Чарльз Дарвин
Life and Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 2
Once again allow me to thank you for having sent me your work, and for the very unusual amount of pleasure which I have received in reading it.
With much respect, I remain, my dear Sir,
Yours very sincerely, CHARLES DARWIN.
[The last revise of the 'Expression of the Emotions' was finished on August 22nd, 1872, and he wrote in his Diary: — "Has taken me about twelve months." As usual he had no belief in the possibility of the book being generally successful. The following passage in a letter to Haeckel gives the impression that he had felt the writing of this book as a somewhat severe strain: —
"I have finished my little book on 'Expression,' and when it is published in November I will of course send you a copy, in case you would like to read it for amusement. I have resumed some old botanical work, and perhaps I shall never again attempt to discuss theoretical views.
"I am growing old and weak, and no man can tell when his intellectual powers begin to fail. Long life and happiness to you for your own sake and for that of science."
It was published in the autumn. The edition consisted of 7000, and of these 5267 copies were sold at Mr. Murray's sale in November. Two thousand were printed at the end of the year, and this proved a misfortune, as they did not afterwards sell so rapidly, and thus a mass of notes collected by the author was never employed for a second edition during his lifetime.
Among the reviews of the 'Expression of the Emotions' may be mentioned the unfavourable notices in the "Athenaeum", November 9, 1872, and the "Times", December 13, 1872. A good review by Mr. Wallace appeared in the 'Quarterly Journal of Science,' January 1873. Mr. Wallace truly remarks that the book exhibits certain "characteristics of the author's mind in an eminent degree," namely, "the insatiable longing to discover the causes of the varied and complex phenomena presented by living things." He adds that in the case of the author "the restless curiosity of the child to know the 'what for?' the 'why?' and the 'how?' of everything" seems "never to have abated its force."
A writer in one of the theological reviews describes the book as the most "powerful and insidious" of all the author's works.
Professor Alexander Bain criticised the book in a postscript to the 'Senses and the Intellect;' to this essay the following letter refers:]
CHARLES DARWIN TO ALEXANDER BAIN. Down, October 9, 1873.
My dear Sir,
I am particularly obliged to you for having send me your essay. Your criticisms are all written in a quite fair spirit, and indeed no one who knows you or your works would expect anything else. What you say about the vagueness of what I have called the direct action of the nervous system, is perfectly just. I felt it so at the time, and even more of late. I confess that I have never been able fully to grasp your principle of spontaneity, as well as some other of your points, so as to apply them to special cases. But as we look at everything from different points of view, it is not likely that we should agree closely. (Professor Bain expounded his theory of Spontaneity in the essay here alluded to. It would be impossible to do justice to it within the limits of a foot-note. The following quotations may give some notion of it: —
"By Spontaneity I understand the readiness to pass into movement in the absence of all stimulation whatever; the essential requisite being that the nerve-centres and muscles shall be fresh and vigorous... The gesticulations and the carols of young and active animals are mere overflow of nervous energy; and although they are very apt to concur with pleasing emotion, they have an independent source... They are not properly movements of expression; they express nothing at all except an abundant stock of physical power.")
I have been greatly pleased by what you say about the crying expression and about blushing. Did you read a review in a late 'Edinburgh?' (The review on the 'Expression of the Emotions' appeared in the April number of the 'Edinburgh Review,' 1873. The opening sentence is a fair sample of the general tone of the article: "Mr. Darwin has added another volume of amusing stories and grotesque illustrations to the remarkable series of works already devoted to the exposition and defence of the evolutionary hypothesis." A few other quotations may be worth giving. "His one-sided devotion to an a priori scheme of interpretation seems thus steadily tending to impair the author's hitherto unrivalled powers as an observer. However this may be, most impartial critics will, we think, admit that there is a marked falling off both in philosophical tone and scientific interest in the works produced since Mr. Darwin committed himself to the crude metaphysical conception so largely associated with his name." The article is directed against Evolution as a whole, almost as much as against the doctrines of the book under discussion. We find throughout plenty of that effective style of criticism which consists in the use of such expressions as "dogmatism," "intolerance," "presumptuous," "arrogant." Together with accusations of such various faults a "virtual abandonment of the inductive method," and the use of slang and vulgarisms.
