CHARLESDARWINTOA。DECANDOLLE。
Down,November11th[1859]。
DearSir,Ihavethoughtthatyouwouldpermitmetosendyou(byMessrs。WilliamsandNorgate,booksellers)acopyofmywork(asyetonlyanabstract)onthe’OriginofSpecies。’Iwishtodothis,astheonly,thoughquiteinadequatemanner,bywhichIcantestifytoyoutheextremeinterestwhichIhavefelt,andthegreatadvantagewhichIhavederived,fromstudyingyourgrandandnobleworkonGeographicalDistribution。Shouldyoubeinducedtoreadmyvolume,Iventuretoremarkthatitwillbeintelligibleonlybyreadingthewholestraightthrough,asitisverymuchcondensed。
Itwouldbeahighgratificationtomeifanyportioninterestedyou。ButIamperfectlywellawarethatyouwillentirelydisagreewiththeconclusionatwhichIhavearrived。
Youwillprobablyhavequiteforgottenme;butmanyyearsagoyoudidmethehonourofdiningatmyhouseinLondontomeetM。andMadameSismondi(JessieAllen,sisterofMrs。JosiahWedgwoodofMaer。),theuncleandauntofmywife。Withsincererespect,Ibegtoremain,Yours,veryfaithfully,CHARLESDARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOHUGHFALCONER。
Down,November11th[1859]。
MydearFalconer,IhavetoldMurraytosendyouacopyofmybookonthe’OriginofSpecies,’whichasyetisonlyanabstract。
Ifyoureadit,youmustreaditstraightthrough,otherwisefromitsextremelycondensedstateitwillbeunintelligible。
Lord,howsavageyouwillbe,ifyoureadit,andhowyouwilllongtocrucifymealive!Ifearitwillproducenoothereffectonyou;butifitshouldstaggeryouineversoslightadegree,inthiscase,Iamfullyconvincedthatyouwillbecome,yearafteryear,lessfixedinyourbeliefintheimmutabilityofspecies。Withthisaudaciousandpresumptuousconviction,Iremain,mydearFalconer,Yoursmosttruly,CHARLESDARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOASAGRAY。
Down,November11th[1859]。
MydearGray,Ihavedirectedacopyofmybook(asyetonlyanabstract)onthe’OriginofSpecies’tobesentyou。Iknowhowyouarepressedfortime;butifyoucanreadit,Ishallbeinfinitelygratified……Ifeveryoudoreadit,andcanscrewouttimetosendme(asIvalueyouropinionsohighly),howevershortanote,tellingmewhatyouthinkitsweakestandbestparts,Ishouldbeextremelygrateful。Asyouarenotageologist,youwillexcusemyconceitintellingyouthatLyellhighlyapprovesofthetwoGeologicalchapters,andthinksthatontheImperfectionoftheGeologicalRecordnotexaggerated。Heisnearlyaconverttomyviews……
LetmeaddIfullyadmitthatthereareverymanydifficultiesnotsatisfactorilyexplainedbymytheoryofdescentwithmodification,butI
cannotpossiblybelievethatafalsetheorywouldexplainsomanyclassesoffactsasIthinkitcertainlydoesexplain。OnthesegroundsIdropmyanchor,andbelievethatthedifficultieswillslowlydisappear……
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。S。HENSLOW。
Down,November11th,1859。
MydearHenslow,IhavetoldMurraytosendacopyofmybookonSpeciestoyou,mydearoldmasterinNaturalHistory;Ifear,however,thatyouwillnotapproveofyourpupilinthiscase。ThebookinitspresentstatedoesnotshowtheamountoflabourwhichIhavebestowedonthesubject。
Ifyouhavetimetoreaditcarefully,andwouldtakethetroubletopointoutwhatpartsseemweakesttoyouandwhatbest,itwouldbeamostmaterialaidtomeinwritingmybiggerbook,whichIhopetocommenceinafewmonths。YouknowalsohowhighlyIvalueyourjudgment。ButIamnotsounreasonableastowishorexpectyoutowritedetailedandlengthycriticisms,butmerelyafewgeneralremarks,pointingouttheweakestparts。
