1864-1870.
[In the autobiographical chapter in Volume I., my father gives the
circumstances which led to his writing the 'Descent of Man.' He states
that his collection of facts, begun in 1837 or 1838, was continued for
many years without any definite idea of publishing on the subject. The
following letter to Mr. Wallace shows that in the period of ill-health
and depression about 1864 he despaired of ever being able to do so:]
CHARLES DARWIN TO A.R. WALLACE. Down, [May?] 28 [1864].
Dear Wallace,
I am so much better that I have just finished a paper for Linnean
Society (On the three forms, etc., of Lythrum.); but I am not yet at
all strong, I felt much disinclination to write, and therefore you must
forgive me for not having sooner thanked you for your paper on 'Man'
('Anthropological Review,' March 1864.), received on the 11th. But first
let me say that I have hardly ever in my life been more struck by any
paper than that on 'Variation,' etc. etc., in the "Reader". ('"Reader",
April 16, 1864. "On the Phenomena of Variation," etc. Abstract of a
paper read before the Linnean Society, March 17, 1864.) I feel sure
that such papers will do more for the spreading of our views on the
modification of species than any separate Treatises on the simple
subject itself. It is really admirable; but you ought not in the Man
paper to speak of the theory as mine; it is just as much yours as mine.
One correspondent has already noticed to me your "high-minded" conduct
on this head. But now for your Man paper, about which I should like to
write more than I can. The great leading idea is quite new to me, viz.
that during late ages, the mind will have been modified more than the
body; yet I had got as far as to see with you that the struggle between
the races of man depended entirely on intellectual and MORAL qualities.
The latter part of the paper I can designate only as grand and most
eloquently done. I have shown your paper to two or three persons who
have been here, and they have been equally struck with it. I am not
sure that I go with you on all minor points: when reading Sir G. Grey's
account of the constant battles of Australian savages, I remember
thinking that natural selection would come in, and likewise with the
Esquimaux, with whom the art of fishing and managing canoes is said to
be hereditary. I rather differ on the rank, under a classificatory point
of view, which you assign to man; I do not think any character simply in
excess ought ever to be used for the higher divisions. Ants would not be
separated from other hymenopterous insects, however high the instinct of
the one, and however low the instincts of the other. With respect to the
differences of race, a conjecture has occurred to me that much may
be due to the correlation of complexion (and consequently hair) with
constitution. Assume that a dusky individual best escaped miasma, and
you will readily see what I mean. I persuaded the Director-General of
the Medical Department of the Army to send printed forms to the surgeons
of all regiments in tropical countries to ascertain this point, but I
dare say I shall never get any returns. Secondly, I suspect that a sort
of sexual selection has been the most powerful means of changing
the races of man. I can show that the different races have a widely
different standard of beauty. Among savages the most powerful men will
have the pick of the women, and they will generally leave the most
descendants. I have collected a few notes on man, but I do not suppose
that I shall ever use them. Do you intend to follow out your views, and
if so, would you like at some future time to have my few references and
notes? I am sure I hardly know whether they are of any value, and they
are at present in a state of chaos.
There is much more that I should like to write, but I have not strength.
Believe me, dear Wallace, yours very sincerely, CH. DARWIN.
P.S.--Our aristocracy is handsomer (more hideous according to a Chinese
or Negro) than the middle classes, from (having the) pick of the women;
but oh, what a scheme is primogeniture for destroying natural selection!
I fear my letter will be barely intelligible to you.
[In February 1867, when the manuscript of 'Animals and Plants' had been
sent to Messrs. Clowes to be printed, and before the proofs began to
come in, he had an interval of spare time, and began a "chapter on Man,"
but he soon found it growing under his hands, and determined to publish
it separately as a "very small volume."
The work was interrupted by the necessity of correcting the proofs of
'Animals and Plants,' and by some botanical work, but was resumed in the
following year, 1868, the moment he could give himself up to it.
He recognized with regret the gradual change in his mind that rendered
continuous work more and more necessary to him as he grew older. This is
expressed in a letter to Sir J.D. Hooker, June 17, 1868, which repeats
to some extent what is expressed in the Autobiography:--
"I am glad you were at the 'Messiah,' it is the one thing that I should
like to hear again, but I dare say I should find my soul too dried up to
appreciate it as in old days; and then I should feel very flat, for it
is a horrid bore to feel as I constantly do, that I am a withered leaf
for every subject except Science. It sometimes makes me hate Science,
though God knows I ought to be thankful for such a perennial interest,
which makes me forget for some hours every day my accursed stomach."
The work on Man was interrupted by illness in the early summer of 1868,
and he left home on July 16th for Freshwater, in the Isle of Wight,
where he remained with his family until August 21st. Here he made
the acquaintance of Mrs. Cameron. She received the whole family with
open-hearted kindness and hospitality, and my father always retained a
warm feeling of friendship for her. She made an excellent photograph of
him, which was published with the inscription written by him: "I like
this photograph very much better than any other which has been taken of
me." Further interruption occurred in the autumn so that continuous work
on the 'Descent of Man' did not begin until 1869. The following letters
give some idea of the earlier work in 1867:]
CHARLES DARWIN TO A.R. WALLACE. Down, February 22, [1867?].
My dear Wallace,
I am hard at work on sexual selection, and am driven half mad by the
number of collateral points which require investigation, such as the
relative number of the two sexes, and especially on polygamy. Can you
aid me with respect to birds which have strongly marked secondary sexual
characters, such as birds of paradise, humming-birds, the Rupicola, or
any other such cases? Many gallinaceous birds certainly are polygamous.
I suppose that birds may be known not to be polygamous if they are seen
during the whole breeding season to associate in pairs, or if the male
incubates or aids in feeding the young. Will you have the kindness to
turn this in your mind? But it is a shame to trouble you now that, as I
am HEARTILY glad to hear, you are at work on your Malayan travels. I am
fearfully puzzled how far to extend your protective views with respect
to the females in various classes. The more I work the more important
sexual selection apparently comes out.
Can butterflies be polygamous! i.e. will one male impregnate more than
one female? Forgive me troubling you, and I dare say I shall have to ask
forgiveness again...
CHARLES DARWIN TO A.R. WALLACE. Down, February 23 [1867].
Dear Wallace,
I much regretted that I was unable to call on you, but after Monday I
was unable even to leave the house. On Monday evening I called on Bates,
and put a difficulty before him, which he could not answer, and, as on
some former similar occasion, his first suggestion was, "You had better
ask Wallace." My difficulty is, why are caterpillars sometimes so
beautifully and artistically coloured? Seeing that many are coloured to
escape danger, I can hardly attribute their bright colour in other cases
to mere physical conditions. Bates says the most gaudy caterpillar he
ever saw in Amazonia (of a sphinx) was conspicuous at the distance of
yards, from its black and red colours, whilst feeding on large green
leaves. If any one objected to male butterflies having been made
beautiful by sexual selection, and asked why should they not have been
made beautiful as well as their caterpillars, what would you answer?
I could not answer, but should maintain my ground. Will you think over
this, and some time, either by letter or when we meet, tell me what you
think? Also I want to know whether your FEMALE mimetic butterfly is more
beautiful and brighter than the male. When next in London I must get you
to show me your kingfishers. My health is a dreadful evil; I failed in
half my engagements during this last visit to London.
Believe me, yours very sincerely, C. DARWIN.
CHARLES DARWIN TO A.R. WALLACE. Down, February 26 [1867].
My dear Wallace,
Bates was quite right; you are the man to apply to in a difficulty. I
never heard anything more ingenious than your suggestion (The
suggestion that conspicuous caterpillars or perfect insects (e.g. white
butterflies), which are distasteful to birds, are protected by being
easily recognised and avoided. See Mr. Wallace's 'Natural Selection,'
2nd edition, page 117.), and I hope you may be able to prove it true.
