SeveralreviewsandseverallettershaveshownmetooclearlyhowlittleI
amunderstood。Isuppose\"naturalselection\"wasabadterm;buttochangeitnow，Ithink，wouldmakeconfusionworseconfounded，norcanIthinkofabetter;\"NaturalPreservation\"wouldnotimplyapreservationofparticularvarieties，andwouldseematruism，andwouldnotbringman’sandnature’sselectionunderonepointofview。Icanonlyhopebyreiteratedexplanationsfinallytomakethematterclearer。IfmyMS。
spreadsout，IthinkIshallpublishonevolumeexclusivelyonvariationofanimalsandplantsunderdomestication。IwanttoshowthatIhavenotbeenquitesorashasmanysuppose。
Thoughwearyofreviews，IshouldliketoseeLowell’s（ThelateJ。A。
Lowellinthe’ChristianExaminer’（Boston，U。S。，May，1860。）sometime……I
supposeLowell’sdifficultyaboutinstinctisthesameasBowen’s;butitseemstomewhollytorestontheassumptionthatinstinctscannotgraduateasfinelyasstructures。Ihavestatedinmyvolumethatitishardlypossibletoknowwhich，i。e。whetherinstinctorstructure，changefirstbyinsensiblesteps。Probablysometimesinstinct，sometimesstructure。WhenaBritishinsectfeedsonanexoticplant，instincthaschangedbyverysmallsteps，andtheirstructuresmightchangesoastofullyprofitbythenewfood。Orstructuremightchangefirst，asthedirectionoftusksinonevarietyofIndianelephants，whichleadsittoattackthetigerinadifferentmannerfromotherkindsofelephants。Thanksforyourletterofthe2nd，chieflyaboutMurray。（N。B。HarveyofDublingivesme，inaletter，theargumentoftallmenmarryingshortwomen，asoneofgreatweight！）
Idonotquiteunderstandwhatyoumeanbysaying，\"thatthemoretheyprovethatyouunderratephysicalconditions，thebetterforyou，asGeologycomesintoyouraid。\"……IseeinMurrayandmanyothersoneincessantfallacy，whenalludingtoslightdifferencesofphysicalconditionsasbeingveryimportant;namely，oblivionofthefactthatallspecies，exceptverylocalones，rangeoveraconsiderablearea，andthoughexposedtowhattheworldcallsconsiderableDIVERSITIES，yetkeepconstant。Ihavejustalludedtothisinthe’Origin’incomparingtheproductionsoftheOldandtheNewWorlds。
Farewell，shallyoubeatOxford？IfH。getsquitewell，perhapsIshallgothere。
Yoursaffectionately，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down[June14th，1860]……Lowell’sreview（J。A。Lowellinthe’ChristianExaminer，’May1860。）ispleasantlywritten，butitisclearthatheisnotanaturalist。Hequiteoverlookstheimportanceoftheaccumulationofmereindividualdifferences，andwhich，IthinkIcanshow，isthegreatagencyofchangeunderdomestication。IhavenotfinishedSchaaffhausen，asIreadGermansobadly。Ihaveorderedacopyformyself，andshouldliketokeepyourstillmyownarrives，butwillreturnittoyouinstantlyifwanted。Headmitsstatementsratherrashly，asIdaresayIdo。Iseeonlyonesentenceasyetatallapproachingnaturalselection。
Thereisanoticeofmeinthepenultimatenumberof’AlltheYearRound，’
butnotworthconsulting;chieflyawell—donehashofmyownwords。Yourlastnotewasveryinterestingandconsolatorytome。
IhaveexpresslystatedthatIbelievephysicalconditionshaveamoredirecteffectonplantsthanonanimals。ButthemoreIstudy，themoreI
amledtothinkthatnaturalselectionregulates，inastateofnature，mosttriflingdifferences。Assquaredstone，orbricks，ortimber，aretheindispensablematerialsforabuilding，andinfluenceitscharacter，soisvariabilitynotonlyindispensable，butinfluential。YetinthesamemannerasthearchitectistheALLimportantpersoninabuilding，soisselectionwithorganicbodies……