IfyouareINEVENSOSLIGHTADEGREEstaggered(whichIhardlyexpect)ontheimmutabilityofspecies,thenIamconvincedwithfurtherreflectionyouwillbecomemoreandmorestaggered,forthishasbeentheprocessthroughwhichmymindhasgone。MydearHenslow,Yoursaffectionatelyandgratefully,C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOJOHNLUBBOCK。(ThepresentSirJohnLubbock。)
Ilkley,Yorkshire,Saturday[November12th,1859]……ThankyoumuchforaskingmetoBrighton。Ihopemuchthatyouwillenjoyyourholiday。IhavetoldMurraytosendacopyforyoutoMansionHouseStreet,andIamsurprisedthatyouhavenotreceivedit。Therearesomanyvalidandweightyargumentsagainstmynotions,thatyou,oranyone,ifyouwishontheotherside,willeasilypersuadeyourselfthatIamwhollyinerror,andnodoubtIaminpartinerror,perhapswhollyso,thoughIcannotseetheblindnessofmyways。Idaresaywhenthunderandlightningwerefirstprovedtobeduetosecondarycauses,someregrettedtogiveuptheideathateachflashwascausedbythedirecthandofGod。
Farewell,Iamfeelingveryunwellto—day,sonomore。
Yoursverytruly,C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOJOHNLUBBOCK。
Ilkley,Yorkshire,Tuesday[November15th,1859]。
MydearLubbock,Ibegpardonfortroublingyouagain。IdonotknowhowIblunderedinexpressingmyselfinmakingyoubelievethatweacceptedyourkindinvitationtoBrighton。Imeantmerelytothankyousincerelyforwishingtoseesuchaworn—outolddogasmyself。Ihardlyknowwhenweleavethisplace,——notunderafortnight,andthenweshallwishtorestunderourownroof—tree。
IdonotthinkIhardlyeveradmiredabookmorethanPaley’s’NaturalTheology。’Icouldalmostformerlyhavesaiditbyheart。
Iamgladyouhavegotmybook,butIfearthatyouvalueitfartoohighly。Ishouldbegratefulforanycriticisms。IcarenotforReviews;
butfortheopinionofmenlikeyouandHookerandHuxleyandLyell,etc。
Farewell,withourjointthankstoMrs。Lubbockandyourself。Adios。
C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOL。JENYNS。(NowRev。L。Blomefield。)
Ilkley,Yorkshire,November13th,1859。
MydearJenyns,ImustthankyouforyourverykindnoteforwardedtomefromDown。Ihavebeenmuchoutofhealththissummer,andhavebeenhydropathisinghereforthelastsixweekswithverylittlegoodasyet。Ishallstayhereforanotherfortnightatleast。Pleaserememberthatmybookisonlyanabstract,andverymuchcondensed,and,tobeatallintelligible,mustbecarefullyread。Ishallbeverygratefulforanycriticisms。ButIknowperfectlywellthatyouwillnotatallagreewiththelengthswhichIgo。
Ittooklongyearstoconvertme。Imay,ofcourse,beegregiouslywrong;
butIcannotpersuademyselfthatatheorywhichexplains(asIthinkitcertainlydoes)severallargeclassesoffacts,canbewhollywrong;
notwithstandingtheseveraldifficultieswhichhavetobesurmountedsomehow,andwhichstaggermeeventothisday。
Iwishthatmyhealthhadallowedmetopublishinextenso;ifeverIgetstrongenoughIwilldoso,asthegreaterpartiswrittenout,andofwhichMS。thepresentvolumeisanabstract。
Ifearthisnotewillbealmostillegible;butIampoorly,andcanhardlysitup。Farewell;withthanksforyourkindnoteandpleasantremembranceofgoodolddays。