That is a splendid fact about the white moths; it warms one's very
blood to see a theory thus almost proved to be true. (Mr. Jenner Weir's
observations published in the Transactions of the Entomolog. Soc. (1869
and 1870) give strong support to the theory in question.) With respect
to the beauty of male butterflies, I must as yet think it is due to
sexual selection. There is some evidence that dragon-flies are attracted
by bright colours; but what leads me to the above belief is, so many
male Orthoptera and Cicadas having musical instruments. This being the
case, the analogy of birds makes me believe in sexual selection with
respect to colour in insects. I wish I had strength and time to make
some of the experiments suggested by you, but I thought butterflies
would not pair in confinement. I am sure I have heard of some such
difficulty. Many years ago I had a dragon-fly painted with gorgeous
colours, but I never had an opportunity of fairly trying it.
The reason of my being so much interested just at present about sexual
selection is, that I have almost resolved to publish a little essay on
the origin of Mankind, and I still strongly think (though I failed
to convince you, and this, to me, is the heaviest blow possible) that
sexual selection has been the main agent in forming the races of man.
By the way, there is another subject which I shall introduce in my
essay, namely, expression of countenance. Now, do you happen to know
by any odd chance a very good-natured and acute observer in the Malay
Archipelago, who you think would make a few easy observations for me on
the expression of the Malays when excited by various emotions? For in
this case I would send to such person a list of queries. I thank you for
your most interesting letter, and remain,
Yours very sincerely, CH. DARWIN.
CHARLES DARWIN TO A.R. WALLACE. Down, March [1867].
My dear Wallace,
I thank you much for your two notes. The case of Julia Pastrana (A
bearded woman having an irregular double set of teeth. 'Animals and
Plants,' volume ii. page 328.) is a splendid addition to my other cases
of correlated teeth and hair, and I will add it in correcting the press
of my present volume. Pray let me hear in the course of the summer if
you get any evidence about the gaudy caterpillars. I should much like
to give (or quote if published) this idea of yours, if in any way
supported, as suggested by you. It will, however, be a long time hence,
for I can see that sexual selection is growing into quite a large
subject, which I shall introduce into my essay on Man, supposing that
I ever publish it. I had intended giving a chapter on man, inasmuch as
many call him (not QUITE truly) an eminently domesticated animal, but
I found the subject too large for a chapter. Nor shall I be capable of
treating the subject well, and my sole reason for taking it up is, that
I am pretty well convinced that sexual selection has played an important
part in the formation of races, and sexual selection has always been a
subject which has interested me much. I have been very glad to see your
impression from memory on the expression of Malays. I fully agree with
you that the subject is in no way an important one; it is simply a
"hobby-horse" with me, about twenty-seven years old; and AFTER thinking
that I would write an essay on man, it flashed on me that I could work
in some "supplemental remarks on expression." After the horrid,
tedious, dull work of my present huge, and I fear unreadable, book ['The
Variation of Animals and Plants'], I thought I would amuse myself with
my hobby-horse. The subject is, I think, more curious and more amenable
to scientific treatment than you seem willing to allow. I want, anyhow,
to upset Sir C. Bell's view, given in his most interesting work, 'The
Anatomy of Expression,' that certain muscles have been given to man
solely that he may reveal to other men his feelings. I want to try
and show how expressions have arisen. That is a good suggestion about
newspapers, but my experience tells me that private applications are
generally most fruitful. I will, however, see if I can get the queries
inserted in some Indian paper. I do not know the names or addresses of
any other papers.
... My two female amanuenses are busy with friends, and I fear this
scrawl will give you much trouble to read. With many thanks,
Yours very sincerely, CH. DARWIN.
[The following letter may be worth giving, as an example of his sources
of information, and as showing what were the thoughts at this time
occupying him:]
CHARLES DARWIN TO F. MULLER. Down, February 22 [1867].
... Many thanks for all the curious facts about the unequal number of the
sexes in Crustacea, but the more I investigate this subject the deeper
I sink in doubt and difficulty. Thanks also for the confirmation of
the rivalry of Cicadae. I have often reflected with surprise on the
diversity of the means for producing music with insects, and still more
with birds. We thus get a high idea of the importance of song in the
animal kingdom. Please to tell me where I can find any account of the
auditory organs in the Orthoptera. Your facts are quite new to me.
Scudder has described an insect in the Devonian strata, furnished with
a stridulating apparatus. I believe he is to be trusted, and, if so, the
apparatus is of astonishing antiquity. After reading Landois's paper I
have been working at the stridulating organ in the Lamellicorn beetles,
in expectation of finding it sexual; but I have only found it as yet in
two cases, and in these it was equally developed in both sexes. I wish
you would look at any of your common lamellicorns, and take hold of
both males and females, and observe whether they make the squeaking or
grating noise equally. If they do not, you could, perhaps, send me a
male and female in a light little box. How curious it is that there
should be a special organ for an object apparently so unimportant as
squeaking. Here is another point; have you any toucans? if so, ask any
trustworthy hunter whether the beaks of the males, or of both sexes, are
more brightly coloured during the breeding season than at other times
of the year... Heaven knows whether I shall ever live to make use of
half the valuable facts which you have communicated to me! Your paper
on Balanus armatus, translated by Mr. Dallas, has just appeared in our
'Annals and Magazine of Natural History,' and I have read it with the
greatest interest. I never thought that I should live to hear of a
hybrid Balanus! I am very glad that you have seen the cement tubes; they
appear to me extremely curious, and, as far as I know, you are the first
man who has verified my observations on this point.
With most cordial thanks for all your kindness, my dear Sir,
Yours very sincerely, C. DARWIN.
CHARLES DARWIN TO A. DE CANDOLLE. Down, July 6, 1868.
My dear Sir,
I return you my SINCERE thanks for your long letter, which I consider a
great compliment, and which is quite full of most interesting facts and
views. Your references and remarks will be of great use should a new
edition of my book ('Variation of Animals and Plants.') be demanded, but
this is hardly probable, for the whole edition was sold within the first
week, and another large edition immediately reprinted, which I should
think would supply the demand for ever. You ask me when I shall publish
on the 'Variation of Species in a State of Nature.' I have had the MS.
for another volume almost ready during several years, but I was so much
fatigued by my last book that I determined to amuse myself by publishing
a short essay on the 'Descent of Man.' I was partly led to do this by
having been taunted that I concealed my views, but chiefly from the
interest which I had long taken in the subject. Now this essay has
branched out into some collateral subjects, and I suppose will take me
more than a year to complete. I shall then begin on 'Species,' but my
health makes me a very slow workman. I hope that you will excuse these
details, which I have given to show that you will have plenty of time to
publish your views first, which will be a great advantage to me. Of all
the curious facts which you mention in your letter, I think that of
the strong inheritance of the scalp-muscles has interested me most. I
presume that you would not object to my giving this very curious case on
your authority. As I believe all anatomists look at the scalp-muscles
as a remnant of the Panniculus carnosus which is common to all the lower
quadrupeds, I should look at the unusual development and inheritance of
these muscles as probably a case of reversion. Your observation on
so many remarkable men in noble families having been illegitimate is
extremely curious; and should I ever meet any one capable of writing an
essay on this subject, I will mention your remarks as a good suggestion.
Dr. Hooker has several times remarked to me that morals and politics
would be very interesting if discussed like any branch of natural
history, and this is nearly to the same effect with your remarks...
CHARLES DARWIN TO L. AGASSIZ. Down, August 19, 1868.
Dear Sir,
I thank you cordially for your very kind letter. I certainly thought
that you had formed so low an opinion of my scientific work that it
might have appeared indelicate in me to have asked for information from
you, but it never occurred to me that my letter would have been shown to
you. I have never for a moment doubted your kindness and generosity, and
I hope you will not think it presumption in me to say, that when we met,
many years ago, at the British Association at Southampton, I felt for
you the warmest admiration.
