CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down[February15th,1860]……Iamperfectlyconvinced(havingreadthismorning)thatthereviewinthe’Annals’(AnnalsandMag。ofNat。Hist。thirdseries,vol。5,page132。
Myfatherhasobviouslytakentheexpression"pestilent"fromthefollowingpassage(page138):"ButwhoisthisNature,wehavearighttoask,whohassuchtremendouspower,andtowhoseefficiencysuchmarvellousperformancesareascribed?Whatareherimageandattributes,whendraggedfromherwordylurking—place?Issheaughtbutapestilentabstraction,likedustcastinoureyestoobscuretheworkingsofanIntelligentFirstCauseofall?"Thereviewerpaysatributetomyfather’scandour,"somanlyandoutspokenasalmostto’coveramultitudeofsins。’"Theparentheses(towhichallusionismadeabove)aresofrequentastogiveacharacteristicappearancetoMr。Wollaston’spages。)isbyWollaston;nooneelseintheworldwouldhaveusedsomanyparentheses。Ihavewrittentohim,andtoldhimthatthe"pestilent"fellowthankshimforhiskindmannerofspeakingabouthim。IhavealsotoldhimthathewouldbepleasedtohearthattheBishopofOxfordsaysitisthemostunphilosophical(AnotherversionofthewordsisgivenbyLyell,towhomtheywerespoken,viz。"themostillogicalbookeverwritten。"——’Life,’
volumeii。page358。)workheeverread。Thereviewseemstomeclever,andonlymisinterpretsmeinafewplaces。Likeallhostilemen,hepassesovertheexplanationgivenofClassification,Morphology,Embryology,andRudimentaryOrgans,etc。IreadWallace’spaperinMS。("OntheZoologicalGeographyoftheMalayArchipelago。"——Linn。Soc。Journ。1860。),andthoughtitadmirablygood;hedoesnotknowthathehasbeenanticipatedaboutthedepthofinterveningseadeterminingdistribution……ThemostcuriouspointinthepaperseemstomethatabouttheAfricancharacteroftheCelebesproductions,butIshouldrequirefurtherconfirmation……
Henslowisstayinghere;Ihavehadsometalkwithhim;heisinmuchthesamestateasBunbury(ThelateSirCharlesBunbury,well—knownasaPalaeo—botanist。),andwillgoaverylittlewaywithus,butbringsupnorealargumentagainstgoingfurther。Healsoshuddersattheeye!Itisreallycurious(andperhapsisanargumentinourfavour)howdifferentlydifferentopposersviewthesubject。HenslowusedtoresthisoppositionontheimperfectionoftheGeologicalRecord,buthenowthinksnothingofthis,andsaysIhavegotwelloutofit;IwishIcouldquiteagreewithhim。BadenPowellsaysheneverreadanythingsoconclusiveasmystatementabouttheeye!!Astrangerwritestomeaboutsexualselection,andregretsthatIboggleaboutsuchatrifleasthebrushofhaironthemaleturkey,andsoon。AsL。Jenynshasareallyphilosophicalmind,andasyousayyouliketoseeeverything,Isendanoldletterofhis。InalaterlettertoHenslow,whichIhaveseen,heismorecandidthananyopposerIhaveheardof,forhesays,thoughheCANNOTgosofarasIdo,yethecangivenogoodreasonwhyheshouldnot。Itisfunnyhoweachmandrawshisownimaginarylineatwhichtohalt。ItremindsmesovividlywhatIwastold(ByProfessorHenslow。)aboutyouwhenIfirstcommencedgeology——tobelieveaLITTLE,butonnoaccounttobelieveall。
Everyoursaffectionately,C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOASAGRAY。
Down,February18th[1860]。
MydearGray,IreceivedaboutaweekagotwosheetsofyourReview(The’AmericanJournalofScienceandArts,’March,1860。Reprintedin’Darwiniana,’
1876。);readthem,andsentthemtoHooker;theyarenowreturnedandre—
