To J. V. Carus 10 November 1866
Down. | Bromley. | Kent. S.E.
Nov 10th. 1866
My dear Sir
I thank you for your extremely kind letter.1 I cannot express too strongly my satisfaction that you have undertaken the revision of the new edition, & I feel the honour which you have conferred on me. I fear that you will find the labour considerable, not only on account of the additions, but I suspect that Bronn’s translation is very defective, at least I have heard complaints on this head from quite a large number of persons.2
It would be a great gratification to me to know that the translation was a really good one, such as I have no doubt you will produce. According to our English practise you will be fully justified in entirely omitting Bronn’s appendix, & I should be very glad of its omission.3 A new edition may be looked at as a new work. I should however feel very doubtful whether you would be justified in altering this appendix by Bronn.
On the other hand you could add any thing of your own that you liked, and I should be much pleased. Should you make any additions, or append notes, it appears to me that Nägeli “Entstehung und Begriff” etc would be worth noticing, as one of the most able pamphets on the subject.4 I am however far from agreeing with him that the acquisition of certain characters, which appear to be of no service to plants, offers any great difficulty, or affords a proof of some innate tendancy in plants towards perfection.5 If you intend to notice this pamphlet, I should like to write hereafter a little more in detail on the subject.
Will you be so good as to observe that in the 2nd. German Edition I added a note to the chapter on Hybridism which note I now wish destroyed, as I believe the view to be false.6
I wish I had known when writing my Historical sketch that you had in 1853 published your views on the genealogical connection of past & present forms.7
I suppose you have the sheets of the last English edition on which I marked with pencil all the chief additions, but many little corrections of style were not marked.
Pray believe that I feel sincerely grateful for the great service & honour which you do me by the present translation.
I remain, my dear Sir | yours very sincerely | Charles Darwin
P.S. I shd. be very much pleased to possess your Photograph, & I send mine in case you should like to have a copy.—8
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Freeman, Richard Broke. 1977. The works of Charles Darwin: an annotated bibliographical handlist. 2d edition. Folkestone, Kent: William Dawson & Sons. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, Shoe String Press.
Nägeli, Carl Wilhelm von. 1865. Entstehung und Begriff der naturhistorischen Art. 2d edition. Munich: Verlag der königl. Akademie.
Origin 3d ed.: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. 3d edition, with additions and corrections. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1861.
Origin 4th ed.: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. 4th edition, with additions and corrections. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1866.
Origin 5th ed.: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. 5th edition, with additions and corrections. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1869.
Origin: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859.
Origin US ed.: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. A new edition, revised and augmented by the author. By Charles Darwin. New York: D. Appleton. 1860.
Summary
Expresses gratification that JVC is to undertake new translation and revision of German edition of the Origin.
Has heard many complaints about Bronn’s translation. JVC would be justified in omitting Bronn’s appendix.
Suggests additions and changes, including reference to C. W. v. Nägeli’s Entstehung und Begriff [1865], though he disagrees with it.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-5273
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Julius Victor Carus
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Slg. Darmstaedter Lc 1859: Darwin, Charles, Bl. 1–3
- Physical description
- LS(A) 6pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 5273,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-5273.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 14