Your information on the Amazonian fishes has interested me EXTREMELY,
and tells me exactly what I wanted to know. I was aware, through notes
given me by Dr. Gunther, that many fishes differed sexually in colour
and other characters, but I was particularly anxious to learn how far
this was the case with those fishes in which the male, differently from
what occurs with most birds, takes the largest share in the care of
the ova and young. Your letter has not only interested me much, but
has greatly gratified me in other respects, and I return you my sincere
thanks for your kindness. Pray believe me, my dear Sir,
Yours very faithfully, CHARLES DARWIN.
CHARLES DARWIN TO J.D. HOOKER. Down, Sunday, August 23 [1868].
My dear old Friend,
I have received your note. I can hardly say how pleased I have been
at the success of your address (Sir Joseph Hooker was President of the
British Association at the Norwich Meeting in 1868.), and of the
whole meeting. I have seen the "Times", "Telegraph", "Spectator", and
"Athenaeum", and have heard of other favourable newspapers, and have
ordered a bundle. There is a "chorus of praise." The "Times" reported
miserably, i.e. as far as errata was concerned; but I was very glad
at the leader, for I thought the way you brought in the megalithic
monuments most happy. (The British Association was desirous of
interesting the Government in certain modern cromlech builders, the
Khasia race of East Bengal, in order that their megalithic monuments
might be efficiently described.) I particularly admired Tyndall's little
speech (Professor Tyndall was President of Section A.)... The "Spectator"
pitches a little into you about Theology, in accordance with its usual
spirit...
Your great success has rejoiced my heart. I have just carefully read the
whole address in the "Athenaeum"; and though, as you know, I liked it
very much when you read it to me, yet, as I was trying all the time to
find fault, I missed to a certain extent the effect as a whole; and this
now appears to me most striking and excellent. How you must rejoice at
all your bothering labour and anxiety having had so grand an end. I must
say a word about myself; never has such a eulogium been passed on me,
and it makes me very proud. I cannot get over my AMAZEMENT at what you
say about my botanical work. By Jove, as far as my memory goes, you have
strengthened instead of weakened some of the expressions. What is far
more important than anything personal, is the conviction which I feel
that you will have immensely advanced the belief in the evolution of
species. This will follow from the publicity of the occasion, your
position, so responsible, as President, and your own high reputation.
It will make a great step in public opinion, I feel sure, and I had not
thought of this before. The "Athenaeum" takes your snubbing (Sir Joseph
Hooker made some reference to the review of 'Animals and Plants' in the
"Athenaeum" of February 15, 1868.) with the utmost mildness. I certainly
do rejoice over the snubbing, and hope [the reviewer] will feel it a
little. Whenever you have SPARE time to write again, tell me whether
any astronomers (In discussing the astronomer's objection to Evolution,
namely that our globe has not existed for a long enough period to give
time for the assumed transmutation of living beings, Hooker challenged
Whewell's dictum that, astronomy is the queen of sciences--the only
perfect science.) took your remarks in ill part; as they now stand they
do not seem at all too harsh and presumptuous. Many of your sentences
strike me as extremely felicitous and eloquent. That of Lyell's
"under-pinning" (After a eulogium on Sir Charles Lyell's heroic
renunciation of his old views in accepting Evolution, Sir J.D. Hooker
continued, "Well may he be proud of a superstructure, raised on the
foundations of an insecure doctrine, when he finds that he can underpin
it and substitute a new foundation; and after all is finished, survey
his edifice, not only more secure but more harmonious in its proportion
than it was before."), is capital. Tell me, was Lyell pleased? I am so
glad that you remembered my old dedication. (The 'Naturalist's Voyage'
was dedicated to Lyell.) Was Wallace pleased?
How about photographs? Can you spare time for a line to our dear
Mrs. Cameron? She came to see us off, and loaded us with presents of
photographs, and Erasmus called after her, "Mrs. Cameron, there are six
people in this house all in love with you." When I paid her, she cried
out, "Oh what a lot of money!" and ran to boast to her husband.
I must not write any more, though I am in tremendous spirits at your
brilliant success.
Yours ever affectionately, C. DARWIN.
[In the "Athenaeum" of November 29, 1868, appeared an article which was
in fact a reply to Sir Joseph Hooker's remarks at Norwich. He seems to
have consulted my father as to the wisdom of answering the article. My
father wrote on September 1:
"In my opinion Dr. Joseph Dalton Hooker need take no notice of the
attack in the "Athenaeum" in reference to Mr. Charles Darwin. What
an ass the man is to think he cuts one to the quick by giving one's
Christian name in full. How transparently false is the statement that my
sole groundwork is from pigeons, because I state I have worked them
out more fully than other beings! He muddles together two books of
Flourens."
The following letter refers to a paper ('Transactions of the Ottawa
Academy of Natural Sciences,' 1868, by John D. Caton, late Chief Justice
of Illinois.) by Judge Caton, of which my father often spoke with
admiration:]
CHARLES DARWIN TO JOHN D. CATON. Down, September 18, 1868.
Dear Sir,
I beg leave to thank you very sincerely for your kindness in sending me,
through Mr. Walsh, your admirable paper on American Deer.
It is quite full of most interesting observations, stated with the
greatest clearness. I have seldom read a paper with more interest, for
it abounds with facts of direct use for my work. Many of them consist
of little points which hardly any one besides yourself has observed, or
perceived the importance of recording. I would instance the age at which
the horns are developed (a point on which I have lately been in vain
searching for information), the rudiment of horns in the female elk, and
especially the different nature of the plants devoured by the deer and
elk, and several other points. With cordial thanks for the pleasure and
instruction which you have afforded me, and with high respect for your
power of observation, I beg leave to remain, dear Sir,
Yours faithfully and obliged, CHARLES DARWIN.
[The following extract from a letter (September 24, 1868) to the
Marquis de Saporta, the eminent palaeo-botanist, refers to the growth of
evolutionary views in France (In 1868 he was pleased at being asked to
authorise a French translation of his 'Naturalist's Voyage.':--
"As I have formerly read with great interest many of your papers on
fossil plants, you may believe with what high satisfaction I hear that
you are a believer in the gradual evolution of species. I had supposed
that my book on the 'Origin of Species' had made very little impression
in France, and therefore it delights me to hear a different statement
from you. All the great authorities of the Institute seem firmly
resolved to believe in the immutability of species, and this has always
astonished me... almost the one exception, as far as I know, is M.
Gaudry, and I think he will be soon one of the chief leaders in
Zoological Palaeontology in Europe; and now I am delighted to hear that
in the sister department of Botany you take nearly the same view."]
CHARLES DARWIN TO E. HAECKEL. Down, November 19 [1868].
My dear Haeckel,
I must write to you again, for two reasons. Firstly, to thank you for
your letter about your baby, which has quite charmed both me and
my wife; I heartily congratulate you on its birth. I remember being
surprised in my own case how soon the paternal instincts became
developed, and in you they seem to be unusually strong,... I hope the
large blue eyes and the principles of inheritance will make your child
as good a naturalist as you are; but, judging from my own experience,
you will be astonished to find how the whole mental disposition of your
children changes with advancing years. A young child, and the same when
nearly grown, sometimes differ almost as much as do a caterpillar and
butterfly.