readwithcare,andto—morrowIsendthemtoLyell。YourReviewseemstomeADMIRABLE;byfarthebestwhichIhaveread。Ithankyoufrommyheartbothformyself,butfarmoreforthesubject’ssake。YourcontrastbetweentheviewsofAgassizandsuchasmineisverycuriousandinstructive。(Thecontrastisbrieflysummedupthus:"ThetheoryofAgassizregardstheoriginofspeciesandtheirpresentgeneraldistributionovertheworldasequallyprimordial,equallysupernatural;
thatofDarwinasequallyderivative,equallynatural。"——’Darwiniana,’page14。)Bytheway,ifAgassizwritesanythingonthesubject,Ihopeyouwilltellme。Iamcharmedwithyourmetaphorofthestreamletneverrunningagainsttheforceofgravitation。Yourdistinctionbetweenanhypothesisandtheoryseemstomeveryingenious;butIdonotthinkitiseverfollowed。EveryonenowspeaksoftheundulatoryTHEORYoflight;yettheetherisitselfhypothetical,andtheundulationsareinferredonlyfromexplainingthephenomenaoflight。EvenintheTHEORYofgravitationistheattractivepowerinanywayknown,exceptbyexplainingthefalloftheapple,andthemovementsofthePlanets?ItseemstomethatanhypothesisisDEVELOPEDintoatheorysolelybyexplaininganamplelotoffacts。AgainandagainIthankyouforyourgenerousaidindiscussingaview,aboutwhichyouveryproperlyholdyourselfunbiassed。
MydearGray,yoursmostsincerely,C。DARWIN。
P。S。——Severalclergymengofarwithme。Rev。L。Jenyns,averygoodnaturalist。Henslowwillgoaverylittlewaywithme,andisnotshockedwithme。Hehasjustbeenvisitingme。
[WithregardtotheattitudeofthemoreliberalrepresentativesoftheChurch,thefollowingletter(alreadyreferredto)fromCharlesKingsleyisofinterest:]
C。KINGSLEYTOCHARLESDARWIN。
EversleyRectory,Winchfield,November18th,1859。
DearSir,Ihavetothankyoufortheunexpectedhonourofyourbook。ThattheNaturalistwhom,ofallnaturalistsliving,Imostwishtoknowandtolearnfrom,shouldhavesentascientistlikemehisbook,encouragesmeatleasttoobservemorecarefully,andperhapsmoreslowly。
Iamsopoorly(inbrain),thatIfearIcannotreadyourbookjustnowasIought。AllIhaveseenofitAWESme;bothwiththeheapoffactsandtheprestigeofyourname,andalsowiththeclearintuition,thatifyouberight,ImustgiveupmuchthatIhavebelievedandwritten。
InthatIcarelittle。LetGodbetrue,andeverymanaliar!LetusknowwhatIS,and,asoldSocrateshasit,epesthaitologo——followupthevillainousshiftyfoxofanargument,intowhatsoeverunexpectedbogsandbrakeshemayleadus,ifwedobutrunintohimatlast。
Fromtwocommonsuperstitions,atleast,Ishallbefreewhilejudgingofyourbooks:——
1。Ihavelongsince,fromwatchingthecrossingofdomesticatedanimalsandplants,learnttodisbelievethedogmaofthepermanenceofspecies。
2。IhavegraduallylearnttoseethatitisjustasnobleaconceptionofDeity,tobelievethathecreatedprimalformscapableofselfdevelopmentintoallformsneedfulprotemporeandproloco,astobelievethatHerequiredafreshactofinterventiontosupplythelacunaswhichHeHimselfhadmade。Iquestionwhethertheformerbenottheloftierthought。
Beitasitmay,Ishallprizeyourbook,bothforitself,andasaproofthatyouareawareoftheexistenceofsuchapersonasYourfaithfulservant,C。KINGSLEY。
[Myfather’soldfriend,theRev。J。BrodieInnes,ofMiltonBrodie,whowasformanyyearsVicarofDown,writesinthesamespirit:
"Weneverattackedeachother。BeforeIknewMr。DarwinIhadadopted,andpubliclyexpressed,theprinciplethatthestudyofnaturalhistory,geology,andscienceingeneral,shouldbepursuedwithoutreferencetotheBible。ThattheBookofNatureandScripturecamefromthesameDivinesource,raninparallellines,andwhenproperlyunderstoodwouldnevercross……
"Hisviewsonthissubjectwereverymuchtothesameeffectfromhisside。
