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From T. R. Clephan   19 February 1873

Tübingen. | Würtemburg.

19 Feb. 1873

Honoured Sir,

Whilst reading your work, “The descent of man” I find on page 21 that you never heard of a man who possessed the least power of erecting his ears;1 and thinking it might interest you I wish to state that I can quite easily move my left ear towards the top of my head. I discovered this capacity some two or three years ago and if I am not mistaken my ability to move it increases. I have noticed that I move it when I wish to hear anything, at a distance, or not very distinct, but cannot say that it helps me to hear more clearly.

I cannot in the slightest move my right ear.

I am | your obedient servant | T. Richmond Clephan. | Student

To | Charles Darwin Esqr.

CD annotations

Top of letter: ‘Correct I meant [after del ‘met’] bring the whole shell of the ear forward to catch the vibrations.’2 pencil

Footnotes

1
In Descent 1: 21, CD wrote, ‘The faculty of erecting the ears and of directing them to different points of the compass, is no doubt of the highest service to many animals, as they thus perceive the point of danger; but I have never heard of a man who possessed the least power of erecting his ears, —the one movement which might be of use to him.’
2
In Descent 2d ed., p. 14, CD changed the passage to: ‘The power of erecting and directing the shell of the ears to the various points of the compass, is no doubt of the highest service to many animals, as they thus perceive the direction of danger; but I have never heard, on sufficient evidence, of a man who possessed this power, the one which might be of use to him.’

Bibliography

Descent 2d ed.: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2d edition. London: John Murray. 1874.

Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.

Summary

Reports that he has the power of moving his left ear towards the top of his head [see Descent 1: 21].

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-8775
From
Thomas Richmond Clephan
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
Tübingen
Source of text
DAR 87: 53
Physical description
ALS 1p †

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 8775,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-8775.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 21

letter

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