Life and Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 2

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.