To T. H. Huxley 9 April [1860]1
Down Bromley Kent
Ap. 9th
My dear Huxley
It is hardly worth troubling you, but I shd. like just to tell you that I have looked at Owen’s “Invertebrata” 1st Edit, published before my volume on cirripedes,2 & he admits that the so-called Branchiæ in Balanidæ are respiratory;3 & I feel almost sure that they are so denominated in case of Coronula or Tubicinella in Cat. of Coll. of Surgeons, on I think, Hunter’s belief.—4
I never saw such an amount of misrepresentation.5 At p 530 he says we are called on to accept the hypothesis on the plea of ignorance, whereas I think I could not have made it clearer that I admit the imperfection of geological record as a great difficulty.—
The quotation at p. 512 of Review about “young & rising naturalists with plastic minds”, attributed to “nature of limbs” is a false quotation, as I do not use words “plastic minds” At p. 501 the quotation is garbled, for I only ask whether naturalists believe about elemental atoms flashing &c, & he changes it into that I state that they do believe.
At p. 500 It is very false to say that I imply by “blindness of preconceived opinion” the simple belief of creation.— And so on in other cases.— But I beg pardon for troubling you.— I am heartily sorry that in your unselfish endeavours to spread what you believe to be truth, you shd. have incurred so brutal an attack.6 And now I will not think any more of this false & malignant attack
Ever yours | C. Darwin
I most thoroughily enjoyed your visit7 & have had a start which will last me for some good time.—
Of course this requires no answer.—
Footnotes
Bibliography
Living Cirripedia (1854): A monograph of the sub-class Cirripedia, with figures of all the species. The Balanidæ (or sessile cirripedes); the Verrucidæ, etc. By Charles Darwin. London: Ray Society. 1854.
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.
[Owen, Richard]. 1833–40. Descriptive and illustrated catalogue of the physiological series of comparative anatomy contained in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in London. 5 vols. London.
Summary
Owen on the branchiae of Balanidae.
The Edinburgh Review article on the Origin [by Owen, 111 (1860): 487–532] full of misrepresentations, with a brutal attack on THH.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-2751
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Thomas Henry Huxley
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine Archives (Huxley 5: 111)
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2751,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2751.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 8