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done up, can read nothing and write nothing, and cannot talk for half an
hour. I noticed the "naughty sentence" (89/2. Mr. Huxley, after speaking
of the rudimental teeth of the whale, of rudimental jaws in insects
which never bite, and rudimental eyes in blind animals, goes on: "And
we would remind those who, ignorant of the facts, must be moved by
authority, that no one has asserted the incompetence of the doctrine
of final causes, in its application to physiology and anatomy, more
strongly than our own eminent anatomist, Professor Owen, who, speaking
of such cases, says ("On the Nature of Limbs," pages 39, 40), 'I think
it will be obvious that the principle of final adaptations fails to
satisfy all the conditions of the problem.'"--"The Times," December
26th, 1859.) about Owen, though my wife saw its bearing first. Farewell
you best and worst of men!
That sentence about the bird and the fish dinners charmed us. Lyell
wrote to me--style like yours.
Have you seen the slashing article of December 26th in the "Daily News,"
against my stealing from my "master," the author of the "Vestiges?"
LETTER 90. TO J.L.A. DE QUATREFAGES. [Undated]
How I should like to know whether Milne Edwards has read the copy which
I sent him, and whether he thinks I have made a pretty good case on
our side of the question. There is no naturalist in the world for whose
opinion I have so profound a respect. Of course I am not so silly as to
expect to change his opinion.
LETTER 91. TO C. LYELL.
(91/1. The date of this letter is doubtful; but as it evidently refers
to the 2nd edition of the "Origin," which appeared on January 7th, 1860,
we believe that December 9th, 1859, is right. The letter of Sedgwick's
is doubtless that given in the "Life and Letters," II., page 247; it is
there dated December 24th, 1859, but from other evidence it was probably
written on November 24th)
[December?] 9th [1859].
I send Sedgwick's letter; it is terribly muddled, and really the first
page seems almost childish.
I am sadly over-worked, so will not write to you. I have worked in
a number of your invaluable corrections--indeed, all as far as time
permits. I infer from a letter from Huxley that Ramsay (91/2. See a
letter to Huxley, November 27th, 1859, "Life and Letters," II., page
282.) is a convert, and I am extremely glad to get pure geologists, as
they will be very few. Many thanks for your very pleasant note. What
pleasure you have given me. I believe I should have been miserable had
it not been for you and a few others, for I hear threatening of attacks
which I daresay will be severe enough. But I am sure that I can now bear
them.
LETTER 92. TO T.H. HUXLEY.
(92/1. The point here discussed is one to which Mr. Huxley attached
great, in our opinion too great, importance.)
Down, January 11th [1860?].
I fully agree that the difficulty is great, and might be made much of by
a mere advocate. Will you oblige me by reading again slowly from pages
267 to 272. (92/2. The reference is to the "Origin," Edition I.: the
section on "The Fertility of Varieties when crossed, and of their
Mongrel Offspring" occupies pages 267-72.) I may add to what is there
said, that it seems to me quite hopeless to attempt to explain why
varieties are not sterile, until we know the precise cause of sterility
in species.
Reflect for a moment on how small and on what very peculiar causes the
unequal reciprocity of fertility in the same two species must depend.
Reflect on the curious case of species more fertile with foreign pollen
than their own. Reflect on many cases which could be given, and shall
be given in my larger book (independently of hybridity) of very slight
changes of conditions causing one species to be quite sterile and not
affecting a closely allied species. How profoundly ignorant we are on
the intimate relation between conditions of life and impaired fertility
in pure species!
The only point which I might add to my short discussion on this subject,
is that I think it probable that the want of adaptation to uniform
conditions of life in our domestic varieties has played an important
part in preventing their acquiring sterility when crossed. For the want
of uniformity, and changes in the conditions of life, seem the
only cause of the elimination of sterility (when crossed) under
domestication. (92/3. The meaning which we attach to this obscure
sentence is as follows: Species in a state of nature are closely adapted
to definite conditions of life, so that the sexual constitution of
species A is attuned, as it were, to a condition different from that to
which B is attuned, and this leads to sterility. But domestic varieties
are not strictly adapted by Natural Selection to definite conditions,
and thus have less specialised sexual constitutions.) This elimination,
though admitted by many authors, rests on very slight evidence, yet I
think is very probably true, as may be inferred from the case of
dogs. Under nature it seems improbable that the differences in the
reproductive constitution, on which the sterility of any two species
when crossed depends, can be acquired directly by Natural Selection; for
it is of no advantage to the species. Such differences in reproductive
constitution must stand in correlation with some other differences; but
how impossible to conjecture what these are! Reflect on the case of
the variations of Verbascum, which differ in no other respect whatever
besides the fluctuating element of the colour of the flower, and yet it
is impossible to resist Gartner's evidence, that this difference in the
colour does affect the mutual fertility of the varieties.
The whole case seems to me far too mysterious to rest (92/4. The word
"rest" seems to be used in place of "to serve as a foundation for.") a
valid attack on the theory of modification of species, though, as you
say, it offers excellent ground for a mere advocate.
I am surprised, considering how ignorant we are on very many points,
[that] more weak parts in my book have not as yet been pointed out to
me. No doubt many will be. H.C. Watson founds his objection in MS. on
there being no limit to infinite diversification of species: I have
answered this, I think, satisfactorily, and have sent attack and answer
to Lyell and Hooker. If this seems to you a good objection, I would
send papers to you. Andrew Murray "disposes of" the whole theory by an
ingenious difficulty from the distribution of blind cave insects (92/5.
See "Life and Letters, Volume II., page 265. The reference here is to
Murray's address before the Botanical Society, Edinburgh. Mr. Darwin
seems to have read Murray's views only in a separate copy reprinted from
the "Proc. R. Soc. Edin." There is some confusion about the date of the
paper; the separate copy is dated January 16th, while in the volume of
the "Proc. R. Soc." it is February 20th. In the "Life and Letters," II.,
page 261 it is erroneously stated that these are two different papers.);
but it can, I think, be fairl |