To Charles Lyell   24 [November 1859]1

Ilkley Wells House | Otley Yorkshire

24th

My dear Lyell

Again I have to thank you for a most valuable lot of criticisms in a letter dated 22d.—2

This morning I heard, also, from Murray that he sold whole Edition the first day to the trade. He wants new Edition instantly, & this utterly confounds me. Now under water-cure with all nervous power directed to the skin, I cannot possibly do head-work, & I must make only actually necessary corrections. But I will as far as I can without my M.S. take advantage of your suggestions. I must not attempt much.

Will you send me one line to say whether I must strike out about the Secondary Whales: it goes to my heart.3 About Rattle-snake look to my Journal under Trigonocephalus & you will see probable origin of rattle, & generally in transitions it is the premier pas qui coute.—4

Madame Belloc wants to translate my Book into French:5 I have offered to look over proofs for scientific errors. Did you ever hear of her? I believe Murray has agreed at my urgent advice; but I fear I may have been rash & premature. Quatrefages has written to me, saying he agrees largely with my views— He is excellent naturalist.—6 I am pressed for time. Will you give me one line about the Whales? Again thank you for never-tiring advice & assistance: I do in truth reverence your unselfish & pure love of truth.

My dear Lyell | Ever yours | C. Darwin

Erasmus says about my Book “In fact the a priori reasoning is so entirely satisfactory to me, that if the facts wont fit in, why so much the worse for the facts is my feeling”.!7

1
Dated by the relationship to the letter to John Murray, 24 November [1859].
3
See letter to Charles Lyell, 20 September [1859], in which CD mentioned that it was too late to correct a statement in Origin, pp. 303–4, about the existence of whale fossils in Secondary formations. The example was deleted from subsequent editions (Peckham ed. 1959, p. 509).
4
See letter from Charles Lyell, [22 November 1859]. In Journal of researches, p. 114, CD described a snake, intermediate between the viper and rattlesnake, that vibrates the tip of its tail against dry grass and brushwood, making a sound that could be heard six feet away.
6
The letter from Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau has not been found. For CD’s reply, see letter to J. L. A. de Quatrefages de Bréau, 5 December [1859].
7
See letter from E. A. Darwin, 23 November [1859]. The postscript was written on a separate slip of paper and enclosed with the letter.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-2547,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-2547