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Darwin Correspondence Project

From Ernst Krause1   7 January 1880

Berlin N.O. Friedenstrasse 10. II.

den 7.1.1880.

Hochverehrter Herr!

Ihre gütige Mittheilung, dass die englischen Zeitschriften das kleine Buch über Erasmus Darwin freundlich beurtheilen, macht mir grosse Freude und danke ich Ihnen herzlichst dafür.2 Ich muss gestehen, dass ich in Bezug auf meinen Theil nicht ganz ohne Besorgnisse hinsichtlich der Aufnahme bei englischen Kritikern war und dass es mir höchst schmerzlich gewesen sein würde, wenn man die Uebersetzung als nicht der Mühe werth erklärt, und Ihnen dadurch einen Verdruss bereitet hätte.

Der Druck der deutschen Ausgabe schreitet nur langsam vor, doch hoffe ich, dass sie jedenfalls vor Ostern fertig werden wird, da ich in diesen Tagen bereits die Correctur des 9 Bogens erhalten habe.3 Herr Reinwald hat mir nicht geschrieben, ob er von den mit Bezug auf die deutschen Verhältnisse hinzugefügten Anmerkungen Gebrauch machen will und ich werde sie ihm deshalb nicht zuschicken.4 Vielleicht will er, um in seinen Entschliessungen ganz frei zu sein, das Erscheinen der deutschen Ausgabe abwarten, und gegen diese Vorsicht lässt sich nichts sagen.

Mit den besten und innigsten Wünschen für das neubegonnene Decennium zeichne ich, hochverehrter Herr | Ihr dankbar ergebenster | Ernst Krause

Footnotes

For a translation of this letter, see Appendix I.
CD had remarked on the favourable reviews of Erasmus Darwin (see letter to Ernst Krause, 5 January 1880 and n. 2).
The German edition of Erasmus Darwin was published in April 1880 (Krause 1880; see letter from Ernst Krause, 19 April 1880).
CD had corresponded with Charles-Ferdinand Reinwald about a French translation of Erasmus Darwin (see Correspondence vol. 27, letter to C.-F. Reinwald, 29 October 1879); however, no French edition was published.

Bibliography

Krause, Ernst. 1880. Erasmus Darwin und seine Stellung in der Geschichte der Descendenz-Theorie von Ernst Krause. Mit seinem Lebens- und Charakterbilde von Charles Darwin. Leipzig: Ernst Günther.

Translation

From Ernst Krause1   7 January 1880

Berlin N.O. Friedenstrasse 10. II.

7.1.1880.

Highly esteemed Sir!

Your kind communication that the English journals are judging the little book about Erasmus Darwin favourably is a great joy to me and I thank you cordially for it.2 I must confess that with respect to my contribution I was not entirely without concerns about its reception among the English critics; it would have been most painful to me if the verdict had been that it had not been worth translating, and if as a result you had been caused vexation.

The printing of the German edition is progressing only slowly; still, I hope that it will be completed before Easter, for I recently received the corrected proofs of sheet 9.3 Mr Reinwald has not told me whether he intends to make use of the notes that have been added with the German readership in mind, and so I shall not send them to him.4 Perhaps he wants to wait until the German edition comes out, so as to be quite free in his decision, and there is nothing to be said against such a precaution.

With my best and most cordial wishes for the new decade that has just begun, I remain, most esteemed Sir | Yours gratefully devoted | Ernst Krause

Footnotes

For a transcription of this letter in its original German, see p. 25.
CD had remarked on the favourable reviews of Erasmus Darwin (see letter to Ernst Krause, 5 January 1880 and n. 2).
The German edition of Erasmus Darwin was published in April 1880 (Krause 1880; see letter from Ernst Krause, 19 April 1880).
CD had corresponded with Charles-Ferdinand Reinwald about a French translation of Erasmus Darwin (see Correspondence vol. 27, letter to C.-F. Reinwald, 29 October 1879); however, no French edition was published.

Bibliography

Krause, Ernst. 1880. Erasmus Darwin und seine Stellung in der Geschichte der Descendenz-Theorie von Ernst Krause. Mit seinem Lebens- und Charakterbilde von Charles Darwin. Leipzig: Ernst Günther.

Summary

Pleased by favourable English newspaper reviews of Erasmus Darwin. Charles Reinwald has not yet said whether he wants to use annotations intended for German readers.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-12409
From
Ernst Ludwig (Ernst) Krause
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
Berlin
Source of text
DAR 92: B51
Physical description
ALS 2pp (German)

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12409,” accessed on 23 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12409.xml

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