第54章
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  CHARLESDARWINTOALEXANDERBAIN。

  Down,October9,1873。

  MydearSir,Iamparticularlyobligedtoyouforhavingsendmeyouressay。Yourcriticismsareallwritteninaquitefairspirit,andindeednoonewhoknowsyouoryourworkswouldexpectanythingelse。WhatyousayaboutthevaguenessofwhatIhavecalledthedirectactionofthenervoussystem,isperfectlyjust。Ifeltitsoatthetime,andevenmoreoflate。I

  confessthatIhaveneverbeenablefullytograspyourprincipleofspontaneity,aswellassomeotherofyourpoints,soastoapplythemtospecialcases。Butaswelookateverythingfromdifferentpointsofview,itisnotlikelythatweshouldagreeclosely。(ProfessorBainexpoundedhistheoryofSpontaneityintheessayherealludedto。Itwouldbeimpossibletodojusticetoitwithinthelimitsofafoot—note。Thefollowingquotationsmaygivesomenotionofit:——

  \"BySpontaneityIunderstandthereadinesstopassintomovementintheabsenceofallstimulationwhatever;theessentialrequisitebeingthatthenerve—centresandmusclesshallbefreshandvigorous……Thegesticulationsandthecarolsofyoungandactiveanimalsaremereoverflowofnervousenergy;andalthoughtheyareveryapttoconcurwithpleasingemotion,theyhaveanindependentsource……Theyarenotproperlymovementsofexpression;theyexpressnothingatallexceptanabundantstockofphysicalpower。\")

  Ihavebeengreatlypleasedbywhatyousayaboutthecryingexpressionandaboutblushing。Didyoureadareviewinalate’Edinburgh?’(Thereviewonthe’ExpressionoftheEmotions’appearedintheAprilnumberofthe’EdinburghReview,’1873。Theopeningsentenceisafairsampleofthegeneraltoneofthearticle:\"Mr。Darwinhasaddedanothervolumeofamusingstoriesandgrotesqueillustrationstotheremarkableseriesofworksalreadydevotedtotheexpositionanddefenceoftheevolutionaryhypothesis。\"Afewotherquotationsmaybeworthgiving。\"Hisone—sideddevotiontoanapriorischemeofinterpretationseemsthussteadilytendingtoimpairtheauthor’shithertounrivalledpowersasanobserver。

  Howeverthismaybe,mostimpartialcriticswill,wethink,admitthatthereisamarkedfallingoffbothinphilosophicaltoneandscientificinterestintheworksproducedsinceMr。Darwincommittedhimselftothecrudemetaphysicalconceptionsolargelyassociatedwithhisname。\"ThearticleisdirectedagainstEvolutionasawhole,almostasmuchasagainstthedoctrinesofthebookunderdiscussion。Wefindthroughoutplentyofthateffectivestyleofcriticismwhichconsistsintheuseofsuchexpressionsas\"dogmatism,\"\"intolerance,\"\"presumptuous,\"\"arrogant。\"

  Togetherwithaccusationsofsuchvariousfaultsa\"virtualabandonmentoftheinductivemethod,\"andtheuseofslangandvulgarisms。

  Thepartofthearticlewhichseemstohaveinterestedmyfatheristhediscussionontheusewhichheoughttohavemadeofpaintingandsculpture。)Itwasmagnificentlycontemptuoustowardsmyselfandmanyothers。

  Iretainaverypleasantrecollectionofoursojourntogetheratthatdelightfulplace,MoorPark。

  Withmyrenewedthanks,Iremain,mydearSir,Yourssincerely,CH。DARWIN。

  CHARLESDARWINTOMRS。HALIBURTON。(Mrs。Haliburtonwasadaughterofmyfather’soldfriend,Mr。OwenofWoodhouse。Herhusband,JudgeHaliburton,wasthewell—knownauthorof’SamSlick。’)

