412 MISCELLANEA. [1878. 



worthy of any attention. As I have never answered criti- 

 cisms excepting those made by scientific men, I am not will- 

 ing that this letter should be published ; but I have no ob- 

 jection to your saying that you sent me the three questions, 

 and that I answered that Dr. Pusey was mistaken in imagin- 

 ing that I wrote the ' Origin ' with any relation whatever to 

 Theology. I should have thought that this would have been 

 evident to any one who had taken the trouble to read the 

 book, more especially as in the opening lines of the introduc- 

 tion I specify how the subject arose in my mind. This an- 

 swer disposes of your two other questions ; but I may add 

 that many years ago, when I was collecting facts for the 

 * Origin,' my belief in what is called a personal God was as 

 firm as that of Dr. Pusey himself, and as to the eternity of 

 matter I have never troubled myself about such insoluble 

 questions. Dr. Pusey's attack will be as powerless to retard 

 by a day the belief in Evolution, as were the virulent attacks 

 made by divines fifty years ago against Geology, and the still 

 older ones of the Catholic Church against Galileo, for the 

 public is wise enough always to follow Scientific men when 

 they agree on any subject ; and now there is almost complete 

 unanimity amongst Biologists about Evolution, though there 

 is still considerable difference as to the means, such as how 

 far natural selection has acted, and how far external condi- 

 tions, or whether there exists some mysterious innate ten- 

 dency to perfectability. I remain, dear Sir, 



Yours faithfully, 



Ch. Darwin. 



[Theologians were not the only adversaries of freedom in 

 science. On Sept. 22, 1877, Prof. Virchow delivered an ad- 

 dress at the Munich meeting of German Naturalists and 

 Physicians, which had the effect of connecting Socialism with 

 the Descent theory. This point of view was taken up by 

 anti-evolutionists to such an extent that, according to Haeckel, 

 the Kreuz Zeitung threw ''all the blame of" the "treason- 

 able attempts of the democrats Hodel and Nobiling . . . 



