlets,
and for much of his life probably five or six journal articles a week
. . . constituted his literary output . . . .
The modern occult revival owes more to him than to anyone else;
his concepts and ideas, his popularizing of occult and Theosophical terms and principles,
run through all modern works on these subjects. . . . " --Gregory Tillett-- 

Leadbeater was an Anglican priest when he joined the Theosophical Society in 1883.
The next year he met Helena Petrovna Blavatsky when she came to London.
At this time he was the recipient of a few Mahatma letters which influenced him to go to India.
In India he claimed to have received visits and training from some of Blavatsky's Masters.
This was the start of a long career in the Theosophical Society.

He remains well known and influential in his work through clairvoyance
with for instance his books The Chakras and Man,
Visible and Invisible dealing with the human aura and chakras,
and writing on the function of the Sacraments in the Liberal Catholic Church, to name just a few subjects.

His most well-known activity was the discovery of Jiddu Krishnamurti,
on the private beach that formed part of the Theosophical headquarters in Adyar, India.
Krishnamurti and his family had been living in the headquarters
for a few months before this discovery.
Krishnamurti was to be the vessal for the indwelling of the coming "World Teacher"
that many Theosophists were expecting.
This new teacher would,
in the pattern of Moses, Buddha, Zarathustra (Zoroaster), Christ, and Muhammad
divulge a new dispensation, a new religious teaching.
Theosophists believed that the teacher was a spiritual being who would dwell in the body vessal.

Charles Leadbeater stayed in India for some time overseeing the raising of Krishnamurti,
but eventually felt that he was being called to go to Australia for the cause.
While in Australia he became a leading member of the Liberal Catholic Church.

The Chakras
by Charles Leadbeater

The Masters and the Path
by Charles Leadbeater

Secrets Revealed:
Clairvoyance, Magic and the Reality of Spirits
by C. W. Leadbeater

Astral Plane:
Its Scenery, Inhabitants and Phenomena
by C. W. Leadbeater

Rudolf Steiner
(1861–1925)

Rudolf Steiner became a respected and well-published
scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar,
particularly known for his work on Johann von Goethe's scientific writings.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his
earlier philosophical principles into an approach to methodical research
of psychological and spiritual phenomena.
His multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in
medicine, philosophy, religion, education (Waldorf schools),
special education (the Camphill movement),
economics, agriculture (biodynamics), science, architecture,
and the arts (drama, speech and eurythmy).
In 1924 he founded the General Anthroposophical Society,
which has branches throughout the world.

Steiner's life was devoted to building up a complete science of the spirit,
to which he gave the name Anthroposophy.
Foremost amongst his discoveries
was his direct experience of the reality of the Christ,
which soon took a central place in his whole teaching.
The many books and lectures which he published
set forth the magnificent scope of his vision.

From 1911 he turned also to the arts - drama, painting, architecture, eurythmy -
showing the creative forming powers that can be drawn from spiritual vision.
As a response to the disaster of the 1914–18 war,
he showed how the social sphere could be given new life
through an insight into the nature of man,
his initiative bearing practical fruit in the fields of
education, agriculture, therapy and medicine.
After a few more years of intense activity,
now as the leader of a world-wide movement,
he died, leaving behind him an achievement that must allow
his recognition as the first Initiate of the age of science.
Anthroposophy is itself a science, firmly based on the results of observation,
and open to investigation by anyone who is prepared to follow
the path of development he pioneered -
a path that takes its start from the struggle for inner freedom.

Rhythms of Learning :
What Waldorf Education Offers Children, Parents & Teachers
by Rudolf Steiner, Roberto Trostli

Enlivening the Chakra of the Heart;
The Fundamental Spiritual Exercises of Rudolf Steiner
by Florin Lowndes

Theosophy :
An Introduction to the Spiritual Processes in Human Life and in the Cosmos
by Rudolf Steiner

How to Know Higher Worlds:
A Modern Path of Initiation
by Rudolf Steiner, Christopher Bamford (Translator)

Secret Brotherhoods:
And the Mystery of the Human Double
by Rudolf Steiner

Agriculture:
An Introductory Reader: A Collection
by Rudolf Steiner, Richard Smith Thornton (Editor)

A Way of Self-Knowledge
by Rudolf Steiner

Dr. Douglas Baker

Douglas Baker, English born and raised in South Africa
has done extensive scientific research into those hinterlands of the mind
which one might call psi-semantics.
Douglas Baker has led the field in esoteric astrology,
producing with a team, his magnum opus,
a Dictionary of Astrology for the 21st Century in three volumes.
This is in addition to the already existing 11 volume set of text books on the same subject.

