On the Origin of Species
EditionOriginal English text, 1859 first edition
The book of 1859 in which Darwin set out, as one long argument, how species arise by natural selection.
Also in the library: the complete Korean translation.
Anyone can read the first chapter. Join free to read to the end and download EPUB and PDF.
DRM-free files. Translation CC BY-NC 4.0; the original work is in the public domain.
About the book
Darwin begins with pigeons and cattle, the variation that breeders select, and moves to variation in nature, the struggle for existence, and the principle he calls Natural Selection. He then faces every difficulty he can think of, from the eye to the instincts of bees, the gaps in the fossil record, and the distribution of animals on islands, before gathering it all together in a final chapter that ends on the image of an entangled bank.
This is the text of the first edition, published by John Murray in November 1859, the book as Darwin first presented it, before six editions of revision. It is the same edition as our complete Korean translation. The index of the printed book is omitted; one misprint is corrected.
Highlights
- I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection
- There is grandeur in this view of life
- from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.
Contents
Anyone can read up to the first chapter. Chapters with a lock are open to free members.
Colophon
Original English text, 1859 first edition. Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.Full colophon
On the Origin of Species
Full title · On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life
Author · Charles Darwin (1809–1882)
First publication · 24 November 1859, John Murray, London, as On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.
Source text · A public-domain digital transcription of the first edition (London: John Murray, 1859).
Extent · Complete and unabridged · the Introduction and fourteen chapters · about 150,000 words
Copyright · The author died in 1882; the work is in the public domain worldwide.
This edition · The original English text, edited for Ether Library. The text itself is in the public domain. Ether Library’s editor’s note, this colophon, and the cover design are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Edition · English edition 1.0 · October 2026
Typography · Set in Lora (SIL Open Font License 1.1). Cover painting and design by Ether Library.
Text in the public domain · Front and back matter CC BY-NC 4.0
Ether Library · No. 0003