The second point is to congratulate you on the projected translation of
your great work ('Generelle Morphologie,' 1866. No English translation
of this book has appeared.), about which I heard from Huxley last
Sunday. I am heartily glad of it, but how it has been brought about,
I know not, for a friend who supported the supposed translation at
Norwich, told me he thought there would be no chance of it. Huxley tells
me that you consent to omit and shorten some parts, and I am confident
that this is very wise. As I know your object is to instruct the public,
you will assuredly thus get many more readers in England. Indeed, I
believe that almost every book would be improved by condensation. I
have been reading a good deal of your last book ('Die Naturliche
Schopfungs-Geschichte,' 1868. It was translated and published in
1876, under the title, 'The History of Creation.'), and the style is
beautifully clear and easy to me; but why it should differ so much in
this respect from your great work I cannot imagine. I have not yet read
the first part, but began with the chapter on Lyell and myself, which
you will easily believe pleased me VERY MUCH. I think Lyell, who
was apparently much pleased by your sending him a copy, is also much
gratified by this chapter. (See Lyell's interesting letter to Haeckel.
'Life of Sir C. Lyell,' ii. page 435.) Your chapters on the affinities
and genealogy of the animal kingdom strike me as admirable and full of
original thought. Your boldness, however, sometimes makes me tremble,
but as Huxley remarked, some one must be bold enough to make a
beginning in drawing up tables of descent. Although you fully admit
the imperfection of the geological record, yet Huxley agreed with me in
thinking that you are sometimes rather rash in venturing to say at what
periods the several groups first appeared. I have this advantage over
you, that I remember how wonderfully different any statement on this
subject made 20 years ago, would have been to what would now be
the case, and I expect the next 20 years will make quite as great a
difference. Reflect on the monocotyledonous plant just discovered in the
PRIMORDIAL formation in Sweden.
I repeat how glad I am at the prospect of the translation, for I fully
believe that this work and all your works will have a great influence in
the advancement of Science.
Believe me, my dear Haeckel, your sincere friend, CHARLES DARWIN.
[It was in November of this year that he sat for the bust by Mr.
Woolner: he wrote:--
"I should have written long ago, but I have been pestered with stupid
letters, and am undergoing the purgatory of sitting for hours to
Woolner, who, however, is wonderfully pleasant, and lightens as much as
man can, the penance; as far as I can judge, it will make a fine bust."
If I may criticise the work of so eminent a sculptor as Mr. Woolner,
I should say that the point in which the bust fails somewhat as a
portrait, is that it has a certain air, almost of pomposity, which seems
to me foreign to my father's expression.]
1869.
[At the beginning of the year he was at work in preparing the fifth
edition of the 'Origin.' This work was begun on the day after Christmas,
1868, and was continued for "forty-six days," as he notes in his diary,
i.e. until February 10th, 1869. He then, February 11th, returned to
Sexual Selection, and continued at this subject (excepting for ten days
given up to Orchids, and a week in London), until June 10th, when he
went with his family to North Wales, where he remained about seven
weeks, returning to Down on July 31st.
Caerdeon, the house where he stayed, is built on the north shore of the
beautiful Barmouth estuary, and is pleasantly placed, in being close
to wild hill country behind, as well as to the picturesque wooded
"hummocks," between the steeper hills and the river. My father was ill
and somewhat depressed throughout this visit, and I think felt saddened
at being imprisoned by his want of strength, and unable even to reach
the hills over which he had once wandered for days together.
He wrote from Caerdeon to Sir J.D. Hooker (June 22nd):--
"We have been here for ten days, how I wish it was possible for you to
pay us a visit here; we have a beautiful house with a terraced garden,
and a really magnificent view of Cader, right opposite. Old Cader is a
grand fellow, and shows himself off superbly with every changing light.
We remain here till the end of July, when the H. Wedgwoods have the
house. I have been as yet in a very poor way; it seems as soon as the
stimulus of mental work stops, my whole strength gives way. As yet
I have hardly crawled half a mile from the house, and then have been
fearfully fatigued. It is enough to make one wish oneself quiet in a
comfortable tomb."
With regard to the fifth edition of the 'Origin,' he wrote to Mr.
Wallace (January 22, 1869):--
"I have been interrupted in my regular work in preparing a new edition
of the 'Origin,' which has cost me much labour, and which I hope I have
considerably improved in two or three important points. I always thought
individual differences more important than single variations, but now I
have come to the conclusion that they are of paramount importance, and
in this I believe I agree with you. Fleeming Jenkin's arguments have
convinced me."
This somewhat obscure sentence was explained, February 2, in another
letter to Mr. Wallace:--
"I must have expressed myself atrociously; I meant to say exactly the
reverse of what you have understood. F. Jenkin argued in the 'North
British Review' against single variations ever being perpetuated, and
has convinced me, though not in quite so broad a manner as here put. I
always thought individual differences more important; but I was blind
and thought that single variations might be preserved much oftener than
I now see is possible or probable. I mentioned this in my former note
merely because I believed that you had come to a similar conclusion, and
I like much to be in accord with you. I believe I was mainly deceived
by single variations offering such simple illustrations, as when man
selects."
The late Mr. Fleeming Jenkin's review, on the 'Origin of Species,'
was published in the 'North British Review' for June 1867. It is not a
little remarkable that the criticisms, which my father, as I believe,
felt to be the most valuable ever made on his views should have come,
not from a professed naturalist but from a Professor of Engineering.
It is impossible to give in a short compass an account of Fleeming
Jenkin's argument. My father's copy of the paper (ripped out of the
volume as usual, and tied with a bit of string) is annotated in pencil
in many places. I may quote one passage opposite which my father has
written "good sneers"--but it should be remembered that he used the word
"sneer" in rather a special sense, not as necessarily implying a feeling
of bitterness in the critic, but rather in the sense of "banter."
Speaking of the 'true believer,' Fleeming Jenkin says, page 293:--
"He can invent trains of ancestors of whose existence there is no
evidence; he can marshal hosts of equally imaginary foes; he can call
up continents, floods, and peculiar atmospheres; he can dry up oceans,
split islands, and parcel out eternity at will; surely with these
advantages he must be a dull fellow if he cannot scheme some series
of animals and circumstances explaining our assumed difficulty quite
naturally. Feeling the difficulty of dealing with adversaries who
command so huge a domain of fancy, we will abandon these arguments,
and trust to those which at least cannot be assailed by mere efforts of
imagination."
In the fifth edition of the 'Origin,' my father altered a passage in the
Historical Sketch (fourth edition page xviii.). He thus practically gave
up the difficult task of understanding whether or no Sir R. Owen claims
to have discovered the principle of Natural Selection. Adding, "As
far as the mere enunciation of the principle of Natural Selection is
concerned, it is quite immaterial whether or not Professor Owen preceded
me, for both of us... were long ago preceded by Dr. Wells and Mr.
Matthew."
A somewhat severe critique on the fifth edition, by Mr. John Robertson,
appeared in the "Athenaeum", August 14, 1869. The writer comments with
some little bitterness on the success of the 'Origin:' "Attention is not
acceptance. Many editions do not mean real success. The book has sold;
the guess has been talked over; and the circulation and discussion sum
up the significance of the editions." Mr. Robertson makes the true, but
misleading statement: "Mr. Darwin prefaces his fifth English edition
with an Essay, which he calls 'An Historical Sketch,' etc." As a matter
of fact the Sketch appeared in the third edition in 1861.
Mr. Robertson goes on to say that the Sketch ought to be called a
collection of extracts anticipatory or corroborative of the hypothesis
of Natural Selection. "For no account is given of any hostile opinions.
The fact is very significant. This historical sketch thus resembles the
histories of the reign of Louis XVIII., published after the Restoration,
from which the Republic and the Empire, Robespierre and Buonaparte were
omitted."
The following letter to Prof. Victor Carus gives an idea of the
character of the new edition of the 'Origin:']
CHARLES DARWIN TO VICTOR CARUS. Down, May 4, 1869.
... I have gone very carefully through the whole, trying to make
some parts clearer, and adding a few discussions and facts of some
importance. The new edition is only two pages at the end longer than
the old; though in one part nine pages in advance, for I have condensed
several parts and omitted some passages. The translation I fear will
cause you a great deal of trouble; the alterations took me six weeks,
besides correcting the press; you ought to make a special agreement with
M. Koch [the publisher]. Many of the corrections are only a few words,
but they have been made from the evidence on various points appearing to
have become a little stronger or weaker.