  Down,November1[1872]。

  MydearMrs。Haliburton,Idaresayyouwillbesurprisedtohearfromme。MyobjectinwritingnowistosaythatIhavejustpublishedabookonthe’ExpressionoftheEmotionsinManandAnimals;’andithasoccurredtomethatyoumightpossiblyliketoreadsomepartsofit;andIcanhardlythinkthatthiswouldhavebeenthecasewithanyofthebookswhichIhavealreadypublished。SoIsendbythispostmypresentbook。AlthoughIhavehadnocommunicationwithyouortheothermembersofyourfamilyforsolongatime,noscenesinmywholelifepasssofrequentlyorsovividlybeforemymindasthosewhichrelatetohappyolddaysspentatWoodhouse。Ishouldverymuchliketohearalittlenewsaboutyourselfandtheothermembersofyourfamily,ifyouwilltakethetroubletowritetome。FormerlyI

  usedtogleansomenewsaboutyoufrommysisters。

  Ihavehadmanyyearsofbadhealthandhavenotbeenabletovisitanywhere;andnowIfeelveryold。AslongasIpassaperfectlyuniformlife,IamabletodosomedailyworkinNaturalHistory,whichisstillmypassion,asitwasinolddays,whenyouusedtolaughatmeforcollectingbeetleswithsuchzealatWoodhouse。Exceptingfrommycontinuedill—

  health,whichhasexcludedmefromsociety,mylifehasbeenaveryhappyone;thegreatestdrawbackbeingthatseveralofmychildrenhaveinheritedfrommefeeblehealth。Ihopewithallmyheartthatyouretain,atleasttoalargeextent,thefamous\"Owenconstitution。\"WithsincerefeelingsofgratitudeandaffectionforallbearingthenameofOwen,Iventuretosignmyself,Yoursaffectionately,CHARLESDARWIN。

  CHARLESDARWINTOMRS。HALIBURTON。

  Down,November6[1872]。

  MydearSarah,Ihavebeenverymuchpleasedbyyourletter,whichImustcallcharming。

  Ihardlyventuredtothinkthatyouwouldhaveretainedafriendlyrecollectionofmeforsomanyyears。YetIoughttohavefeltassuredthatyouwouldremainaswarm—heartedandastrue—heartedasyouhaveeverbeenfrommyearliestrecollection。Iknowwellhowmanygrievoussorrowsyouhavegonethrough;butIamverysorrytohearthatyourhealthisnotgood。Inthespringorsummer,whentheweatherisbetter,ifyoucansummonupcouragetopayusavisithere,bothmywife,asshedesiresmetosay,andmyself,wouldbetrulygladtoseeyou,andIknowthatyouwouldnotcareaboutbeingratherdullhere。Itwouldbearealpleasuretometoseeyou。——Thankyoumuchfortellingaboutyourfamily,——muchofwhichwasnewtome。Howkindyouallweretomeasaboy,andyouespecially,andhowmuchhappinessIowetoyou。Believemeyouraffectionateandobligedfriend,CHARLESDARWIN。

  P。S。——PerhapsyouwouldliketoseeaphotographofmenowthatIamold。

  1873。

  [Theonlywork(otherthanbotanical)ofthisyearwasthepreparationofasecondeditionofthe’DescentofMan,’thepublicationofwhichisreferredtointhefollowingchapter。Thisworkwasundertakenmuchagainstthegrain,ashewasatthetimedeeplyimmersedinthemanuscriptof’InsectivorousPlants。’ThushewrotetoMr。Wallace(November19),\"I

  neverinmylifetimeregrettedaninterruptionsomuchasthisneweditionofthe’Descent。’\"Andlater(inDecember)hewrotetoMr。Huxley:\"Theneweditionofthe’Descent’hasturnedoutanawfuljob。Ittookmetendaysmerelytoglanceoverlettersandreviewswithcriticismsandnewfacts。Itisadevilofajob。\"

  TheworkwascontinueduntilApril1,1874,whenhewasabletoreturntohismuchlovedDrosera。HewrotetoMr。Murray:——

