[I]f we must marvel, let it be at our own presumption in imagining for a moment that we understand the many complex contingencies on which the existence of each species depends. (353)

I'm not a proper Biologist so I must confess to more a close skim than a thorough reading of this text. But even a layperson can follow Darwin through his point by point elucidation (provided they're the sort of layperson open to words like "elucidation" I suppose). It's a tight argument, Occam's Razoring a wide path through the facts of the matter, and it's made more impressive by all the foresight and pre-emptive counters to some of the more obvious objections naysayers might be inclined to throw around. And Darwin's quick to clarify what it is he isn't arguing here, owning up to blanks and insufficient data at the time. He comes across a consummate gentleman scientist, very enthusiastic but overly wordy to a contemporary reader.

3 stars for the read, 5 stars for the idea and all its impacts and implications.