Thus I have been led to place somewhat more value on the definite and
direct action of external conditions; to think the lapse of time, as
measured by years, not quite so great as most geologists have thought;
and to infer that single variations are of even less importance, in
comparison with individual differences, than I formerly thought. I
mention these points because I have been thus led to alter in many
places A FEW WORDS; and unless you go through the whole new edition, one
part will not agree with another, which would be a great blemish...
[The desire that his views might spread in France was always strong with
my father, and he was therefore justly annoyed to find that in 1869
the Editor of the first French edition had brought out a third edition
without consulting the author. He was accordingly glad to enter into
an arrangement for a French translation of the fifth edition; this
was undertaken by M. Reinwald, with whom he continued to have pleasant
relations as the publisher of many of his books into French.
He wrote to Sir J.D. Hooker:--
"I must enjoy myself and tell you about Mdlle. C. Royer, who translated
the 'Origin' into French, and for whose second edition I took infinite
trouble. She has now just brought out a third edition without informing
me, so that all the corrections, etc., in the fourth and fifth English
editions are lost. Besides her enormously long preface to the first
edition, she has added a second preface abusing me like a pick-pocket
for Pangenesis, which of course has no relation to the 'Origin.' So
I wrote to Paris; and Reinwald agrees to bring out at once a new
translation from the fifth English edition, in competition with her
third edition... This fact shows that "evolution of species" must at last
be spreading in France."
With reference to the spread of Evolution among the orthodox, the
following letter is of some interest. In March he received, from the
author, a copy of a lecture by Rev. T.R.R. Stebbing, given before the
Torquay Natural History Society, February 1, 1869, bearing the title
"Darwinism." My father wrote to Mr. Stebbing:]
Dear Sir,
I am very much obliged to you for your kindness in sending me your
spirited and interesting lecture; if a layman had delivered the same
address, he would have done good service in spreading what, as I
hope and believe, is to a large extent the truth; but a clergyman in
delivering such an address does, as it appears to me, much more good
by his power to shake ignorant prejudices, and by setting, if I may be
permitted to say so, an admirable example of liberality.
With sincere respect, I beg leave to remain, Dear Sir, yours faithfully
and obliged, CHARLES DARWIN.
[The references to the subject of expression in the following letter are
explained by the fact that my father's original intention was to give
his essay on this subject as a chapter in the 'Descent of Man,' which
in its turn grew, as we have seen, out of a proposed chapter in 'Animals
and Plants:']
CHARLES DARWIN TO F. MULLER. Down, February 22 [1869?].
... Although you have aided me to so great an extent in many ways, I am
going to beg for any information on two other subjects. I am preparing
a discussion on "Sexual Selection," and I want much to know how low down
in the animal scale sexual selection of a particular kind extends.
Do you know of any lowly organised animals, in which the sexes are
separated, and in which the male differs from the female in arms of
offence, like the horns and tusks of male mammals, or in gaudy plumage
and ornaments, as with birds and butterflies? I do not refer to
secondary sexual characters, by which the male is able to discover
the female, like the plumed antennae of moths, or by which the male is
enabled to seize the female, like the curious pincers described by you
in some of the lower Crustaceans. But what I want to know is, how low
in the scale sexual differences occur which require some degree of
self-consciousness in the males, as weapons by which they fight for the
female, or ornaments which attract the opposite sex. Any differences
between males and females which follow different habits of life would
have to be excluded. I think you will easily see what I wish to learn.
A priori, it would never have been anticipated that insects would have
been attracted by the beautiful colouring of the opposite sex, or by
the sounds emitted by the various musical instruments of the male
Orthoptera. I know no one so likely to answer this question as yourself,
and should be grateful for any information, however small.
My second subject refers to expression of countenance, to which I
have long attended, and on which I feel a keen interest; but to which,
unfortunately, I did not attend when I had the opportunity of observing
various races of man. It has occurred to me that you might, without much
trouble, make a FEW observations for me, in the course of some months,
on Negroes, or possibly on native South Americans, though I care most
about Negroes; accordingly I enclose some questions as a guide, and if
you could answer me even one or two I should feel truly obliged. I am
thinking of writing a little essay on the Origin of Mankind, as I
have been taunted with concealing my opinions, and I should do this
immediately after the completion of my present book. In this case I
should add a chapter on the cause or meaning of expression...
[The remaining letters of this year deal chiefly with the books,
reviews, etc., which interested him.]
CHARLES DARWIN TO H. THIEL. Down, February 25, 1869.
Dear Sir,
On my return home after a short absence, I found your very courteous
note, and the pamphlet ('Ueber einige Formen der Landwirthschaftlichen
Genossenschaften.' by Dr. H. Thiel, then of the Agricultural Station
at Poppelsdorf.), and I hasten to thank you for both, and for the very
honourable mention which you make of my name. You will readily believe
how much interested I am in observing that you apply to moral and social
questions analogous views to those which I have used in regard to the
modification of species. It did not occur to me formerly that my
views could be extended to such widely different, and most important,
subjects. With much respect, I beg leave to remain, dear Sir,
Yours faithfully and obliged, CHARLES DARWIN.
CHARLES DARWIN TO T.H. HUXLEY. Down, March 19 [1869].
My dear Huxley,
Thanks for your 'Address.' (In his 'Anniversary Address' to the
Geological Society, 1869, Mr. Huxley criticised Sir William Thomson's
paper ('Trans. Geol. Soc., Glasgow,' volume iii.) "On Geological Time.")
People complain of the unequal distribution of wealth, but it is a much
greater shame and injustice that any one man should have the power to
write so many brilliant essays as you have lately done. There is no one
who writes like you... If I were in your shoes, I should tremble for my
life. I agree with all you say, except that I must think that you
draw too great a distinction between the evolutionists and the
uniformitarians.
I find that the few sentences which I have sent to press in the 'Origin'
about the age of the world will do fairly well...
Ever yours, C. DARWIN.
CHARLES DARWIN TO A.R. WALLACE. Down, March 22 [1869].
My dear Wallace,
I have finished your book ('The Malay Archipelago,' etc., 1869.); it
seems to me excellent, and at the same time most pleasant to read. That
you ever returned alive is wonderful after all your risks from illness
and sea voyages, especially that most interesting one to Waigiou and
back. Of all the impressions which I have received from your book, the
strongest is that your perseverance in the cause of science was heroic.
Your descriptions of catching the splendid butterflies have made me
quite envious, and at the same time have made me feel almost young
again, so vividly have they brought before my mind old days when
I collected, though I never made such captures as yours. Certainly
collecting is the best sport in the world. I shall be astonished if
your book has not a great success; and your splendid generalizations on
Geographical Distribution, with which I am familiar from your papers,
will be new to most of your readers. I think I enjoyed most the Timor
case, as it is best demonstrated; but perhaps Celebes is really the
most valuable. I should prefer looking at the whole Asiatic continent
as having formerly been more African in its fauna, than admitting the
former existence of a continent across the Indian Ocean...
[The following letter refers to Mr. Wallace's article in the April
number of the 'Quarterly Review' (My father wrote to Mr. Murray: "The
article by Wallace is inimitably good, and it is a great triumph that
such an article should appear in the 'Quarterly,' and will make the
Bishop of Oxford and --gnash their teeth."), 1869, which to a large
extent deals with the tenth edition of Sir Charles Lyell's 'Principles,'
published in 1867 and 1868. The review contains a striking passage
on Sir Charles Lyell's confession of evolutionary faith in the tenth
edition of his 'Principles,' which is worth quoting: "The history of
science hardly presents so striking an instance of youthfulness of mind
in advanced life as is shown by this abandonment of opinions so long
held and so powerfully advocated; and if we bear in mind the extreme
caution, combined with the ardent love of truth which characterise every
work which our author has produced, we shall be convinced that so great
a change was not decided on without long and anxious deliberation, and
that the views now adopted must indeed be supported by arguments of
overwhelming force. If for no other reason than that Sir Charles Lyell
in his tenth edition has adopted it, the theory of Mr. Darwin deserves
an attentive and respectful consideration from every earnest seeker
after truth."]