[ThemeetingoftheBritishAssociationatOxfordin1860isfamousfortwopitchedbattlesoverthe’OriginofSpecies。’Bothofthemoriginatedinunimportantpapers。OnThursday，June28，Dr。DaubenyofOxfordmadeacommunicationtoSectionD:\"Onthefinalcausesofthesexualityofplants，withparticularreferencetoMr。Darwin’sworkonthe’OriginofSpecies。’\"Mr。HuxleywascalledonbythePresident，buttried（accordingtothe\"Athenaeum\"report）toavoidadiscussion，ontheground\"thatageneralaudience，inwhichsentimentwouldundulyinterferewithintellect，wasnotthepublicbeforewhichsuchadiscussionshouldbecarriedon。\"
However，thesubjectwasnotallowedtodrop。SirR。Owen（Iquotefromthe\"Athenaeum\"，July7，1860），who\"wishedtoapproachthissubjectinthespiritofthephilosopher，\"expressedhis\"convictionthattherewerefactsbywhichthepubliccouldcometosomeconclusionwithregardtotheprobabilitiesofthetruthofMr。Darwin’stheory。\"Hewentontosaythatthebrainofthegorilla\"presentedmoredifferences，ascomparedwiththebrainofman，thanitdidwhencomparedwiththebrainsoftheverylowestandmostproblematicaloftheQuadrumana。\"Mr。Huxleyreplied，andgavetheseassertionsa\"directandunqualifiedcontradiction，\"pledginghimselfto\"justifythatunusualprocedureelsewhere\"（’Man’sPlaceinNature，’byT。H。Huxley，1863，page114。），apledgewhichheamplyfulfilled。（Seethe’Nat。Hist。Review，’1861。）OnFridaytherewaspeace，butonSaturday30th，thebattlearosewithredoubledfuryoverapaperbyDr。DraperofNewYork，onthe’IntellectualdevelopmentofEuropeconsideredwithreferencetotheviewsofMr。Darwin。’
Thefollowingaccountisfromaneye—witnessofthescene。
\"Theexcitementwastremendous。TheLecture—room，inwhichithadbeenarrangedthatthediscussionshouldbeheld，provedfartoosmallfortheaudience，andthemeetingadjournedtotheLibraryoftheMuseum，whichwascrammedtosuffocationlongbeforethechampionsenteredthelists。Thenumberswereestimatedatfrom700to1000。Haditbeenterm—time，orhadthegeneralpublicbeenadmitted，itwouldhavebeenimpossibletohaveaccommodatedtherushtoheartheoratoryoftheboldBishop。ProfessorHenslow，thePresidentofSectionD，occupiedthechairandwiselyannouncedinliminethatnonewhohadnotvalidargumentstobringforwardononesideortheother，wouldbeallowedtoaddressthemeeting:acautionthatprovednecessary，fornofewerthanfourcombatantshadtheirutterancesburkedbyhim，becauseoftheirindulgenceinvaguedeclamation。
\"TheBishopwasuptotime，andspokeforfullhalf—an—hourwithinimitablespirit，emptinessandunfairness。Itwasevidentfromhishandlingofthesubjectthathehadbeen’crammed’uptothethroat，andthatheknewnothingatfirsthand;infact，heusednoargumentnottobefoundinhis’Quarterly’article。HeridiculedDarwinbadly，andHuxleysavagely，butallinsuchdulcettones，sopersuasiveamanner，andinsuchwell—turnedperiods，thatIwhohadbeeninclinedtoblamethePresidentforallowingadiscussionthatcouldservenoscientificpurposenowforgavehimfromthebottomofmyheart。UnfortunatelytheBishop，hurriedalongonthecurrentofhisowneloquence，sofarforgothimselfastopushhisattemptedadvantagetothevergeofpersonalityinatellingpassageinwhichheturnedroundandaddressedHuxley:Iforgottheprecisewords，andquotefromLyell。’TheBishopaskedwhetherHuxleywasrelatedbyhisgrandfather’sorgrandmother’ssidetoanape。’（Lyell’s’Letters，’vol。
ii。page335。）Huxleyrepliedtothescientificargumentofhisopponentwithforceandeloquence，andtothepersonalallusionwithaself—
restraint，thatgavedignitytohiscrushingrejoinder。\"
ManyversionsofMr。Huxley’sspeechwerecurrent:thefollowingreportofhisconclusionisfromaletteraddressedbythelateJohnRichardGreen，thenanundergraduate，toafellow—student，nowProfessorBoydDawkins。\"I
