To J. V. Carus   11 April [1867]1

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

Ap 11

My dear Sir

First for my own book: I am quite delighted to hear that you will undertake the translation. I am sorry to say my book is very large, much larger I fear than it is worth. A considerable part is a compilation, but it contains a good many original observations. I advised Schweizerbart not to undertake the publication until he had submitted a large part to some competent judge; but he seems resolved & I am of course glad of it.2

It consists of 2 Vols. large 8vo. with I fear at least 500 pages in each. The 2 Vols will be published together next Nov.3 I have already corrected 250 pages & I suppose the first clean sheets will soon be printed off, & they shall be sent direct to you. I have written to Murray about the stereotypes.4 I fear from what you say about yr many works in hand, that there must be a considerable delay in the German edition.5

With respect to Haeckel’s book, I admire & quite sympathize with all that you say about him with so much kindness & frankness. I agree with you that the book is too large.6 It is, also, I believe bad policy to speak so positively as he does about any disputed theory.

I am so poor a German scholar that I have read here & there only portions, but these seem to me to be put with admirable clearness, force & method. With respect to the severity of his criticisms I am in a difficulty, for I do not know German well enough to perceive the sting of all his remarks, & these passages I have merely skimmed over. Nevertheless I have stumbled on some severe & contemptuous remarks on difft authors; & Fritz Müller has written to me from Desterro to the same general effect with you.7 Hence I can, without mentioning any names, say that I have heard from several quarters of the severity of his criticisms, & I will speak strongly how injudicious I think this is, for my experience leads me to agree with you that severe strictures do no good, but only cause bitter anger.8 I fear however that my remonstrance will be of no use, for when a man has once taken to writing in letters of blood & is conscious of his own power, he seldom, as far as I see, is ever cured of this bad practice.

With sincere respect I remain | my dear Sir yours very truly | Ch. Darwin

LS(A)

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from J. V. Carus, 5 April 1867.
2
Carus had confirmed his willingness to undertake the German translation of Variation in his letter of 5 April 1867. CD’s letters to Christian Friedrich Schweizerbart, the publisher of Carus’s translation, have not been found; a draft letter to E. Schweizerbart’sche Buchhandlung of [19 March 1867] does not mention submitting the book to a reviewer.
3
The first volume of Variation contained 411 pages, and the second 486, excluding preliminaries. They were published in January 1868 (Freeman 1977).
4
CD refers to John Murray, the English publisher of Variation; see letter to John Murray, 10 April [1867].
5
Carus had written that he would be very much occupied for the next year; see letter from J. V. Carus, 5 April 1867.
6
Carus had criticised the aggressive tone and the length of Ernst Haeckel’s Generelle Morphologie (Haeckel 1866) in his letter to CD of 5 April 1867.
7
The letter to CD in which Müller criticised Haeckel 1866 has not been found; however, Müller remarked in a letter to his brother, Hermann Müller, of 11 February 1867 (Möller ed. 1915–21, 2: 115–16), that the book would stir up controversy.
8
Carus had suggested CD write to Haeckel explaining that his combative style did CD no service (letter from J. V. Carus, 5 April 1867).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.2 my book] above del ‘it’
2.1 large] interl
2.3 clean] interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-5498,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-5498