Ofcourseanyconversationswemayhavehadonpurelyreligioussubjectsareassacredlyprivatenowasinhislife;butthequaintconclusionofonemaybegiven。WehadbeenspeakingoftheapparentcontradictionofsomesupposeddiscoverieswiththeBookofGenesis;hesaid,’youare(itwouldhavebeenmorecorrecttosayyououghttobe)atheologian,Iamanaturalist,thelinesareseparate。IendeavourtodiscoverfactswithoutconsideringwhatissaidintheBookofGenesis。IdonotattackMoses,andIthinkMosescantakecareofhimself。’Tothesameeffecthewrotemorerecently,’IcannotrememberthatIeverpublishedaworddirectlyagainstreligionortheclergy;butifyouweretoreadalittlepamphletwhichIreceivedacoupleofdaysagobyaclergyman,youwouldlaugh,andadmitthatIhadsomeexcuseforbitterness。Afterabusingmefortwoorthreepages,inlanguagesufficientlyplainandemphatictohavesatisfiedanyreasonableman,hesumsupbysayingthathehasvainlysearchedtheEnglishlanguagetofindtermstoexpresshiscontemptformeandallDarwinians。’Inanotherletter,afterIhadleftDown,hewrites,’Weoftendiffered,butyouareoneofthoseraremortalsfromwhomonecandifferandyetfeelnoshadeofanimosity,andthatisathing[of]whichI
shouldfeelveryproud,ifanyonecouldsay[it]ofme。’
"OnmylastvisittoDown,Mr。Darwinsaid,athisdinner—table,’BrodieInnesandIhavebeenfastfriendsforthirtyyears,andweneverthoroughlyagreedonanysubjectbutonce,andthenwestaredhardateachother,andthoughtoneofusmustbeveryill。’"]
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down,February23rd[1860]。
MydearLyell,ThatisasplendidanswerofthefatherofJudgeCrompton。HowcuriousthattheJudgeshouldhavehitonexactlythesamepointsasyourself。Itshowsmewhatacapitallawyeryouwouldhavemade,howmanyunjustactsyouwouldhavemadeappearjust!Buthowmuchgranderafieldhassciencebeenthanthelaw,thoughthelattermighthavemadeyouLordKinnordy。I
will,iftherebeanotheredition,enlargeongradationintheeye,andonallformscomingfromoneprototype,soastotryandmakebothlessglaringlyimprobable……
WithrespecttoBronn’sobjectionthatitcannotbeshownhowlifearises,andlikewisetoacertainextentAsaGray’sremarkthatnaturalselectionisnotaveracausa,IwasmuchinterestedbyfindingaccidentallyinBrewster’s’LifeofNewton,’thatLeibnitzobjectedtothelawofgravitybecauseNewtoncouldnotshowwhatgravityitselfis。Asithaschanced,I
haveusedinlettersthisverysameargument,littleknowingthatanyonehadreallythusobjectedtothelawofgravity。Newtonanswersbysayingthatitisphilosophytomakeoutthemovementsofaclock,thoughyoudonotknowwhytheweightdescendstotheground。LeibnitzfurtherobjectedthatthelawofgravitywasopposedtoNaturalReligion!Isthisnotcurious?IreallythinkIshallusethefactsforsomeintroductoryremarksformybiggerbook……Youask(Isee)whywedonothavemonstrositiesinhigheranimals;butwhentheylivetheyarealmostalwayssterile(evengiantsanddwarfsareGENERALLYsterile),andwedonotknowthatHarvey’smonsterwouldhavebred。ThereisIbelieveonlyonecaseonrecordofapeloricflowerbeingfertile,andIcannotrememberwhetherthisreproduceditself。
Torecurtotheeye。Ireallythinkitwouldhavebeendishonest,nottohavefacedthedifficulty;andworse(asTalleyrandwouldhavesaid),itwouldhavebeenimpoliticIthink,foritwouldhavebeenthrowninmyteeth,asH。Hollandthrewthebonesoftheear,tillHuxleyshuthimupbyshowingwhatafinegradationoccurredamongstlivingcreatures。
Ithankyoumuchforyourmostpleasantletter。
Yoursaffectionately,C。DARWIN。