The part of the article which seems to have interested my father is the discussion on the use which he ought to have made of painting and sculpture.) It was magnificently contemptuous towards myself and many others.
I retain a very pleasant recollection of our sojourn together at that delightful place, Moor Park.
With my renewed thanks, I remain, my dear Sir,
Yours sincerely, CH. DARWIN.
CHARLES DARWIN TO MRS. HALIBURTON. (Mrs. Haliburton was a daughter of my father's old friend, Mr. Owen of Woodhouse. Her husband, Judge Haliburton, was the well-known author of 'Sam Slick.') Down, November 1 [1872].
My dear Mrs. Haliburton,
I dare say you will be surprised to hear from me. My object in writing now is to say that I have just published a book on the 'Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals;' and it has occurred to me that you might possibly like to read some parts of it; and I can hardly think that this would have been the case with any of the books which I have already published. So I send by this post my present book. Although I have had no communication with you or the other members of your family for so long a time, no scenes in my whole life pass so frequently or so vividly before my mind as those which relate to happy old days spent at Woodhouse. I should very much like to hear a little news about yourself and the other members of your family, if you will take the trouble to write to me. Formerly I used to glean some news about you from my sisters.
I have had many years of bad health and have not been able to visit anywhere; and now I feel very old. As long as I pass a perfectly uniform life, I am able to do some daily work in Natural History, which is still my passion, as it was in old days, when you used to laugh at me for collecting beetles with such zeal at Woodhouse. Excepting from my continued il-health, which has excluded me from society, my life has been a very happy one; the greatest drawback being that several of my children have inherited from me feeble health. I hope with all my heart that you retain, at least to a large extent, the famous "Owen constitution." With sincere feelings of gratitude and affection for all bearing the name of Owen, I venture to sign myself,
Yours affectionately, CHARLES DARWIN.
CHARLES DARWIN TO MRS. HALIBURTON. Down, November 6 [1872].
My dear Sarah,
I have been very much pleased by your letter, which I must call charming. I hardly ventured to think that you would have retained a friendly recollection of me for so many years. Yet I ought to have felt assured that you would remain as warm-hearted and as true-hearted as you have ever been from my earliest recollection. I know well how many grievous sorrows you have gone through; but I am very sorry to hear that your health is not good. In the spring or summer, when the weather is better, if you can summon up courage to pay us a visit here, both my wife, as she desires me to say, and myself, would be truly glad to see you, and I know that you would not care about being rather dull here. It would be a real pleasure to me to see you. — Thank you much for telling about your family, — much of which was new to me. How kind you all were to me as a boy, and you especially, and how much happiness I owe to you. Believe me your affectionate and obliged friend,
CHARLES DARWIN.
P.S. — Perhaps you would like to see a photograph of me now that I am old.
1873.
[The only work (other than botanical) of this year was the preparation of a second edition of the 'Descent of Man,' the publication of which is referred to in the following chapter. This work was undertaken much against the grain, as he was at the time deeply immersed in the manuscript of 'Insectivorous Plants.' Thus he wrote to Mr. Wallace (November 19), "I never in my lifetime regretted an interruption so much as this new edition of the 'Descent.'" And later (in December) he wrote to Mr. Huxley: "The new edition of the 'Descent' has turned out an awful job. It took me ten days merely to glance over letters and reviews with criticisms and new facts. It is a devil of a job."
The work was continued until April 1, 1874, when he was able to return to his much loved Drosera. He wrote to Mr. Murray: —
"I have at last finished, after above three months as hard work as I have ever had in my life, a corrected edition of the 'Descent,' and I much wish to have it printed off as soon as possible. As it is to be stereotyped I shall never touch it again."
The first of the miscellaneous letters of 1873 refers to a pleasant visit received from Colonel Higginson of Newport, U.S.]
CHARLES DARWIN TO THOS. WENTWORTH HIGGINSON. Down, February 27th [1873].