Yoursverysincerely,C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOA。R。WALLACE。
Ilkley,November13th,1859。
MydearSir,IhavetoldMurraytosendyoubypost(ifpossible)acopyofmybook,andIhopethatyouwillreceiveitatnearlythesametimewiththisnote。
(N。B。Ihavegotabadfinger,whichmakesmewriteextrabadly。)Ifyouaresoinclined,Ishouldverymuchliketohearyourgeneralimpressionofthebook,asyouhavethoughtsoprofoundlyonthesubject,andinsonearlythesamechannelwithmyself。Ihopetherewillbesomelittlenewtoyou,butIfearnotmuch。Rememberitisonlyanabstract,andverymuchcondensed。Godknowswhatthepublicwillthink。Noonehasreadit,exceptLyell,withwhomIhavehadmuchcorrespondence。Hookerthinkshimacompleteconvert,buthedoesnotseemsoinhisletterstome;butisevidentlydeeplyinterestedinthesubject。Idonotthinkyourshareinthetheorywillbeoverlookedbytherealjudges,asHooker,Lyell,AsaGray,etc。IhaveheardfromMr。SlaterthatyourpaperontheMalayArchipelagohasbeenreadattheLinneanSociety,andthathewasEXTREMELY
muchinterestedbyit。
Ihavenotseenonenaturalistforsixorninemonths,owingtothestateofmyhealth,andthereforeIreallyhavenonewstotellyou。IamwritingthisatIlkleyWells,whereIhavebeenwithmyfamilyforthelastsixweeks,andshallstayforsomefewweekslonger。AsyetIhaveprofitedverylittle。GodknowswhenIshallhavestrengthformybiggerbook。
Isincerelyhopethatyoukeepyourhealth;Isupposethatyouwillbethinkingofreturning(Mr。WallacewasintheMalayArchipelago。)soonwithyourmagnificentcollections,andstillgrandermentalmaterials。Youwillbepuzzledhowtopublish。TheRoyalSocietyfundwillbeworthyourconsideration。Witheverygoodwish,praybelieveme,Yoursverysincerely,CHARLESDARWIN。
P。S。IthinkthatItoldyoubeforethatHookerisacompleteconvert。IfIcanconvertHuxleyIshallbecontent。
CHARLESDARWINTOW。D。FOX。
Ilkley,Yorkshire,Wednesday[November16th,1859]……Iliketheplaceverymuch,andthechildrenhaveenjoyeditmuch,andithasdonemywifegood。ItdidH。goodatfirst,butshehasgonebackagain。Ihavehadaseriesofcalamities;firstasprainedankle,andthenabadlyswollenwholelegandface,muchrash,andafrightfulsuccessionofboils——fourorfiveatonce。Ihavefeltquiteill,andhavelittlefaithinthis"uniquecrisis,"asthedoctorcallsit,doingmemuchgood……Youwillprobablyhavereceived,orwillverysoonreceive,mywearifulbookonspecies,Inaturallybelieveitmainlyincludesthetruth,butyouwillnotatallagreewithme。Dr。Hooker,whomIconsideroneofthebestjudgesinEurope,isacompleteconvert,andhethinksLyellislikewise;certainly,judgingfromLyell’sletterstomeonthesubject,heisdeeplystaggered。Farewell。Ifthespiritmovesyou,letmehavealine……
CHARLESDARWINTOW。B。CARPENTER。
Ilkley,Yorkshire,November18th[1859]。
MydearCarpenter,Imustthankyouforyourletteronmyownaccount,andifIknowmyself,stillmorewarmlyforthesubject’ssake。Asyouseemtohaveunderstoodmylastchapterwithoutreadingthepreviouschapters,youmusthavematurelyandmostprofoundlyself—thoughtoutthesubject;forIhavefoundthemostextraordinarydifficultyinmakingevenablemenunderstandatwhatIwasdriving。Therewillbestrongoppositiontomyviews。IfIaminthemainright(ofcourseincludingpartialerrorsunseenbyme),theadmissioninmyviewswilldependfarmoreonmen,likeyourself,withwell—establishedreputations,thanonmyownwritings。