His most recent production is a comprehensive video course on Esoteric Astrology
which explores the impact of astrology on all aspects of life and consciousness
in a new and unique fashion, full of relevance to the modern and future world.

He is presently engaged in research work extending the discoveries
in the field of Occult Chemistry,
particularly dwelling on background radiation and special characteristics
of the carbon atom and the role it plays in organic chemistry.
He is also looking into the esoteric factors related to weightlessness in space physiology.

His previous research into the Akashic Records is well know and documented.
These have produced compelling answers to such mysteries
as the true authorship of the works of Shakespeare.

Human Aura
by Douglas M. Baker

Opening of the Third Eye
by Douglas Baker

Techniques of Astral Projection
by Douglas M. Baker

Joseph Campbell
(1904-1987)
The Joseph Campbell Foundation

Joseph Campbell was an American mythologist, writer and lecturer,
best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion.
His work is vast, covering many aspects of the human experience.
His philosophy is often summarized by his phrase:
"Follow your bliss."

Campbell often referred to the work of modern writers
James Joyce and Thomas Mann in his lectures and writings,
as well as to the art of Pablo Picasso.
He was introduced to their work during his stay as a graduate student in Paris.
Campbell eventually corresponded with Mann.
The works of German philosophers Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche
had a profound effect on Campbell's thinking;
he quoted their writing frequently,
often in his own translations from the original German.

The "follow your bliss" philosophy attributed to Campbell
following the original broadcast of The Power of Myth
derives from the Hindu Upanishads; however,
Campbell was possibly also influenced by the 1922 Sinclair Lewis novel Babbitt.
In The Power of Myth Campbell quotes from the novel:
Campbell: "Have you ever read Sinclair Lewis' Babbit?"
Moyers: "Not in a long time."
Campbell: "Remember the last line?
'I have never done the thing that I wanted to do in all my life.'
That is a man who never followed his bliss."

In 1988, millions were introduced to his ideas by the broadcast on PBS
of Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers,
six hours of an electrifying conversation that
the two men had videotaped over the course of several years.
When he died, Newsweek magazine noted that
“Campbell has become one of the rarest of intellectuals in American life:
a serious thinker who has been embraced by the popular culture.”

   In his later years, Campbell was fond of recalling on how Schopenhauer, in his essay
On the Apparent Intention in the Fate of the Individual,
wrote of the curious feeling one can have,
of there being an author somewhere writing the novel of our lives,
in such a way that through events that seem to us to be chance happenings
there is actually a plot unfolding of which we have no knowledge.
   Looking back over Campbell's life,
one cannot help but feel that it proves the truth Schopenhauer’s observation.

Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth DVD
Starring: Joseph Campbell, George Lucas
Actors: Joseph Campbell, George Lucas, Bill Moyers, See more
DVD Release Date: October 9, 2001
Run Time: 360 minutes

The Power of Myth
by Joseph Campbell, Bill Moyers

The Hero with a Thousand Faces
by Joseph Campbell

Pathways to Bliss:
Mythology and Personal Transformation
by Joseph Campbell, David Kudler (Editor)

Myths to Live By
by Joseph Campbell

Myths of Light:
Eastern Metaphors of the Eternal
by Joseph Campbell, David Kudler

The Masks of God:
Occidental Mythology
by Joseph Campbell

Thou Art That:
Transforming Religious Metaphor
by Joseph Campbell, Eugene C. Kennedy (Editor)

The Inner Reaches of Outer Space:
Metaphor as Myth and as Religion
by Joseph Campbell

The Hero and the Goddess :
The Odyssey as Mystery and Initiation
by Jean Houston

Carl Gustav Jung
(1875-1961)

Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, and founder of analytical psychology.
Jung met Siegmund Frued in 1907, and became the first president of the
International Psychoanalytic Association when it was formed.
He broke with Freud in 1912, when Jung published
his revolutionary Psychology of the Unconscious,
which postulated two dimensions of the unconscious:
The Personal
(repressed or forgotten content of an individual's mental and material life),
and what he termed The Collective Unconscious
(those acts and mental patterns shared either by
members of a culture or universally by all human beings).
Under certain conditions these manifest themselves as archetypes
-- images, patterns, and symbols that are often seen in dreams or fantasies
and that appear as themes in mythology, religion, and fairy tales.