My dear Sir,
My wife has just finished reading aloud your 'Life with a Black Regiment,' and you must allow me to thank you heartily for the very great pleasure which it has in many ways given us. I always thought well of the negroes, from the little which I have seen of them; and I have been delighted to have my vague impressions confirmed, and their character and mental powers so ably discussed. When you were here I did not know of the noble position which you had filled. I had formerly read about the black regiments, but failed to connect your name with your admirable undertaking. Although we enjoyed greatly your visit to Down, my wife and myself have over and over again regretted that we did not know about the black regiment, as we should have greatly liked to have heard a little about the South from your own lips.
Your descriptions have vividly recalled walks taken forty years ago in Brazil. We have your collected Essays, which were kindly sent us by Mr. [Moncure] Conway, but have not yet had time to read them. I occasionally glean a little news of you in the 'Index'; and within the last hour have read an interesting article of yours on the progress of Free Thought.
Believe me, my dear sir, with sincere admiration, Yours very faithfully, CH. DARWIN.
[On May 28th he sent the following answers to the questions that Mr. Galton was at that time addressing to various scientific men, in the course of the inquiry which is given in his 'English Men of Science, their Nature and Nurture,' 1874. With regard to the questions my father wrote, "I have filled up the answers as well as I could, but it is simply impossible for me to estimate the degrees." For the sake of convenience, the questions and answers relating to "Nurture" are made to precede those on "Nature":
NURTURE. EDUCATION?
How taught? I consider that all I have learnt of any value has been sel-taught.
Conducive to or restrictive of habits of observation? Restrictive of observation, being almost entirely classical.
Conducive to health or otherwise? Yes.
Peculiar merits? None whatever.
Chief omissions? No mathematics or modern languages, nor any habits of observation or reasoning.
RELIGION.
Has the religious creed taught in your youth had any deterrent effect on the freedom of your researches? No.
SCIENTIFIC TASTES.
Do your scientific tastes appear to have been innate? Certainly innate.
Were they determined by any and what events? My innate taste for natural history strongly confirmed and directed by the voyage in the "Beagle".
NATURE.
Specify any interests that have been very actively pursued. Science, and field sports to a passionate degree during youth.
(C.D. = CHARLES DARWIN, R.D. = ROBERT DARWIN, his father.)
RELIGION?
C.D. — Nominally to Church of England. R.D. — Nominally to Church of England.
POLITICS?
C.D. — Liberal or Radical. R.D. — Liberal.
HEALTH?
C.D. — Good when young — bad for last 33 years. R.D. — Good throughout life, except from gout.
HEIGHT, ETC?
C.D. — 6ft. Figure, etc.? — Spare, whilst young rather stout. Measurement round inside of hat? — 22 1/4 in. Colour of Hair? — Brown. Complexion? — Rather sallow. R.D. — 6ft. 2 in. Figure, etc? — Very broad and corpulent. Colour of hair? — Brown. Complexion? — Ruddy.
TEMPERAMENT?
C.D. — Somewhat nervous. R.D. — Sanguine.
ENERGY OF BODY, ETC.?
C.D. — Energy shown by much activity, and whilst I had health, power of resisting fatigue. I and one other man were alone able to fetch water for a large party of officers and sailors utterly prostrated. Some of my expeditions in S. America were adventurous. An early riser in the morning. R.D. — Great power of endurance although feeling much fatigue, as after consultations after long journeys; very active — not restless — very early riser, no travels. My father said his father suffered much from sense of fatigue, that he worked very hard.
ENERGY OF MIND, ETC.?
C.D. — Shown by rigorous and long-continued work on same subject, as 20 years on the 'Origin of Species,' and 9 years on 'Cirripedia.' R.D. — Habitually very active mind — shown in conversation with a succession of people during the whole day.
MEMORY?
C.D. — Memory very bad for dates, and for learning by rote; but good in retaining a general or vague recollection of many facts. R.D. — Wonderful memory for dates. In old age he told a person, reading aloud to him a book only read in youth, the passages which were coming — knew the birthdays and death, etc., of all friends and acquaintances.
STUDIOUSNESS?
C.D. — Very studious, but not large acquirements. R.D. — Not very studious or mentally receptive, except for facts in conversation — great collector of anecdotes.
INDEPENDENCE OF JUDGMENT?
