publish or perish

Charles Darwin paused an age to bring to press
the book that threw the Church in disarray
he'd hoped to spare his wife the fuss and mess
she seemed contented in the Good Book's sway
James Hutton'd shown him there'd been time enough
for mountains to erupt and fall to sand
so what's the rush to publish off the cuff
his revolutionary Opus Grand
the Wallace letter kicked him into gear
someone was gonna get priority
delaying further might make him a mere
footnote forgotten by posterity
not money, but the quest for high repute
drives scientists' internecine disputes