asserted，andIrepeat，thatamanhasnoreasontobeashamedofhavinganapeforhisgrandfather。IftherewereanancestorwhomIshouldfeelshameinrecalling，itwouldbeaMAN，amanofrestlessandversatileintellect，who，notcontentwithanequivocal（Prof。V。Carus，whohasadistinctrecollectionofthescene，doesnotrememberthewordequivocal。
HebelievestoothatLyell’sversionofthe\"ape\"sentenceisslightlyincorrect。）successinhisownsphereofactivity，plungesintoscientificquestionswithwhichhehasnorealacquaintance，onlytoobscurethembyanaimlessrhetoric，anddistracttheattentionofhishearersfromtherealpointatissuebyeloquentdigressions，andskilledappealstoreligiousprejudice。\"
Theletterabovequotedcontinues:
\"Theexcitementwasnowatitsheight;aladyfaintedandhadtobecarriedout，anditwassometimebeforethediscussionwasresumed。SomevoicescalledforHooker，andhisnamehavingbeenhandedup，thePresidentinvitedhimtogivehisviewofthetheoryfromtheBotanicalside。Thishedid，demonstratingthattheBishop，byhisownshowing，hadnevergraspedtheprinciplesofthe’Origin’（WithregardtotheBishop’s’QuarterlyReview，’myfatherwrote:\"Theseveryclevermenthinktheycanwriteareviewwithaveryslightknowledgeofthebookreviewedorsubjectinquestion。\"），andthathewasabsolutelyignorantoftheelementsofbotanicalscience。TheBishopmadenoreply，andthemeetingbrokeup。
\"TherewasacrowdedconversazioneintheeveningattheroomsofthehospitableandgenialProfessorofBotany，Dr。Daubeny，wherethealmostsoletopicwasthebattleofthe’Origin，’andIwasmuchstruckwiththefairandunprejudicedwayinwhichtheblackcoatsandwhitecravatsofOxforddiscussedthequestion，andthefranknesswithwhichtheyofferedtheircongratulationstothewinnersinthecombat。]
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
SudbrookPark，Mondaynight[July2nd，1860]。
MydearHooker，Ihavejustreceivedyourletter。Ihavebeenverypoorly，withalmostcontinuousbadheadacheforforty—eighthours，andIwaslowenough，andthinkingwhatauselessburthenIwastomyselfandallothers，whenyourlettercame，andithassocheeredme;yourkindnessandaffectionbroughttearsintomyeyes。Talkoffame，honour，pleasure，wealth，allaredirtcomparedwithaffection;andthisisadoctrinewithwhich，Iknow，fromyourletter，thatyouwillagreewithfromthebottomofyourheart……HowI
shouldhavelikedtohavewanderedaboutOxfordwithyou，ifIhadbeenwellenough;andhowstillmoreIshouldhavelikedtohaveheardyoutriumphingovertheBishop。Iamastonishedatyoursuccessandaudacity。
Itissomethingunintelligibletomehowanyonecanargueinpubliclikeoratorsdo。Ihadnoideayouhadthispower。Ihavereadlatelysomanyhostileviews，thatIwasbeginningtothinkthatperhapsIwaswhollyinthewrong，andthat——wasrightwhenhesaidthewholesubjectwouldbeforgottenintenyears;butnowthatIhearthatyouandHuxleywillfightpublicly（whichIamsureInevercoulddo），Ifullybelievethatourcausewill，inthelong—run，prevail。IamgladIwasnotinOxford，forI
shouldhavebeenoverwhelmed，withmy[health]initspresentstate。
CHARLESDARWINTOT。H。HUXLEY。
SudbrookPark，Richmond，July3rd[1860]……IhadaletterfromOxford，writtenbyHookerlateonSundaynight，givingmesomeaccountoftheawfulbattleswhichhaveragedaboutspeciesatOxford。HetellsmeyoufoughtnoblywithOwen（butIhaveheardnoparticulars），andthatyouansweredtheB。ofO。capitally。Ioftenthinkthatmyfriends（andyoufarbeyondothers）havegoodcausetohateme，forhavingstirredupsomuchmud，andledthemintosomuchodioustrouble。
IfIhadbeenafriendofmyself，Ishouldhavehatedme。（HowtomakethatsentencegoodEnglish，Iknownot。）Butremember，ifIhadnotstirredupthemud，someoneelsecertainlysoonwould。Ihonouryourpluck;IwouldassoonhavediedastriedtoanswertheBishopinsuchanassembly……
[OnJuly20th，myfatherwrotetoMr。Huxley:
