To John Lubbock   21 December [1864]1

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

Dec 21

My dear Lubbock

The magnificence of all the first & last part of the President’s address quite obliterated the little he said about the Origin.2 I believe I am protected by an invulnerable shield of self-conceit, so did not care what he said, & I know how many good men there are who believe in Nat. Selection. I heard all about Huxley attacking the Pres. & it was just like him to defend an absent friend; but I suppose his real motive was to blame the Pres. for modifying in ever so little a degree the Council’s award & in this I shd think he did good service.3

I hope your book is getting on pretty well;4 as for myself I have lately lost a good many days by being unwell.

yours affectionately | Ch. Darwin

LS

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from John Lubbock, 20 December 1864.
2
CD refers to Edward Sabine’s anniversary address to the Royal Society of London delivered on 30 November 1864 (see letter from John Lubbock, 20 December 1864 and n. 1).
4
Lubbock 1865b.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-4721,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-4721