i866— 1872] SEXUAL SELECTION "JJ 



yet why has not the protective beauty of the femali b< ( n Letter 442 

 transferred by inheritance to the male? The beauty would 

 be a gain to the male, as far as we can sec, as a prot< ction ; 

 and I cannot believe that it would be repulsive t<- the 

 female as she became beautiful. But we shall never convince 

 each other. I sometimes marvel how truth progresses, so 

 difficult is it for one man to convince another, unless his 

 mind is vacant. Nevertheless, I myself to a certain extent 

 contradict my own remark, for I believe far more in the 

 importance of protection than I did before reading your 

 articlcs. 



I do not think you lay nearly stress enough in your 

 articles on what you admit in your letters : viz., " there 

 seems to be some production of vividness ... of colour in 

 the male independent of protection." This I am making a 

 chief point ; and have come to your conclusion so far that 

 I believe that intense colouring in the female sex is often 

 checked by being dangerous. 



That is an excellent remark of yours about no known 

 ca>e of male alone assuming protective colours ; but in the 

 cases in which protection has been gained by dull colours, 

 I presume that sexual selection would interfere with the 

 male losing his beauty. If the male alone had acquired 

 beauty as a protection, it would be most readily overlooked, 

 as males are so often more beautiful than their tern il 

 Moreover, I grant that the life of the male is s< mewhat 

 less precious, and thus there would be less rigorous selection 

 with the male, so he would be less likely to be made beautiful 

 through Natural Selection for protection. 1 But it seems t<> 

 me a good argument, and very good if it could be 

 thoroughly established. I do not know whether you will 

 care to read this scrawl. 



To A. R. Wallace. Letter 44 j 



Down, May 5U1 [1868?]. 

 I am afraid I have caused you a great deal of trouble in 

 writing to me at such length. I am glad to say that I agree 

 almost entirely with your summary, except that I should 



1 This does not apply to sexual selection, for the greater the excess 

 of males, and the less precious their lives, so much the better tor sexual 

 selection. [Note in original.] 



