To Armand de Quatrefages 15 January [1872]1
Down Beckenham, Kent.
Jan. 15. 1871.
My dear Sir,
I am much obliged for your very kind letter and exertions in my favour. I had thought that the publication of my last book would have destroyed all your sympathy with me; but though I estimated very highly your great liberality of mind it seems that I underrated it—2 I am gratified to hear that M. Lucaze du Thiers3 will vote for me, for I have long honoured his name.
I cannot help regretting that you should expend your valuable time in trying to obtain for me the honour of election; for I fear, judging from the last time that all your labour will be in vain.4 Whatever the result may be, I shall always retain the most lively recollection of your sympathy & kindness; & this will quite console me for my rejection.
With much respect & esteem, I remain dear Sir, | Yours truly obliged | Charles Darwin
P.S. With respect to the great stress which you lay on man walking on two legs, whilst the Quadrumana go on all fours— permit me to remind you that no one much values the great difference in the mode of locomotion &. consequently in structure between seals and the terrestrial Carnivora, or between the almost biped Kangaroos and other marsupials.
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Summary
Obliged for QdeB’s efforts [to have CD elected member of Académie Française].
With regard to stress that QdeB lays on man’s walking on two legs, no one attributes much significance to difference in mode of locomotion between seals and terrestrial Carnivora or kangaroos and other marsupials.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-8159
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Jean Louis Armand (Armand de Quatrefages) Quatrefages de Bréau
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 147: 289
- Physical description
- C 1p
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 8159,” accessed on 13 May 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-8159.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 20