\"FromallthatIhearfromseveralquarters，itseemsthatOxforddidthesubjectgreatgood。Itisofenormousimportance，theshowingtheworldthatafewfirst—ratemenarenotafraidofexpressingtheiropinion。\"]
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
[July1860]……Ihavejustreadthe’Quarterly。’（’QuarterlyReview，’July1860。ThearticleinquestionwasbyWilberforce，BishopofOxford，andwasafterwardspublishedinhis\"EssaysContributedtothe’QuarterlyReview，’
1874。\"Thepassagefromthe’Anti—Jacobin’givesthehistoryoftheevolutionofspacefromthe\"primaevalpointorpunctumsaliensoftheuniverse，\"whichisconceivedtohavemoved\"forwardinarightlineadinfinitum，tillitgrewtired;afterwhichtherightline，whichithadgenerated，wouldbegintoputitselfinmotioninalateraldirection，describinganareaofinfiniteextent。Thisarea，assoonasitbecameconsciousofitsownexistence，wouldbegintoascendordescendaccordingasitsspecificgravitywoulddetermineit，forminganimmensesolidspacefilledwithvacuum，andcapableofcontainingthepresentuniverse。\"
Thefollowing（page263）mayserveasanexampleofthepassagesinwhichthereviewerreferstoSirCharlesLyell:——\"ThatMr。Darwinshouldhavewanderedfromthisbroadhighwayofnature’sworksintothejungleoffancifulassumptionisnosmallevil。WetrustthatheismistakeninbelievingthathemaycountSirC。Lyellasoneofhisconverts。Weknow，indeed，thatthestrengthofthetemptationswhichhecanbringtobearuponhisgeologicalbrother……YetnomanhasbeenmoredistinctandmorelogicalinthedenialofthetransmutationofspeciesthanSirC。Lyell，andthatnotintheinfancyofhisscientificlife，butinitsfullvigourandmaturity。\"TheBishopgoesontoappealtoLyell，inorderthatwithhishelp\"thisflimsyspeculationmaybeascompletelyputdownaswaswhatinspiteofalldenialswemustventuretocallitstwinthoughlessinstructedbrother，the’VestigesofCreation。’\"
Withreferencetothisarticle，Mr。BrodieInnes，myfather’soldfriendandneighbour，writes:——\"MostmenwouldhavebeenannoyedbyanarticlewrittenwiththeBishop’saccustomedvigour，amixtureofargumentandridicule。Mr。Darwinwaswritingonsomeparishmatter，andputapostscript——’Ifyouhavenotseenthelast’Quarterly，’dogetit;theBishopofOxfordhasmadesuchcapitalfunofmeandmygrandfather。’Byacuriouscoincidence，whenIreceivedtheletter，IwasstayinginthesamehousewiththeBishop，andshowedittohim。Hesaid，’Iamverygladhetakesitinthatway，heissuchacapitalfellow。’\"）Itisuncommonlyclever;itpicksoutwithskillallthemostconjecturalparts，andbringsforwardwellallthedifficulties。Itquizzesmequitesplendidlybyquotingthe’Anti—Jacobin’versusmyGrandfather。Youarenotalludedto，nor，strangetosay，Huxley;andIcanplainlysee，hereandthere，——’shand。TheconcludingpageswillmakeLyellshakeinhisshoes。ByJove，ifhestickstous，hewillbearealhero。Good—night。Yourwell—
quizzed，butnotsorrowful，andaffectionatefriend。
C。D。
IcanseetherehasbeensomequeertamperingwiththeReview，forapagehasbeencutoutandreprinted。
[WritingonJuly22toDr。AsaGraymyfatherthusreferstoLyell’sposition:——
\"Consideringhisage，hisformerviewsandpositioninsociety，Ithinkhisconducthasbeenheroiconthissubject。\"]
CHARLESDARWINTOASAGRAY。
[Hartfield，Sussex]July22nd[1860]。
MydearGray，Owingtoabsencefromhomeatwater—cureandthenhavingtomovemysickgirltowhenceIamnowwriting，IhaveonlylatelyreadthediscussioninProc。AmericanAcad。（April10，1860。Dr。Graycriticisedindetail\"severalofthepositionstakenattheprecedingmeetingbyMr。[J。A。]