P。S。——IsendaletterbyHerbertSpencer,whichyoucanreadornotasyouthinkfit。Heputs,tomymind,thephilosophyoftheargumentbetterthanalmostanyone,atthecloseoftheletter。IcouldmakenothingofDana’sidealisticnotionsaboutspecies;butthen,asWollastonsays,Ihavenotametaphysicalhead。
Bytheway,IhavethrownatWollaston’shead,apaperbyAlexanderJordan,whodemonstratesmetaphysicallythatallourcultivatedracesareGod—
createdspecies。
Wollastonmisrepresentsaccidentally,toawonderfulextent,somepassagesinmybook。Hereviewed,withoutrelookingatcertainpassages。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down,February25th[1860]……Icannothelpwonderingatyourzealaboutmybook。IdeclaretoheavenyouseemtocareasmuchaboutmybookasIdomyself。Youhavenorighttobesoeminentlyunselfish!Ihavetakenoffmyspit[i。e。file]aletterofRamsay’s,aseverygeologistconvertIthinkveryimportant。Bytheway,IsawsometimeagoaletterfromH。D。Rogers(ProfessorofGeologyintheUniversityofGlasgow。BornintheUnitedStates1809,died1866。)toHuxley,inwhichhegoesveryfarwithus……
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down,Saturday,March3rd,[1860]。
MydearHooker,Whataday’sworkyouhadonthatThursday!IwasnotabletogotoLondontillMonday,andthenIwasafoolforgoing,for,onTuesdaynight,Ihadanattackoffever(withatouchofpleurisy),whichcameonlikealion,butwentoffasalamb,buthasshatteredmeagoodbit。
Iwasmuchinterestedbyyourlastnote……IthinkyouexpecttoomuchinregardtochangeofopiniononthesubjectofSpecies。Onelargeclassofmen,moreespeciallyIsuspectofnaturalists,neverwillcareaboutANY
generalquestion,ofwhicholdGray,oftheBritishMuseum,maybetakenasatype;andsecondly,nearlyallmenpastamoderateage,eitherinactualyearsorinmind,are,Iamfullyconvinced,incapableoflookingatfactsunderanewpointofview。Seriously,Iamastonishedandrejoicedattheprogresswhichthesubjecthasmade;lookattheenclosedmemorandum。(Seetableofnamesbelow。)——saysmybookwillbeforgottenintenyears,perhapsso;but,withsuchalist,Ifeelconvincedthesubjectwillnot。
Theoutsiders,asyousay,arestrong。
YousaythatyouthinkthatBenthamistouched,"but,likeawiseman,holdshistongue。"Perhapsyouonlymeanthathecannotdecide,otherwiseIshouldthinksuchsilencethereverseofmagnanimity;forifothersbehavedthesameway,howwouldopinioneverprogress?Itisaderelictionofactualduty。(InasubsequentlettertoSirJ。D。Hooker(March12th,1860),myfatherwrote,"InowquiteunderstandBentham’ssilence。")
IamsogladtohearaboutThwaites。(Dr。G。J。K。Thwaites,whowasbornin1811,establishedareputationinthiscountryasanexpertmicroscopist,andanacuteobserver,workingespeciallyatcryptogamicbotany。OnhisappointmentasDirectoroftheBotanicGardensatPeradenyia,Ceylon,Dr。
ThwaitesdevotedhimselftothefloraofCeylon。Asaresultofthishehasleftnumerousandvaluablecollections,adescriptionofwhichheembodiedinhis’EnumeratioPlantarumZeylaniae’(1864)。Dr。ThwaiteswasafellowoftheLinneanSociety,butbeyondtheabovefactslittleseemstohavebeenrecordedofhislife。HisdeathoccurredinCeylononSeptember11th,1882,inhisseventy—secondyear。"Athenaeum",October14th,1882,page500。)……IhavehadanastoundingletterfromDr。Boott(Theletterisenthusiasticallylaudatory,andobviouslyfullofgenuinefeeling。);itmightbeturnedintoridiculeagainsthimandme,soIwillnotsendittoanyone。Hewritesinanoblespiritofloveoftruth。
IwonderwhatLindleythinks;probablytoobusytoreadorthinkonthequestion。
IamvexedaboutBentham’sreticence,foritwouldhavebeenofrealvaluetoknowwhatpartsappearedweakesttoamanofhispowersofobservation。
