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Darwin Correspondence Project

From Laurent-Guillaume De Koninck1   19 December 1870

Liège

le 19 Xbre 1870

Mon cher Confrère,

Vous aurez sans doute déjà reçu la nouvelle officielle de votre nomination en qualité d’associé étranger de l’Académie royale des sciences de Belgique.2 Malgré cela, je ne puis resister un désir de vous feliciter de cette nomination que j’aurais été heureux de vous apprendre le premier et à laquelle j’ai pu contribuer par mon vote. L’Académie s’honore en s’associant des hommes qui comme vous, mon cher Confrère travaillant sans relâche au progrès de la science et marchent droits vers le but qu’ils se sont proposés, sans s’arrêter aux obstacles qu’ils recontrent sur leur chemin pour l’atteindre, parce qu’ils savent que là est la vérité.

Recevez, mon cher Confrère, avec mes félicitations, l’expression de ma haute estime et de mes sentiments dévoués | L. de Koninck

A Monsieur Darwin, Membre de l’Académie royale de Belgique

Footnotes

For a translation of this letter, see Correspondence vol. 18, Appendix I.

Bibliography

Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.

Translation

From Laurent-Guillaume De Koninck1   19 December 1870

Liège

19 December 1870

My dear Colleague,

You will undoubtedly already have received the official news of your nomination as foreign associate of the Académie royale des sciences of Belgium.2 In spite of that, I cannot resist the desire to congratulate you on this nomination, about which I would have been happy to have been the first to inform you and to which I was able to contribute with my vote. The Academy does itself honour by associating itself with men like you, my dear Colleague, who work unremittingly for scientific progress and head straight for the goal they have set themselves, without stopping at obstacles they encounter on the way, because they know that truth lies there.

Please accept along with my congratulations, my dear Colleague, the expression of my high esteem and devoted regards | L. de Koninck

To Mr Darwin, Member of the Académie royale of Belgium

Footnotes

For a transcription of this letter in its original French, see p. 322.

Bibliography

Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.

Summary

Congratulates CD on his election to L’Académie Royale de Belgique.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-7398
From
Laurent-Guillaume De Koninck
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
Liège
Source of text
DAR 169: 51
Physical description
ALS 2pp (French)

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 7398,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-7398.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 18

letter