326 Edward Livingston Youmans. 



that which is wholly your own. Your sketch of the pre- 

 existing state of opinion, and of the irrational compromise 

 which had been made by scientific men is admirable, and 

 you bring into a vivid light their failure to recognize the 

 changed position of things that had grown up, and the 

 necessity for a total reorganization of thought. So well 

 have you put the matter that every one who reads must see 

 that such a change was impending, and that the last gen- 

 eration of scientific men, narrowly disciplined by their 

 special studies, were incapable of seeing it. You have put 

 in immense claims for me, and doubtless greatly astonished 

 your audience, and will greatly astonish also the more nu- 

 merous readers of your address. Now, however, that you 

 have given the facts in their narrative form, referring to 

 the sources and their dates, there will be, one would think, 

 no gainsaying your general assertion though, indeed, one 

 must expect that with the usual perversity many will go on 

 saying what they did before spite of its demonstrated un- 

 truth. 



I see you finally decided to have your say about Emer- 

 son. It is very pungent, and will, I should think, cause 

 considerable sensation. If, as you say, controversy has 

 been growing hot, we may expect it to grow hotter now 

 that you have added to it these burning criticisms. 



The German translation of First Principles is finished 

 and about to go to press. It strikes me that it might not 

 be amiss to prevent the erroneous idea about my relations 

 to Darwin from spreading in Germany, as it has in France 

 and elsewhere, and to this end it would be as well to send 

 a copy of your address in The World to the German trans- 

 lator, Dr. B. Vetter, Seilergasse, Dresden, Germany. Prob- 

 ably he will write a translator's preface, and he might take 

 occasion to warn readers against the error. 



