1882.] DR. OGLE'S TRANSLATION. 427 



might go on ad infinituj7iy to the joy and instruction of the 

 world. Ever yours very sincerely, 



Charles Darwin. 



[The following letter refers to Dr. Ogle's translation of 

 Aristotle, 'On the Parts of Animals' (1882):] 



C. Darwin to IV. Ogle. 



Down, February 22, 1882. 



My dear Dr. Ogle, — You must let me thank you for 

 the pleasure which the introduction to the Aristotle book 

 has given me. I have rarely read anything which has inter- 

 ested me more, though I have not read as yet more than a 

 quarter of the book proper. 



From quotations which I had seen, I had a high notion of 



Aristotle's merits, but I had not the most remote notion what 



a wonderful man he was. Linnaeus and Cuvier have been 



my two gods, though in very different ways, but they were 



mere schoolboys to old Aristotle. How very curious, also, 



his ignorance on some points, as on muscles as the means of 



movement. I am glad that you have explained in so probable 



a manner some of the grossest mistakes attributed to him. I 



never realized, before reading your book, to what an enormous 



summation of labour we owe even our common knowledge. 



I wish old Aristotle could know what a grand Defender of 



the Faith he had found in you. Believe me, my dear Dr. 



Ogle, 



Yours very sincerely, 



Ch. Darwin. 



[In February, he received a letter and a specimen from a 

 Mr. W. D. Crick, which illustrated a curious mode of dispersal 

 of bivalve shells, namely, by closure of their valves so as to 

 hold on to the leg of a water-beetle. This class of fact had 

 a special charm for him, and he wrote to ' Nature,' describing 

 the case.* 



* * Nature,' April 6, 1882. 