Therefore,onthesuppositionthatwhenyouhavereadmyvolumeyouthinktheviewinthemaintrue,Ithankandhonouryouforbeingwillingtorunthechanceofunpopularitybyadvocatingtheview。IknownotintheleastwhetheranyonewillreviewmeinanyoftheReviews。Idonotseehowanauthorcouldenquireorinterfere;butifyouarewillingtoreviewmeanywhere,IamsurefromtheadmirationwhichIhavelongfeltandexpressedforyour’ComparativePhysiology,’thatyourreviewwillbeexcellentlydone,andwilldogoodserviceinthecauseforwhichIthinkIamnotselfishlydeeplyinterested。Iamfeelingveryunwellto—day,andthisnoteisbadly,perhapshardlyintelligibly,expressed;butyoumustexcuseme,forIcouldnotletapostpass,withoutthankingyouforyournote。YouwillhaveatoughjobeventoshakeintheslightestdegreeSirH。Holland。I
donotthink(privatelyIsayit)thatthegreatmanhasknowledgeenoughtoenteronthesubject。Praybelievemewithsincerity,Yourstrulyobliged,C。DARWIN。
P。S。——Asyouarenotapracticalgeologist,letmeaddthatLyellthinksthechapterontheImperfectionoftheGeologicalRecordNOTexaggerated。
CHARLESDARWINTOW。B。CARPENTER。
Ilkley,Yorkshire,November19th[1859]。
MydearCarpenter,Ibegpardonfortroublingyouagain。If,afterreadingmybook,youareabletocometoaconclusioninanydegreedefinite,willyouthinkmeveryunreasonableinaskingyoutoletmehearfromyou。Idonotaskforalongdiscussion,butmerelyforabriefideaofyourgeneralimpression。
Fromyourwidelyextendedknowledge,habitofinvestigatingthetruth,andabilities,Ishouldvalueyouropinionintheveryhighestrank。ThoughI,ofcourse,believeinthetruthofmyowndoctrine,Isuspectthatnobeliefisvividuntilsharedbyothers。AsyetIknowonlyonebeliever,butIlookathimasofthegreatestauthority,viz。,Hooker。WhenIthinkofthemanycasesofmenwhohavestudiedonesubjectforyears,andhavepersuadedthemselvesofthetruthofthefoolishestdoctrines,Ifeelsometimesalittlefrightened,whetherImaynotbeoneofthesemono—
maniacs。
Againprayexcusethis,Ifear,unreasonablerequest。Ashortnotewouldsuffice,andIcouldbearahostileverdict,andshallhavetobearmanyaone。
Yoursverysincerely,C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Ilkley,Yorkshire,Sunday[November1859]。
MydearHooker,Ihavejustreadareviewonmybookinthe"Athenaeum"(November19,1859。),anditexcitesmycuriositymuchwhoistheauthor。Ifyoushouldhearwhowritesinthe"Athenaeum"Iwishyouwouldtellme。Itseemstomewelldone,butthereviewergivesnonewobjections,and,beinghostile,passesovereverysingleargumentinfavourofthedoctrine,……Ifearfromthetoneofthereview,thatIhavewritteninaconceitedandcocksurestyle(TheReviewerspeaksoftheauthor’s"evidentself—satisfaction,"andofhisdisposingofalldifficulties"moreorlessconfidently。"),whichshamesmealittle。ThereisanotherreviewofwhichIshouldliketoknowtheauthor,viz。,ofH。C。Watsoninthe"Gardener’sChronicle"。Someoftheremarksarelikeyours,andhedoesdeservepunishment;butsurelythereviewistoosevere。Don’tyouthinkso?
IhopeyougotthethreecopiesforForeignBotanistsintimeforyourparcel,andyourowncopy。IhaveheardfromCarpenter,who,Ithink,islikelytobeaconvert。AlsofromQuatrefages,whoisinclinedtogoalongwaywithus。Hesaysthatheexhibitedinhislectureadiagramcloselylikemine!