Farewell,mydearHooker,yoursaffectionately,C。DARWIN。
P。S。——IsnotHarveyintheclassofmenwhodonotatallcareforgeneralities?IrememberyoursayingyoucouldnotgethimtowriteonDistribution。Ihavefoundhisworksveryunfruitfulineveryrespect。
[Herefollowsthememorandumreferredto:]
Geologists。ZoologistsandPhysiologists。Botanists。
Palaeontologists。
Lyell。Huxley。Carpenter。Hooker。
Ramsay。*J。Lubbock。SirH。HollandH。C。Watson。
(tolargeextent)。
Jukes。*L。JenynsAsaGray(tolargeextent)。(tosomeextent)。
H。D。Rogers。SearlesWood。*Dr。Boott(tolargeextent)。
Thwaites。
(*AndrewRamsay,lateDirector—GeneraloftheGeologicalSurvey。
JosephBeeteJukes,M。A。,F。R。S。,1811—1869。HewaseducatedatCambridge,andfrom1842to1846heactedasnaturalisttoH。M。S。"Fly",onanexploringexpeditioninAustraliaandNewGuinea。HewasafterwardsappointedDirectoroftheGeologicalSurveyofIreland。Hewastheauthorofmanypapers,andofmorethanonegoodhand—bookofgeology。
SearlesValentineWood,February14,1798—1880。ChieflyknownforhisworkontheMolluscaofthe’Crag。’)
[ThefollowingletterisofinterestinconnectionwiththementionofMr。
Benthaminthelastletter:]
G。BENTHAMTOFRANCISDARWIN。
25WiltonPlace,S。W。,May30th,1882。
MydearSir,IncompliancewithyournotewhichIreceivedlastnight,IsendherewiththelettersIhavefromyourfather。Ishouldhavedonesoonseeingthegeneralrequestpublishedinthepapers,butthatIdidnotthinktherewereanyamongthemwhichcouldbeofanyusetoyou。HighlyflatteredasIwasbythekindandfriendlynoticewithwhichMr。Darwinoccasionallyhonouredme,Iwasneveradmittedintohisintimacy,andhethereforenevermadeanycommunicationstomeinrelationtohisviewsandlabours。Ihavebeenthroughoutoneofhismostsincereadmirers,andfullyadoptedhistheoriesandconclusions,notwithstandingtheseverepainanddisappointmenttheyatfirstoccasionedme。OnthedaythathiscelebratedpaperwasreadattheLinneanSociety,July1st,1858,alongpaperofminehadbeensetdownforreading,inwhich,incommentingontheBritishFlora,IhadcollectedanumberofobservationsandfactsillustratingwhatIthenbelievedtobeafixityinspecies,howeverdifficultitmightbetoassigntheirlimits,andshowingatendencyofabnormalformsproducedbycultivationorotherwise,towithdrawwithinthoseoriginallimitswhenlefttothemselves。MostfortunatelymypaperhadtogivewaytoMr。
Darwin’sandwhenoncethatwasread,Ifeltboundtodefermineforreconsideration;Ibegantoentertaindoubtsonthesubject,andontheappearanceofthe’OriginofSpecies,’Iwasforced,howeverreluctantly,togiveupmylong—cherishedconvictions,theresultsofmuchlabourandstudy,andIcancelledallthatpartofmypaperwhichurgedoriginalfixity,andpublishedonlyportionsoftheremainderinanotherform,chieflyinthe’NaturalHistoryReview。’IhavesinceacknowledgedonvariousoccasionsmyfulladoptionofMr。Darwin’sviews,andchieflyinmyPresidentialAddressof1863,andinmythirteenthandlastaddress,issuedintheformofareporttotheBritishAssociationatitsmeetingatBelfastin1874。
IprizesohighlythelettersthatIhaveofMr。Darwin’s,thatIshouldfeelobligedbyyourreturningthemtomewhenyouhavedonewiththem。
UnfortunatelyIhavenotkepttheenvelopes,andMr。Darwinusuallyonlydatedthembythemonthnotbytheyear,sothattheyarenotinanychronologicalorder。
Yoursverysincerely,GEORGEBENTHAM。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down[March]12th[1860]。
