July i, lyogj 



NA TURE 



THE DARWIN CELEBRATIONS AT 

 CAMBRIDGE. 



A (GENERAL account of the proceedings of the 

 -**■ Darwin celebrations at Cambridge on June 

 22-J4, and a list of distinguished delegates and other 

 representatives of science who came from the four 

 corners of the earth to proclaim the greatness of 

 Charles Darwin and his work, was given in last 

 week's Nature. As the chief speeches were de- 

 livered on the day we went to press, and on Thurs- 

 day last, we were prevented from including' any 

 report of them in the article, which, however, we are 

 now able to supplement. Short speeches . were made 

 in the Senate House on June 23, when the delegates 

 were received by the Chancellor, Lord Rayleigh, and 

 the addresses were presented ; and also at the banquet 

 given in the evening of that day. 



Eloquent as this testimony was of the universal 

 recognition of Darwin's influence upon scientific work 

 and thought, the scenes in the Senate House and in 

 the new- examination hall where the great banquet 

 was held were even more impressive. In each place 

 there was an assembly of naturalists gathered from 

 far and near charged with the spirit which animated 

 Darwin, and alert to respond to any note of appre- 

 cition of the man or his work. As more than one 

 speaker remarked, what Newton did to reduce 

 celestial movements to law and order by his discovery 

 of the law of gravitation, Darwin did for the more 

 complex world of animate things. All bodies in the 

 material universe are bound together by the bond 

 of gravitational attraction which decides their past, 

 present, or future paths; and in a similar way the 

 unifying influence in the organic world is the prin- 

 ciple of evolution established upon the foundation of 

 natural selection. 



The character and dignity of the celebration made 

 a permanent impression upon the minds of all who 

 were fortunate enough to take part in it, and the 

 occasion has been made memorable for t'ne scientific 

 world in general by the publication of a number uf 

 works relating to it. One of these, on " Darwin and 

 Modern Science," was noticed in detail last week, 

 and we now take the opportunity of referring to 

 others. 



Publications of the Darwin Centenary. 

 Each delegate was furnished with a copy of two 

 publications which will be of lasting value as souvenirs 

 of this memorable occasion. Perhaps the most re- 

 markable of the publications is the beautifully printed 

 volume issued by the Cambridge University Press under 

 the title of " The Foundations of the Origin of Species. " 

 This contains the brief abstract of the theory of natural 

 selection written by Charles Darwin in June, 184J, 

 sixteen years before the famous meeting of the 

 Linnean Society at which the theorv was first made 

 known to the scientific world. The JMS. of 1842, which 

 was afterwards expanded by its author into the essay 

 of 1844, consists of thirty-five pages written in pencil. 

 It had been " hidden in a cupboard under the stairs, 

 and only came to light in iSc)6 when the house at 

 Down was vacated." It was, as the editor says, evi- 

 dently written rapidly, and is in Darwin's most ellip- 

 tical style, with much erasure and correction, the 

 whole being " more like hastv memoranda of what 

 was clear to himself than material for the convincing 

 of others." Mr. Francis Darwin has laid the scientific 

 public under an immense obligation by his admirable 

 introduction and notes, and by the care he has taken 

 that readers should be able to studv the sketch exactly 

 as it stood in its original form. Each of the delegates 

 present at the celebration received a copy of this most 

 valuable work, the importance of which in the history 



NO. 2070, VOL. 81] 



of evolutionary theory it would hardly be possible to 

 overestimate. 



In addition to this work, a second volume, ad- 

 mirably printed by the University Press, was put into 

 the hands of the guests at the commemoration. This 

 production, which is purchasable by the public 

 at the price of two shillings and sixpence, is 

 entitled " Order of the Proceedings at the Darwin 

 Celebration held at Cambridge, June 22-June 24, iqog ; 

 with a Sketch of Darwin's Life." It opens with a 

 brief preface, which records the names of the com- 

 mittee — to whom many congratulations are due for 

 the successful issue of their labours — and also narrates 

 the steps that were taken, beginning with a meeting 

 of the council of the Senate in December, 1907, to 

 organise a celebration worthy of the man who has 

 revolutionised science, and whose influence has made 

 itself felt as a power and an inspiration in every de- 

 partment of intellectual activity. Following the pro- 

 gramme of the commemoration proceedings comes a 

 very interesting sketch of Darwin's life, which gives 

 in brief compass the principal events of his career, and 

 the dales of the publication of his various works. This 

 short biography, in the preparation of which the secre- 

 taries to the committee acknowledge the assistance 

 they have received from Mr. Francis Darwin, is ren- 

 dered especially valuable by well-chosen quotations 

 from the " Life and Letters," and from the apprecia- 

 tive comments of Judd, Lyell, Huxley, Schwalbe, 

 Goebel, and Thiselton-Dyer. Good photographic views 

 are given of Darwin's birthplace at Shrewsbury, of 

 the exterior of his rooms at Christ's College, of his 

 house and favourite " Sandwalk " at Down. There 

 are also reproductions of several of the well-known 

 portraits of Darwin and of his wife, including a picture 

 of Charles Darwin and his sister Catherine as children. 

 An excellent likeness of Sir Joseph Hooker, taken in 

 1897, and an interesting print of H.M.S. Beagle in 

 the Straits of Magellan, complete the series. 



The Rede lecture on " Charles Darwin as Geolo- 

 gist," delivered by Sir .\rchibald Geikie, K.C.B., on 

 June 24, has been published also by the University 

 Press, with notes, at the price of two shillings net. 

 Reference was first made in the lecture to the early 

 geological interests of Darwin and the formative 

 influence of Lvell upon his mind. The first 

 volume of Lveli's " Principles of Geology " was 

 published early in 1830. Darwin took the book 

 with him on his vovage in the Beagle and 

 studied it, with a result that changed his opinions 

 and began the life-long indebtedness to Lyell which 

 he so sincerely felt and never ceased to express. In 

 four distinct departments Darwin enriched the science 

 of geology with new material during the voyage of 

 the Beagle. First, he added to our knowledge of 

 the volcanic history of the globe. Secondly, he 

 brought forward a body of striking evidence as to 

 the upward and downward movements of the ter- 

 restrial crust, and drew from this evidence some of 

 the most impressive deductions to be found in the 

 w-hole range of geological literature. In the third 

 place, he made important observations on the geology 

 of South America; and, finally, he furnished new and 

 interesting illustrations of the potent part taken by 

 the denuding agents of nature in effecting the decay 

 and disintegration of the land. Sir Archibald Geikie 

 proceeded to review Darwin's work under each of 

 these four heads, and to express his appreciation of 

 it. Finallv, he sketched the later geological work 

 carried out by Darwin and the geological side of 

 "The Origin of Species." 



Another "noteworthy outcome of the present com- 

 memoration is the special Darwin centenary number 

 of the Christ's College Magazine. 