Ishallstayhereonefortnightmore,andthengotoDown,stayingontheroadatShrewsburyaweek。Ihavebeenveryunfortunate:outofsevenweeksIhavebeenconfinedforfivetothehouse。Thishasbeenbadforme,asIhavenotbeenabletohelpthinkingtoafoolishextentaboutmybook。IfsomefourorfiveGOODmencameroundnearlytoourview,Ishallnotfearultimatesuccess。IlongtolearnwhatHuxleythinks。Isyourintroduction(Introductiontothe’FloraofAustralia。’)published?I
supposethatyouwillsellitseparately。Pleaseanswerthis,forIwantanextracopytosendawaytoWallace。Iamverybothersome,farewell。
Yoursaffectionately,C。DARWIN。
IwasverygladtoseetheRoyalMedalforMr。Bentham。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down,December21st,1859。
MydearHooker,PraygivemythankstoMrs。Hookerforherextremelykindnote,whichhaspleasedmemuch。Weareverysorryshecannotcomehere,butshallbedelightedtoseeyouandW。(ourboyswillbeathome)hereinthe2ndweekofJanuary,oranyothertime。Ishallmuchenjoydiscussinganypointsinmybookwithyou……
Ihatetohearyouabuseyourownwork。I,onthecontrary,sosincerelyvalueallthatyouhavewritten。Itisanoldandfirmconvictionofmine,thattheNaturalistswhoaccumulatefactsandmakemanypartialgeneralisationsaretheREALbenefactorsofscience。ThosewhomerelyaccumulatefactsIcannotverymuchrespect。
IhadhopedtohavecomeupfortheClubto—morrow,butverymuchdoubtwhetherIshallbeable。Ilkleyseemstohavedonemenoessentialgood。
IattendedtheBenchonMonday,andwasdetainedinadjudicatingsometroublesomecases11/2hourslongerthanusual,andcamehomeutterlyknockedup,andcannotrally。Iamnotworthanoldbutton……Manythanksforyourpleasantnote。
Everyours,C。DARWIN。
P。S。——Ifeelconfidentthatforthefutureprogressofthesubjectoftheoriginandmannerofformationofspecies,theassentandargumentsandfactsofworkingnaturalists,likeyourself,arefarmoreimportantthanmyownbook;soforGod’ssakedonotabuseyourIntroduction。
H。C。WATSONTOCHARLESDARWIN。
ThamesDitton,November21st[1859]。
MydearSir,Oncecommencedtoreadthe’Origin,’IcouldnotresttillIhadgallopedthroughthewhole。Ishallnowbegintore—readitmoredeliberately。
MeantimeIamtemptedtowriteyouthefirstimpressions,notdoubtingthattheywill,inthemain,bethepermanentimpressions:——
1st。Yourleadingideawillassuredlybecomerecognisedasanestablishedtruthinscience,i。e。"NaturalSelection。"Ithasthecharacteristicsofallgreatnaturaltruths,clarifyingwhatwasobscure,simplifyingwhatwasintricate,addinggreatlytopreviousknowledge。Youarethegreatestrevolutionistinnaturalhistoryofthiscentury,ifnotofallcenturies。
2nd。Youwillperhapsneed,insomedegree,tolimitormodify,possiblyinsomedegreealsotoextend,yourpresentapplicationsoftheprincipleofnaturalselection。Withoutgoingtomattersofmoredetail,itstrikesmethatthereisoneconsiderableprimaryinconsistency,byonefailureintheanalogybetweenvarietiesandspecies;anotherbyasortofbarrierassumedfornatureoninsufficientgroundsandarisingfrom"divergence。"
Thesemay,however,befaultsinmyownmind,attributabletoyetincompleteperceptionofyourviews。AndIhadbetternottroubleyouaboutthembeforeagainreadingthevolume。
3rd。Nowthesenovelviewsarebroughtfairlybeforethescientificpublic,itseemstrulyremarkablehowsomanyofthemcouldhavefailedtoseetheirrightroadsooner。HowcouldSirC。Lyell,forinstance,forthirtyyearsread,write,andthink,onthesubjectofspeciesANDTHEIR
SUCCESSION,andyetconstantlylookdownthewrongroad!