MydearLyell,Thinkingoverwhatwetalkedabout,thehighstateofintellectualdevelopmentoftheoldGrecianswiththelittleornosubsequentimprovement,beinganapparentdifficulty,ithasjustoccurredtomethatinfactthecaseharmonisesperfectlywithourviews。ThecasewouldbeadecideddifficultyontheLamarckianorVestigiandoctrineofnecessaryprogression,butontheviewwhichIholdofprogressiondependingontheconditions,itisnoobjectionatall,andharmoniseswiththeotherfactsofprogressioninthecorporealstructureofotheranimals。Forinastateofanarchy,ordespotism,orbadgovernment,orafterirruptionofbarbarians,force,strength,orferocity,andnotintellect,wouldbeapttogaintheday。
WehavesoenjoyedyourandLadyLyell’svisit。
Good—night。
C。DARWIN。
P。S。——Byanoddchance(forIhadnotalludedeventothesubject)theladiesattackedmethisevening,andthrewthehighstateofoldGreciansintomyteeth,asanunanswerabledifficulty,butbygoodchanceIhadmyanswerallpat,andsilencedthem。HenceIhavethoughtitworthscribblingtoyou……
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。PRESTWICH。(NowProfessorofGeologyintheUniversityofOxford。)
Down,March12th[1860]……Atsomefuturetime,whenyouhavealittleleisure,andwhenyouhavereadmy’OriginofSpecies,’IshouldesteemitaSINGULARfavourifyouwouldsendmeanygeneralcriticisms。Idonotmeanofunreasonablelength,butsuchasyoucouldincludeinaletter。IhavealwaysadmiredyourvariousmemoirssomuchthatIshouldbeeminentlygladtoreceiveyouropinion,whichmightbeofrealservicetome。
PraydonotsupposethatIexpecttoCONVERTorPERVERTyou;ifIcouldstaggeryouineversoslightadegreeIshouldbesatisfied;norfeartoannoymebyseverecriticisms,forIhavehadsomeheartykicksfromsomeofmybestfriends。Ifitwouldnotbedisagreeabletoyoutosendmeyouropinion,Icertainlyshouldbetrulyobliged……
CHARLESDARWINTOASAGRAY。
Down,April3rd[1860]……Irememberwellthetimewhenthethoughtoftheeyemademecoldallover,butIhavegotoverthisstageofthecomplaint,andnowsmalltriflingparticularsofstructureoftenmakemeveryuncomfortable。Thesightofafeatherinapeacock’stail,wheneverIgazeatit,makesmesick!……
Youmayliketohearaboutreviewsonmybook。Sedgwick(asIandLyellfeelCERTAINfrominternalevidence)hasreviewedmesavagelyandunfairlyinthe"Spectator"。(Seethequotationswhichfollowthepresentletter。)
Thenoticeincludesmuchabuse,andishardlyfairinseveralrespects。Hewouldactuallyleadanyone,whowasignorantofgeology,tosupposethatI
hadinventedthegreatgapsbetweensuccessivegeologicalformations,insteadofitsbeinganalmostuniversallyadmitteddogma。ButmydearoldfriendSedgwick,withhisnobleheart,isold,andisrabidwithindignation。Itishardtopleaseeveryone;youmayrememberthatinmylastletterIaskedyoutoleaveoutabouttheWealddenudation:ItoldJukesthis(whoisheadmanoftheIrishgeologicalsurvey),andheblamedmemuch,forhebelievedeverywordofit,andthoughtitnotatallexaggerated!Infact,geologistshavenomeansofgaugingtheinfinitudeofpasttime。Therehasbeenoneprodigyofareview,namely,anOPPOSED
one(byPictet(FrancoisJulesPictet,inthe’ArchivesdesSciencesdelaBibliothequeUniverselle,’Mars1860。Thearticleiswritteninacourteousandconsideratetone,andconcludesbysayingthatthe’Origin’
willbeofrealvaluetonaturalists,especiallyiftheyarenotledawaybyitsseductiveargumentstobelieveinthedangerousdoctrineofmodification。Apassagewhichseemstohavestruckmyfatherasbeingvaluable,andoppositewhichhehasmadedoublepencilmarksandwrittentheword"good,"isworthquoting:"LatheoriedeM。Darwins’accordemalavecl’histoiredestypesaformesbientrancheesetdefiniesquiparaissentn’avoirvecuquependantuntempslimite。Onenpourraitciterdescentainesd’exemples,telquelesreptilesvolants,lesichthyosaures,lesbelemnites,lesammonites,etc。"Pictetwasbornin1809,died1872;