  \"Ihaveatlastfinished,afterabovethreemonthsashardworkasIhaveeverhadinmylife,acorrectededitionofthe’Descent,’andImuchwishtohaveitprintedoffassoonaspossible。AsitistobestereotypedI

  shallnevertouchitagain。\"

  Thefirstofthemiscellaneouslettersof1873referstoapleasantvisitreceivedfromColonelHigginsonofNewport,U。S。]

  CHARLESDARWINTOTHOS。WENTWORTHHIGGINSON。

  Down,February27th[1873]。

  MydearSir,Mywifehasjustfinishedreadingaloudyour’LifewithaBlackRegiment,’

  andyoumustallowmetothankyouheartilyfortheverygreatpleasurewhichithasinmanywaysgivenus。Ialwaysthoughtwellofthenegroes,fromthelittlewhichIhaveseenofthem;andIhavebeendelightedtohavemyvagueimpressionsconfirmed,andtheircharacterandmentalpowerssoablydiscussed。WhenyouwerehereIdidnotknowofthenoblepositionwhichyouhadfilled。Ihadformerlyreadabouttheblackregiments,butfailedtoconnectyournamewithyouradmirableundertaking。AlthoughweenjoyedgreatlyyourvisittoDown,mywifeandmyselfhaveoverandoveragainregrettedthatwedidnotknowabouttheblackregiment,asweshouldhavegreatlylikedtohaveheardalittleabouttheSouthfromyourownlips。

  YourdescriptionshavevividlyrecalledwalkstakenfortyyearsagoinBrazil。WehaveyourcollectedEssays,whichwerekindlysentusbyMr。

  [Moncure]Conway,buthavenotyethadtimetoreadthem。Ioccasionallygleanalittlenewsofyouinthe’Index’;andwithinthelasthourhavereadaninterestingarticleofyoursontheprogressofFreeThought。

  Believeme,mydearsir,withsincereadmiration,Yoursveryfaithfully,CH。DARWIN。

  [OnMay28thhesentthefollowinganswerstothequestionsthatMr。Galtonwasatthattimeaddressingtovariousscientificmen,inthecourseoftheinquirywhichisgiveninhis’EnglishMenofScience,theirNatureandNurture,’1874。Withregardtothequestionsmyfatherwrote,\"IhavefilleduptheanswersaswellasIcould,butitissimplyimpossibleformetoestimatethedegrees。\"Forthesakeofconvenience,thequestionsandanswersrelatingto\"Nurture\"aremadetoprecedethoseon\"Nature\":

  NURTURE。

  EDUCATION?

  Howtaught?IconsiderthatallIhavelearntofanyvaluehasbeenself—

  taught。

  Conducivetoorrestrictiveofhabitsofobservation?Restrictiveofobservation,beingalmostentirelyclassical。

  Conducivetohealthorotherwise?Yes。

  Peculiarmerits?Nonewhatever。

  Chiefomissions?Nomathematicsormodernlanguages,noranyhabitsofobservationorreasoning。

  RELIGION。

  Hasthereligiouscreedtaughtinyouryouthhadanydeterrenteffectonthefreedomofyourresearches?No。

  SCIENTIFICTASTES。

  Doyourscientifictastesappeartohavebeeninnate?Certainlyinnate。

  Weretheydeterminedbyanyandwhatevents?Myinnatetastefornaturalhistorystronglyconfirmedanddirectedbythevoyageinthe\"Beagle\"。

  NATURE。

  Specifyanyintereststhathavebeenveryactivelypursued。Science,andfieldsportstoapassionatedegreeduringyouth。

  (C。D。=CHARLESDARWIN,R。D。=ROBERTDARWIN,hisfather。)

  RELIGION?

  C。D。——NominallytoChurchofEngland。

  R。D。——NominallytoChurchofEngland。

  POLITICS?

  C。D。——LiberalorRadical。

  R。D。——Liberal。

  HEALTH?