Lowell，Prof。BowenandProf。Agassiz。\"Itwasreprintedinthe\"Athenaeum\"，August4，1860。），andnowIcannotresistexpressingmysincereadmirationofyourmostclearpowersofreasoning。AsHookerlatelysaidinanotetome，youaremorethanANYONEelsethethoroughmasterofthesubject。IdeclarethatyouknowmybookaswellasIdomyself;andbringtothequestionnewlinesofillustrationandargumentinamannerwhichexcitesmyastonishmentandalmostmyenvy！Iadmirethesediscussions，Ithink，almostmorethanyourarticleinSilliman’sJournal。
Everysinglewordseemsweighedcarefully，andtellslikea32—poundshot。
Itmakesmemuchwish（butIknowthatyouhavenottime）thatyoucouldwritemoreindetail，andgive，forinstance，thefactsonthevariabilityoftheAmericanwildfruits。The\"Athenaeum\"hasthelargestcirculation，andIhavesentmycopytotheeditorwitharequestthathewouldrepublishthefirstdiscussion;Imuchfearhewillnot，ashereviewedthesubjectinsohostileaspirit……Ishallbecurious[tosee]andwillordertheAugustnumber，assoonasIknowthatitcontainsyourreviewofReviews。Myconclusionisthatyouhavemadeamistakeinbeingabotanist，yououghttohavebeenalawyer……Henslow（ProfessorHenslowwasmentionedintheDecembernumberof’Macmillan’sMagazine’asbeinganadherentofEvolution。Inconsequenceofthishepublished，intheFebruarynumberofthefollowingyear，aletterdefininghisposition。ThishedidbymeansofanextractfromaletteraddressedtohimbytheRev。L。Jenyns（Blomefield）which\"verynearly，\"ashesays，expressedhisviews。Mr。Blomefieldwrote，\"Iwasnotawarethatyouhadbecomeaconverttohis（Darwin’s）theory，andcanhardlysupposeyouhaveaccepteditasawhole，though，likemyself，youmaygotothelengthofimaginingthatmanyofthesmallergroups，bothofanimalsandplants，mayatsomeremoteperiodhavehadacommonparentage。
Idonotwithsomesaythatthewholeofhistheorycannotbetrue——butthatitisveryfarfromproved;andIdoubtitseverbeingpossibletoproveit。\"）andDaubenyareshaken。IhearfromHookerthathehearsfromHochstetterthatmyviewsaremakingveryconsiderableprogressinGermany，andthegoodworkersarediscussingthequestion。Bronnattheendofhistranslationhasachapterofcriticism，butitissuchdifficultGermanthatIhavenotyetreadit。Hopkins’sreviewin’Fraser’isthoughtthebestwhichhasappearedagainstus。IbelievethatHopkinsissomuchopposedbecausehiscourseofstudyhasneverledhimtoreflectmuchonsuchsubjectsasgeographicaldistribution，classification，homologies，etc。，sothathedoesnotfeelitarelieftohavesomekindofexplanation。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Hartfield[Sussex]，July30th[1860]……IhadlotsofpleasantlettersabouttheBritishAssociation，andoursideseemstohavegotonverywell。TherehasbeenasmuchdiscussionontheothersideoftheAtlanticasonthis。NooneIthinkunderstandsthewholecasebetterthanAsaGray，andhehasbeenfightingnobly。Heisacapitalreasoner。Ihavesentoneofhisprinteddiscussionstoour\"Athenaeum\"，andtheeditorsayshewillprintit。The’Quarterly’hasbeenoutsometime。Itcontainsnomalice，whichiswonderful……ItmakesmesaymanythingswhichIdonotsay。AttheenditquotesallyourconclusionsagainstLamarck，andmakesasolemnappealtoyoutokeepfirminthetruefaith。Ifancyitwillmakeyouquakealittle。——hasingeniouslyprimedtheBishop（withMurchison）againstyouasheadoftheuniformitarians。Theonlyotherreviewworthmentioning，whichIcanthinkof，isinthethirdNo。ofthe’LondonReview，’bysomegeologist，andfavorableforawonder。Itisveryablydone，andIshouldlikemuchtoknowwhoistheauthor。IshallbeverycurioustohearonyourreturnwhetherBronn’sGermantranslationofthe’Origin’hasdrawnanyattentiontothesubject。Huxleyiseagerabouta’NaturalHistoryReview，’whichheandothersaregoingtoedit，andhehasgotsomanyfirst—rateassistants，thatIreallybelievehewillmakeitafirst—rateproduction。Ihavebeendoingnothing，exceptalittlebotanicalworkasamusement。Ishallhereafterbeveryanxioustohearhowyourtourhasanswered。IexpectyourbookonthegeologicalhistoryofManwill，withavengeance，beabomb—shell。Ihopeitwillnotbeverylongdelayed。OurkindestremembrancestoLadyLyell。Thisisnotworthsending，butIhavenothingbettertosay。