hewasProfessorofAnatomyandZoologyatGeneva。),thepalaeontologist,intheBib。UniverselleofGeneva)whichisPERFECTLYfairandjust,andI
agreetoeverywordhesays;ouronlydifferencebeingthatheattacheslessweighttoargumentsinfavour,andmoretoargumentsopposed,thanI
do。Ofalltheopposedreviews,Ithinkthistheonlyquitefairone,andIneverexpectedtoseeone。PleaseobservethatIdonotclassyourreviewbyanymeansasopposed,thoughyouthinksoyourself!IthasdonemeMUCHtoogoodserviceevertoappearinthatrankinmyeyes。ButI
fearIshallwearyyouwithsomuchaboutmybook。IshouldratherthinktherewasagoodchanceofmybecomingthemostegotisticalmaninallEurope!Whataproudpre—eminence!Well,youhavehelpedtomakemesoandthereforeyoumustforgivemeifyoucan。
MydearGray,everyoursmostgratefully,C。DARWIN。
[InalettertoSirCharlesLyellreferenceismadetoSedgwick’sreviewinthe"Spectator",March24:
"InowfeelcertainthatSedgwickistheauthorofthearticleinthe"Spectator"。Nooneelsecouldusesuchabusiveterms。Andwhatamisrepresentationofmynotions!AnyignoramuswouldsupposethatIhadFIRSTbroachedthedoctrine,thatthebreaksbetweensuccessiveformationsmarkedlongintervalsoftime。Itisveryunfair。ButpoordearoldSedgwickseemsrabidonthequestion。"Demoralisedunderstanding!"IfeverItalkwithhimIwilltellhimthatInevercouldbelievethataninquisitorcouldbeagoodman:butnowIknowthatamanmayroastanother,andyethaveaskindandnobleaheartasSedgwick’s。"
Thefollowingpassagesaretakenfromthereview:
"Ineedhardlygoonanyfurtherwiththeseobjections。ButIcannotconcludewithoutexpressingmydetestationofthetheory,becauseofitsunflinchingmaterialism;——becauseithasdesertedtheinductivetrack,theonlytrackthatleadstophysicaltruth;——becauseitutterlyrepudiatesfinalcauses,andtherebyindicatesademoralisedunderstandingonthepartofitsadvocates。"
"NotthatIbelievethatDarwinisanatheist;thoughIcannotbutregardhismaterialismasatheistical。Ithinkituntrue,becauseopposedtotheobviouscourseofnature,andtheveryoppositeofinductivetruth。AndI
thinkitintenselymischievous。"
"Eachseriesoffactsislacedtogetherbyaseriesofassumptions,andrepetitionsoftheonefalseprinciple。Youcannotmakeagoodropeoutofastringofairbubbles。"
"Butanystartlingand(supposed)novelparadox,maintainedveryboldlyandwithsomethingofimposingplausibility,producesinsomemindsakindofpleasingexcitementwhichpredisposestheminitsfavour;andiftheyareunusedtocarefulreflection,andaversetothelabourofaccurateinvestigation,theywillbelikelytoconcludethatwhatis(apparently)
ORIGINAL,mustbeaproductionoforiginalGENIUS,andthatanythingverymuchopposedtoprevailingnotionsmustbeagrandDISCOVERY,——inshort,thatwhatevercomesfromthe’bottomofawell’mustbethe’truth’
supposedtobehiddenthere。"
InareviewintheDecembernumberof’Macmillan’sMagazine,’1860,Fawcettvigorouslydefendedmyfatherfromthechargeofemployingafalsemethodofreasoning;achargewhichoccursinSedgwick’sreview,andwasmadeatthetimeadnauseam,insuchphrasesas:"ThisisnotthetrueBaconianmethod。"FawcettrepeatedhisdefenceatthemeetingoftheBritishAssociationin1861。(SeeaninterestingletterfrommyfatherinMr。
Stephen’s’LifeofHenryFawcett,’1886,page101。)]
CHARLESDARWINTOW。BCARPENTER。
Down,April6th[1860]。
MydearCarpenter,Ihavethisminutefinishedyourreviewinthe’Med。Chirurg。Review。’
