106 THE 'ORIGIN OF SPECIES.' [i860. 



omniscient Creator, who foresaw every future event and con- 

 sequence. But the more I think the more bewildered I be- 

 come ; as indeed I probably have shown by this letter. 



Most deeply do I feel your generous kindness and interest. 

 Yours sincerely and cordially, 



Charles Darwin. 



[Here follow my father's criticisms on the ' Edinburgh 

 Review ' : 



" What a quibble to pretend he did not understand what I 

 meant by inhabitants of South America ; and any one would 

 suppose that I had not throughout my volume touched on 

 Geographical Distribution. He ignores also everything 

 which I have said on Classification, Geological Succession, 

 Homologies, Embryology, and Rudimentary Organs — p. 496. 



He falsely applies what I said (too rudely) about " blind- 

 ness of preconceived opinions " to those who believe in crea- 

 tion, whereas I exclusively apply the remark to those who give 

 up multitudes of species as true species, but believe in the 

 remainder — p. 500. 



He slightly alters what I say, — I ask whether creationists 

 really believe that elemental atoms have flashed into life. He 

 says that I describe them as so believing, and this, surely, is a 

 difference — p. 501. 



He speaks of my " clamouring against " all who believe 

 in creation, and this seems to me an unjust accusation — 

 p. 501. 



He makes me say that the dorsal vertebrae vary ; this is 

 simply false : I nowhere say a word about dorsal vertebrae — 

 p. 522. 



What an illiberal sentence that is about my pretension to 

 candour, and about my rushing through barriers which stopped 

 Cuvier : such an argument would stop any progress in science 



— P- 525- m 



How disingenuous to quote from my remark to you about 

 my brief letter [published in the ' Linn. Soc. Journal '], as if 

 it applied to the whole subject — p. 530. 