Jung's approach to psychology has been influential in the field of depth psychology
and in countercultural movements across the globe.
Jung is considered as the first modern psychologist to state that the human psyche
is "by nature religious" and to explore it in depth.
He emphasized understanding the psyche through exploring
the worlds of dreams, art, mythology, religion and philosophy.
Although he was a theoretical psychologist and practicing clinician,
much of his life's work was spent exploring other areas,
including Eastern and Western philosophy,
alchemy, astrology, sociology, as well as literature and the arts.

His most notable ideas include the concept of psychological archetypes,
the collective unconscious and synchronicity.
Jung emphasized the importance of balance and harmony.
He cautioned that modern people rely too heavily on science and logic
and would benefit from integrating spirituality and appreciation of unconscious realms.
He considered the process of individuation necessary for a person to become whole.
This is a psychological process of integrating the conscious
with the unconscious while still maintaining conscious autonomy.
Individuation was the central concept of Analytical Psychology.

In Psychological Types (1921) Jung elucidated extroversion and introversion.
He held the most significant task for any person to be the
achievement of harmony between the conscious and the unconscious.
The definitive edition of his collected works in
English translation was published between 1951 and 1979.

The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious
by C. G. Jung, Gerhard Adler, R. F.C. Hull

Modern Man in Search of a Soul
by C. G. Jung

The Varieties of Religious Experience
by William James

When William James went to the University of Edinburgh in 1901
to deliver a series of lectures on "natural religion,"
he defined religion as
"the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude,
so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation
to whatever they may consider the divine."

Considering religion, then, not as it is defined by--or takes place in--the churches,
but as it is felt in everyday life,
he undertook a project that, upon completion,
stands not only as one of the most important texts on psychology ever written,
not only as a vitally serious contemplation of spirituality,
but for many critics one of the best works of nonfiction written in the 20th century.

Reading The Varieties of Religious Experience, it is easy to see why.
Applying his analytic clarity to religious accounts from a variety of sources,
James elaborates a pluralistic framework in which
"the divine can mean no single quality, it must mean a group of qualities,
by being champions of which in alternation,
different men may all find worthy missions."
It's an intellectual call for serious religious tolerance--indeed, respect--
the vitality of which has not diminished through the subsequent decades.

Charles Darwin
(1809-1882)

Charles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist
who realised and presented compelling evidence that all species of life
have evolved over time from common ancestors,
through the process he called natural selection.
The fact that evolution occurs became accepted by the scientific community
and much of the general public in his lifetime,
while his theory of natural selection came to be widely seen as the
primary explanation of the process of evolution in the 1930s,
and now forms the basis of modern evolutionary theory.
In modified form, Darwin’s scientific discovery is the unifying theory
of the life sciences, providing logical explanation for the diversity of life.

At Edinburgh University Darwin neglected medical studies to investigate marine invertebrates,
then the University of Cambridge encouraged a passion for natural science.
His five-year voyage on HMS Beagle established him as an eminent geologist
whose observations and theories supported Charles Lyell’s uniformitarian ideas,
and publication of his journal of the voyage made him famous as a popular author.
Puzzled by the geographical distribution of wildlife and fossils he collected on the voyage,
Darwin investigated the transmutation of species and conceived his theory of natural selection in 1838.
Although he discussed his ideas with several naturalists,
he needed time for extensive research and his geological work had priority.
He was writing up his theory in 1858 when Alfred Russel Wallace
sent him an essay which described the same idea,
prompting immediate joint publication of both of their theories.

His 1859 book On the Origin of Species established evolutionary descent
with modification as the dominant scientific explanation of diversification in nature.
He examined human evolution and sexual selection in The Descent of Man,
and Selection in Relation to Sex, followed by The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.
His research on plants was published in a series of books,
and in his final book, he examined earthworms and their effect on soil.
In recognition of Darwin’s pre-eminence,
he was one of only five 19th-century UK non-royal personages to be honoured by a state funeral,
and was buried in Westminster Abbey, close to John Herschel and Isaac Newton.

From So Simple a Beginning:
Darwin's Four Great Books (Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle,
The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals)
by Charles Darwin, Edward O. Wilson (Editor)