Ɛpsilon

To G. F. Yeo   29 March [1878]1

Mar 29

To Dr Yeo.

Dear Sir,

As soon as I saw it stated that there wd be a memorial to C. B. I wished to contribute;2 but I have heard that he was reckless with respect to the suffering of animals & I have no means of ascertaining whether this charge is true.3 Physiology, seems to me one of the most important of all the sciences, & it is obvious that experiments on living animals are indispensible for its progress & therefore fully justifiable; but I shd esteem it a crime to add my mite in honouring any man who had not taken the utmost care to avoid causing [any] pain. I hope4

Therefore as at present informed I cannot contribute to the C. B. Memorial. I sincerely apologise for presuming to trouble you with these personal details, & remain Dear Sir | yours tr | C. D.

ADraftS

1
The year is established by the reference to Claude Bernard’s memorial (see n. 2, below).
2
Yeo was a member of the British subcommittee set up to raise subscriptions for a memorial to Bernard, who died on 11 February 1878 (see Nature, 21 March 1878, p. 409).
3
Bernard had been a leading promoter of vivisection in medical research, and some of his experiments were criticised in the debates over vivisection in Britain (see Elliott 1987, French 1975, pp. 68–70, and Schiller 1967).
4
CD had been involved in drafting legislation on vivisection and had testified before the royal commission on vivisection in 1875 (see Correspondence vol. 23, Appendix VI).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.1 to contribute 1.2 ] after del ‘enormously’
1.2 with] after del ‘in causing’
1.3 & … true.] interl
1.3 Physiology,] after del ‘I yield [below del ‘look up’] to no man in esteeming’
1.3 seems to me 1.4] above del ‘as’
1.4 important] above del ‘worth’
1.4 all the] interl
1.4 it is obvious] above del ‘I fully see’
1.5 indispensible] after del ‘absolutely’
1.6 esteem … pain. 1.7] transposed from before ‘Physiology,’
1.6 esteem] above del ‘I shd think’
1.6 add my mite in] interl
1.6 had] above del ‘did’
1.7 care] above del ‘pain’
1.7 causing] above del ‘giving any’
1.7 pain.] above del ‘suffering.’
2.1 I cannot] transposed from after ‘Therefore’
2.2 sincerely] after del ‘most’
2.2 for] after del ‘to you [above del ‘to you’]’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-11455,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-11455