C.D. — I think fairly independent; but I can give no instances. I gave up common religious belief almost independently from my own reflections. R.D. — Free thinker in religious matters. Liberal, with rather a tendency to Toryism.
ORIGINALITY OR ECCENTRICITY?
C.D. — Thinks this applies to me; I do not think so — i.e., as far as eccentricity. I suppose that I have shown originality in science, as I have made discoveries with regard to common objects. R.D. — Original character, had great personal influence and power of producing fear of himself in others. He kept his accounts with great care in a peculiar way, in a number of separate little books, without any general ledger.
SPECIAL TALENTS?
C.D. — None, except for business as evinced by keeping accounts, replies to correspondence, and investing money very well. Very methodical in all my habits. R.D. — Practical business — made a large fortune and incurred no losses.
STRONGLY MARKED MENTAL PECULIARITIES, BEARING ON SCIENTIFIC SUCCESS, AND NOT SPECIFIED ABOVE?
C.D. — Steadiness — great curiosity about facts and their meaning. Some love of the new and marvellous. R.D. — Strong social affection and great sympathy in the pleasures of others. Sceptical as to new things. Curious as to facts. Great foresight. Not much public spirit — great generosity in giving money and assistance.
N.B. — I find it quite impossible to estimate my character by your degrees.
The following letter refers inter alia to a letter which appeared in 'Nature' (September 25, 1873), "On the Males and Complemental Males of certain Cirripedes, and on Rudimentary Organs: "]
CHARLES DARWIN TO E. HAECKEL. Down, September 25, 1873.
My dear Haeckel,
I thank you for the present of your book ('Schopfungs-geschichte,' 4th edition. The translation ('The History of Creation') was not published until 1876.), and I am heartily glad to see its great success. You will do a wonderful amount of good in spreading the doctrine of Evolution, supporting it as you do by so many original observations. I have read the new preface with very great interest. The delay in the appearance of the English translation vexes and surprises me, for I have never been able to read it thoroughly in German, and I shall assuredly do so when it appears in English. Has the problem of the later stages of reduction of useless structures ever perplexed you? This problem has of late caused me much perplexity. I have just written a letter to 'Nature' with a hypothetical explanation of this difficulty, and I will send you the paper with the passage marked. I will at the same time send a paper which has interested me; it need not be returned. It contains a singular statement bearing on so-called Spontaneous Generation. I much wish that this latter question could be settled, but I see no prospect of it. If it could be proved true this would be most important to us...
Wishing you every success in your admirable labours,
I remain, my dear Haeckel, yours very sincerely, CHARLES DARWIN.
CHAPTER 2.VIII. — MISCELLANEA
INCLUDING SECOND EDITIONS OF 'CORAL REEFS,' THE 'DESCENT OF MAN,' AND THE 'VARIATION OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS.'
1874 AND 1875.
[The year 1874 was given up to 'Insectivorous Plants,' with the exception of the months devoted to the second edition of the 'Descent of Man,' and with the further exception of the time given to a second edition of his 'Coral Reefs' (1874). The Preface to the latter states that new facts have been added, the whole book revised, and "the latter chapters almost rewritten." In the Appendix some account is given of Professor Semper's objections, and this was the occasion of correspondence between that naturalist and my father. In Professor Semper's volume, 'Animal Life' (one of the International Series), the author calls attention to the subject in the following passage which I give in German, the published English translation being, as it seems to me, incorrect: "Es scheint mir als ob er in der zweiten Ausgabe seines allgemein bekannten Werks uber Korallenriffe einem Irrthume uber meine Beobachtungen zum Opfer gefallen ist, indem er die Angaben, die ich allerdings bisher immer nur sehr kurz gehalten hatte, vollstandig falsch wiedergegeben hat."
The proof-sheets containing this passage were sent by Professor Semper to my father before 'Animal Life' was published, and this was the occasion for the following letter, which was afterwards published in Professor Semper's book.]
CHARLES DARWIN TO K. SEMPER. Down, October 2, 1879.