(April1860。)Youmustletmeexpressmyadmirationatthismostableessay,andIhopetoGoditwillbelargelyread,foritmustproduceagreateffect。Ioughtnot,however,toexpresssuchwarmadmiration,foryougivemybook,Ifear,fartoomuchpraise。Butyouhavegratifiedmeextremely;andthoughIhopeIdonotcareverymuchfortheapprobationofthenon—scientificreaders,Icannotsaythatthisisatallsowithrespecttosuchfewmenasyourself。Ihavenotacriticismtomake,forI
objecttonotaword;andIadmireall,sothatIcannotpickoutonepartasbetterthantherest。Itisallsowellbalanced。Butitisimpossiblenottobestruckwithyourextentofknowledgeingeology,botany,andzoology。TheextractswhichyougivefromHookerseemtomeEXCELLENTLY
chosen,andmostforcible。IamsomuchpleasedinwhatyousayalsoaboutLyell。InfactIaminafitofenthusiasm,andhadbetterwritenomore。
Withcordialthanks,Yoursverysincerely,C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down,April10th[1860]。
MydearLyell,Thankyoumuchforyournoteofthe4th;IamverygladtohearthatyouareatTorquay。Ishouldhaveamusedmyselfearlierbywritingtoyou,butIhavehadHookerandHuxleystayinghere,andtheyhavefullyoccupiedmytime,asalittleofanythingisafulldoseforme……Therehasbeenaplethoraofreviews,andIamreallyquitesickofmyself。ThereisaverylongreviewbyCarpenterinthe’MedicalandChirurg。Review,’verygoodandwellbalanced,butnotbrilliant。HediscussesHooker’sbooksatasgreatlengthasmine,andmakesexcellentextracts;butIcouldnotgetHookertofeeltheleastinterestinbeingpraised。
Carpenterspeaksofyouinthoroughlyproperterms。ThereisaBRILLIANT
reviewbyHuxley(’WestminsterReview,’April1860。),withcapitalhits,butIdonotknowthathemuchadvancesthesubject。ITHINKIhaveconvincedhimthathehashardlyallowedweightenoughtothecaseofvarietiesofplantsbeinginsomedegreessterile。
Todivergefromreviews:AsaGraysendsmefromWyman(whowillwrite),agoodcaseofallthepigsbeingblackintheEvergladesofVirginia。Onaskingaboutthecause,itseems(Ihavegotcapitalanalogouscases)thatwhentheBLACKpigseatacertainnuttheirbonesbecomered,andtheysuffertoacertainextent,butthattheWHITEpigslosetheirhoofsandperish,"andweaidbySELECTION,forwekillmostoftheyoungwhitepigs。"Thiswassaidbymenwhocouldhardlyread。Bytheway,itisagreatblowtomethatyoucannotadmitthepotencyofnaturalselection。
ThemoreIthinkofit,thelessIdoubtitspowerforgreatandsmallchanges。Ihavejustreadthe’Edinburgh’(’EdinburghReview,’April1860。),whichwithoutdoubtisby——。Itisextremelymalignant,clever,andIfearwillbeverydamaging。HeisatrociouslysevereonHuxley’slecture,andverybitteragainstHooker。SowethreeENJOYEDittogether。
NotthatIreallyenjoyedit,foritmademeuncomfortableforonenight;
butIhavegotquiteoveritto—day。Itrequiresmuchstudytoappreciateallthebitterspiteofmanyoftheremarksagainstme;indeedIdidnotdiscoverallmyself。Itscandalouslymisrepresentsmanyparts。Hemisquotessomepassages,alteringwordswithininvertedcommas……
Itispainfultobehatedintheintensedegreewithwhich——hatesme。
Nowforacuriousthingaboutmybook,andthenIhavedone。InlastSaturday’s"Gardeners’Chronicle"(April7th,1860。),aMr。PatrickMatthewpublishesalongextractfromhisworkon’NavalTimberandArboriculture,’
publishedin1831,inwhichhebrieflybutcompletelyanticipatesthetheoryofNaturalSelection。Ihaveorderedthebook,assomefewpassagesareratherobscure,butitiscertainly,Ithink,acompletebutnotdevelopedanticipation!Erasmusalwayssaidthatsurelythiswouldbeshowntobethecasesomeday。Anyhow,onemaybeexcusedinnothavingdiscoveredthefactinaworkonNavalTimber。