  C。D。——Goodwhenyoung——badforlast33years。

  R。D。——Goodthroughoutlife,exceptfromgout。

  HEIGHT,ETC?

  C。D。——6ft。Figure,etc。?——Spare,whilstyoungratherstout。Measurementroundinsideofhat?——221/4in。ColourofHair?——Brown。Complexion?——

  Rathersallow。

  R。D。——6ft。2in。Figure,etc?——Verybroadandcorpulent。Colourofhair?

  ——Brown。Complexion?——Ruddy。

  TEMPERAMENT?

  C。D。——Somewhatnervous。

  R。D。——Sanguine。

  ENERGYOFBODY,ETC。?

  C。D。——Energyshownbymuchactivity,andwhilstIhadhealth,powerofresistingfatigue。Iandoneothermanwerealoneabletofetchwaterforalargepartyofofficersandsailorsutterlyprostrated。SomeofmyexpeditionsinS。Americawereadventurous。Anearlyriserinthemorning。

  R。D。——Greatpowerofendurancealthoughfeelingmuchfatigue,asafterconsultationsafterlongjourneys;veryactive——notrestless——veryearlyriser,notravels。Myfathersaidhisfathersufferedmuchfromsenseoffatigue,thatheworkedveryhard。

  ENERGYOFMIND,ETC。?

  C。D。——Shownbyrigorousandlong—continuedworkonsamesubject,as20

  yearsonthe’OriginofSpecies,’and9yearson’Cirripedia。’

  R。D。——Habituallyveryactivemind——showninconversationwithasuccessionofpeopleduringthewholeday。

  MEMORY?

  C。D。——Memoryverybadfordates,andforlearningbyrote;butgoodinretainingageneralorvaguerecollectionofmanyfacts。

  R。D。——Wonderfulmemoryfordates。Inoldagehetoldaperson,readingaloudtohimabookonlyreadinyouth,thepassageswhichwerecoming——

  knewthebirthdaysanddeath,etc。,ofallfriendsandacquaintances。

  STUDIOUSNESS?

  C。D。——Verystudious,butnotlargeacquirements。

  R。D。——Notverystudiousormentallyreceptive,exceptforfactsinconversation——greatcollectorofanecdotes。

  INDEPENDENCEOFJUDGMENT?

  C。D。——Ithinkfairlyindependent;butIcangivenoinstances。Igaveupcommonreligiousbeliefalmostindependentlyfrommyownreflections。

  R。D。——Freethinkerinreligiousmatters。Liberal,withratheratendencytoToryism。

  ORIGINALITYORECCENTRICITY?

  C。D。————Thinksthisappliestome;Idonotthinkso——i。e。,asfaraseccentricity。IsupposethatIhaveshownoriginalityinscience,asI

  havemadediscoverieswithregardtocommonobjects。

  R。D。——Originalcharacter,hadgreatpersonalinfluenceandpowerofproducingfearofhimselfinothers。Hekepthisaccountswithgreatcareinapeculiarway,inanumberofseparatelittlebooks,withoutanygeneralledger。

  SPECIALTALENTS?

  C。D。——None,exceptforbusinessasevincedbykeepingaccounts,repliestocorrespondence,andinvestingmoneyverywell。Verymethodicalinallmyhabits。

  R。D。——Practicalbusiness——madealargefortuneandincurrednolosses。

  STRONGLYMARKEDMENTALPECULIARITIES,BEARINGONSCIENTIFICSUCCESS,AND

  NOTSPECIFIEDABOVE?