My dear Professor Semper,
I thank you for your extremely kind letter of the 19th, and for the proo-sheets. I believe that I understand all, excepting one or two sentences, where my imperfect knowledge of German has interfered. This is my sole and poor excuse for the mistake which I made in the second edition of my 'Coral' book. Your account of the Pellew Islands is a fine addition to our knowledge on coral reefs. I have very little to say on the subject, even if I had formerly read your account and seen your maps, but had known nothing of the proofs of recent elevation, and of your belief that the islands have not since subsided. I have no doubt that I should have considered them as formed during subsidence. But I should have been much troubled in my mind by the sea not being so deep as it usually is round atolls, and by the reef on one side sloping so gradually beneath the sea; for this latter fact, as far as my memory serves me, is a very unusual and almost unparalleled case. I always foresaw that a bank at the proper depth beneath the surface would give rise to a reef which could not be distinguished from an atoll, formed during subsidence. I must still adhere to my opinion that the atolls and barrier reefs in the middle of the Pacific and Indian Oceans indicate subsidence; but I fully agree with you that such cases as that of the Pellew Islands, if of at all frequent occurrence, would make my general conclusions of very little value. Future observers must decide between us. It will be a strange fact if there has not been subsidence of the beds of the great oceans, and if this has not affected the forms of the coral reefs.
In the last three pages of the last sheet sent I am extremely glad to see that you are going to treat of the dispersion of animals. Your preliminary remarks seem to me quite excellent. There is nothing about M. Wagner, as I expected to find. I suppose that you have seen Moseley's last book, which contains some good observations on dispersion.
I am glad that your book will appear in English, for then I can read it with ease. Pray believe me,
Yours very sincerely, CHARLES DARWIN.
[The most recent criticism on the Coral-reef theory is by Mr. Murray, one of the staff of the "Challenger", who read a paper before the Royal Society of Edinburgh, April 5, 1880. (An abstract is published in volume x. of the 'Proceedings,' page 505, and in 'Nature,' August 12, 1880.) The chief point brought forward is the possibility of the building up of submarine mountains, which may serve as foundations for coral reefs. Mr. Murray also seeks to prove that "the chief features of coral reefs and islands can be accounted for without calling in the aid of great and general subsidence." The following letter refers to this subject:]
CHARLES DARWIN TO A. AGASSIZ. Down, May 5, 1881.
... You will have seen Mr. Murray's views on the formation of atolls and barrier reefs. Before publishing my book, I thought long over the same view, but only as far as ordinary marine organisms are concerned, for at that time little was known of the multitude of minute oceanic organisms. I rejected this view, as from the few dredgings made in the "Beagle", in the south temperate regions, I concluded that shells, the smaller corals, etc., decayed, and were dissolved, when not protected by the deposition of sediment, and sediment could not accumulate in the open ocean. Certainly, shells, etc., were in several cases completely rotten, and crumbled into mud between my fingers; but you will know well whether this is in any degree common. I have expressly said that a bank at the proper depth would give rise to an atoll, which could not be distinguished from one formed during subsidence. I can, however, hardly believe in the former presence of as many banks (there having been no subsidence) as there are atolls in the great oceans, within a reasonable depth, on which minute oceanic organisms could have accumulated to the thickness of many hundred feet... Pray forgive me for troubling you at such length, but it has occurred [to me] that you might be disposed to give, after your wide experience, your judgment. If I am wrong, the sooner I am knocked on the head and annihilated so much the better. It still seems to me a marvellous thing that there should not have been much, and long continued, subsidence in the beds of the great oceans. I wish that some doubly rich millionaire would take it into his head to have borings made in some of the Pacific and Indian atolls, and bring home cores for slicing from a depth of 500 or 600 feet...
[The second edition of the 'Descent of Man' was published in the autumn of 1874. Some severe remarks on the "monistic hypothesis" appeared in the July (The review necessarily deals with the first edition of the 'Descent of Man.') number of the 'Quarterly Review' (page 45). The Reviewer expresses his astonishment at the ignorance of certain elementary distinctions and principles (e.g. with regard to the verbum mentale) exhibited, among others, by Mr. Darwin, who does not exhibit the faintest indication of having grasped them, yet a clear perception of them, and a direct and detailed examination of his facts with regard to them, "was a sine qua non for attempting, with a chance of success, the solution of the mystery as to the descent of man."
