He was one of seven liberal theologians who produced a manifesto titled "Essays and Reviews" around February 1860, which amongst other things joined in the debate over "On the Origin of Species". These Anglicans included Oxford professors, country clergymen, the headmaster of Rugby school and a layman. Their declaration that miracles were irrational stirred up unprecedented anger, drawing much of the fire away from Charles Darwin. "Essays" sold 22,000 copies in two years, more than the "Origin" sold in twenty years, and sparked five years of increasingly polarised debate with books and pamphlets furiously contesting the issues.