  C。D。——Steadiness——greatcuriosityaboutfactsandtheirmeaning。Someloveofthenewandmarvellous。

  R。D。——Strongsocialaffectionandgreatsympathyinthepleasuresofothers。Scepticalastonewthings。Curiousastofacts。Greatforesight。Notmuchpublicspirit——greatgenerosityingivingmoneyandassistance。

  N。B。——Ifinditquiteimpossibletoestimatemycharacterbyyourdegrees。

  Thefollowingletterrefersinteraliatoaletterwhichappearedin’Nature’(September25,1873),\"OntheMalesandComplementalMalesofcertainCirripedes,andonRudimentaryOrgans:\"]

  CHARLESDARWINTOE。HAECKEL。

  Down,September25,1873。

  MydearHaeckel,Ithankyouforthepresentofyourbook(’Schopfungs—geschichte,’4thedition。Thetranslation(’TheHistoryofCreation’)wasnotpublisheduntil1876。),andIamheartilygladtoseeitsgreatsuccess。YouwilldoawonderfulamountofgoodinspreadingthedoctrineofEvolution,supportingitasyoudobysomanyoriginalobservations。Ihavereadthenewprefacewithverygreatinterest。ThedelayintheappearanceoftheEnglishtranslationvexesandsurprisesme,forIhaveneverbeenabletoreaditthoroughlyinGerman,andIshallassuredlydosowhenitappearsinEnglish。Hastheproblemofthelaterstagesofreductionofuselessstructureseverperplexedyou?Thisproblemhasoflatecausedmemuchperplexity。Ihavejustwrittenaletterto’Nature’withahypotheticalexplanationofthisdifficulty,andIwillsendyouthepaperwiththepassagemarked。Iwillatthesametimesendapaperwhichhasinterestedme;itneednotbereturned。Itcontainsasingularstatementbearingonso—calledSpontaneousGeneration。Imuchwishthatthislatterquestioncouldbesettled,butIseenoprospectofit。Ifitcouldbeprovedtruethiswouldbemostimportanttous……

  Wishingyoueverysuccessinyouradmirablelabours,Iremain,mydearHaeckel,yoursverysincerely,CHARLESDARWIN。

  CHAPTER2。VIII。

  MISCELLANEA,INCLUDINGSECONDEDITIONSOF’CORALREEFS,’THE’DESCENTOF

  MAN,’ANDTHE’VARIATIONOFANIMALSANDPLANTS。’

  1874AND1875。

  [Theyear1874wasgivenupto’InsectivorousPlants,’withtheexceptionofthemonthsdevotedtothesecondeditionofthe’DescentofMan,’andwiththefurtherexceptionofthetimegiventoasecondeditionofhis’CoralReefs’(1874)。ThePrefacetothelatterstatesthatnewfactshavebeenadded,thewholebookrevised,and\"thelatterchaptersalmostrewritten。\"IntheAppendixsomeaccountisgivenofProfessorSemper’sobjections,andthiswastheoccasionofcorrespondencebetweenthatnaturalistandmyfather。InProfessorSemper’svolume,’AnimalLife’(oneoftheInternationalSeries),theauthorcallsattentiontothesubjectinthefollowingpassagewhichIgiveinGerman,thepublishedEnglishtranslationbeing,asitseemstome,incorrect:\"EsscheintmiralsoberinderzweitenAusgabeseinesallgemeinbekanntenWerksuberKorallenriffeeinemIrrthumeubermeineBeobachtungenzumOpfergefallenist,indemerdieAngaben,dieichallerdingsbisherimmernursehrkurzgehaltenhatte,vollstandigfalschwiedergegebenhat。\"

  Theproof—sheetscontainingthispassageweresentbyProfessorSempertomyfatherbefore’AnimalLife’waspublished,andthiswastheoccasionforthefollowingletter,whichwasafterwardspublishedinProfessorSemper’sbook。]