CHARLES DARWIN TO A.R. WALLACE. Down, April 14, 1869.
My dear Wallace,
I have been wonderfully interested by your article, and I should think
Lyell will be much gratified by it. I declare if I had been editor, and
had the power of directing you, I should have selected for discussion
the very points which you have chosen. I have often said to younger
geologists (for I began in the year 1830) that they did not know what a
revolution Lyell had effected; nevertheless, your extracts from Cuvier
have quite astonished me. Though not able really to judge, I am inclined
to put more confidence in Croll than you seem to do; but I have been
much struck by many of your remarks on degradation. Thomson's views of
the recent age of the world have been for some time one of my sorest
troubles, and so I have been glad to read what you say. Your exposition
of Natural Selection seems to me inimitably good; there never lived a
better expounder than you. I was also much pleased at your discussing
the difference between our views and Lamarck's. One sometimes sees the
odious expression, "Justice to myself compels me to say," etc., but
you are the only man I ever heard of who persistently does himself an
injustice, and never demands justice. Indeed, you ought in the review to
have alluded to your paper in the 'Linnean Journal,' and I feel sure all
our friends will agree in this. But you cannot "Burke" yourself, however
much you may try, as may be seen in half the articles which appear. I
was asked but the other day by a German professor for your paper,
which I sent him. Altogether I look at your article as appearing in the
'Quarterly' as an immense triumph for our cause. I presume that your
remarks on Man are those to which you alluded in your note. If you had
not told me I should have thought that they had been added by some one
else. As you expected, I differ grievously from you, and I am very
sorry for it. I can see no necessity for calling in an additional and
proximate cause in regard to man. (Mr. Wallace points out that any
one acquainted merely with the "unaided productions of nature," might
reasonably doubt whether a dray-horse, for example, could have been
developed by the power of man directing the "action of the laws of
variation, multiplication, and survival, for his own purpose. We know,
however, that this has been done, and we must therefore admit the
possibility that in the development of the human race, a higher
intelligence has guided the same laws for nobler ends.") But the subject
is too long for a letter. I have been particularly glad to read your
discussion because I am now writing and thinking much about man.
I hope that your Malay book sells well; I was extremely pleased with
the article in the 'Quarterly Journal of Science,' inasmuch as it is
thoroughly appreciative of your work: alas! you will probably agree with
what the writer says about the uses of the bamboo.
I hear that there is also a good article in the "Saturday Review", but
have heard nothing more about it. Believe me my dear Wallace,
Yours ever sincerely, CH. DARWIN.
CHARLES DARWIN TO C. LYELL. Down, May 4 [1869].
My dear Lyell,
I have been applied to for some photographs (carte de visite) to be
copied to ornament the diplomas of honorary members of a new Society
in Servia! Will you give me one for this purpose? I possess only a
full-length one of you in my own album, and the face is too small, I
think, to be copied.
I hope that you get on well with your work, and have satisfied yourself
on the difficult point of glacier lakes. Thank heaven, I have finished
correcting the new edition of the 'Origin,' and am at my old work of
Sexual Selection.
Wallace's article struck me as ADMIRABLE; how well he brought out the
revolution which you effected some 30 years ago. I thought I had fully
appreciated the revolution, but I was astounded at the extracts from
Cuvier. What a good sketch of natural selection! but I was dreadfully
disappointed about Man, it seems to me incredibly strange...; and had I
not known to the contrary, would have sworn it had been inserted by some
other hand. But I believe that you will not agree quite in all this.
My dear Lyell, ever yours sincerely, C. DARWIN.
CHARLES DARWIN TO J.L.A. DE QUATREFAGES. Down, May 28 [1869 or 1870].
Dear Sir,
I have received and read your volume (Essays reprinted from the 'Revue
des Deux Mondes,' under the title 'Histoire Naturelle Generale,' etc.,
1869.), and am much obliged for your present. The whole strikes me as a
wonderfully clear and able discussion, and I was much interested by it
to the last page. It is impossible that any account of my views could be
fairer, or, as far as space permitted, fuller, than that which you
have given. The way in which you repeatedly mention my name is most
gratifying to me. When I had finished the second part, I thought that
you had stated the case so favourably that you would make more converts
on my side than on your own side. On reading the subsequent parts I
had to change my sanguine view. In these latter parts many of your
strictures are severe enough, but all are given with perfect courtesy
and fairness. I can truly say I would rather be criticised by you in
this manner than praised by many others. I agree with some of your
criticisms, but differ entirely from the remainder; but I will not
trouble you with any remarks. I may, however, say, that you must have
been deceived by the French translation, as you infer that I believe
that the Parus and the Nuthatch (or Sitta) are related by direct
filiation. I wished only to show by an imaginary illustration, how
either instincts or structures might first change. If you had seen Canis
Magellanicus alive you would have perceived how foxlike its appearance
is, or if you had heard its voice, I think that you would never have
hazarded the idea that it was a domestic dog run wild; but this does
not much concern me. It is curious how nationality influences opinion; a
week hardly passes without my hearing of some naturalist in Germany
who supports my views, and often puts an exaggerated value on my works;
whilst in France I have not heard of a single zoologist, except M.
Gaudry (and he only partially), who supports my views. But I must have
a good many readers as my books are translated, and I must hope,
notwithstanding your strictures, that I may influence some embryo
naturalists in France.
You frequently speak of my good faith, and no compliment can be more
delightful to me, but I may return you the compliment with interest, for
every word which you write bears the stamp of your cordial love for the
truth. Believe me, dear Sir, with sincere respect,
Yours very faithfully, CHARLES DARWIN.
CHARLES DARWIN TO T.H. HUXLEY. Down, October 14 [1869].
My dear Huxley,
I have been delighted to see your review of Haeckel (A review of
Haeckel's 'Schopfungs-Geschichte.' The "Academy", 1869. Reprinted in
'Critiques and Addresses,' page 303.), and as usual you pile honours
high on my head. But I write now (REQUIRING NO ANSWER) to groan a
little over what you have said about rudimentary organs. (In discussing
Teleology and Haeckel's "Dysteleology," Prof. Huxley says:--"Such cases
as the existence of lateral rudiments of toes, in the foot of a horse,
place us in a dilemma. For either these rudiments are of no use to the
animals, in which case... they surely ought to have disappeared; or
they are of some use to the animal, in which case they are of no use as
arguments against Teleology."--('Critiques and Addresses,' page 308.)
Many heretics will take advantage of what you have said. I cannot but
think that the explanation given at page 541 of the last edition of
the 'Origin' of the long retention of rudimentary organs and of their
greater relative size during early life, is satisfactory. Their final
and complete abortion seems to me a much greater difficulty. Do look
in my 'Variations under Domestication,' volume ii. page 397, at what
Pangenesis suggests on this head, though I did not dare to put in the
'Origin.' The passage bears also a little on the struggle between the
molecules or gemmules. ("It is a probable hypothesis, that what the
world is to organisms in general, each organism is to the molecules of
which it is composed. Multitudes of these having diverse tendencies, are
competing with one another for opportunity to exist and multiply; and
the organism, as a whole, is as much the product of the molecules which
are victorious as the Fauna, or Flora, of a country is the product of
the victorious organic beings in it."--('Critiques and Addresses,' page
309.) There is likewise a word or two indirectly bearing on this subject
at pages 394-395. It won't take you five minutes, so do look at these
passages. I am very glad that you have been bold enough to give your
idea about Natural Selection amongst the molecules, though I can not
quite follow you.