Yoursaffectionately，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOF。WATKINS。（SeeVolumeI。）
Down，July30th，[1860？]。
MydearWatkins，Yournotegavemerealpleasure。LeadingtheretiredlifewhichIdo，withbadhealth，Ioftenerthinkofoldtimesthanmostmenprobablydo;andyourfacenowrisesbeforeme，withthepleasantoldexpression，asvividlyasifIsawyou。
Mybookhasbeenwellabused，praised，andsplendidlyquizzedbytheBishopofOxford;butfromwhatIseeofitsinfluenceonreallygoodworkersinscience，Ifeelconfidentthat，INTHEMAIN，Iamontherightroad。Withrespecttoyourquestion，Ithinktheargumentsarevalid，showingthatallanimalshavedescendedfromfourorfiveprimordialforms;andthatanalogyandweakreasonsgotoshowthatallhavedescendedfromsomesingleprototype。
Farewell，myoldfriend。IlookbacktooldCambridgedayswithunalloyedpleasure。
Believeme，yoursmostsincerely，CHARLESDARWIN。
T。H。HUXLEYTOCHARLESDARWIN。
August6th，1860。
MydearDarwin，Ihavetoannounceanewandgreatallyforyou……
VonBaerwritestomethus:——Etoutrecela，jetrouvequevousecrivezencoredesredactions。Vousavezecritsurl’ouvragedeM。Darwinunecritiquedontjen’aitrouvequedesdebrisdansunjournalallemand。J’aioublielenomterribledujournalanglaisdanslequelsetrouvevotrerecension。Entoutcasaussijenepeuxpastrouverlejournalici。Commejem’interessebeaucouppourlesideesdeM。Darwin，surlesquellesj’aiparlepubliquementetsurlesquellesjeferaipeut—etreimprimerquelquechose——vousm’obligeriezinfinimentsivouspourriezmefaireparvenircequevousavezecritsurcesidees。
\"J’aienoncelesmemesideessurlatransformationdestypesouorigined’especesqueM。Darwin。（SeeVol。I。）Maisc’estseulementsurlageographiezoologiquequejem’appuie。Voustrouverez，dansledernierchapitredutraite’UeberPapuasundAlfuren，’quej’enparletresdecidementsanssavoirqueM。Darwins’occupaitdecetobjet。\"
ThetreatisetowhichVonBaerrefershegavemewhenoverhere，butIhavenotbeenabletolayhandsonitsincethisletterreachedmetwodaysago。
WhenIfinditIwillletyouknowwhatthereisinit。
Everyoursfaithfully，T。H。HUXLEY。
CHARLESDARWINTOT。H。HUXLEY。
Down，August8[1860]。
MydearHuxley，Yournotecontainedmagnificentnews，andthankyouheartilyforsendingitme。VonBaerweighsdownwithavengeanceallthevirulenceof[the’Edinburgh’reviewer]andweakargumentsofAgassiz。IfyouwritetoVonBaer，forheaven’ssaketellhimthatweshouldthinkonenodofapprobationonourside，ofthegreatestvalue;andifhedoeswriteanything，beghimtosendusacopy，forIwouldtryandgetittranslatedandpublishedinthe\"Athenaeum\"andin’Silliman’totouchupAgassiz……HaveyouseenAgassiz’sweakmetaphysicalandtheologicalattackonthe’Origin’inthelast’Silliman’？（The’AmericanJournalofScienceandArts’（commonlycalled’Silliman’sJournal’），July1860。Printedfromadvancedsheetsofvol。iii。of’ContributionstotheNat。Hist。oftheU。S。’Myfather’scopyhasapencilled\"Truly\"oppositethefollowingpassage:——\"UnlessDarwinandhisfollowerssucceedinshowingthatthestruggleforlifetendstosomethingbeyondfavouringtheexistenceofcertainindividualsoverthatofotherindividuals，theywillsoonfindthattheyarefollowingashadow。\"）Iwouldsendityou，butapprehenditwouldbelesstroubleforyoutolookatitinLondonthanreturnittome。
R。WagnerhassentmeaGermanpamphlet（’LouisAgassiz’sPrinzipienderClassification，etc。，mitRucksichtaufDarwinsAnsichten。Separat—AbdruckausdenGottingischengelehrtenAnzeigen，’1860。），givinganabstractofAgassiz’s’EssayonClassification，’\"mitRucksichtaufDarwinsAnsichten，\"
