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Darwin Correspondence Project

To ?   2 May [1869 or later]1

Beckenham

May 2

[discouraging the publication of ill-advised speculations]

[…] When a man has laboured hard in science & has proved that he is capable of original research, he may [some]times indulge in speculation [&] the public will indulge him. But even in this case it is a common error to speculate too largely, for speculation is far easier than observation or experiments […]

Footnotes

The year range is established by the address, which is given in the sale catalogue; CD used a form of his address including ‘Beckenham’ from 1869 onwards.

Summary

"When a man has laboured hard in science & has proved that he is capable of original research, he may [some]times indulge in speculation [&] the public will indulge him. But even in this case it is a common error to speculate too largely, for speculation is far easier than observation or experiments . . ."

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-13866A
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Unidentified
Source of text
Sotheby’s (dealers) (28 March 1983)
Physical description
inc

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13866A,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13866A.xml

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