From E. A. Darwin [before 30 November 1864]1
Dear Charles
Lyell2 told me an anecdote which amused me. Sabine3 said to him in a triumphant tone, well it is’nt for the Origin that the medal is given,4 & Lyell answered, oh of course not, I understand, quite right, that is known all thro’ Europe, so it would be quite useless giving the medal for that but the other things are not so well known, & it will be useful for that. Sabine was taken quite aback & sheltered himself behind the proposers.5 Lyell says he shall attend the dinner & express his feelings on the Origin.6 What a pity you cant be there,7 & yet if you were it could not be done so well
E D
Footnotes
Bibliography
Bartholomew, Michael J. 1975–6. The award of the Copley Medal to Charles Darwin. Notes and Records of the Royal Society 30: 209–18.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Origin: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859.
Summary
Gives Lyell’s report of conversation with Sabine about the grounds for the award of CD’s [Copley] Medal.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-4688
- From
- Erasmus Alvey Darwin
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- unstated
- Source of text
- DAR 105: B33
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 4688,” accessed on 20 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-4688.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 12