Aquarterofacenturyago,youandImusthavebeeninsomethinglikethesamestateofmindonthemainquestion,butyouwereabletoseeandworkoutthequomodoofthesuccession,theall—importantthing,whileIfailedtograspit。Isendbythispostalittlecontroversialpamphletofolddate——CombeandScott。Ifyouwilltakethetroubletoglanceatthepassagesscoredonthemargin,youwillseethat,aquarterofacenturyago,Iwasalsooneofthefewwhothendoubtedtheabsolutedistinctnessofspecies,andspecialcreationsofthem。YetI,liketherest,failedtodetectthequomodowhichwasreservedforyourpenetrationtoDISCOVER,andyourdiscernmenttoAPPLY。
YouansweredmyqueryaboutthehiatusbetweenSatyrusandHomoaswasexpected。TheobviousexplanationreallyneveroccurredtometillsomemonthsafterIhadreadthepapersinthe’LinneanProceedings。’ThefirstspeciesofFere—homo("Almost—man。")wouldsoonmakedirectandexterminatingwaruponhisInfra—homocousins。Thegapwouldthusbemade,andthengoonincreasing,intothepresentenormousandstillwideninghiatus。Buthowgreatlythis,withyourchronologyofanimallife,willshocktheideasofmanymen!
Verysincerely,HEWETTC。WATSON。
J。D。HOOKERTOCHARLESDARWIN。
Athenaeum,Monday[November21st,1859]。
MydearDarwin,Iamasinnernottohavewrittenyouerethis,ifonlytothankyouforyourgloriousbook——whatamassofclosereasoningoncuriousfactsandfreshphenomena——itiscapitallywritten,andwillbeverysuccessful。I
saythisonthestrengthoftwoorthreeplungesintoasmanychapters,forIhavenotyetattemptedtoreadit。Lyell,withwhomwearestaying,isperfectlyenchanted,andisabsolutelygloatingoverit。Imustacceptyourcomplimenttome,andacknowledgmentofsupposedassistancefromme,asthewarmtributeofaffectionfromanhonest(thoughdeluded)man,andfurthermoreacceptitasverypleasingtomyvanity;but,mydearfellow,neithermynamenormyjudgmentnormyassistancedeservedanysuchcompliments,andifIamdishonestenoughtobepleasedwithwhatIdon’tdeserve,itmustjustpass。HowdifferenttheBOOKreadsfromtheMS。I
seeIshallhavemuchtotalkoverwithyou。ThoselazyprintershavenotfinishedmylucklessEssay;which,besideyourbook,willlooklikearaggedhandkerchiefbesideaRoyalStandard……
Allwell,everyoursaffectionately,JOS。D。HOOKER。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Ilkley,Yorkshire[November1859]。
MydearHooker,Icannothelpit,Imustthankyouforyouraffectionateandmostkindnote。Myheadwillbeturned。ByJove,Imusttryandgetabitmodest。
Iwasalittlechagrinedbythereview。(Thisreferstothereviewinthe"Athenaeum",November19,1859,wherethereviewer,aftertouchingonthetheologicalaspectsofthebook,leavestheauthorto"themerciesoftheDivinityHall,theCollege,theLectureRoom,andtheMuseum。")IhopeitwasNOT——。Asadvocate,hemightthinkhimselfjustifiedingivingtheargumentonlyononeside。Butthemannerinwhichhedragsinimmortality,andsetsthepriestsatme,andleavesmetotheirmercies,isbase。Hewould,onnoaccount,burnme,buthewillgetthewoodready,andtelltheblackbeastshowtocatchme……ItwouldbeunspeakablygrandifHuxleyweretolectureonthesubject,butIcanseethisisamerechance;Faradaymightthinkittoounorthodox……Ihadaletterfrom[Huxley]withsuchtremendouspraiseofmybook,thatmodesty(asIamtryingtocultivatethatdifficultherb)preventsmesendingittoyou,whichIshouldhavelikedtohavedone,asheisverymodestabouthimself。