etc。etc。Hewon’tgovery\"dangerouslengths，\"butthinksthetruthlieshalf—waybetweenAgassizandthe’Origin。’Ashegoesthusfarhewill，nolensvolens，havetogofurther。Hesaysheisgoingtoreviewmein[his]yearlyReport。MygoodandkindagentforthepropagationoftheGospel——i。e。thedevil’sgospel。
Everyours，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down，August11th[1860]……IhavelaughedatWoodwardthinkingthatyouwereamanwhocouldbeinfluencedinyourjudgmentbythevoiceofthepublic;andyetaftermortallysneeringathim，Iwasobligedtoconfesstomyself，thatIhadhadfears，whattheeffectmightbeofsomanyheavygunsfiredbygreatmen。AsIhave（sentbyMurray）aspare’QuarterlyReview，’Isenditbythispost，asitmayamuseyou。TheAnti—Jacobinpartamusedme。Itisfulloferrors，andHookeristhinkingofansweringit。Therehasbeenacancelledpage;Ishouldliketoknowwhatgiganticblunderitcontained。
Hookersaysthat——hasplayedontheBishop，andmadehimstrikewhatevernoteheliked;hehaswishedtomakethearticleasdisagreeabletoyouaspossible。Iwillsendthe\"Athenaeum\"inadayortwo。
Asyouwishtohearwhatreviewshaveappeared，ImaymentionthatAgassizhasfiredoffashotinthelast’Silliman，’notgoodatall，deniesvariationsandrestsontheperfectionofGeologicalevidence。AsaGraytellsmethataverycleverfriendhasbeenalmostconvertedtooursidebythisreviewofAgassiz’s……ProfessorParsons（TheophilusParsons，ProfessorofLawinHarvardUniversity。）haspublishedinthesame’Silliman’aspeculativepapercorrectingmynotions，worthnothing。Inthe’HighlandAgriculturalJournal’thereisareviewbysomeEntomologist，notworthmuch。ThisisallthatIcanremember……AsHuxleysays，theplatoonfiringmustsooncease。HookerandHuxley，andAsaGray，Isee，aredeterminedtosticktothebattleandnotgivein;Iamfullyconvincedthatwheneveryoupublish，itwillproduceagreateffectonallTRIMMERS，andonmanyothers。BythewayIforgottomentionDaubeny’spamphlet（’RemarksonthefinalcausesofthesexualityofplantswithparticularreferencetoMr。
Darwin’sworkonthe\"OriginofSpecies。\"’——BritishAssociationReport，1860。），veryliberalandcandid，butscientificallyweak。IbelieveHookerisgoingnowherethissummer;heisexcessivelybusy……Hehaswrittenmemany，mostniceletters。IshallbeverycurioustohearonyourreturnsomeaccountofyourGeologicaldoings。TalkingofGeology，youusedtobeinterestedaboutthe\"pipes\"inthechalk。Aboutthreeyearsagoaperfectlycircularholesuddenlyappearedinaflatgrassfieldtoeveryone’sastonishment，andwasfilledupwithmanywaggonloadsofearth;
andnowtwoorthreedaysago，againithascircularlysubsidedabouttwofeetmore。Howclearlythisshowswhatisstillslowlygoingon。ThismorningIrecommencedwork，andamatdogs;whenIhavewrittenmyshortdiscussiononthem，Iwillhaveitcopied，andifyoulike，youcanthenseehowtheargumentstands，abouttheirmultipleorigin。Asyouseemedtothinkthisimportant，itmightbeworthyourreading;thoughIdonotfeelsurethatyouwillcometothesameprobableconclusionthatIhavedone。
Bytheway，theBishopmakesaverytellingcaseagainstme，byaccumulatingseveralinstanceswhereIspeakverydoubtfully;butthisisveryunfair，asinsuchcasesasthisofthedog，theevidenceisandmustbeverydoubtful……
CHARLESDARWINTOASAGRAY。
Down，August11[1860]。
MydearGray，OnmyreturnhomefromSussexaboutaweekago，Ifoundseveralarticlessentbyyou。Thefirstarticle，fromthe’AtlanticMonthly，’Iamverygladtopossess。Bytheway，theeditorofthe\"Athenaeum\"（August4，1860。）hasinsertedyouranswertoAgassiz，Bowen，andCo。，andwhenI
thereinreadthem，Iadmiredthemevenmorethanatfirst。Theyreallyseemedtobeadmirableintheircondensation，force，clearnessandnovelty。