1870 AND BEGINNING OF 1871.
[My father wrote in his Diary:--"The whole of this year [1870] at work
on the 'Descent of Man.'... Went to Press August 30, 1870."
The letters are again of miscellaneous interest, dealing, not only with
his work, but also serving to indicate the course of his reading.]
CHARLES DARWIN TO E. RAY LANKESTER. Down, March 15 [1870].
My dear Sir,
I do not know whether you will consider me a very troublesome man, but
I have just finished your book ('Comparative Longevity.'), and can not
resist telling you how the whole has much interested me. No doubt, as
you say, there must be much speculation on such a subject, and certain
results can not be reached; but all your views are highly suggestive,
and to my mind that is high praise. I have been all the more interested
as I am now writing on closely allied though not quite identical points.
I was pleased to see you refer to my much despised child, 'Pangenesis,'
who I think will some day, under some better nurse, turn out a fine
stripling. It has also pleased me to see how thoroughly you appreciate
(and I do not think that this is general with the men of science) H.
Spencer; I suspect that hereafter he will be looked at as by far the
greatest living philosopher in England; perhaps equal to any that have
lived. But I have no business to trouble you with my notions. With
sincere thanks for the interest which your work has given me,
I remain, yours very faithfully, CH. DARWIN.
[The next letter refers to Mr. Wallace's 'Natural Selection' (1870), a
collection of essays reprinted with certain alterations of which a list
is given in the volume:]
CHARLES DARWIN TO A.R. WALLACE. Down, April 20 [1870].
My dear Wallace,
I have just received your book, and read the preface. There never has
been passed on me, or indeed on any one, a higher eulogium than yours.
I wish that I fully deserved it. Your modesty and candour are very far
from new to me. I hope it is a satisfaction to you to reflect--and very
few things in my life have been more satisfactory to me--that we have
never felt any jealousy towards each other, though in one sense rivals.
I believe that I can say this of myself with truth, and I am absolutely
sure that it is true of you.
You have been a good Christian to give a list of your additions, for
I want much to read them, and I should hardly have had time just at
present to have gone through all your articles. Of course I shall
immediately read those that are new or greatly altered, and I will
endeavour to be as honest as can reasonably be expected. Your book looks
remarkably well got up.
Believe me, my dear Wallace, to remain, Yours very cordially, CH.
DARWIN.
[Here follow one or two letters indicating the progress of the 'Descent
of Man;' the woodcuts referred to were being prepared for that work:]
CHARLES DARWIN TO A. GUNTHER. (Dr. Gunther, Keeper of Zoology in the
British Museum.) March 23, [1870?].
Dear Gunther,
As I do not know Mr. Ford's address, will you hand him this note, which
is written solely to express my unbounded admiration of the woodcuts.
I fairly gloat over them. The only evil is that they will make all
the other woodcuts look very poor! They are all excellent, and for the
feathers I declare I think it the most wonderful woodcut I ever saw; I
can not help touching it to make sure that it is smooth. How I wish to
see the two other, and even more important, ones of the feathers, and
the four [of] reptiles, etc. Once again accept my very sincere thanks
for all your kindness. I am greatly indebted to Mr. Ford. Engravings
have always hitherto been my greatest misery, and now they are a real
pleasure to me.
Yours very sincerely, CH. DARWIN.
P.S.--I thought I should have been in press by this time, but my subject
has branched off into sub-branches, which have cost me infinite time,
and heaven knows when I shall have all my MS. ready, but I am never
idle.
CHARLES DARWIN TO A. GUNTHER. May 15 [1870].
My dear Dr. Gunther,
Sincere thanks. Your answers are wonderfully clear and complete. I have
some analogous questions on reptiles, etc., which I will send in a few
days, and then I think I shall cause no more trouble. I will get the
books you refer me to. The case of the Solenostoma (In most of the
Lophobranchii the male has a marsupial sack in which the eggs are
hatched, and in these species the male is slightly brighter coloured
than the female. But in Solenostoma the female is the hatcher, and
is also the more brightly coloured.--'Descent of Man,' ii. 21.) is
magnificent, so exactly analogous to that of those birds in which the
female is the more gay, but ten times better for me, as she is the
incubator. As I crawl on with the successive classes I am astonished to
find how similar the rules are about the nuptial or "wedding dress" of
all animals. The subject has begun to interest me in an extraordinary
degree; but I must try not to fall into my common error of being too
speculative. But a drunkard might as well say he would drink a little
and not too much! My essay, as far as fishes, batrachians and reptiles
are concerned, will be in fact yours, only written by me. With hearty
thanks.
Yours very sincerely, CH. DARWIN.
[The following letter is of interest, as showing the excessive care and
pains which my father took in forming his opinion on a difficult point:]
CHARLES DARWIN TO A.R. WALLACE. Down, September 23 [undated].
My dear Wallace,
I am very much obliged for all your trouble in writing me your long
letter, which I will keep by me and ponder over. To answer it would
require at least 200 folio pages! If you could see how often I have
re-written some pages you would know how anxious I am to arrive as near
as I can to the truth. I lay great stress on what I know takes place
under domestication; I think we start with different fundamental notions
on inheritance. I find it is most difficult, but not I think impossible,
to see how, for instance, a few red feathers appearing on the head of a
male bird, and which ARE AT FIRST TRANSMITTED TO BOTH SEXES, could come
to be transmitted to males alone. It is not enough that females should
be produced from the males with red feathers, which should be destitute
of red feathers; but these females must have a LATENT TENDENCY to
produce such feathers, otherwise they would cause deterioration in the
red head-feathers of their male offspring. Such latent tendency would be
shown by their producing the red feathers when old, or diseased in their
ovaria. But I have no difficulty in making the whole head red if the
few red feathers in the male from the first tended to be sexually
transmitted. I am quite willing to admit that the female may have been
modified, either at the same time or subsequently, for protection by the
accumulation of variations limited in their transmission to the female
sex. I owe to your writings the consideration of this latter point. But
I cannot yet persuade myself that females ALONE have often been modified
for protection. Should you grudge the trouble briefly to tell me whether
you believe that the plainer head and less bright colours of a female
chaffinch, the less red on the head and less clean colours of the female
goldfinch, the much less red on the breast of the female bull-finch, the
paler crest of golden-crested wren, etc., have been acquired by them for
protection. I cannot think so any more than I can that the considerable
differences between female and male house sparrow, or much greater
brightness of the male Parus coeruleus (both of which build under cover)
than of the female Parus, are related to protection. I even mis-doubt
much whether the less blackness of the female blackbird is for
protection.
Again, can you give me reasons for believing that the moderate
differences between the female pheasant, the female Gallus bankiva,
the female black grouse, the pea-hen, the female partridge, [and their
respective males,] have all special references to protection under
slightly different conditions? I, of course, admit that they are all
protected by dull colours, derived, as I think, from some dull-ground
progenitor; and I account partly for their difference by partial
transference of colour from the male and by other means too long to
specify; but I earnestly wish to see reason to believe that each is
specially adapted for concealment to its environment.
I grieve to differ from you, and it actually terrifies me and makes me
constantly distrust myself. I fear we shall never quite understand each
other. I value the cases of bright-coloured, incubating male fishes, and
brilliant female butterflies, solely as showing that one sex may be made
brilliant without any necessary transference of beauty to the other sex;
for in these cases I cannot suppose that beauty in the other sex was
checked by selection.
I fear this letter will trouble you to read it. A very short answer
about your belief in regard to the female finches and gallinaceae would
suffice.
Believe me, my dear Wallace, Yours very sincerely, CH. DARWIN.
CHARLES DARWIN TO J.D. HOOKER. Down, May 25 [1870].
