288 THE SPREAD OF EVOLUTION. [ch. xiv. 



in different language in the Edinburgh Revieiv : " On every 

 side it is raising a storm of mingled wrath, wonder and ad- 

 miration." 



Haeckel seems to have been one of the first to write to 

 my father about the Descent of Man. I quote from Dar- 

 win's reply : 



" I must send you a few words to thank you for your 

 interesting, and I may truly say, charming letter. I am 

 delighted that you approve of my book, as far as you have 

 read it. I felt very great difficulty and doubt how often I 

 ought to allude to what you have published ; strictly speak- 

 ing every idea, although occurring independently to me, if 

 published by you previously ought to have appeared as if 

 taken from your works, but this would have made my book 

 very dull reading ; and I hoped that a full acknowledgment 

 at the beginning would suffice.* I cannot tell you how glad 

 I am to find that I have expressed my high admiration of 

 your labours with sufficient clearness ; I am sure that I have 

 not expressed it too strongly." 



In March he wrote to Professor Ray Lankester : 



" I think you will be glad to hear, as a proof of the in- 

 creasing liberality of England, that my book has sold won- 

 derfully .... and as yet no abuse (though some, no doubt, 

 will come, strong enough), and only contempt even in the 

 poor old Athenamm" 



About the same time he wrote to Mr. Murray : 



"Many thanks for the Nonconformist [March 8, 1871]. 

 I like to see all that is written, and it is of some real use. 

 If you hear of reviewers in out-of-the-way papers, especially 

 the religious, as Record, Guardian, Tablet, kindly inform 

 me. It is wonderful that there has been no abuse as yet. 

 On the whole, the reviews have been highly favourable." 



The following extract from a letter to Mr. Murray (April 

 13, 1871) refers to a review in the Times f : 



" I have no idea who wrote the Times^ review. He has 

 no knowledge of science, and seems to me a wind-bag full 

 of metaphysics and classics, so that I do not much regard 



* In the introduction to the Descent of Man the author wrote : " This last 

 naturalist [Haeckel] . . . has recently . . . published his Naturliche Schopf- 

 ungs-Gescliichte,'vn. which he fully discusses the genealogy of man. If this 

 work had appeared before my essay had been written, I should probably 

 never have completed it. Almost all the conclusions at which I have arrived, 

 1 find confirmed by this naturalist, whose knowledge on many points is much 

 fuller than mine." 



t April 7 and 8, 1871. 