Some further criticisms of a later date may be here alluded to. In the 'Academy,' 1876 (pages 562, 587), appeared a review of Mr. Mivart's 'Lessons from Nature,' by Mr. Wallace. When considering the part of Mr. Mivart's book relating to Natural and Sexual Selection, Mr. Wallace says: "In his violent attack on Mr. Darwin's theories our author uses unusually strong language. Not content with mere argument, he expresses 'reprobation of Mr. Darwin's views'; and asserts that though he (Mr. Darwin) has been obliged, virtually, to give up his theory, it is still maintained by Darwinians with 'unscrupulous audacity,' and the actual repudiation of it concealed by the 'conspiracy of silence.'" Mr. Wallace goes on to show that these charges are without foundation, and points out that, "if there is one thing more than another for which Mr. Darwin is pre-eminent among modern literary and scientific men, it is for his perfect literary honesty, his self-abnegation in confessing himself wrong, and the eager haste with which he proclaims and even magnifies small errors in his works, for the most part discovered by himself."
The following extract from a letter to Mr. Wallace (June 17th) refers to Mr. Mivart's statement ('Lessons from Nature,' page 144) that Mr. Darwin at first studiously disguised his views as to the "bestiality of man": —
"I have only just heard of and procured your two articles in the Academy. I thank you most cordially for your generous defence of me against Mr. Mivart. In the 'Origin' I did not discuss the derivation of any one species; but that I might not be accused of concealing my opinion, I went out of my way, and inserted a sentence which seemed to me (and still so seems) to disclose plainly my belief. This was quoted in my 'Descent of Man.' Therefore it is very unjust... of Mr. Mivart to accuse me of base fraudulent concealment."
The letter which here follows is of interest in connection with the discussion, in the 'Descent of Man,' on the origin of the musical sense in man:]
CHARLES DARWIN TO E. GURNEY. (Author of 'The Power of Sound.') Down, July 8, 1876.
My dear Mr. Gurney,
I have read your article ("Some disputed Points in Music." — 'Fortnightly Review,' July, 1876.) with much interest, except the latter part, which soared above my ken. I am greatly pleased that you uphold my views to a certain extent. Your criticism of the rasping noise made by insects being necessarily rhythmical is very good; but though not made intentionally, it may be pleasing to the females from the nerve cells being nearly similar in function throughout the animal kingdom. With respect to your letter, I believe that I understand your meaning, and agree with you. I never supposed that the different degrees and kinds of pleasure derived from different music could be explained by the musical powers of our semi-human progenitors. Does not the fact that different people belonging to the same civilised nation are very differently affected by the same music, almost show that these diversities of taste and pleasure have been acquired during their individual lives? Your simile of architecture seems to me particularly good; for in this case the appreciation almost must be individual, though possibly the sense of sublimity excited by a grand cathedral, may have some connection with the vague feelings of terror and superstition in our savage ancestors, when they entered a great cavern or gloomy forest. I wish some one could analyse the feeling of sublimity. It amuses me to think how horrified some high flying aesthetic men will be at your encouraging such low degraded views as mine.
Believe me, yours very sincerely, CHARLES DARWIN.
[The letters which follow are of a miscellaneous interest. The first extract (from a letter, January 18, 1874) refers to a spiritualistic seance, held at Erasmus Darwin's house, 6 Queen Anne Street, under the auspices of a well-known medium:]
"... We had grand fun, one afternoon, for George hired a medium, who made the chairs, a flute, a bell, and candlestick, and fiery points jump about in my brother's diningroom, in a manner that astounded every one, and took away all their breaths. It was in the dark, but George and Hensleigh Wedgwood held the medium's hands and feet on both sides all the time. I found it so hot and tiring that I went away before all these astounding miracles, or jugglery, took place. How the man could possibly do what was done passes my understanding. I came downstairs, and saw all the chairs, etc., on the table, which had been lifted over the heads of those sitting round it.
The Lord have mercy on us all, if we have to believe in such rubbish. F. Galton was there, and says it was a good seance..."
