To G. M. Asher 28 October 1879
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.
Oct 28. 79
Dear Sir,
I have resolved owing to my advanced age not to write again on such difficult subjects as the origin of Instinct, Sociology &c, & therefore cannot comply with your request.1 The subject is a very interesting one. Formerly I made many observations on the manner in which bees make their cells, & I have given an abstract of the conclusions at which I arrived in my ‘Origin of Species’.2 There can, I think, be no doubt that each bee continually regards the work of its fellow bees. I have also treated in my ‘Descent of Man’ on the origin of the conscience as being derived from the Social instinct.3
Believe me my dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Charles Darwin
Footnotes
Summary
Cannot answer questions on origin of instinct, sociology, etc. Suggests references in Origin and Descent.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-12273
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Georg Michael Asher
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- The New York Public Library. Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature.
- Physical description
- LS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12273,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12273.xml