  CHARLESDARWINTOK。SEMPER。

  Down,October2,1879。

  MydearProfessorSemper,Ithankyouforyourextremelykindletterofthe19th,andfortheproof—

  sheets。IbelievethatIunderstandall,exceptingoneortwosentences,wheremyimperfectknowledgeofGermanhasinterfered。ThisismysoleandpoorexcuseforthemistakewhichImadeinthesecondeditionofmy’Coral’book。YouraccountofthePellewIslandsisafineadditiontoourknowledgeoncoralreefs。Ihaveverylittletosayonthesubject,evenifIhadformerlyreadyouraccountandseenyourmaps,buthadknownnothingoftheproofsofrecentelevation,andofyourbeliefthattheislandshavenotsincesubsided。IhavenodoubtthatIshouldhaveconsideredthemasformedduringsubsidence。ButIshouldhavebeenmuchtroubledinmymindbytheseanotbeingsodeepasitusuallyisroundatolls,andbythereefononesideslopingsograduallybeneaththesea;

  forthislatterfact,asfarasmymemoryservesme,isaveryunusualandalmostunparalleledcase。Ialwaysforesawthatabankattheproperdepthbeneaththesurfacewouldgiverisetoareefwhichcouldnotbedistinguishedfromanatoll,formedduringsubsidence。ImuststilladheretomyopinionthattheatollsandbarrierreefsinthemiddleofthePacificandIndianOceansindicatesubsidence;butIfullyagreewithyouthatsuchcasesasthatofthePellewIslands,ifofatallfrequentoccurrence,wouldmakemygeneralconclusionsofverylittlevalue。Futureobserversmustdecidebetweenus。Itwillbeastrangefactiftherehasnotbeensubsidenceofthebedsofthegreatoceans,andifthishasnotaffectedtheformsofthecoralreefs。

  InthelastthreepagesofthelastsheetsentIamextremelygladtoseethatyouaregoingtotreatofthedispersionofanimals。Yourpreliminaryremarksseemtomequiteexcellent。ThereisnothingaboutM。Wagner,asI

  expectedtofind。IsupposethatyouhaveseenMoseley’slastbook,whichcontainssomegoodobservationsondispersion。

  IamgladthatyourbookwillappearinEnglish,forthenIcanreaditwithease。Praybelieveme,Yoursverysincerely,CHARLESDARWIN。

  [ThemostrecentcriticismontheCoral—reeftheoryisbyMr。Murray,oneofthestaffofthe\"Challenger\",whoreadapaperbeforetheRoyalSocietyofEdinburgh,April5,1880。(Anabstractispublishedinvolumex。ofthe’Proceedings,’page505,andin’Nature,’August12,1880。)Thechiefpointbroughtforwardisthepossibilityofthebuildingupofsubmarinemountains,whichmayserveasfoundationsforcoralreefs。Mr。Murrayalsoseekstoprovethat\"thechieffeaturesofcoralreefsandislandscanbeaccountedforwithoutcallingintheaidofgreatandgeneralsubsidence。\"

  Thefollowingletterreferstothissubject:]

  CHARLESDARWINTOA。AGASSIZ。

  Down,May5,1881……YouwillhaveseenMr。Murray’sviewsontheformationofatollsandbarrierreefs。Beforepublishingmybook,Ithoughtlongoverthesameview,butonlyasfarasordinarymarineorganismsareconcerned,foratthattimelittlewasknownofthemultitudeofminuteoceanicorganisms。I

  rejectedthisview,asfromthefewdredgingsmadeinthe\"Beagle\",inthesouthtemperateregions,Iconcludedthatshells,thesmallercorals,etc。,decayed,andweredissolved,whennotprotectedbythedepositionofsediment,andsedimentcouldnotaccumulateintheopenocean。Certainly,shells,etc。,wereinseveralcasescompletelyrotten,andcrumbledintomudbetweenmyfingers;butyouwillknowwellwhetherthisisinanydegreecommon。Ihaveexpresslysaidthatabankattheproperdepthwouldgiverisetoanatoll,whichcouldnotbedistinguishedfromoneformedduringsubsidence。Ican,however,hardlybelieveintheformerpresenceofasmanybanks(therehavingbeennosubsidence)asthereareatollsinthegreatoceans,withinareasonabledepth,onwhichminuteoceanicorganismscouldhaveaccumulatedtothethicknessofmanyhundredfeet……Prayforgivemefortroublingyouatsuchlength,butithasoccurred[tome]thatyoumightbedisposedtogive,afteryourwideexperience,yourjudgment。IfIamwrong,thesoonerIamknockedontheheadandannihilatedsomuchthebetter。Itstillseemstomeamarvellousthingthatthereshouldnothavebeenmuch,andlongcontinued,subsidenceinthebedsofthegreatoceans。IwishthatsomedoublyrichmillionairewouldtakeitintohisheadtohaveboringsmadeinsomeofthePacificandIndianatolls,andbringhomecoresforslicingfromadepthof500or600

