CHARLES DARWIN 103 



3. In 1818 Darwin went to Dr. Butler's school at The old- 

 Shrewsbury, and remained until he was sixteen years English 

 old. He had a very poor opinion of the instruction, but sch<x>1 

 it is evident that he made more progress than the state- 

 ments in his autobiography would suggest. It is diffi- 

 cult for us to appreciate the narrowness of the curricu- 

 lum of an English school of those days, with its entire 

 emphasis on the classical language's and theology, and 

 almost total neglect of science. If the product of such 



an educational factory was better than might have been 

 expected, it was due to the invigorating influences out- 

 side the classroom and in the home. On the other' 

 hand, the translation of Latin not only served to make 

 the pupil familiar with that language but also contrib- 

 uted largely to the formation of a clear and good 

 English style, a matter of the first importance for 

 those who, like Darwin, had something of value to say. 



4. In October, 1825, Darwin went up to Edinburgh Darwin's 

 University to study medicine. Here he remained two ^5 at 

 years, and although he never took a medical degree, he Edinburgh 

 must have acquired a considerable knowledge of scien- 

 tific subjects. He wrote home that the lectures on 

 human anatomy were as dull as the lecturer himself, 



and the subject disgusted him. In after years he deeply 

 regretted that he did not dissect more diligently. For- 

 tunately, he made the acquaintance of several young 

 men interested in zoology, and the year following his 

 arrival at the University he read a paper before the 

 Plinian Society, announcing a zoological discovery of 

 his own. As it was evident that Darwin would never Cambridge 

 make a doctor, he was taken from Edinburgh and sent ^S^fL- 

 to Cambridge, with the idea of turning him into a sorHenslow 

 clergyman. At Cambridge University he was entered 

 at Christ's College, and although he passed his ex- 



