To Reginald Darwin 10 April [1879]1
Down,
April 10
My dear Cousin
One word to thank you and to say that the Galtons have lent me the essay written by and about Charles.2 I shall be glad to see the Keir-Moilliet memoirs, for I have just come across long and excellent letter to my Father from Mr. Keir about character of our grandfather.3
I have always thought that there is one golden rule for Biographers, that is, not to insert anything which, as far as one can judge, would interest only the members of the Family. This necessitates much brevity, but it seems to me that it is no use whatever to publish, unless one can make what is published in some degree interesting to the public.
God knows whether I shall succeed, but no man can do more than his best.
I have had another most kind letter from your sister4
Yours affectionately | Ch. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Darwin, Erasmus, ed. 1780. Experiments establishing a criterion between mucaginous and purulent matter: and, an account of the retrograde motions of the absorbent vessels of animal bodies in some diseases. Lichfield: J. Jackson.
Erasmus Darwin. By Ernst Krause. Translated from the German by W. S. Dallas, with a preliminary notice by Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1879.
Moilliet, Amelia and Moilliet, James Keir. 1859. Sketch of the life of James Keir, Esq., F.R.S., with a selection from his correspondence. London: privately published.
Summary
Research for Erasmus Darwin. CD has always thought there is one "golden rule" for biographers: "not to insert anything which … would interest only the members of the Family".
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-11986
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Reginald Darwin
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 153: 99
- Physical description
- C 1p
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 11986,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-11986.xml