  feet……

  [Thesecondeditionofthe’DescentofMan’waspublishedintheautumnof1874。Somesevereremarksonthe\"monistichypothesis\"appearedintheJuly(Thereviewnecessarilydealswiththefirsteditionofthe’DescentofMan。’)numberofthe’QuarterlyReview’(page45)。TheReviewerexpresseshisastonishmentattheignoranceofcertainelementarydistinctionsandprinciples(e。g。withregardtotheverbummentale)

  exhibited,amongothers,byMr。Darwin,whodoesnotexhibitthefaintestindicationofhavinggraspedthem,yetaclearperceptionofthem,andadirectanddetailedexaminationofhisfactswithregardtothem,\"wasasinequanonforattempting,withachanceofsuccess,thesolutionofthemysteryastothedescentofman。\"

  Somefurthercriticismsofalaterdatemaybeherealludedto。Inthe’Academy,’1876(pages562,587),appearedareviewofMr。Mivart’s’LessonsfromNature,’byMr。Wallace。WhenconsideringthepartofMr。

  Mivart’sbookrelatingtoNaturalandSexualSelection,Mr。Wallacesays:

  \"InhisviolentattackonMr。Darwin’stheoriesourauthorusesunusuallystronglanguage。Notcontentwithmereargument,heexpresses’reprobationofMr。Darwin’sviews’;andassertsthatthoughhe(Mr。Darwin)hasbeenobliged,virtually,togiveuphistheory,itisstillmaintainedbyDarwinianswith’unscrupulousaudacity,’andtheactualrepudiationofitconcealedbythe’conspiracyofsilence。’\"Mr。Wallacegoesontoshowthatthesechargesarewithoutfoundation,andpointsoutthat,\"ifthereisonethingmorethananotherforwhichMr。Darwinispre—eminentamongmodernliteraryandscientificmen,itisforhisperfectliteraryhonesty,hisself—abnegationinconfessinghimselfwrong,andtheeagerhastewithwhichheproclaimsandevenmagnifiessmallerrorsinhisworks,forthemostpartdiscoveredbyhimself。\"

  ThefollowingextractfromalettertoMr。Wallace(June17th)referstoMr。Mivart’sstatement(’LessonsfromNature,’page144)thatMr。Darwinatfirststudiouslydisguisedhisviewsastothe\"bestialityofman\":——

  \"IhaveonlyjustheardofandprocuredyourtwoarticlesintheAcademy。

  IthankyoumostcordiallyforyourgenerousdefenceofmeagainstMr。

  Mivart。Inthe’Origin’Ididnotdiscussthederivationofanyonespecies;butthatImightnotbeaccusedofconcealingmyopinion,Iwentoutofmyway,andinsertedasentencewhichseemedtome(andstillsoseems)todiscloseplainlymybelief。Thiswasquotedinmy’DescentofMan。’Thereforeitisveryunjust,……ofMr。Mivarttoaccusemeofbasefraudulentconcealment。\"

  Theletterwhichherefollowsisofinterestinconnectionwiththediscussion,inthe’DescentofMan,’ontheoriginofthemusicalsenseinman:]

  CHARLESDARWINTOE。GURNEY。(Authorof’ThePowerofSound。’)

