Ɛpsilon

WCP2019

Letter (WCP2019.1909)

[1]

Queens Hotel

Cliftonville

Margate

Aug. 19, 1894

Dear Mr Wallace,

I cannot at all agree with you respecting the relative importance of the work you are doing and that which I wanted you to do. Various articles in the papers show that Lord Salisbury’s1 argument2 is received with triumph; and unless it is disposed of, it will lead to a public reaction against the doctrine of evolution at large, a far more serious [2] evil than any error which you propose to rectify among biologists. Everybody will look to you for a reply, and if you make no reply it will be understood that Lord Salisbury’s objection is valid. As to the non-publication of your letter in The Times, that is absurd, considering that your name & that of Darwin3 are constantly coupled together.

Truly yours | Herbert Spencer4 [signature]

1
Gascoyne-Cecil, Robert Arthur Talbot (1830-1903). Lord Salisbury. British Conservative politician and Prime Minister three times between 1885 and 1902.
2
Gascoyne-Cecil, Robert Arthur Talbot. 1894. Address by the most honorable the Marquis of Salisbury. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, pp. 3-14.
3
Darwin, Charles Robert (1809-1882). British naturalist, geologist and author, notably of On the Origin of Species (1859).
4
Spencer, Herbert (1820-1903). British philosopher, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP2019.1909)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-03-25] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-03-27] Transcription checked by Chua, Christine [2025-03-03]

Published letter (WCP2019.6425)

[1] [p. 60]

Queen's Hotel, Cliftonville, Margate.1 Aug. 19, 1894.

Dear Mr. Wallace, — I cannot at all agree with you respecting the relative importance of the work you are doing and that which I wanted you to do. Various articles in the papers show that Lord Salisbury's2 argument is received with triumph, and, unless it is disposed of, it will lead to a public reaction against the doctrine of evolution at large, a far more serious evil than any error which you propose to rectify among biologists. Everybody will look to you for a reply, and if you make no reply it will be understood that Lord Salisbury's objection is valid. As to the non-publication of your letter in the Times,3 that is absurd, considering that your name and that of Darwin4 are constantly coupled together. — Truly yours, | HERBERT SPENCER.

1
A seaside resort in Kent.
2
Gascoyne-Cecil, Robert Arthur Talbot (1830-1903). Lord Salisbury. British Conservative politician and Prime Minister three times between 1885 and 1902.
3
British daily newspaper, published in London since 1788.
4
Darwin, Charles Robert (1809-1882). British naturalist, geologist and author, notably of On the Origin of Species (1859).

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Published letter (WCP2019.6425)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Paterson, Gavin [2019-12-17]

Please cite as “WCP2019,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2019