To Lawson Tait 12 October 1881
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | (Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.)
Oct 12th 1881
My dear Sir
I owe so much to Birmingham for the very great honours which it has conferred on me, chiefly, as I believe, through you, that I greatly desire to do what you request. But in truth I cannot During my whole life I have never tried to write, excepting when my mind is full of some subject, & then I can only give the facts & draw inferences—1 I am old & cannot change my habits & I have been accustomed to work for many months or years on a subject before writing on it. I always admire & sometimes envy men, like Huxley,2 whose minds seem crammed with new ideas, which they can pour out on the shortest notice. But I am not one of those fortunate individuals.
Less than a week ago I was asked by a man, whom I wished to oblige, to do something analogous, & was forced to refuse.3 I can assure you that it causes me much regret not to do what you ask, but I feel it impossible. I could almost as easily get up & harangue a public meeting on some subject
My dear Sir | Yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin
Footnotes
Summary
Owes much to Birmingham and great honour conferred on him, but cannot write what RLT wishes.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-13394
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Robert Lawson (Lawson) Tait
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.)
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp & cov
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13394,” accessed on 24 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13394.xml