.34-6 THE 'ORIGIN OF SPECIES/ [i860. 



meant to write to him and thank him. I suppose Dr. 

 Krohn, Bonn, would reach him. 



I cannot see yet how the multiple origin of dog can be 

 properly brought as argument for the multiple origin of man. 

 Is not your feeling a remnant of the deeply impressed one on 

 all our minds, that a species is an entity, something quite dis- 

 tinct from a variety ? Is it not that the dog case injures the 

 .argument from fertility, so that one main argument that the 

 races of man are varieties and not species i.e., because they 

 are fertile inter se, is much weakened ? 



I quite agree with what Hooker says, that whatever varia- 

 tion is possible under culture, is possible under nature ; not that 

 the same form would ever be accumulated and arrived at by 

 selection for man's pleasure, and by natural selection for the 

 organism's own good. 



Talking of " natural selection ;" if I had to commence de 

 novOy I would have used " natural preservation." For I find 

 men like Harvey of Dublin cannot understand me, though he 

 has read the book twice. Dr. Gray of the British Museum 

 remarked to me that, " selection was obviously impossible with 

 plants ! No one could tell him how it could be possible ! " 

 And he may now add that the author did not attempt it to 

 him ! 



Yours ever affectionately, 



C. DARWIN. 



C. Danvin to C. LyelL 



15 Marine Parade, Eastbourne, 



October 8th [1860]. 



MY DEAR LYELL, I send the [English] translation of 

 Bronn,* the first part of the chapter with generalities and praise 

 is not translated. There are some good hits. He makes an 

 apparently, and in part truly, telling case against me, says 



* A MS. translation of Bronn's his German translation of the 

 chapter of objections at the end of ' Origin of Species.' 



