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From Michele Lessona   5 August 18711

Ro Museo Zoologico | Torino

5 Août 1871

Monsieur

Je dois tout d’abord vous prier de vouloir bien me pardonner si je vous écris en français. C’est une mauvaise recommandation que je me fais à moi même près de vous. Mais je ne me sens pas le courage d’écrire dans sa langue à un écrivain de vôtre force. J’emploierai donc le français, qui est encore (quoique probablement pour très peu de temps,) le langage diplomatique.2

L’Osso malare, ou osso zigomatico, est pour les italiens l’os malare des anatomistes— Si le critique anglais avait lu le mémoire de Monsieur Canestrini, il aurait pu voir qu’aucun doute n’est possible— Je vous envoie avec cette lettre un mémoire de mon collègue M. De Lorenzi, qui a trouvé des traces très frequentes de division de l’os malaire dans des crânes tout-à-fait modernes3

J’ai fait les corrections que vous avez eu l’obligeance de m’indiquer: mais en italien il n’y a que le mot diti pour fingers, digits, toes … 4

Permettez moi un mot sur votre note 25, Cap. VI. M. Günther croit que l’hermaphrodisme n’est pas l’état normal des Serranus. J’ai examiné a Gênes quelque 30 à 40 Serranus scriba et cabrilla au temps de la reproduction, j’ai toujours trouvé la disposition caracthéristique indiquée par Cavolini d’abord, puis par les autres— Selon mes observations, l’hermaphrodisme serait normal dans le Serranus.5

Veuillez, Monsieur, agréer mes vifs remerciments, et me croire | Tout à vous | Michele Lessona

Mr. Charles Darwin—

CD annotations

4.1 Permettez … Serranus. 4.5] double scored blue crayon
Top of letter: ‘(Descent of Man)’ pencil, square brackets in MS

Footnotes

1
For a translation of this letter, see Correspondence vol. 19, Appendix I.
2
French was the international language of diplomacy from the early eighteenth century to the early twentieth century (Encyclopedia of language and linguistics, p. 630). Lessona himself was a native Italian speaker and was translating Descent into Italian (see n. 4, below).
3
St George Jackson Mivart, in an anonymous review of Descent, accused CD of having mistakenly referred to the malar bone when he meant the premaxilla ([Mivart] 1871c, p. 64). The malar bone or zygomatic bone is the most prominent bone in the cheek; the premaxilla is part of the upper jaw (OED). Lessona also refers to Giovanni Canestrini and to Canestrini 1867. CD had argued, citing Canestrini 1867, that the malar bone, which is commonly in two parts in quadrumana, is also in two parts in the human foetus, normally fusing before birth (Descent 1: 124). CD expanded his argument in Descent 2d ed., pp. 39–40 and n. 40 in response to the review. Giovanni de Lorenzi had written a paper on rare anomalies in the malar bone (Lorenzi 1871). CD cited a subsequent paper by Lorenzi describing three new cases (Lorenzi 1872) in the expanded discussion in the second edition of Descent; his annotated copy of that paper is in the Darwin Pamphlet Collection–CUL.
4
No earlier correspondence between CD and Lessona has been found. Lessona was translating Descent into Italian, and incorporating corrections sent by CD (Lessona trans. 1871; see also letter from Luigi Pomba, 6 May 1871, and letter to Luigi Pomba, 10 May 1871). In the first edition of Descent, CD referred to the fused ‘digits’ of the gibbon Hylobates syndactylus, but, following criticism in Mivart’s anonymous review ([Mivart] 1871c, p. 66), where he was assumed to be referring to the gibbon’s fingers, clarified this in the second edition by replacing ‘digits’ with ‘toes’ (Descent 1: 140 n. 63; Descent 2d ed., p. 51 n. 71).
5
See Descent 1: 208 n. 25. CD expanded the note in the second edition of Descent, citing this letter and referring to Lessona’s confirmation of the observations of Filippo Cavolini that Serranus, a genus of sea bass, was always hermaphroditic (Descent 2d ed., p. 161 n. 28; see also Cavolini 1787, and letter from Hermanus Hartogh Heijs van Zouteveen, 2 March 1871 and n. 10). For Albert Günther’s views, see also Correspondence vol. 18, letter to George Cupples, 3 November [1870].

Bibliography

Canestrini, Giovanni. 1867. Caratteri anomali e rudimentale in ordine all’origine dell’uomo. Annuario della Società dei Naturalisti in Modena 2: 81–99.

Cavolini, Filippo. 1787. Memoria sulla generazione dei pesci e dei granchi. Naples: [n.p.].

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

Descent 2d ed.: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2d edition. London: John Murray. 1874.

Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.

Lorenzi, Giovanni de. 1871. Caso di rara anomalia dell’osso malare. Giornale della Regia Accademia di Torino. 3d ser. 10: [n.p.]

Lorenzi, Giovanni de. 1872. Tre nuovi casi d’anomalia dell’osso malare. Giornale della Regia Accademia di Medicina di Torino. Turin: Tipografia V. Vercellino.

OED: The Oxford English dictionary. Being a corrected re-issue with an introduction, supplement and bibliography of a new English dictionary. Edited by James A. H. Murray, et al. 12 vols. and supplement. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1970. A supplement to the Oxford English dictionary. 4 vols. Edited by R. W. Burchfield. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1972–86. The Oxford English dictionary. 2d edition. 20 vols. Prepared by J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1989. Oxford English dictionary additional series. 3 vols. Edited by John Simpson et al. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1993–7.

