Darwin Correspondence Project

Jermyn St

March 11th 1869

My dear Darwin

I ``know quite enough about Mr Vernon Lushington to have paid every attention to what he has to say'', even if you had not been his ambassador

I glanced over his letter when I returned home last night very tired with my two nights chairmanship at the Ethnological & the Geological Societies—

Most of it is fair enough, though, I must say not helping me to any novel considerations— Two paragraphs, however, contained opinions which Mr Lushington is at perfectly liberty to entertain; but not, I think, to express to me—

The one is, that I shaped what I had to say at Edinburgh with a view of stirring up the prejudices of the Scotch presbyterians (imagine how many presbyterians I had in my audience!) against Comte

The other, is the concluding paragraph, in which Mr Lushington recommends me to ``read Comte''—clearly implying, that I have criticized Comte without reading him—

You will know how far I am likely to have committed either of the immoralities thus laid to my charge—

At any rate, I do not think I care to enter into some direct relations with any one who so heedlessly & unjustifiably assumes me to be guilty of them— Therefore I shall content myself with acknowledging the receipt of Mr Lushington's letter through you

Yours very faithfully | T. H. Huxley