Ɛpsilon

To Henry Holland   6 November [1864]1

Down. | Bromley. | Kent. S.E.

Nov. 6th

My dear Sir Henry

I thank you cordially for your most kind note & for your congratulations on the honour which the Royal Society has done me.2

I have just read H. Spencer’s work: it strikes me as extremely clever, & yet, I cannot tell why, I never feel much wiser, when I have finished reading him.—3

I am, I hope, decidedly getting better, but fear that I shall never reach my former modicum of strength: I am, however, able to do a little work in Natural History every day. I was very ill for about ten months with incessant vomiting, which became bad when you were in America last year. How wonderful your strength & vigour of interest are: I had heard of your Gibraltar expedition.—4

With most sincere thanks for your never-failing kindness, I remain | My dear Sir Henry | Yours most sincerely | and obliged | Charles Darwin

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from Henry Holland, 4 November [1864] (Correspondence vol. 12).
2
The Royal Society of London awarded CD the Copley Medal in 1864 (see Correspondence vol. 12, letter from Henry Holland, 4 November [1864]).
3
Herbert Spencer’s Principles of biology (Spencer 1864–7) was issued in instalments beginning in January 1863 as a continuation of his First principles (Spencer 1860–2; see Correspondence vol. 12, letter from Henry Holland, 4 November [1864] and n. 5).
4
For Holland’s travels, see Correspondence vol. 12, letter from Henry Holland, 4 November [1864], nn. 6 and 7. CD had been ill throughout much of 1863 and the early part of 1864 (see Correspondence vols. 11 and 12).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-4661F,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-4661F