Ɛpsilon

To F. M. Malven   [after 12 February 1869]1

Seit meiner Knabenzeit verehrte ich den Namen Humboldt’s, und seine Werke waren es, welche den Wunsch in mir erweckten, tropische Länder zu sehen und zu prüfen; daher betrachte ich es als eine sehr große Ehre, daß mein Name in Verbindung mit jenem dieses Führers der Wissenschaft genannt werden sollte, aber ich bin nicht so schwach, um anzunehmen, daß mein Name jemals in dieselbe Classe mit seinem gesetzt werden könnte.2

Incomplete

1
For a translation of this letter, see Appendix I. The date is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from F. M. Malven, 12 February [1869] (Correspondence vol. 17).
2
In his letter, Malven had written that he had proposed the celebration of CD’s birthday to the editor of the Neue Freie Presse, a Viennese daily paper, and that CD’s name was as honoured in Germany as that of Alexander von Humboldt. The article on CD’s birthday was published in Neue Freie Press, 12 February 1869, pp. 1–2. This extract from CD’s letter was published in a later short note, with the comment that it gave the lie to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s famous dictum, ‘Nur die Lumpe sind bescheiden’ (Only nobodies are modest). On CD’s admiration for Humboldt, see Correspondence vol. 3, letter to J. D. Hooker, [10 February 1845].

To F. M. Malven   [after 12 February 1869]1

Since my boyhood I have honoured Humboldt’s name, and it was his works that awoke in me the desire to see and investigate tropical countries; so I consider it a great honour that my name should be connected with that of this leader of science, but I am not so weak as to assume that my name could ever be placed in the same class with his.2

Incomplete

1
For a transcription of this letter in the German of its printed source, see Transcript. The date is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from F. M. Malven, 12 February [1869] (Correspondence vol. 17).
2
In his letter, Malven had written that he had proposed the celebration of CD’s birthday to the editor of the Neue Freie Presse, a Viennese daily paper, and that CD’s name was as honoured in Germany as that of Alexander von Humboldt. The article on CD’s birthday was published in Neue Freie Press, 12 February 1869, pp. 1–2. This extract from CD’s letter was published in a later short note, with the comment that it gave the lie to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s famous dictum, ‘Nur die Lumpe sind bescheiden’ (Only nobodies are modest). On CD’s admiration for Humboldt, see Correspondence vol. 3, letter to J. D. Hooker, [10 February 1845].

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6610F,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6610F