To C. G. Semper 26 November [1878]1
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | (Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.) [4 Bryanston Street, London]
Nov. 26th
My dear Professor Semper
When I published the 6th. Edit. of the Origin I thought a good deal on the subject to which you refer, & the opinion therein expressed was my deliberate conviction.— I went as far as I could, perhaps too far, in agreement with Wagner.2 Since that time I have seen no reason to change my mind, but then I must add that my [every] attention has been absorbed on other subjects.— There are two different classes of cases, as it appears to me, viz those in which a species becomes slowly modified in the same country (of which I cannot doubt there are innumerable instances) & those cases in which a species splits into 2 or 3 or more new species, & in these latter cases, I shd. think nearly perfect separation would greatly aid in their “specification,”—to coin a new word.—
I am very glad that you are taking up this subject, for you will be sure to throw much light on it.—3 I remember well long ago oscillating much; when I thought of the Fauna & Flora of the Galapagos Isld, I was all for isolation,— when I thought of S. America I doubted much.—4
Pray believe me | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin
P.S. I hope that this letter will not be quite illegible, but I have no amanuensis at present.
Footnotes
Bibliography
Origin 6th ed.: The origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. 6th edition, with additions and corrections. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1872.
Sulloway, Frank J. 1979. Geographic isolation in Darwin’s thinking: the vicissitudes of a crucial idea. In vol. 3 of Studies in history of biology, edited by William Coleman and Camille Limoges. Baltimore, Md., and London: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Summary
Discusses views of Moritz Wagner on modification of species. Two different cases: one in which a species is modified in the same country and cases in which a species splits. Glad CGS is taking up subject.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-11760
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Carl Gottfried Semper
- Sent from
- London, Bryanston St, 4 Down letterhead
- Source of text
- Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf (slg 60/Dok/59)
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 11760,” accessed on 29 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-11760.xml