Darwin borrowed Charles Lyell's argument in Principles of Geology that the record is extremely imperfect as fossilisation is a very rare occurrence, spread over vast periods of time; since few areas had been geologically explored, there could only be fragmentary knowledge of geological formations, and fossil collections were very poor.
Which book written by Charles Lyell contains the argument that fossils are too rare to be used as proof of life suddenly arising?
Principles of Geology