14 LIFE OF 



and his moral standpoint is shown by the declaration that 

 " the sacred maxims of the author of Christianity, ' Do 

 as you would be done by,' and ' Love your neighbour as 

 yourself,' include all our duties of benevolence and 

 morality ; and if sincerely obeyed by all nations, would 

 a thousandfold multiply the present happiness of man- 

 kind" ("Temple of Nature," 1803, p. 124). His prin- 

 cipal poetical writings were "The Botanic Garden," in 

 two parts ; Part I. containing " The Economy of Vege- 

 tation," first published in 1790; and Part II., "The 

 Loves of the Plants," in 1788, before the first part had 

 appeared. "The Temple of Nature, or the Origin of 

 Society," was published after his death, in 1803. His 

 chief prose works are " Zoonomia, or the Laws of Organic 

 Life," in two volumes, 1794-6, the second volume being 

 exclusively medical ; and " Phytologia, or the Philosophy 

 of Agriculture and Gardening," 1800. All these books 

 are in quarto, with plates. His views on species are 

 referred to on pages 66 and 67. 



Robert Waring Darwin, third son of Erasmus by his 

 first wife, Mary Howard, was born in 1766. As a boy he 

 was brought much into association with the Wedgwoods 

 of Stoke, Josiah Wedgwood being one of Erasmus 

 Darwin's most intimate friends. In 1779 Robert, already 

 destined to be a doctor, stayed at Etruria for some time, 

 sharing with Wedgwood's children in Warltire's private 

 chemical instruction ; and Josiah Wedgwood wrote at 

 this time : " The boys drink in knowledge like water, 

 with great avidity." Before he was twenty Robert Darwin 

 had taken his medical degree with distinction at Edin- 

 burgh, where he had the advantage of the lectures oi 