... Last Friday we all went to the Bull Hotel at Cambridge to see the
boys, and for a little rest and enjoyment. The backs of the Colleges are
simply paradisaical. On Monday I saw Sedgwick, who was most cordial and
kind; in the morning I thought his brain was enfeebled; in the evening
he was brilliant and quite himself. His affection and kindness charmed
us all. My visit to him was in one way unfortunate; for after a long
sit he proposed to take me to the museum, and I could not refuse, and
in consequence he utterly prostrated me; so that we left Cambridge
next morning, and I have not recovered the exhaustion yet. Is it not
humiliating to be thus killed by a man of eighty-six, who evidently
never dreamed that he was killing me? As he said to me, "Oh, I consider
you as a mere baby to me!" I saw Newton several times, and several nice
friends of F.'s. But Cambridge without dear Henslow was not itself; I
tried to get to the two old houses, but it was too far for me...
CHARLES DARWIN TO B.J. SULIVAN. (Admiral Sir James Sulivan was a
lieutenant on board the "Beagle".) Down, June 30 [1870].
My dear Sulivan,
It was very good of you to write to me so long a letter, telling me much
about yourself and your children, which I was extremely glad to hear.
Think what a benighted wretch I am, seeing no one and reading but little
in the newspapers, for I did not know (until seeing the paper of your
Natural History Society) that you were a K.C.B. Most heartily glad I am
that the Government have at last appreciated your most just claim for
this high distinction. On the other hand, I am sorry to hear so poor an
account of your health; but you were surely very rash to do all that you
did and then pass through so exciting a scene as a ball at the Palace.
It was enough to have tired a man in robust health. Complete rest will,
however, I hope, quite set you up again. As for myself, I have been
rather better of late, and if nothing disturbs me I can do some hours'
work every day. I shall this autumn publish another book partly on man,
which I dare say many will decry as very wicked. I could have travelled
to Oxford, but could no more have withstood the excitement of a
commemoration (This refers to an invitation to receive the honorary
degree of D.C.L. He was one of those nominated for the degree by Lord
Salisbury on assuming the office of Chancellor of the University of
Oxford. The fact that the honour was declined on the score of ill-health
was published in the "Oxford University Gazette", June 17, 1870.) than
I could a ball at Buckingham Palace. Many thanks for your kind remarks
about my boys. Thank God, all give me complete satisfaction; my fourth
stands second at Woolwich, and will be an Engineer Officer at Christmas.
My wife desires to be very kindly remembered to Lady Sulivan, in which
I very sincerely join, and in congratulation about your daughter's
marriage. We are at present solitary, for all our younger children are
gone a tour in Switzerland. I had never heard a word about the success
of the T. del Fuego mission. It is most wonderful, and shames me, as
I always prophesied utter failure. It is a grand success. I shall feel
proud if your Committee think fit to elect me an honorary member of your
society. With all good wishes and affectionate remembrances of ancient
days,
Believe me, my dear Sulivan, Your sincere friend, CH. DARWIN.
[My father's connection with the South American Mission, which is
referred to in the above letter, has given rise to some public comment,
and has been to some extent misunderstood. The Archbishop of Canterbury,
speaking at the annual meeting of the South American Missionary Society,
April 21st, 1885 (I quote a 'Leaflet,' published by the Society.), said
that the Society "drew the attention of Charles Darwin, and made him, in
his pursuit of the wonders of the kingdom of nature, realise that there
was another kingdom just as wonderful and more lasting." Some discussion
on the subject appeared in the "Daily News" of April 23rd, 24th, 29th,
1885, and finally Admiral Sir James Sulivan, on April 24th, wrote to the
same journal, giving a clear account of my father's connection with the
Society:--
"Your article in the "Daily News" of yesterday induces me to give you
a correct statement of the connection between the South American
Missionary Society and Mr. Charles Darwin, my old friend and shipmate
for five years. I have been closely connected with the Society from
the time of Captain Allen Gardiner's death, and Mr. Darwin has often
expressed to me his conviction that it was utterly useless to send
Missionaries to such a set of savages as the Fuegians, probably the very
lowest of the human race. I had always replied that I did not believe
any human beings existed too low to comprehend the simple message of the
Gospel of Christ. After many years, I think about 1869 (It seems to have
been in 1867.), but I cannot find the letter, he wrote to me that the
recent accounts of the Mission proved to him that he had been wrong and
I right in our estimates of the native character, and the possibility of
doing them good through Missionaries; and he requested me to forward
to the Society an enclosed cheque for 5 pounds, as a testimony of the
interest he took in their good work. On June 6th, 1874, he wrote: 'I
am very glad to hear so good an account of the Fuegians, and it is
wonderful.' On June 10th, 1879: 'The progress of the Fuegians is
wonderful, and had it not occurred would have been to me quite
incredible.' On January 3rd, 1880: 'Your extracts' [from a journal]
'about the Fuegians are extremely curious, and have interested me much.
I have often said that the progress of Japan was the greatest wonder in
the world, but I declare that the progress of Fuegia is almost equally
wonderful. On March 20th, 1881: 'The account of the Fuegians interested
not only me, but all my family. It is truly wonderful what you have
heard from Mr. Bridges about their honesty and their language. I
certainly should have predicted that not all the Missionaries in the
world could have done what has been done.' On December 1st, 1881,
sending me his annual subscription to the Orphanage at the Mission
Station, he wrote: 'Judging from the "Missionary Journal", the Mission
in Tierra del Fuego seems going on quite wonderfully well.'"]
CHARLES DARWIN TO JOHN LUBBOCK. Down, July 17, 1870.
My dear Lubbock,
As I hear that the Census will be brought before the House to-morrow, I
write to say how much I hope that you will express your opinion on the
desirability of queries in relation to consanguineous marriages being
inserted. As you are aware, I have made experiments on the subject
during several years; AND IT IS MY CLEAR CONVICTION THAT THERE IS NOW
AMPLE EVIDENCE OF THE EXISTENCE OF A GREAT PHYSIOLOGICAL LAW, RENDERING
AN ENQUIRY WITH REFERENCE TO MANKIND OF MUCH IMPORTANCE. IN ENGLAND AND
MANY PARTS OF EUROPE THE MARRIAGES OF COUSINS ARE OBJECTED TO FROM THEIR
SUPPOSED INJURIOUS CONSEQUENCES; BUT THIS BELIEF RESTS ON NO DIRECT
EVIDENCE. IT IS THEREFORE MANIFESTLY DESIRABLE THAT THE BELIEF SHOULD
EITHER BE PROVED FALSE, OR SHOULD BE CONFIRMED, so that in this latter
case the marriages of cousins might be discouraged. If the proper
queries are inserted, the returns would show whether married cousins
have in their households on the night of the census as many children as
have parents of who are not related; and should the number prove fewer,
we might safely infer either lessened fertility in the parents, or which
is more probable, lessened vitality in the offspring.
It is, moreover, much to be wished that the truth of the often repeated
assertion that consanguineous marriages lead to deafness, and dumbness,
blindness, etc., should be ascertained; and all such assertions could be
easily tested by the returns from a single census.
Believe me, Yours very sincerely, CHARLES DARWIN.
[When the Census Act was passing through the House of Commons, Sir John
Lubbock and Dr. Playfair attempted to carry out this suggestion. The
question came to a division, which was lost, but not by many votes.
The subject of cousin marriages was afterwards investigated by my
brother. ("Marriages between First Cousins in England, and their
Effects.' By George Darwin. 'Journal of the Statistical Society,' June,
1875.) The results of this laborious piece of work were negative; the
author sums up in the sentence:--
"My paper is far from giving any thing like a satisfactory solution of
the question as to the effects of consanguineous marriages, but it does,
I think, show that the assertion that this question has already been set
at rest, cannot be substantiated."]