  Down,July8,1876。

  MydearMr。Gurney,Ihavereadyourarticle(\"SomedisputedPointsinMusic。\"——’FortnightlyReview,’July,1876。)withmuchinterest,exceptthelatterpart,whichsoaredabovemyken。Iamgreatlypleasedthatyouupholdmyviewstoacertainextent。Yourcriticismoftheraspingnoisemadebyinsectsbeingnecessarilyrhythmicalisverygood;butthoughnotmadeintentionally,itmaybepleasingtothefemalesfromthenervecellsbeingnearlysimilarinfunctionthroughouttheanimalkingdom。Withrespecttoyourletter,I

  believethatIunderstandyourmeaning,andagreewithyou。Ineversupposedthatthedifferentdegreesandkindsofpleasurederivedfromdifferentmusiccouldbeexplainedbythemusicalpowersofoursemi—humanprogenitors。Doesnotthefactthatdifferentpeoplebelongingtothesamecivilisednationareverydifferentlyaffectedbythesamemusic,almostshowthatthesediversitiesoftasteandpleasurehavebeenacquiredduringtheirindividuallives?Yoursimileofarchitectureseemstomeparticularlygood;forinthiscasetheappreciationalmostmustbeindividual,thoughpossiblythesenseofsublimityexcitedbyagrandcathedral,mayhavesomeconnectionwiththevaguefeelingsofterrorandsuperstitioninoursavageancestors,whentheyenteredagreatcavernorgloomyforest。Iwishsomeonecouldanalysethefeelingofsublimity。Itamusesmetothinkhowhorrifiedsomehighflyingaestheticmenwillbeatyourencouragingsuchlowdegradedviewsasmine。

  Believeme,yoursverysincerely,CHARLESDARWIN。

  [Theletterswhichfollowareofamiscellaneousinterest。Thefirstextract(fromaletter,January18,1874)referstoaspiritualisticseance,heldatErasmusDarwin’shouse,6QueenAnneStreet,undertheauspicesofawell—knownmedium:]

  \"……Wehadgrandfun,oneafternoon,forGeorgehiredamedium,whomadethechairs,aflute,abell,andcandlestick,andfierypointsjumpaboutinmybrother’sdiningroom,inamannerthatastoundedeveryone,andtookawayalltheirbreaths。Itwasinthedark,butGeorgeandHensleighWedgwoodheldthemedium’shandsandfeetonbothsidesallthetime。I

  founditsohotandtiringthatIwentawaybeforealltheseastoundingmiracles,orjugglery,tookplace。Howthemancouldpossiblydowhatwasdonepassesmyunderstanding。Icamedownstairs,andsawallthechairs,etc。,onthetable,whichhadbeenliftedovertheheadsofthosesittingroundit。

  TheLordhavemercyonusall,ifwehavetobelieveinsuchrubbish。F。

  Galtonwasthere,andsaysitwasagoodseance……\"

  TheSeanceinquestionledtoasmallerandmorecarefullyorganisedonebeingundertaken,atwhichMr。Huxleywaspresent,andonwhichhereportedtomyfather:]

  CHARLESDARWINTOPROFESSORT。H。HUXLEY。

  Down,January29[1874]。

  MydearHuxley,Itwasverygoodofyoutowritesolonganaccount。Thoughtheseancedidtireyousomuchitwas,Ithink,reallyworththeexertion,asthesamesortofthingsaredoneatalltheseances,evenat——’s;andnowtomymindanenormousweightofevidencewouldberequisitetomakeonebelieveinanythingbeyondmeretrickery……IampleasedtothinkthatIdeclaredtoallmyfamily,thedaybeforeyesterday,thatthemoreIthoughtofallthatIhadheardhappenedatQueenAnneSt。,themoreconvincedIwasitwasallimposture……mytheorywasthat[themedium]managedtogetthetwomenoneachsideofhimtoholdeachother’shands,insteadofhis,andthathewasthusfreetoperformhisantics。IamverygladthatIissuedmyukasetoyoutoattend。

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