Translation

From Michele Lessona   5 August 18711

Ro Museo Zoologico | Torino

5 August 1871

Dear Sir

First of all I must ask you to forgive me for writing to you in French. I am making a bad recommendation of myself to you. But I do not feel that I have the courage to write in his own language to a writer of your power. So I shall use French, which is still (though probably not for much longer,) the diplomatic language.2

Osso malare, or osso zigomatico, is Italian for the anatomists’ os malare— If the English critic had read the memoir by Mr Canestrini, he would have seen that there is no possibility of doubt— I am sending you with this letter a memoir by my colleague M. De Lorenzi, who has found very frequent traces of division in the malar bone in completely modern crania.3

I have made the corrections which you were so obliging as to point out: but in Italian there is only one word, diti, for fingers, digits, toes…4

Allow me a word concerning your note 25, Chap. VI. Mr Günther believes that hermaphroditism is not the normal state of Serranus. At Genoa, I examined some 30 to 40 Serranus scriba and cabrilla during the reproductive period, and I always found this characteristic disposition shown by Cavolini first, then by others— According to my observations, hermaphroditism is normal in Serranus.5

Please accept my warmest thanks, dear Sir, and believe me | At your service | Michele Lessona

Mr. Charles Darwin

Footnotes

1
For a transcription of this letter in its original French, see Transcript.
2
French was the international language of diplomacy from the early eighteenth century to the early twentieth century (Encyclopedia of language and linguistics, p. 630). Lessona himself was a native Italian speaker and was translating Descent into Italian (see n. 4, below).
3
St George Jackson Mivart, in an anonymous review of Descent, accused CD of having mistakenly referred to the malar bone when he meant the premaxilla ([Mivart] 1871c, p. 64). The malar bone or zygomatic bone is the most prominent bone in the cheek; the premaxilla is part of the upper jaw (OED). Lessona also refers to Giovanni Canestrini and to Canestrini 1867. CD had argued, citing Canestrini 1867, that the malar bone, which is commonly in two parts in quadrumana, is also in two parts in the human foetus, normally fusing before birth (Descent 1: 124). CD expanded his argument in Descent 2d ed., pp. 39–40 and n. 40 in response to the review. Giovanni de Lorenzi had written a paper on rare anomalies in the malar bone (Lorenzi 1871). CD cited a subsequent paper by Lorenzi describing three new cases (Lorenzi 1872) in the expanded discussion in the second edition of Descent; his annotated copy of that paper is in the Darwin Pamphlet Collection–CUL.
4
No earlier correspondence between CD and Lessona has been found. Lessona was translating Descent into Italian, and incorporating corrections sent by CD (Lessona trans. 1871; see also letter from Luigi Pomba, 6 May 1871, and letter to Luigi Pomba, 10 May 1871). In the first edition of Descent, CD referred to the fused ‘digits’ of the gibbon Hylobates syndactylus, but, following criticism in Mivart’s anonymous review ([Mivart] 1871c, p. 66), where he was assumed to be referring to the gibbon’s fingers, clarified this in the second edition by replacing ‘digits’ with ‘toes’ (Descent 1: 140 n. 63; Descent 2d ed., p. 51 n. 71).
5
See Descent 1: 208 n. 25. CD expanded the note in the second edition of Descent, citing this letter and referring to Lessona’s confirmation of the observations of Filippo Cavolini that Serranus, a genus of sea bass, was always hermaphroditic (Descent 2d ed., p. 161 n. 28; see also Cavolini 1787, and letter from Hermanus Hartogh Heijs van Zouteveen, 2 March 1871 and n. 10). For Albert Günther’s views, see also Correspondence vol. 18, letter to George Cupples, 3 November [1870].

Bibliography

Canestrini, Giovanni. 1867. Caratteri anomali e rudimentale in ordine all’origine dell’uomo. Annuario della Società dei Naturalisti in Modena 2: 81–99.

Cavolini, Filippo. 1787. Memoria sulla generazione dei pesci e dei granchi. Naples: [n.p.].

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

Descent 2d ed.: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2d edition. London: John Murray. 1874.

Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.

Lorenzi, Giovanni de. 1871. Caso di rara anomalia dell’osso malare. Giornale della Regia Accademia di Torino. 3d ser. 10: [n.p.]

Lorenzi, Giovanni de. 1872. Tre nuovi casi d’anomalia dell’osso malare. Giornale della Regia Accademia di Medicina di Torino. Turin: Tipografia V. Vercellino.

OED: The Oxford English dictionary. Being a corrected re-issue with an introduction, supplement and bibliography of a new English dictionary. Edited by James A. H. Murray, et al. 12 vols. and supplement. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1970. A supplement to the Oxford English dictionary. 4 vols. Edited by R. W. Burchfield. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1972–86. The Oxford English dictionary. 2d edition. 20 vols. Prepared by J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1989. Oxford English dictionary additional series. 3 vols. Edited by John Simpson et al. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1993–7.

Summary

On the malar bone [see Descent 1: 124].

Has verified hermaphroditism of Serranus and other fishes as normal [see Descent 1: 208].

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-7901
From
Michele Lessona
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
R. Museo Zoologico Turin
Source of text
DAR 87: 193
Physical description
ALS 1p (French) †

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 7901,” accessed on 20 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-7901.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 19

letter

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