To T. L. Brunton   27 June 1879

Down | Beckenham— Kent. [6 Queen Anne Street, London.]

June 27./79

My dear Sir

I wished to see you to-day to tell you that I have just received a very long & interesting letter from Sir R. Christison, & I am truly obliged to you for all your kind assistance.1 Sir R. C. says that Dr. Brown, he believes, preceded Dr. Darwin, but as he recommended alcohol for all the diseases under the sun (as Sir J. Paget tells me) his precedence does not seem to me so important as it would otherwise have been—2 Could you inform me of the date of Dr. Brown’s work— that is if it will not cause you much trouble—3 Sir R. C. (to whom I have written to thank) seems to think that it would be a most difficult labour & perhaps impossible task to discover who first recommended alcohol in fever.

Pray believe me with many thanks | yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin

Copy

1
The letter from Robert Christison has not been found, but see Erasmus Darwin, p. 107, where CD referred to information received from Christison on the treatment of fever. CD did, in fact, visit Brunton that evening; the Darwins had arrived in London on 26 June 1879 (letter to Francis Darwin, 28 June [1879]; Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)).
2
John Brown’s system, known as Brunonianism, was based on the idea that health was an equilibrium between stimulus and excitability. His treatments for so-called asthenic diseases, deemed to be the result of insufficient stimulus and thought by Brown to be the most common type, were stimulants like opium and alcohol (ODNB; for more on Brunonianism, see Bynum and Porter eds. 1988). CD had also consulted James Paget, whom he visited that day (see letter to Francis Darwin, 28 June [1879]).
3
Brown’s Elementa medicinae was first published in 1780 (Brown 1780).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12126,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12126