Youhavecockeredmeuptothatextent,thatInowfeelIcanfaceascoreofsavagereviewers。IsupposeyouarestillwiththeLyells。Givemykindestremembrancetothem。Itriumphtohearthathecontinuestoapprove。
Believeme,yourwould—bemodestfriend,C。D。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
IlkleyWells,Yorkshire,November23[1859]。
MydearLyell,Youseemedtohaveworkedadmirablyonthespeciesquestion;therecouldnothavebeenabetterplanthanreadingupontheoppositeside。I
rejoiceprofoundlythatyouintendadmittingthedoctrineofmodificationinyournewedition(ItappearsfromSirCharlesLyell’spublishedlettersthatheintendedtoadmitthedoctrineofevolutioninaneweditionofthe’Manual,’butthiswasnotpublishedtill1865。Hewas,however,atworkonthe’AntiquityofMan’in1860,andhadalreadydeterminedtodiscussthe’Origin’attheendofthebook。);nothing,Iamconvinced,couldbemoreimportantforitssuccess。Ihonouryoumostsincerely。Tohavemaintainedinthepositionofamaster,onesideofaquestionforthirtyyears,andthendeliberatelygiveitup,isafacttowhichImuchdoubtwhethertherecordsofscienceofferaparallel。Formyself,also,I
rejoiceprofoundly;for,thinkingofsomanycasesofmenpursuinganillusionforyears,oftenandoftenacoldshudderhasrunthroughme,andIhaveaskedmyselfwhetherImaynothavedevotedmylifetoaphantasy。
NowIlookatitasmorallyimpossiblethatinvestigatorsoftruth,likeyouandHooker,canbewhollywrong,andthereforeIrestinpeace。Thankyouforcriticisms,which,iftherebeasecondedition,Iwillattendto。
IhavebeenthinkingthatifIammuchexecratedasanatheist,etc。,whethertheadmissionofthedoctrineofnaturalselectioncouldinjureyourworks;butIhopeandthinknot,forasfarasIcanremember,thevirulenceofbigotryisexpendedonthefirstoffender,andthosewhoadopthisviewsareonlypitiedasdeluded,bythewiseandcheerfulbigots。
Icannothelpthinkingthatyouoverratetheimportanceofthemultipleoriginofdogs。Theonlydifferenceis,thatinthecaseofsingleorigins,alldifferenceoftheraceshasoriginatedsincemandomesticatedthespecies。Inthecaseofmultipleoriginspartofthedifferencewasproducedundernaturalconditions。IshouldINFINITELYpreferthetheoryofsingleorigininallcases,iffactswouldpermititsreception。Butthereseemstomesomeaprioriimprobability(seeinghowfondsavagesareoftaminganimals),thatthroughoutalltimes,andthroughoutalltheworld,thatmanshouldhavedomesticatedonesinglespeciesalone,ofthewidelydistributedgenusCanis。Besidesthis,thecloseresemblanceofatleastthreekindsofAmericandomesticdogstowildspeciesstillinhabitingthecountrieswheretheyarenowdomesticated,seemtoalmostcompeladmissionthatmorethanonewildCanishasbeendomesticatedbyman。
Ithankyoucordiallyforallthegenerouszealandinterestyouhaveshownaboutmybook,andIremain,mydearLyell,Youraffectionatefriendanddisciple,CHARLESDARWIN。
SirJ。Herschel,towhomIsentacopy,isgoingtoreadmybook。Hesaysheleanstothesideopposedtome。Ifyoushouldmeethimafterhehasreadme,prayfindoutwhathethinks,for,ofcourse,hewillnotwrite;
andIshouldexcessivelyliketohearwhetherIproduceanyeffectonsuchamind。
T。H。HUXLEYTOCHARLESDARWIN。
JermynStreetW。,November23rd,1859。
MydearDarwin,Ifinishedyourbookyesterday,aluckyexaminationhavingfurnishedmewithafewhoursofcontinuousleisure。
