To E. H. O’Callaghan 14 July 1879
Down, Beckenham, Kent, Railway Station Orpington S.E.R.
July 14 1879.
Dear Sir,
I will remember your remarks, but I shall never again write on such difficult subjects as that to which you refer.1 When I look to the future of the world hardly any event seems to me of such great importance as the settling of Australia, New Zealand, &c by the so called Anglo Saxons & it is very doubtful whether this would ever have occured, had there not been severe pressure on the population. From what I have seen (& from what Belt describes in Nicaragua) in South America I conclude that when men can procure subsistence with great ease they are apt to degenerate.2 Indeed wherever this is there is no progress. Decadence seems to follow.
Dear Sir | yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin.—
E H O’Callaghan | &c &c
Footnotes
Bibliography
Belt, Thomas. 1874a. The naturalist in Nicaragua: a narrative of a residence at the gold mines of Chontales; journeys in the savannahs and forests. With observations on animals and plants in reference to the theory of evolution of living forms. London: John Murray.
Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.
Summary
"… hardly any event seems to me of such great importance as the settling of Australia, New Zealand, &c &c by the so called Anglo Saxons". CD thinks this due to population pressure.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-12158
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- E. H. O’Callaghan
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 147: 190
- Physical description
- C 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12158,” accessed on 29 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12158.xml