Darwin's own grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, wrote an extensive book outlining a transmutation view, and it is known that Darwin had read this as a teenager.
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com. noun. 1. the group of spectators at a public event; listeners or viewers collectively, as in attendance at a theater or concert: The audience was respectful of the speaker's opinion.
In rhetoric and composition, audience refers to the listeners or spectators at a speech or performance, or the intended readership for a piece of writing.