To Henry Holland 6 November [1864]1
Down. | Bromley. | Kent. S.E.
Nov. 6th
My dear Sir Henry
I thank you cordially for your most kind note & for your congratulations on the honour which the Royal Society has done me.2
I have just read H. Spencer’s work: it strikes me as extremely clever, & yet, I cannot tell why, I never feel much wiser, when I have finished reading him.—3
I am, I hope, decidedly getting better, but fear that I shall never reach my former modicum of strength: I am, however, able to do a little work in Natural History every day. I was very ill for about ten months with incessant vomiting, which became bad when you were in America last year. How wonderful your strength & vigour of interest are: I had heard of your Gibraltar expedition.—4
With most sincere thanks for your never-failing kindness, I remain | My dear Sir Henry | Yours most sincerely | and obliged | Charles Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Spencer, Herbert. 1860–2. First principles. London: George Manwaring; Williams & Norgate.
Spencer, Herbert. 1864–7. The principles of biology. 2 vols. London: Williams & Norgate.
Summary
Thanks for congratulations on award of Copley Medal by the Royal Society.
Discusses his long period of ill health.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-4661F
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Henry Holland, 1st baronet
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Peter Harrington (dealer) (September 2020)
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 4661F,” accessed on 17 August 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-4661F.xml