My dear Darwin

I cannot move you a bit though I have been immensely wordy— sometimes I have been betrayed into something approaching to a joke, but then you will have definitions— you nail me to the stake and grumble because I wriggle a bit— Well I forgive you— That’s capital say you— “when you have been— “how much does it come to—” ‘thirteen pence Sir—” “theres a shilling, my man, you make keep the odd penny—” — Well, I will explain what I am aiming at when I attempt to arrange a group in a natural manner—or, in other words, when I attempt a Natural Classification—¹ I think a number of animals may be so arranged as to display (symbolically by their relative positions) a great many known facts relating to their structure, habits, and geographical distribution; and, in proportion as those facts are thus symbolically represented, so in proportion does the classification approach to my idea of a natural one— But as the term ‘natural’ certainly has a very vague meaning when thus used, I have no objection to apply the word ‘useful’ instead— In using the word natural for a kind of classification I merely follow others— it is no doubt presumptuous— But after all I do not see why we should not set up a kind of artificial standard of perfection in classification—, though we may be puzzled to define what that standard is— we know that some classifications are worse than others, and although we do not know what perfection would be, we may for convenience call the top ‘x’ or ‘natural’:—‘arbitrary’ and ‘artificial’ are the terms applied to the bottom—or to classifications of animals which generalize only trivial characters— we may for an extreme case suppose a grouping of the Carnivora according to the colouring of the species—that would be what I should term an extremely artificial classification since it only teaches one point, & that we know by experience to be a comparatively unimportant one—

Your next question is what do I mean by low groups— Those which are furthest removed from a certain standard of perfection—man, I call the lowest— each animal is, taken by itself, perfect, but it is obvious that one may be further removed from a certain type than another— thus one might say, I believe with truth, that man is composed of millions of monads, & something more—

“Relationship”—by relationship I merely mean resemblance— I use it in a most vague way— Naturalists say one animal may have a relationship of affinity with another, or it may have a relationship of analogy without there being any true affinity—² I am very much puzzled about this matter & use the term relationship as a ‘go between’ when I find cases of difficulty— When however I say one animal is nearly related to another, I mean that the two agree in several important points, & the relationship is more distant when there are few points of resemblance and those comparatively unimportant—

The Aptera (or Lice) appear to me to be most closely linked to the Diptera by means of the Nycteribiæ — by several authors these parasitic insects have been placed in the Order Aptera but Latreille³ “with that remarkable sagacity (says Westwood) which he so constantly displayed, placed them in the order Diptera, next to Hippobosca”—⁴

Believe me | Ever sincerely yours | Geo. R. Waterhouse

I will take care of your last letter & others—& return mine— I merely wish to extract the heads or subjects as matters for future consideration—

I am going to see Robert Brown (as he is always called) by desire of M^r Lyell, about the British Museum Question— he yielded a most unwilling consent to Lyell to see me— M^r L. wishes me to take with me a copy of the minutes relating to the my discharge from the Zool. Soc.— The minutes of the Receipt & Expenditure Committee which recommended my discarge are kept locked up by M^r Ogilby⁵ and have been seen by none of the officers, but I am informed it is put entirely upon grounds of economy— it was thought by the Com^ee. that Fraser⁶ (at a lower salary than mine) w^d. be enough to take care of the Museum and as regards correspondence & the Transactions &c M^r Ogilby offered his services for nothing— This is now knocked on the head as it should be— I mean to request a copy of the minute from the counsil, but I know Ogilby will do his best to prevent my obtaining it, his offer being refused.

You shall hear about these matters—