To Ernst Haeckel 21 January [1876]1
Down, | Beckenham, Kent.
Jan. 21st
My dear Hackel
I have read your “Arabische Corallen”,2 & it seems to me a most spirited, clear, & at the same time poetical description of coral-reefs & of their innumerable co-inhabitants. I well remember my own astonishment & enthusiasm when I first wandered over a coral-reef, but I did not admire the beauty of the many animals quite as much as you do.— I was more struck with the grandeur of the whole phenomenon,—to see a whole large island formed by the vital forces.— With respect to the formation of coral islands I think that you lay too much stress on erhebung: the wear & tear of the corals by the breakers & the action of the wind are sufficient.3 I admire as much as I did at first your admirable drawings. That any publisher should bring out so expensive a work (no English publisher would think of such a thing) shows me how popular your name must be in Germany, & I rejoice at the fact.4 As on so many previous occasions you have heaped honours high on my head.5
My dear Häckel | Yours most sincerely | Ch. Darwin
I have read R. Lankester’s article, & am glad to find that badly as I read German I had made out fairly well your most important essay.—6
Footnotes
Bibliography
Coral reefs 2d ed.: The structure and distribution of coral reefs. By Charles Darwin. Revised edition. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1874.
Coral reefs: The structure and distribution of coral reefs. Being the first part of the geology of the voyage of the Beagle, under the command of Capt. FitzRoy RN, during the years 1832 to 1836. By Charles Darwin. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1842.
Dana, James Dwight. 1872. Corals and coral islands. New York: Dodd & Mead.
Würffel, Rheinhard. 2000. Lexikon deutscher Verlage von A–Z: 1071 Verlage und 2800 Verlagssignete vom Anfang der Buchdruckerkunst bis 1945; Adressen, Daten, Fakten, Namen. Berlin: Verlag Grotesk.
Summary
EH’s Arabische Korallen is spirited, clear, and poetical. With respect to formation of islands, thinks EH lays too much stress on views of Ehrenberg. Admires drawings.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-10363
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Ernst Philipp August (Ernst) Haeckel
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Ernst-Haeckel-Haus (Bestand A-Abt. 1:1-52/ 37 [9890])
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10363,” accessed on 20 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10363.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 24