From W. S. Dallas 9 May 1879
Geological Society, | Burlington House, W.
9 May 1879
My dear Sir
Have you seen a small work just published by Hardwicke & Bogue, entitled “Evolution, old & new” by Samuel Butler? I have read but a little way in it, but the author seems to be writing the panegyric of Dr. Erasmus Darwin & his Philosophy—1 There are over 20 pages of the life of Dr. Darwin & 40 of exposition of his views & quotations from the “Zoonomia”.—2 Does not this rather take the wind out of our sails?
Believe me | yours very truly | W. S. Dallas
C. Darwin Esq G
Footnotes
Bibliography
Butler, Samuel. 1879. Evolution, old and new: or, the theories of Buffon, Dr. Erasmus Darwin, and Lamarck, as compared with that of Mr. Charles Darwin. London: Hardwicke and Bogue.
Darwin, Erasmus. 1794–6. Zoonomia; or, the laws of organic life. 2 vols. London: J. Johnson.
Erasmus Darwin. By Ernst Krause. Translated from the German by W. S. Dallas, with a preliminary notice by Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1879.
Krause, Ernst. 1879a. Erasmus Darwin, der Großvater und Vorkämpfer Charles Darwin’s: ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Descendenz-Theorie. Kosmos 4 (1878–9): 397–424.
Summary
Has CD seen Samuel Butler’s Evolution, old and new [1879], which contains a biography of Erasmus Darwin and exposition of his philosophy? "Does not this rather take the wind out of our sails?"
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-12045
- From
- William Sweetland Dallas
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Geological Society
- Source of text
- DAR 99: 106
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12045,” accessed on 20 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12045.xml
