 Toward the end of the preface Monod offers apology for any overly tedious or technical sections.He also warns that some ethical and political ideas he presents may seem naïve or ambitious but then states "Modesty benefits the scientist, but not the ideas that inhabit him and which he is under the obligation of upholding" (Monod, xiv).In the last paragraph of the preface, Monod explains that his essay developed from the Robins Lectures that he gave in 1969 at Pomona College.