IamsurprisedthatAgassizdidnotsucceedinwritingsomethingbetter。
Howabsurdthatlogicalquibble——\"ifspeciesdonotexist，howcantheyvary？\"Asifanyonedoubtedtheirtemporaryexistence。Howcoollyheassumesthatthereissomeclearlydefineddistinctionbetweenindividualdifferencesandvarieties。Itisnowonderthatamanwhocallsidenticalforms，whenfoundintwocountries，distinctspecies，cannotfindvariationinnature。Again，howunreasonabletosupposethatdomesticvarietiesselectedbymanforhisownfancyshouldresemblenaturalvarietiesorspecies。Thewholearticleseemstomepoor;itseemstomehardlyworthadetailedanswer（evenifIcoulddoit，andImuchdoubtwhetherIpossessyourskillinpickingoutsalientpointsanddrivinganailintothem），andindeedyouhavealreadyansweredseveralpoints。Agassiz’sname，nodoubt，isaheavyweightagainstus……
IfyouseeProfessorParsons，willyouthankhimfortheextremelyliberalandfairspiritinwhichhisEssay（’Silliman’sJournal，’July，1860。）iswritten。PleasetellhimthatIreflectedmuchonthechanceoffavourablemonstrosities（i。e。greatandsuddenvariation）arising。Ihave，ofcourse，noobjectiontothis，indeeditwouldbeagreataid，butIdonotalludetothesubject，for，aftermuchlabour，Icouldfindnothingwhichsatisfiedmeoftheprobabilityofsuchoccurrences。Thereseemstomeinalmosteverycasetoomuch，toocomplex，andtoobeautifuladaptation，ineverystructure，tobelieveinitssuddenproduction。Ihavealludedundertheheadofbeautifullyhookedseedstosuchpossibility。Monstersareapttobesterile，orNOTtotransmitmonstrouspeculiarities。LookatthefinenessofgradationintheshellsofsuccessiveSUB—STAGESofthesamegreatformation;Icouldgivemanyotherconsiderationswhichmademedoubtsuchview。Itholds，toacertainextent，withdomesticproductionsnodoubt，wheremanpreservessomeabruptchangeinstructure。ItamusedmetoseeSirR。Murchisonquotedasajudgeofaffinitiesofanimals，anditgavemeacoldshuddertohearofanyonespeculatingaboutatruecrustaceangivingbirthtoatruefish！（Parson’s，loc。cit。page5，speakingofPterichthysandCephalaspis，says:——\"Nowisittoomuchtoinferfromthesefactsthateitheroftheseanimals，ifacrustacean，wassonearlyafishthatsomeofitsovamayhavebecomefish;or，ifitselfafish，wassonearlyacrustaceanthatitmayhavebeenbornfromtheovumofacrustacean？\"）
Yoursmosttruly，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down，September1st[1860]。
MydearLyell，Ihavebeenmuchinterestedbyyourletterofthe28th，receivedthismorning。IthasDELIGHTEDme，becauseitdemonstratesthatyouhavethoughtagooddeallatelyonNaturalSelection。Fewthingshavesurprisedmemorethantheentirepaucityofobjectionsanddifficultiesnewtomeinthepublishedreviews。Yourremarksareofadifferentstampandnewtome。Iwillrunthroughthem，andmakeafewpleadingssuchasoccurtome。
IputinthepossibilityoftheGalapagoshavingbeenCONTINUOUSLYjoinedtoAmerica，outofmeresubserviencetothemanywhobelieveinForbes’sdoctrine，anddidnotseethedangerofadmission，aboutsmallmammalssurvivingthereinsuchcase。ThecaseoftheGalapagos，fromcertainfactsonlittoralsea—shells（viz。PacificOceanandSouthAmericanlittoralspecies），infactconvincedmemorethaninanyothercaseofotherislands，thattheGalapagoshadneverbeencontinuouslyunitedwiththemainland;itwasmerebasesubservience，andterrorofHookerandCo。
Withrespecttoatolls，IthinkmammalswouldhardlysurviveVERYLONG，evenifthemainislands（forasIhavesaidintheCoralBook，theoutlineofgroupsofatollsdonotlooklikeaformerCONTINENT）hadbeentenantedbymammals，fromtheextremelysmallarea，theverypeculiarconditions，andtheprobabilitythatduringsubsidenceallornearlyallatollshavebeenbreachedandfloodedbytheseamanytimesduringtheirexistenceasatolls。