The Wallace-Darwin Correspondence 



the subject so much more concretely, and I daresay less 

 philosophically, than Wright, that we shall not interfere 

 with each other. You will think me a bigot when I say, after 

 studying Mivart, I was never before in my life so convinced 

 of the general (i.e. not in detail) truth of the views in the 

 ^' Origin." I grieve to see the omission of the words by 

 Mivart, detected by Wright.^ I complained to M. that in 

 two cases he quotes only the commencement of sentences by 

 me and thus modifies my meaning ; but I never supposed he 

 would have omitted words. There are other cases of what 

 I consider unfair treatment. I conclude with sorrow that 

 though he means to be honourable, he is so bigoted that he 

 cannot act fairly. 



I was glad to see your letter in Nature^ though I think 

 you were a little hard on the silly and presumptuous man. 



I hope that your house and grounds are progressing well, 

 and that you are in all ways flourishing. 



I have been rather seedy, but a few days in London did 

 me much good ; and my dear good wife is going to take me 

 somewhere, nolens volens, at the end of this month. 



C. Darwin. 



Holly House, Barking, E. July 12, 1871. 



Dear Darwin, — Many thanks for giving me the oppor- 

 tunity to read at my leisure the very talented article of Mr. 

 O. Wright. His criticism of Mivart, though very severe, is, 

 I think, in most cases sound; but I find the larger part of 

 the article so heavy and much of the language and argument 

 so very obscure, that I very much doubt the utility of print- 

 ing it separately. I do not think the readers of Mivart could 



1 North American Review, Vol. 113, pp. 83, 84. Chauncey Wright points out 

 that the words omitted are "essential to the point on which he [Mr. Mivart] 

 cites Mr. Darwin's authority. " It should be mentioned that the passage from 

 which words are omitted is not given within inverted commas by Mr. Mivart. — 

 See "Life and Letters of Charles Darwin," iii. 144. 



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