Ɛpsilon

To G. H. Darwin   27 April [1876]1

Ap. 27

My dear old George—

I am very very glad of your news about your attacking so difficult a problem with a strong hope of success.2 I confess that I was alarmed when I heard that you cd not get the subject out of your head until I came to your last sentence that you wd be careful.— Do not be too much disappointed if your idea breaks down. It seems a capital idea consulting Adams.3

I am sure some mathematical discussions will be valued greatly by geologists who thought tremendously & it now appears overrated the value of Hopkins work about elevation.—4 There certainly have been enormous changes of level where our continents now stand, & great subsidence in the Pacific. Most geologists now believe that continents have existed nearly where continents now are at all known times— I shall be very glad to help in expence of paid calculation.—5

My dear old f. | Your affect. Father | C. Darwin6

I have just been arranging for a Spanish Translat of Origin!7

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from G. H. Darwin, 25 April 1876.
2
See letter from G. H. Darwin, 25 April 1876; George was working on the problem of whether upheaval and subsidence of the continents influenced the position of the polar axis.
4
William Hopkins produced several papers on continental elevation, including Hopkins 1836, which CD cited in his paper ‘Volcanic phenomena and the formation of mountain chains’, p. 624.
5
In his letter of 25 April 1876, George had suggested employing people to do the mathematical calculations required for his paper (G. H. Darwin 1876b).
6
This letter was written in pencil. Another person subsequently inked in the whole letter, except the salutation and part of the signature, in a fair imitation of CD’s hand.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

2.5 nearly] interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-10480,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-10480