SinceIreadVonBaer’s(KarlErnstvonBaer,born1792,diedatDorpat1876——oneofthemostdistinguishedbiologistsofthecentury。Hepracticallyfoundedthemodernscienceofembryology。)essays,nineyearsago,noworkonNaturalHistoryScienceIhavemetwithhasmadesogreatanimpressionuponme,andIdomostheartilythankyouforthegreatstoreofnewviewsyouhavegivenme。Nothing,Ithink,canbebetterthanthetoneofthebook,itimpressesthosewhoknownothingaboutthesubject。
Asforyourdoctrine,Iampreparedtogotothestake,ifrequisite,insupportofChapterIX。,andmostpartsofChaptersX。,XI。,XII。,andChapterXIII。containsmuchthatismostadmirable,butononeortwopointsIenteracaveatuntilIcanseefurtherintoallsidesofthequestion。
Astothefirstfourchapters,Iagreethoroughlyandfullywithalltheprincipleslaiddowninthem。Ithinkyouhavedemonstratedatruecausefortheproductionofspecies,andhavethrowntheonusprobandithatspeciesdidnotariseinthewayyousuppose,onyouradversaries。
ButIfeelthatIhavenotyetbyanymeansfullyrealizedthebearingsofthosemostremarkableandoriginalChaptersIII。,IV。andV。,andIwillwritenomoreaboutthemjustnow。
Theonlyobjectionsthathaveoccurredtomeare,1stthatyouhaveloadedyourselfwithanunnecessarydifficultyinadoptingNaturanonfacitsaltumsounreservedly……And2nd,itisnotcleartomewhy,ifcontinualphysicalconditionsareofsolittlemomentasyousuppose,variationshouldoccuratall。
However,ImustreadthebooktwoorthreetimesmorebeforeIpresumetobeginpickingholes。
Itrustyouwillnotallowyourselftobeinanywaydisgustedorannoyedbytheconsiderableabuseandmisrepresentationwhich,unlessIgreatlymistake,isinstoreforyou。Dependuponityouhaveearnedthelastinggratitudeofallthoughtfulmen。Andastothecurswhichwillbarkandyelp,youmustrecollectthatsomeofyourfriends,atanyrate,areendowedwithanamountofcombativenesswhich(thoughyouhaveoftenandjustlyrebukedit)maystandyouingoodstead。
Iamsharpeningupmyclawsandbeakinreadiness。
Lookingbackovermyletter,itreallyexpressessofeeblyallIthinkaboutyouandyournoblebookthatIamhalfashamedofit;butyouwillunderstandthat,liketheparrotinthestory,"Ithinkthemore。"
Everyoursfaithfully,T。H。HUXLEY。
CHARLESDARWINTOT。H。HUXLEY。
Ilkley,November25th[1859]。
MydearHuxley,YourletterhasbeenforwardedtomefromDown。LikeagoodCatholicwhohasreceivedextremeunction,Icannowsing"nuncdimittis。"Ishouldhavebeenmorethancontentedwithonequarterofwhatyouhavesaid。
Exactlyfifteenmonthsago,whenIputpentopaperforthisvolume,Ihadawfulmisgivings;andthoughtperhapsIhaddeludedmyself,likesomanyhavedone,andIthenfixedinmymindthreejudges,onwhosedecisionI
determinedmentallytoabide。ThejudgeswereLyell,Hooker,andyourself。
Itwasthiswhichmademesoexcessivelyanxiousforyourverdict。Iamnowcontented,andcansingmynuncdimittis。WhatajokeitwouldbeifI
patyouonthebackwhenyouattacksomeimmovablecreationist!Youhavemostcleverlyhitononepoint,whichhasgreatlytroubledme;if,asI
mustthink,externalconditionsproducelittleDIRECTeffect,whatthedevildetermineseachparticularvariation?Whatmakesatuftoffeatherscomeonacock’shead,ormossonamoss—rose?Ishallmuchliketotalkoverthiswithyou……
MydearHuxley,Ithankyoucordiallyforyourletter。